The Gunslinger’s Revenge — the Dark Tower Story We Deserve
What if there is one more Dark Tower story waiting to be told? One that ka demands be written?
For the first time since finishing his magnum opus, Stephen King revisited gunslinger Roland Deschain in 2012’s The Wind Through the Keyhole. While a decent story which added a bit of background and enriched the lore of Mid-World, the novel has little bearing on the quest for the Dark Tower. Much like the 1998 novella The Little Sisters of Eluria, set shortly before The Gunslinger, it is not strictly necessary when reading the series.
Indeed, it seemed to me that the story has been told in full. Upon rereading the series, however, I came across something toward the end of the fourth instalment, Wizard and Glass which got me psyched. The story is right there, in plain sight, not even hiding, begging to be told. A score to settle with one of the most villainous antagonists of the entire series.
SPOILER WARNING: Below are spoilers for Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, in particular Wizard and Glass. Read on at your peril.
[…] I saw her again, you know.” Roland explained no further, but a stony gleam arose in his eyes. Eddie had seen it before, and knew it meant killing.
In this chilling half-paragraph toward the end of Wizard is contained a Dark Tower story, possibly the last indispensable chapter in the life of Roland of Gilead, gunslinger errant.
As the constant reader will know, Roland is referring to Rhea Dubativo, the old witch of the Cöos. She who had Susan Delgado, Roland’s one true love, burned alive (charyou tree) and had a hand in tricking Roland into shooting his mother dead (I’ve made ye a matricide). She is the true villain of Wizard and Glass; much more so than the Big Coffin Hunters, deranged Aunt Cord, the elusive Good Man and his cannon fodder, or the abstract evil of Maerlyn’s Grapefruit.
And all we know of the gunslinger’s retribution is the gleam that meant killing. It’s not much in the way of closure.
Loose Ends and Opportunities
Rhea is a loose end. And a big one at that, flapping goadingly in the breeze and cackling a challenge. One that needs to be tied. Or, better yet, brusquely severed. This is the key difference between the story of Roland’s revenge on one hand and Little Sisters and Keyhole on the other; Rhea’s fate is a part of the Dark Tower saga proper and a story that should be told, whereas the latter two are merely nice tangents that could be, and were, told.
In addition, the story would provide an opportunity to fill in the final blanks of the canvas on which the saga is painted and sharpening some of its lines.
It would pick up some time after Roland and Jamie De Curry return from their mission detailed in The Wind Through the Keyhole but before the fall of Gilead. This would allow for Roland’s father, Steven Deschain, to feature — a key element for this very hypothetical story.
We have seen glimpses of the older Deschain and his relationship with Roland on several occasions; perhaps most memorably, in King’s own words, “across a whore’s bed” in Wizard and Glass. Still, Steven Deschain has remained in the background, a shadowy but important figure, one whom, even in adulthood, Ronald “wanted so to please and so seldom could.” With Rhea having wronged not only Roland but also Steven, this story would be an ideal opportunity to explore their loss and expound on their relationship.
In addition, being set against the rich background of the impending fall of Gilead, the story could provide a look at Roland’s world on the brink of collapse, of moving on, in more detail than hitherto. We would see things fall apart and Steven Deschain would reflect on the treacheries committed against him and his people, his loss, and his failings as dinh of Gilead.
Being that Roland’s relationship with Alain and Cuthbert has already been wonderfully fleshed out in Wizard, and Jamie having been introduced in Keyhole, with details sprinkled on top throughout the series, Roland’s first ka-tet could remain on the sideline for the most part. However, bringing the full ka-tet together might be in order, establishing the quartet for the battles looming ahead. It could also touch on the impact of Roland’s trauma and his obsession with the Tower on his relationship with his friends.
There would have to be some more details on Rhea, fleshing out the villain of the story. Building on the groundwork of Wizard and Glass, her past life could be explored further and her rather vague role in making Roland a matricide could be clarified. There are indications in Wizard (She wasn’t done with me) that she was more than just a projection by the Grapefruit (All the way from Mejis, she followed me):
[…] and now I’ve made ye a matricide. Do ye repent of killing my snake yet, gunslinger? My poor, sweet Ermot? Do you regret playing yer hard games with one more trig than ye’ll ever be in yer miserable life?”
A bit personal for a mere glam projection, is it not?
Then we have Jake, Eddie and Susannah conversing with her directly and Roland indicating that she may have had the glass stolen while he was unconscious. In any case, her part in the machinations would be elucidated to set the stage for her inevitable demise by Roland’s hand.
After her evil deeds in Hambry and Gilead, and her encounter with Mearlyn’s Grapefruit, it is hard to imagine Rhea going back to proving teenage brides “onnest” and peddling love potions. No doubt she would be up to something nasty. Perhaps involving the Grapefruit, assuming that she got her hands on it again. This would provide a handy chance to give a cameo to The Man in Black, he of the many aliases, and explaining how he came by the Grapefruit, in his possession toward the end of Wizard.
Finally, there is another loose end of sorts, a minor one. The belt Gabrielle Deschain made for her son. In Roland’s words, from Wizard and Glass:
Her blood had dried. The belt she’d made me was covered with it, but I took it, and I put it on. I wore that bloodstained gift for many years, and how I lost it is a tale for another day — I’ll tell it to you before we have done, for it bears on my quest for the Tower.
As far as I can gather, this belt has never again featured in the series. Weaving it, and how Roland lost it years later, into the story of Rhea’s getting her due would be fitting, if not absolutely necessary. After all, “it bears on my quest for the Tower.”
The story would draw heavily on the Western genre and invoke some of the bleak mood of The Gunslinger, but with a generous dash of the fairy tale, so prevalent in Wizard and Keyhole. A human and personal story of vengeance and retribution, it would be an exploration of Roland’s lust for vengeance and the inevitable realisation that it does not grant him closure. It would see him move yet further away from the boy that rode into Hambry and closer to the weary loner that followed the Man in Black across the desert.
A Rose (in a vacant lot) by Any Other Name
One can pass days coming up with possible titles for this story. From the name of this article, the reader can guess which one this author settled on. Among the other contenders were Witch and Hard Caliber and Behind the Stony Gleam.
The first is a play of sorts on the title of Wizard and Glass. “Hard caliber” is a term used in the series to refer to the large bullets favoured by gunslingers and to indicate people’s grit. The latter is self-explanatory, referring to the story behind Roland’s gleam which Eddie knew meant killing.
However, The Gunslinger’s Revenge is the winner. In its simplicity and with its ominous quality, it perfectly captures the story, whatever its exact details would be. The title and its obvious allusion to the first entry in the series may seem a little pulpy but there is definitely a wonderful strain of pulpiness to the entire series. Moreover, with this being, at its core, a story about a gunslinger riding out for bloody vengeance, pulpy is absolutely in order. And it just feels right. Ka, one might say. Ka like the wind.
Then there is the subtitle. Each of the seven main entries in the series has a subtitle starting with “Re-”, with the finale sporting four different ones. The exception is The Wind Through the Keyhole, likely because it stands apart from the saga proper. The Gunslinger’s Revenge, however, would be a part of the saga, as noted earlier. The obvious choices would be Reckoning or Retribution, referring to Roland’s wreaking vengeance on Rhea. Realization would also do nicely, with Roland coming to understand that revenge will not heal his wounds.
Again, you can spend days pondering this. Days and pleasant nights.
Eight years have passed since we last heard of Roland, seventeen since his quest came to an end. It is high time for the gunslinger to ride again, one final time, to close the last remaining chapter of the saga. The Gunslinger’s Revenge is the Dark Tower story we need. The one we deserve.
And the witch fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
