The Wind Through the Keyhole cover art

The Wind Through the Keyhole

A Dark Tower Novel

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The Wind Through the Keyhole

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Stephen King
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About this listen

Stephen King's epic fantasy series, The Dark Tower, is being made into a major movie starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. Due in cinemas February 17, 2017 USA.

For listeners new to The Dark Tower, The Wind Through the Keyhole is a stand-alone novel, and a wonderful introduction to the series. It is a story within a story, which features both the younger and older gunslinger Roland on his quest to find the Dark Tower.

Fans of the existing seven books in the series will also delight in discovering what happened to Roland and his ka tet between the time they leave the Emerald City and arrive at the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis.

This Russian Doll of a novel, a story within a story, within a story, visits Mid-World's last gunslinger, Roland Deschain, and his ka-tet as a ferocious storm halts their progress along the Path of the Beam. (The novel can be placed between Dark Tower IV and Dark Tower V.)

Roland tells a tale from his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt ridden year following his mother's death. Sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape shifter, a 'skin man,' Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, a brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast's most recent slaughter.

Roland, himself only a teenager, calms the boy by reciting a story from the Book of Eld that his mother used to read to him at bedtime, The Wind through the Keyhole.. 'A person's never too old for stories,' he says to Bill. 'Man and boy, girl and woman, we live for them.' And stories like these, they live for us.

©2012 Stephen King (P)2012 Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.
Fantasy Ghosts Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scary Haunted Fiction
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What listeners say about The Wind Through the Keyhole

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Stephen King is not a reader

I’ve just listened to the 7 Dark Tower books and thought they were brilliant. However, for whatever reason King decided to read this one himself. It is so bad I’ve had to stop, and read it the traditional way. All the character voices developed by the previous two readers are dispensed with here, so much so that it’s difficult to tell who is speaking sometimes. When Roland is telling a long story it just sounds like Stephen King reading in his own voice, it was ruining it for me. The previous readers bought the characters to life, King kills them dead with his monotone delivery. Read this the traditional way, with the character voices from the previous readers in your head, it is SO MUCH BETTER.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Read AFTER the last book! Quite slow, but still good

I listened to this for the first time on my second journey to the tower and I have to say I am slightly disappointed. The parts with the Ka-Tet and Roland investigating the Skinman were enjoyable but the flashback fairytale felt so pointless and ended quite abruptly and I just really struggled to stay engaged with it.

Please don’t read/listen to this during your first journey to the tower as it slows down considerably - it’s best read after you read The Dark Tower and gives you an opportunity to revisit your old friends again and I think would make for a more enjoyable listen.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Unneccessary Addition

I felt this was a bit of a marketing ploy to milk more out of the Dark Tower. Not a lot happened and wasn't of any benefit to the other books in the series.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Mediocre

Not bad, but not good. A fairly interesting tale. I struggled with the narrator’s voice (utterly mortified to later realise that it was Mr King himself!), which I think contributed to my struggle to engage.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story, but mixed narration

I loved this book as I have enjoyed all the dark tower books. This said the narration by King himself is at times monotonous, but at other times, such as with the tax collector fantastic. This uneven approach balances out, but initially I found it a bit off-putting.

This said I am loathe to criticise him as he wrote such a great story.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good return to the tower series.

A good story with familiar characters. It doesn’t change anything or really add to the main series but a nice book featuring a young Roland. Stephen king isn’t a narrator. He starts monotone but gets slightly better as the book goes on or you adjust to his voice.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

nice distraction.

A nice collection of short stories from Stephen King. an enjoyable read and nice addition to the series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A magical experience

I'm making my way through the Dark Tower series, and listened to The Wind Through the Keyhole after finishing vol 4. While I've heard that it doesn't advance the main storyline, this book was a wonderful experience. Its a tale within a tale within a tale, but it *just works*. The metaphor of the wind through the keyhole really resonated with me.

And despite what some other reviewers have said, I was absolutely enthralled by the reading. I was transported to the firesides listening to the master storyteller spinning his yarn. It's a rare treat indeed to have such a gifted novelist do that. Thank you, Stephen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome

Yet again Stephen King manages to keep me enthralled for the whole story, a really addictive book for sure.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it

Stephen King is one of my favourite authors and listening to The Wind Through the Keyhole in his own voice was a treat. I hope he will write and read many more.
I haven't read many of the Dark Tower novels and have found them of variable appeal, although an insipid King story is still enhanced by his vivid fluent writing style. I enjoyed The Song of Susannah and this has inspired me to return to the series.
It's a cleverly structured matrioshka of 3 stories, all enjoyable and a good introduction to the society and language of the Dark Tower world.

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