Synopsis:
Roland’s ka-tet disperses through New York City in various whens, trying to save the rose, find author Stephen King, and save the Tower–quite possibly from Susannah’s demon baby.

Review:
Book 6 in Stephen King’s epic series, Song of Susannah is the darkest, bringing some of the darkest scenes in all of King’s writing.

It’s also a relatively short book, though no less dense than Calla or . The early books seem almost minimalist in comparison with the baroque tapestry that the plot becomes in these late books. I’m utterly amazed at the skill with which King keeps all of the different threads clear for the reader, even when dealing with complex issues of time travel and other dimensions.

As I mentioned before, this book is SCARY. I really freaked myself out the other night when I got to the scene where Jake and Pere Callahan enter Susannah/Mia’s hotel room and fall under the glammer of Black Thirteen. It was about 11pm, and I was reading in bed with my little book light. Superfast Toddler was asleep in her bed, which is right next to ours because she still nurses at night. At the peak of the scene, she wakes up–which is my cue to turn off my book light & climb into her bed to nurse her. However, this time she used her superstealth so that when I turned back after putting my light & glasses in the drawer she was sitting right over me in the pitch black and she just whispered “Mommy.” I about jumped out of my skin!

There’s a long way to go before the climax of the series. For some reason, my memory put Fedic and the Breakers in this book, but I’m wrong. Song of Susannah feels very much like a transitional book, more of a collection of great scenes than one big story.