# Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 8, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280 "2004-06-08T14:34:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![SpasmicChaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@SpasmicChaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpasmicChaos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/81 "2004-07-06T08:17:07Z")
I had a thought about Stephen King’s death in this book. We have a couple of examples of what happens to characters(Jake and Callahan) when they “die” in their own worlds. They both ended up in Roland’s world, maybe King will too. Of course I haven’t put a lot of thought into this or how it would all work. It’s just a random idea I thought I would share. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/82 "2004-07-06T14:10:18Z")
> [@SpasmicChaos](#): > > I had a thought about Stephen King’s death in this book. We have a couple of examples of what happens to characters(Jake and Callahan) when they “die” in their own worlds. They both ended up in Roland’s world, maybe King will too. Hey, put it on the list of possibilities! He could come back as Mordred. These books are so unpredictable, there’s no telling who’ll show up. My money’s on Don Rickles appearing as the Crimson King. It’s just as probable as anything else! ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/83 "2004-07-06T20:26:03Z")
So I just finished reading King’s _The Eyes of the Dragon_ (which was a good, fun read). Does anyone know of any connections between it and the DT series? (Obviously, there’s Flagg.) In particular, there’s a brief mention of someone named “Curran” who becomes a priest, who I’m _sure_ I’ve seen mentioned somewhere else. Maybe even in a very big role. But I’m terrible with names. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/84 "2004-07-07T00:11:17Z")
> [@SpasmicChaos](#): > > I had a thought about Stephen King’s death in this book. Me too. When King was hit by the van (in real life) didn’t several sources initially report him as having been killed? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/85 "2004-07-07T05:02:38Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > So I just finished reading King’s _The Eyes of the Dragon_ (which was a good, fun read). > > Does anyone know of any connections between it and the DT series? > > (Obviously, there’s Flagg.) > > In particular, there’s a brief mention of someone named “Curran” who becomes a priest, who I’m _sure_ I’ve seen mentioned somewhere else. Maybe even in a very big role. But I’m terrible with names. Well, at some point before meeting Jake, Roland runs across Thomas and Dennis. It’s just a brief throwaway mention, but it’s there. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/86 "2004-07-08T00:16:50Z")
Just finished the book, and I’m not at all sure King is dead. For one thing, King’s killing “himself” off after writing the fourth book - it seems like if he meant to kill that character off for good, he’d do it after the sixth book had been written. I don’t know why he couldn’t do it after the fourth and then explain it away somehow, but it just seems unlikely. There’s also that little moment when Eddie wonders if he’ll meet King again. There’s a comment along the lines of “King would be much older then; Eddie would still be a young man.” That could just be a random thought of Eddie’s, or it could be something closer to the “Death would fall between them” comment earlier in the book. Again, it’s not impossible, but it just seems unlikely. I, too, was worried about King writing himself into the book, but I thought it came off pretty well. He wasn’t godlike and omnipotent - he was just a confused guy who drank way too much. I thought it was a neat way of adding to the reality of the world. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/87 "2004-07-08T22:07:52Z")
Someone earlier asked about John Cullum, and where we’d heard about him before. My daughter asked me the same thing, and when I googled, all I came up with was that John Cullum did the audio recording of one of King’s books. (He was also in Northern Exposure – I forget the character’s name, the older guy who owned the bar, married to the young chick.) Books connected to the Dark Tower series are in boldface at the start of Song of Susannah: Salem’s Lot The Stand The Talisman The Eyes of the Dragon It Insomnia Rose Madder Desperation Bag of Bones Black House The Regulators Skeleton Crew (doesn’t say which story) Hearts in Atlantis Everything’s Eventual (again, doesn’t say which story) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/88 "2004-07-08T22:20:47Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Someone earlier asked about John Cullum, and where we’d heard about him before. My daughter asked me the same thing, and when I googled, all I came up with was that John Cullum did the audio recording of one of King’s books. I recall a forward to one of his books, likely ‘Wolves Oj Calla’ actually, where he mentions that somebody who did the audio for one of his books was in bad shape health-wise. Perhaps this was a tribute to him. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/89 "2004-07-08T22:22:56Z")
