The ka-tet of Roland, Alain, and Cuthbert have returned safely to their home in Gilead. But all is not well. Roland has kept the evil Maerlyn's Grapefruit and has become obsessed with peering into its pinkish depths despite the deadly toll it's taken on his health. And what the young gunslinger sees brings him the darkest of nightmares. Meanwhile, Roland's father has led a posse in search of those who threatened his son's life in Hambry - John Farson and the Big Coffin Hunters. And in this encounter, Stephen Deschain's life may be forfeit. This title collects Dark Tower: Treachery numbered 1-6.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Home sweet home,
This review is from: Dark Tower: Treachery (Hardcover)
Roland Deschain has suffered a lot and lost a lot in the last two arcs of the "Dark Tower" graphic novels-- and unfortunately he doesn't have an easier time when he finally gets home.
Picking up after the end of the prior arc, Stephen King's "Dark Tower: Treachery" brings our hero and his embattled ka-tet back to Gilead and more trouble waiting for them. Between Jae Lee's gorgeously gritty, colourful artwork and King's almost Shakespearean tragedies, it's a moving piece of work that shows how Roland Deschain became the gunslinger anti-hero we know and love. Alain and Bert are made official gunslingers, but are troubled by Roland's continuing obsession with the Grapefruit and the horrors it contains -- visions of the Crimson King, of a blood-coloured wasteland, and of his murdered father. In the meantime, their fathers set out to destroy Farson's gang, nearly costing one of the gunslingers his life; Cort's teenage niece embraces the life and practices of a gunslinger, even though she isn't allowed to technically become one. Worst of all, Roland's disgraced mother Gabrielle (sent to repent in a nunnery) is seduced back into doing Marten's bidding, so he can destroy the "mighty beast that is the gunslingers." And after Roland almost shoots his best friends, he tries to do the right thing by handing the Grapefruit to his father -- but he already knows too much of the horrific danger approaching Gilead. Most of "Dark Tower: Treachery" is the calm before the storm -- the forces of evil are approaching Gilead but most of the people there don't know yet. So while this is a slower-moving affair than "The Gunslinger Born" and "The Long Road Home," all the piece of an epic clash are clicking into place. And you can tell that this is not going to end well for the people around our tortured young hero. As rewritten by Peter David, King's rich, old-time narrative translates well into comic form, almost as if he were conversing with the readers ("Now there are some who simply equate riddles with jokes..."). And his simple dialogue has a powerful sound, mingling Old West and medieval styles ("I have the rest of eternity to feel no pain. I'll endure what I must until then"). And since this is a King story, there are moments of sheer horror: the killing of Charles and his poor little baby, and Steven's ka-tet stopping a fatal wound with gunpowder. The inside of the Grapefruit is relatively tame, but the close-ups of the Crimson King are pretty nightmarish. Jae Lee weaves a colourful, hazy painting around the entire story as well, with plenty of striking artwork (a naked, emaciated Roland hugging the glowing Grapefruit). He splits much of the narrative between where the good guys are (the dusty, rather run-down citadel of Gilead) and the bad guys' domain (blood-red skies, twisted trees, all-engulfing mist and the suitably reddish domain of the King). It's lovely work. Roland really gets put through the grinder here -- not only is he haunted by his torture inside the Grapefruit and the loss of Susan Delgado, but he basically becomes a Grapefruit junkie. Alain and Bert get to shine as newly-minted gunslingers and steadfast friends, and Aileen adds a strong female presence to the cast. They need it, since the only other surviving woman is Gabrielle -- and it's hard to see how a strong guy like Roland could have such a pitifully weak mother. "Dark Tower: Treachery" is the windup for a devastating blow, and its lack of a central plot is its only weakness. Glorious art, a scarred teenage hero and plenty of eerie bad guys make this a great adaptation.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"In a world that has moved on...",
By
This review is from: Dark Tower: Treachery (Hardcover)
To those not in the know, Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series began with one of the first stories he ever wrote, The Gunslinger, which would eventually be published in 1982 as a standalone tale in a post-apocalyptic world of a man in black who fled across the desert and the gunslinger who followed. But King had plans. Big plans. 33 years later, his magnum opus was completed with the release of the seventh and final book in the most epic undertaking of his extremely prolific career. His original notion was a The Lord of the Rings-inspired tale that would weave together genres of fiction and conglomerate them all into a single existing multiverse. I said "epic undertaking" already, right? Horror, science fiction, fantasy, and especially westerns served as jumping off points for the series' premise which then grew to include metafiction and eventually every possible work of fiction all existing simultaneously with our own world. You'd think the conclusion of the story would have been enough. But King is not only in the process of revising and rewriting the entire series to fix glaring errors that resulted from the long delays between books, but he has also teamed up with Marvel Comics to fill in the massive gaps in the origin of the series' protagonist, Roland Deschain, in style. The first arc in this prequel series, The Gunslinger Born, was little more then an abridged retelling of the tale told by Roland that takes up most of the fourth novel, Wizard and Glass, which set up the chain of events that would lead to the Fall of Gilead. It was excellent. The Long Road Home followed it up with a story that felt a bit uneventful and forced, but was visually as impressive as the first arc. Plus, there were mutant wolves. Awesome mutant wolves. With "Treachery" the event are now in full swing and writers Robin Furth and Peter David have really hit their groove and are back to doing the original series justice.
