Title:

The Wind Through the Keyhole

Author:

Stephen King

Category:

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

December 15, 2023
he Wind Through the Keyhole is officially set in King's "Dark Tower" universe, but it can be read as a stand alone novel. The novel begins with the characters of the Dark Tower - Roland, Eddie, Jake and Susannah - crossing Midworld, when they are threatened by an icy cold hurricane called a starkblaster. They gather firewood and huddle in an abandoned building. While the storm rages outside, Roland tells a story. The story he tells is called "The Skin-Man"; in it, Roland describes his youthful days, when Roland was a young, newly-minted gunslinger. Roland's father sends him and his fellow gunslinger, Jamie, to a distant land called Debaria. There are rumors there of a terrible monster, something is murdering civilians in violent and disturbing ways

A skin-man is a shape-shifter. The monster can assume different shapes - a bear, a snake, a wolf - but usually bides its time acting as a human, mingling with the people until its awful hunger compels it to kill again. When the skin-man strikes, the slaughter is awful. 20 people dead, their bodies dismembered and strewn around the land. Roland and Jamie venture out to the site of the latest attack, and witness the hideous toll. Surprisingly, they find a young survivor amongst the carnage - Bill Streeter, who is at most eleven years old. Young Bill had some glimpses of the creature as it wreaked havoc upon the helpless humans. When the skin-man changed back to person form, Bill caught a glimpse of a tattoo, which implicates someone from the mining community outside of town. While Jamie rides out to the mining camp, Roland stays with Bill, guarding him. To calm Bill, Roland tells him a story.

The story Roland tells is called The Wind Through the Keyhole. It is a legend about a young boy, Tim Ross, only about 10 years old, who lives on the edge of a vast and dangerous Endless Forest of ironwood trees. Tim's father, Big Ross, and his partner, Big Kells, venture into the forest to harvest the valuable wood, despite the deadly creatures that inhabit the wood. One day, Big Kells stumbles home alone, with his clothes smoking - he tells of an attack by a dragon. Big Ross is dead.

Tim is devastated by the loss of his beloved father, as his Tim's mother, Nell. Nell and Tim are doomed - every year the diabolical Covenant Man comes around collecting taxes, and without income from Big Ross, Nell and Tim are sure to be turned out of their home. When the Covenant Man does appear, he is evil, clever villain - telling lies, making threats and scaring everyone he encounters. The Covenant Man is capable of black magic. But is everything he says a lie? Or are some of his dark hints actually true, hints that gnaw on the same doubts and fears that Tim already hides in his heart.

King does a masterful job of depicting his Midworld universe. It is a desperate place, filled with ruin, monsters and dark magic. Since it is Stephen King who wrote this, his descriptions of peril are chilling. The skin-man and the Covenant Man are both frightening and dangerous. The likeable heroes (Roland, Tim Ross) are in constant danger, but face their fears, taking big risks to do the right thing. I liked how King occasionally threw in words that not-English, which, along with some of the unique the speech mannerisms of the characters, helped create the feel that this story is a set in a magical world. There are surprises, there are puzzles and magic. I read this book quickly, always wondering what terrifying twist King would reveal in the next chapter.

When Roland finishes his tale of The Wind Through the Keyhole, the story of the skin-man resumes when Jamie brings a surly group of miners back to town. When the skin-man story is complete, the story returns to Roland and his companions huddles around the embers of their fire. The starkblast has passed, the time for stories is over, and the group will move forward with the rest of the Dark Tower saga. The nested stories are complete.

The Wind Through the Keyhole is a homerun. King is so prolific that I have only read some of his books. This is one of the best ones of his that I have read.