Book eight in the seven-part series...

In his official newsletter, uber-author Stephen King announced that there would be a new Dark Tower novel released next year, entitled The Wind Through the Keyhole. Fans of the series are probably scratching their heads - the series ended (really ended) with the seventh novel.

The new novel will take place between the fourth and fifth books; King refers to it as DT 4.5. It will also be a substantial novel; while not reaching the 1027-page opus of the seventh novel in the series, it will be longer than the first. In the announcement, King said:

"At some point, while worrying over the copyedited manuscript of the next book (11/22/63, out November 8th), I started thinking—and dreaming—about Mid-World again. The major story of Roland and his ka-tet was told, but I realized there was at least one hole in the narrative progression: what happened to Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and Oy between the time they leave the Emerald City (the end of Wizard and Glass) and the time we pick them up again, on the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis (the beginning of Wolves of the Calla)?"

On one hand, this is great news for fans, who believed that the Gunslinger story was all told after the last novel. They will get to revisit beloved characters and add to the epic. However, some are upset at the announcement that this is a between-the-lines story rather than a reinterpretation of the series finale, which many felt to be hurried and a disappointment.

It is perfect timing for a novel release, however, with the initial installment of the highly-anticipated film/TV adaptation of the full series set for release in May 2013. While this is the official announcement that the novel has been written and will be released, King actually spoke about it in interviews and panel discussions in late 2009. On December 1, 2009, a poll on King's website said that he was considering two ideas - one, a MidWorld novel "not directly about Roland Deschain, but yes, he and his friend Cuthbert are in it, hunting a skin-man, which is what werewolves are called in that lost kingdom" and the other, a sequel to his classic novel The Shining. He asked fans which idea they were most interested in, and the sequel to The Shining actually won by a small margin (less than 1%).

With Roland Deschain making a reappearance next year, will Danny Torrance be far behind?

See also:

Dark Tower Adaptation Lives! Slightly Modified

Danny Torrance returns as Dr. Sleep

American Gods update: Gaiman talks books, TV

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