"Treachery" picks up with the young Roland and his band of friends (ka-tet) returning from an ill-fated mission that changed them all forever and set in motion the wheels that would eventually leave only a cold and broken-hearted Roland standing. With Roland being a mess and in the thrall of evil forces, much of the story revolves around the side characters which turns out to be a very good thing. Alain and Cuthbert receive their guns as payment for thier service, which causes a rift between them and their jealous compadres who have to face exile to earn that honor. Meanwhile the mentor of all of Gilead's gunslingers has a problem with a strong-willed niece who feels she is every bit the fighter as the men and dreams of being a gunslinger herself which is forbidden to women. Marten the sorceror, who is the ultimate Stephen King villain and has been in many books under many names (most famously Randall Flagg) concludes his complete seduction of Roland's mother, who is tapped while doing penance for her sins to commit the ultimate betrayal. Meanwhile, Roland's father, the leader of Gilead, and his company run into some serious trouble of their own. This is the most brutal entry into the series yet and features some seriously horrific imagery. Ever seen an unborn full-term child ripped from the mother's belly in a comic book? Damn. They are not messing around. This is definitely the strongest Dark Tower graphic novel to come out yet and is worth wading through the rehash of the first arc and the relative mediocrity of the second. Fans of sex and violence will be well-served and there is plenty for fantasy fanatics as well. With this set-up, the series conclusion "The Fall of Gilead" should be epic. If you are unfamiliar with the Dark Tower series, you probably are not a legit Stephen King fan and I honestly can't tell you how much you'll get out of this comic series. The imagery is astounding at times and the story starts at the very beginning so I imagine so long as you begin with "The Gunslinger Born" you'll be fine, but there's no substitute for the original novels as far as groundwork for this comic goes. Mid World has it's own dialects, terminology, and culture that will make fans of the novels feel right at home, but the writers here were fairly accommodating in utilizing it in a way that is easy to catch onto so newcomers need not feel too intimidated. The big complaint with these collections is that they throw out the additional content found in the original comic issues. The stories and appendices are wonderful and do so much to flesh out the lore, culture, and history of Mid Land that I simply cannot believe that Marvel would leave these vital pieces of this series out. No way is any of these collection getting a perfect score like that. If you have not read the Dark Tower books, you really should. It's a remarkable series that sadly falters in the end, but is still an absolute necessity for King fans if for no other reason then it's sheer scope and ambition. Understanding those novels will certainly aid in your appreciation of this comic book series, but if you are like me and can't get a moment's peace to get into a full novel these days then give this series a try if your up for something different and cool that redefines classic western iconography and combines it with science fiction and fantasy. 4 1/2 stars, rounded down for skimping content. "I do not aim with my hand. He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my Eye. I do not shoot with my hand. He who shoots with his handhas forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my Mind. I do not kill with my gun. He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my Heart" -Gunslinger's Creed
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
To Short,
By
This review is from: Dark Tower: Treachery (Hardcover)
The images are great, Mid World is very well presented. The only problem is that the story advances very slooooooooowly. I mean in 7 issues Roland and his ka tet are very introduced.
I expected more (this is the 3rd series in the comic after all). I think the guys at Marvel Comics are milking this story for all it's worth.
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