11. Where's the coverage of "Little Sisters of Eluria" and "Hearts in Atlantis"?
Boy, it's amazing how quick this one became "frequently asked". :^) I have intentionally not been covering these two books until they become available in paperback, that way the masses who visit this page won't have their contents ruined. There is also the matter of "Little Sisters" being fairly self contained. There isn't anything really new in the story (other than the link to "Desperation" and "The Regulators" listed above.) As it is one single event in Roland's life I see no need to summarize the entire thing in the chronology.
"Hearts in Atlantis" is another matter entirely, it only obliquely attaches to the Dark Tower, but it reveals more about the Crimson King and his intention than any book previously and as a result (and because of your constant e-mail nagging... :^) I'm going to cover it right now. So if you haven't read "Hearts in Atlantis" yet please do so before finishing this page.
To the average reader (i.e. one who is unfamiliar with the Dark Tower) "Hearts in Atlantis" appears to be the story of a young boy, Bobby Garfield, and his unusual relationship with an older man, Ted Brautigan. Ted has rented a room in the building where Bobby and his mom live, but there's something wrong. He hires Bobby to keep a watch out for "low men in yellow coats." If Bobby doesn't see them himself he is to look for their signs, odd chalk marks on the ground and weird lost pet posters.
But there's something wrong with Ted, Bobby at first isn't sure if he's an old man with paranoid delusions or if it's something worse. This is a King story! Of course it's worse! :^) Bobby catches Ted in a sort of fugue state, Ted keeps saying "all things serve the beam!" and when Bobby believes Ted has recovered, he hugs him. At that moment it's as though Bobby could see what Ted saw, he can hear the hoof-beats of horses, he can smell the dusty trail. The affect lasts on Bobby for quite some time, he's able to know what other people know. Eventually it fades.
The reason Ted is being hunted (as we find out on pages 225 and 231) is that he is a breaker. The tower is protected by the beams and the Crimson King is attempting to break the beams and destroy the tower. Ted is an important part of that plan, but he somehow escaped the Crimson King and came to Bobby's earth. The low men in yellow coats work for the Crimson King and were sent to bring Ted back into bondage.
Eventually Ted and Bobby are cornered by the low men and Ted surrenders, agreeing to go back and aid the Crimson King in exchange for Bobby's freedom.
Throughout "The Low Men In Yellow Coats" there are numerous quotes that ring a bell with Dark Tower fans, here are a few of them:
#1) Remember Blaine's first riddle? First you have to prime my pump but my pump primes backwards... from "Hearts in Atlantis", page 34. "A book is like a pump. It gives nothing unless first you give a bit. You prime a pump with your own strength. You do this because you expect to get back more than you give... Eventually."
#2) "All things serve the beam." (pg. 73)
#3) On page 162 once again we find the "brilliant red eye", mark of the Crimson King (also Randall Flagg's insignia in "the Stand").
#4) The Tower is first mentioned on page 165.
#5) "Ka" rears it's head again on page 194.
#6) Bobby finds out that Ted "belongs to the King." On page 204.
#7) Page 225 and 231, these are the two most important pages in the story because they finally reveal what is going on. Why Ted is important, why the King wants him back and more importantly what the Crimson King's overall goal is, destruction of the beams that support the tower and the collapse of the tower itself.
#8) A little nod to "Storm of the Century", "Give me what I want and I'll go away..." appears on page 229.