Stay ConnectedWelcome to Radio Free Mid-World, a podcast examination of the Dark Tower series of books by Stephen King. Every other week, a panel of hosts will discuss these books that merge fantasy, sci-fi, and western themes… outlining the quest of the last Gunslinger to reach the Dark Tower.
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The wild west werewolf mystery is solved, and I'm joined by Evan and Chase to talk through the gory conclusion to this strange book. With the fairy tale told, Roland sets out to identify which of the salt miners is gruesomely murdering the inhabitants of Debaria. As for where that Skin-Man came from? Well, that's another mystery.
Deeper into the endless woods we go, to find a tiger and almost certain death. Evan joins me to talk about the second half of the fairy tale that makes up the core of this book. Tim Ross is following the Covenant Man's directions, headed on a fool's errand to find a cure for his mother's blindness. And he has no idea what wonders (and horrors) he will see on the way.
Sean Wagoner joins me to get to know the Covenant Man, the In-World tax collector who menaces young Tim Ross. All of this happens in the fairy tale that gives this book its name. Tim's dad dies, his mom falls in with an abusive drunk, and the Covenant Man arrives to send the young boy on a fool's errand.
A new old story, within the story, within the story. Evan joins me to talk about the opening movements of The Wind Through the Keyhole. After surviving the events in Lud and their encounter with the wizard Randal Flagg, the ka-tet finds themselves stranded by a Starkblast... a deadly kind of winter storm. With nothing left to do, Roland tells them about what he did after his mission to Hambry.
What happened during Roland's return to Gilead from Mejis, and how exactly did Gilead fall? Murph joins me to talk about two story arcs from the Dark Tower comics: The Long Road Home and Treachery. These give us a little more time in Gilead that was before it falls, and show us some of the cosmic implications of Roland's quest.
Nevada is home to a lot of intense people, and Autumn Greer joins me to talk about one of the most extreme: Collie Entragian. Desperation is the chronicle of what happens to several travelers who are captured by a small town sheriff in the abandoned burg of Desperation, Nevada. And it turns out the corruption runs deeper than anyone could expect, literally.
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We're off to see the wizard... the wonderful Wizard of lots of places. With the flashback done, Autumn and Jeremy Greer join me to talk about the conclusion of book four. Roland and his Ka Tet venture forth into Kansas until their road leads them directly into a familiar palace, inhabited by a familiar devilish interloper.
Charyou tree. Charyou tree. Evan joins me to talk about the upsetting conclusion of the flashback portion of Wizard and Glass. As Roland and the others experience the joy of victory on the battlefield, Susan is swept up in the winds of Ka and sacrificed by Hambry on a burning pyre. The old ways are coming back.
It was never about the gas, it was about the ball. Murph joins me to talk about the continuation of "Come, Reap", as the boys are captured and it seems all hope is lost. However, Susan and Sheemie are ready to come to the rescue.
Bird and bear and hare and fish, bring me Evan Thorne to talk about this section of Wizard and Glass. Roland and Susan have taken the plunge, and the conspiracy reveals itself to be about a very western object of desire... oil.
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