Spoilers ahoy!

Here it is, the sixth book in the epic saga of The Dark Tower, and in many ways, the most audacious and surprising installment yet. One thing that’s surprising is that it is such a short book, encompassing really only one day in the long journey of the ka-tet seeking the Tower. But in that day, Susannah and her hitchhiker demon Mia cross over into 1999 New York and labor pains begin, heralding the arrival of Susannah’s demon baby – a baby who is destined to kill his father, who, through some bizarre demon manipulation I won’t try to explain, is Roland. Father Callahan, Jake and Oy follow Susannah and prepare for a showdown with a whole lot of baddies, but not before stashing Black Thirteen in a storage locker in the World Trade Center (where else?).

Finally, in the most audacious twist of all, Roland and Eddie travel to 1970s Maine and meet Stephen King himself (who has written himself as a man with more than a few flaws). They learn that, as the author of their own story, King is one of the linchpins holding the Tower in place and must be protected at all costs. The short novel ends with the mother of all cliffhangers: a baby about to be born; a suicide mission about to begin; and we all know what’s going to happen to those Twin Towers (think the Crimson King might have been working with the terrorists?).

In the final, and even more audacious, twist, the story closes with the death of King himself after being hit by a van. What is real and what is fiction? I’ve lost track. Suffice it to say, Part VI is a very quick read, less a standalone book in its own right, but rather functioning as a bridge from The Wolves of the Calla to the final and most eagerly awaited installment.

Feels like a weak follow-up to Wolves of the Calla, but if you’re already this far into the series you might as well continue on, right? Song of Susannah did add a lot of development on part of Susannah’s character, and there a lot of interesting little twists throughout the book, but it felt noticeably shorter and less interesting than some of the previous books. Not to say that it’s bad or anything, but it definitely ranks somewhat lower on the scale along with The Gunslinger.

Well, time to move on to the finale.