Society of Speculative Fiction

Good times were had by all at our September book club! We had returning and new members and had a nice amount of people to make the conversation very interesting and fun. One of our members brought a chili bake and it was very tasty! Yum! The winners from the quiz show all enjoyed their prize bags which included bolo ties, trail mix, and jerky for their travels down the dusty trail.

For many Stephen King fans in the group, this series was one of their favorites, more so than some of King's classic horror titles. For those that read both the original and the revised editions of The Gunslinger, most said that they enjoyed the writing of the original much better even though it was shorter. Many readers picked up on the references to Stephen King's other works in the Dark Tower series and shared them with the group. We were surprised that King allowed Marvel to make a series of graphic novels on the Dark Tower series. He is usually so protective of his work. One member felt that they didn't really add to the story unless they offered original content that was not in the books. We compaired King's concept of ka and time and how they are like a wheel in the series. It reminded us the film Pulp Fiction where you end up at the beginning of the movie at the end. We all thought that Roland using David the falcon as his weapon of choice against Cort was a shrewd choice and one that forshadowed his willingness to sacrifice all that he loved for his quest to the Dark Tower. We also thought about all of Roland's encounters with women in the Gunslinger. All of them were strong and forceful to get their way with the men in their lives, but all of them were used as well by Roland for his needs. The end of the book forshadowed the Gunslinger's long quest throughout the series and fortells his gradually becoming more caring and more humane to the point that he will be willing to sacrifice himself for the quest like he has sacrificed those he has loved along the way. The Dark Tower reminds us of the Matrix trilogy where Neo enters the room with the Architect and also at the end where he interfaces with the computer brain of the world and changes it forever. Overall the Gunslinger and the Dark Tower series is a favorite for bookclub members and highly regarded, despite feeling like you're dropped in the middle of the action and aren't sure of excactly what's going on in the Gunslinger. The rest of the series makes up for this feeling and is well worth the reading.

The library will be changing it's hours beginning October 4 but we will continue to meet on Mondays from 6-8PM to accomodate those who work or who have classes during the day. Our next book club selection will be Lament (2008), by Maggie Stiefvater. Our next meeting will be Monday, November 22, from 6-8PM. You can place a copy on hold to be sent to the branch of your choice in the library catalog.