by Stephen King
First published 2012
A brutal winter storm forces Roland Deschain and his companions to take shelter along the Path of the Beam. As the blizzard rages outside, Roland shares a tale from his youth, when he was sent to hunt a deadly shape-shifter terrorizing the countryside. The teenage gunslinger must protect Bill Streeter, a frightened boy who witnessed the creature's latest killing spree. To calm the traumatized child, Roland recites an ancient story his mother once told him, "The Wind through the Keyhole," creating layers of narrative that spiral inward like a Russian doll. Set in the guilt-heavy year after his mother's death, Roland's mission tests both his skills as a gunslinger and his capacity for compassion. King weaves together three interconnected tales that explore how stories sustain us through darkness and fear. As Roland tells Bill, people never outgrow their need for stories, whether they are young or old.
Genres: fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Path of the Beam
Period: 1st-grade, 20th-century
309 pages · Hardcover · Scribner