> [@look!ninjas](#): > > There’s a comment along the lines of “King would be much older then; Eddie would still be a young man.” I thought that this was referring to the way the timelines are set up; in “real world” time, Eddie & Roland are meeting King several years before Eddie is drawn by Roland. At least that’s what I remember thinking at the time I read that part of the book. I don’t recall the exact context now. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/90 "2004-07-08T22:52:13Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I recall a forward to one of his books, likely ‘Wolves Oj Calla’ actually, where he mentions that somebody who did the audio for one of his books was in bad shape health-wise. Perhaps this was a tribute to him. Yup, it was the afterwords on “Wolves of Calla”. John had an accident, and could no longer do voice recordings. He was freelance, as many are in that industry, and King was setting up a foundation for him and others in the same situation. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/91 "2004-07-08T22:54:40Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Books connected to the Dark Tower series are in boldface at the start of Song of Susannah: > Skeleton Crew (doesn’t say which story) > Everything’s Eventual (again, doesn’t say which story) Well, there’s a short story about Roland in Everything’s Eventual, so that’s pretty obvious. I haven’t read Skeleton Crew since high school, but I would guess that “\ Shortcut” would make the list. That’s about as good a description of a thinny as he’s written. I’ll check it out tomorrow to see if there’s others. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/92 "2004-07-08T23:50:41Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Yup, it was the afterwords on “Wolves of Calla”. John had an accident, and could no longer do voice recordings. He was freelance, as many are in that industry, and King was setting up a foundation for him and others in the same situation. Actually, it was Frank Muller, who has read several of SK’s books, who had a very serious motorcycle accident. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/93 "2004-07-09T02:22:14Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Books connected to the Dark Tower series are in boldface at the start of Song of Susannah: > > snip > Skeleton Crew (doesn’t say which story) > Everything’s Eventual (again, doesn’t say which story) For Skeleton Crew, the story is **The Mist** (which I’ve heard some people involves the carnivorous things in todash that Mia was talking about) For Everything’s Eventual, the story is **The Little Sisters of Eluria** , which involves a post-Hambry pre-Gunslinger Roland. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/94 "2004-07-09T03:03:54Z")
Er, “which I’ve heard some people **believe** involves . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/95 "2004-07-09T04:52:19Z")
> [@easy e](#): > > For Skeleton Crew, the story is **The Mist** (which I’ve heard some people involves the carnivorous things in todash that Mia was talking about) > > For Everything’s Eventual, the story is **The Little Sisters of Eluria** , which involves a post-Hambry pre-Gunslinger Roland. Well, the title story in _Everything’s Eventual_ could also be relevant. I mean, Dinky certainly sounds like he could end up hunting Breakers, or being a Low Man. Especially after reading _Black House_, which I now need to re-read. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/96 "2004-07-09T10:19:55Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I haven’t read Skeleton Crew since high school, but I would guess that “\ Shortcut” would make the list. That’s about as good a description of a thinny as he’s written. It was _Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut_ IIRC, and I never thought about it as a thinny before for some reason, but that fits perfectly! Wow, now I have to reread it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/97 "2004-07-09T12:28:32Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Well, the title story in **Everything’s Eventual** could also be relevant. I don’t know exactly what part Dinky plays in the whole thing, but I’m almost positive that King or someone in the know has stated this. ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/98 "2004-07-09T12:29:41Z")
> [@easy e](#): > > For Skeleton Crew, the story is **The Mist** (which I’ve heard some people believe involves the carnivorous things in todash that Mia was talking about) I’ve always thought that the creatures in the waste lands along Blaine’s route, the ones that “invaded” the world in “The Mist”, and the ones that came out of the car in _From a Buick 8_ were the same beings. I’m not sure where I got that idea. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280/99 "2004-07-09T15:22:26Z")
I mistyped and forgot to include **From a Buick 8** in the list of boldfaced DT books. That one’s pretty obvious, I guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/249280.md?page=4)