# What was the payoff for the links between Stephen King's books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2015, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466 "2015-01-21T09:54:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466/1 "2015-01-21T09:54:02Z")
Was it simply used as a piece of backdrop in the Dark Tower series? I remember decades ago reading a lot of SK’s novels and there were little hints and cameos that seemed to hint at a bigger plot, the stories would bleed into each other. And I seem to recall some interview where SK said it meant something and it would be revealed later. Was it just the multiverse thing in Dark Tower? ---
**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:** [January 21, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466/2 "2015-01-21T21:17:23Z")
Have you read The Dark Tower series? Honest question - the answer to your OP is “yes, it’s because of The Dark Tower”, but I wasn’t sure if you’d read the series, but just wasn’t impressed with the connectivity with the rest of King’s canon. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466/3 "2015-01-21T21:58:13Z")
It just adds texture, evoking a larger world than that which exists in one single book. If you get the connection, great. If not, you usually haven’t missed much–but the allusion often will compliment the loyal reader who picks up on a throwaway detail, place name, or character. It’s fun. Faulkner did it with a larger quantity of his writing, much of which took place in the Yoknapatawpha county in Mississippi, where legacies and events overlapped and entwined in interesting ways. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466/4 "2015-01-22T14:56:20Z")
There were characters and events that appeared or were referenced in seemingly unrelated stories/novels. Nothing major, usually just a line or two. It’s been ages since I’ve read anything of King’s, so I’m hard pressed for examples other than Randall Flagg, who has appeared in The Eyes of the Dragon, The Stand, and The Dark Tower series. And of course Castle Rock, Maine has been the setting for most of his early work. The Dark Tower and (I think) The Talisman gave some deeper glimpses into the connections. But I don’t think it’s necessarily any big “link”, I think it’s just King establishing that his stories all take place in the same dark, creepy universe. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466/5 "2015-01-22T16:11:03Z")
In _Insomnia_, there’s an allusion to the big flood in Derry, which happened in _It_. Thomas from _Eyes of the Dragon_ is referred to in _The Dark Tower_ series. _Black House_ (sequel to _The Talisman_) goes into detail about what the Breakers do, and the end makes it seem like Jack Sawyer has “flipped” into the world inhabited by Roland and company. _The Tommyknockers_ refers to King himself. Near the beginning, the narrative says that people like Bobbi Anderson’s books better than that other Maine writer who writes those horror books. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466/6 "2015-01-22T18:10:22Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > It just adds texture, evoking a larger world than that which exists in one single book. This. Tolkien used this same thing very successfully in his writings. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466/7 "2015-01-22T18:37:18Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > In _Insomnia_, there’s an allusion to the big flood in Derry, which happened in _It_. In _11/22/63_ the main characters visits Derry and actually meets a couple of the kids (I don’t remember who, I read that book before It). ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466/8 "2015-01-22T19:12:35Z")
Largely none–the connections are neat, but he totally fucked up the payoff he was building towards. For example, the ending of _Insomnia_ dribbles off with the understanding that all will be explained in the _Dark Tower_ series, but in the last or second-to-last book of the _Dark Tower_ series, he handwaves it away by saying something like “It was a false connection. So…jes’ foolin’!” Total cheat. Ditto in _IT_. There’s all that “Voice of the Turtle” stuff and you later find out that the Turtle is one of the guardians of the Tower and…nothing. You can appreciate (or not. I do.) the connections on their own merit, but if you’re looking for a grand payoff\*, you’re going to be badly disappointed. \*I was expecting to see the “how and why” these stories/worlds were connected through the Tower. The utterly dismissive handwave of “Just foolin’” was a huge letdown for me. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466/9 "2015-01-22T19:14:25Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > _The Tommyknockers_ refers to King himself. Near the beginning, the narrative says that people like Bobbi Anderson’s books better than that other Maine writer who writes those horror books. _Tommyknockers_ also connects to _IT_ because one of the “possessed” people have to drive to Derry to get something (batteries? I don’t remember any more and hated _Tommyknockers_ and as he’s leaving, he comments how damned creepy that town is. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-payoff-for-the-links-between-stephen-kings-books/710466/10 "2015-01-22T20:15:11Z")
IIRC, a Takuro Spirit and possibly Nozz-a-la cola showed up in _ **11/22/63** _. Characters in one of the latter Dark Tower books actually give Roland and the ka-tet a copy of _ **Insomnia** _ and suggest it is Really Important (they lie–its primary use is as a cure for the condition described by its title). It is, as everyone says, a fun little Easter Egg, especially for us Dark Tower fans.