The Talisman, Black House, and Beyond

Over the past few months, I have read the novels The Talisman and Black House, both collaborations by Stephen King and Peter Straub. The two stories are connected through their common protagonist, Jack Sterling, and the concept of an alternate reality called “The Territories”. And the ending of Black House strongly suggests another sequel in the future. But then I see some problems.

When I caught “Harry Potter fever” and began to read this excellent series in 2001, the fourth book (The Goblet of Fire) had already been out for more than a year and loyal readers were expecting the fifth book soon. I took advantage of the waiting period to breeze through the first four books of the series. Then I was “standing” alongside the other die-hard Potter enthusiasts, eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. Only its release was delayed until 2003. The idea that the next book in this popular series had been delayed one year irritated a lot of people, including me. And the release of the sixth Harry Potter movie, The Half-Blood Prince, has caused widespread consternation after it was delayed from this past November to July this year, a period of almost eight months.

But let’s go over now to Stephen King’s history of writing a series. He conceived of the Dark Tower series during the late 1960s, beginning writing on the first installment, The Gunslinger, in 1968. The finished first volume was published in 1982. He built up a loyal readership with this series although the next three books were relatively spaced apart in publication: 1987, 1991, and 1997. Then, following the fourth book of the series, The Wizard and Glass, no more books came out for a while. Finally, after King was almost killed by a distracted motorist while walking down a Maine road in 1999, he resolved to complete the series. And in a torrent of writing, he rushed out the last three (lengthy) volumes in 2003 (#5), 2004 (#6), and 2004 (#7)!

Now let’s go over to King and Straub’s slightly less ambitious Talisman/Black House series. The Talisman came out in 1984. It wasn’t until 2001 that Black House was published, a gap of 17 years. How can any reader entertain any reasonable hope of expecting a next installment of this series, based on King’s erratic track record?

I understand that Stephen King has his own methodology of writing, and this extends to how he dips into his inner creative resources and chooses what he will write about at any particular time. Unlike with Harry Potter’s author J.K. Rowling, King is all over the map with his writing, prolifically producing novels, short stories, and screenplays. And I am one of his fans, one of his “Constant Readers” as he likes to put it. But once an author begins a series, be it something like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, Otherland, Harry Potter, The Dark Tower, or The Talisman/Black House, (s)he has given an implicit promise to the reader to continue that series to its proper resolution in a reasonably timely manner. To just write a volume this time or that, whenever the mood hits, creates the impression that the author has a low regard for the reader.

I recommend The Talisman and Black House as good fantasy/science fiction, but only with the caveat that the reader may have a long wait for the next volume of this series. A long, long wait. Or maybe they need to travel to “The Territories” themselves to pick up the next book in the series!