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lemeilleurs's review
4.0
An interesting collection of short stories and unpublished works discovered upon Lewis’s death! Unfortunately, some of the stories are unfinished… which is a tragedy because I was rather enjoying them! As always, Lewis captivates the attention and racks the brain.
margaret_hovestadt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved this, bit it made me sad it was never finished. I want more Ransom!. 😁 It was a great read, for sure, if unfinished. It did get my creative gears turning, wondering where he may have taken this story.
mattgately's review
Read some good stuff but it is incomplete and didn’t feel need to read the rest
watsonle2011's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I only remember the story of the dark tower and it’s the first story in the book. I don’t remember any of the short stories even though I read them within the last month. It’s a bummer he didn’t finish the dark tower because I was getting really invested in the story.
quitejessi's review
3.0
When they say The Dark Tower is "unfinished," they mean that Lewis wrote about half of a story, and it ends in the middle of a sentence. If you're a die-hard Lewis fan, you might find this interesting, but I don't see myself returning to this one anytime soon.
librarybeth's review
4.0
To think we almost had four stories about Ransom! Dark Tower was going in a fascinating direction; a shame it was never finished and polished.
beanformation's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
bickleyhouse's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Yet another book discovered while shelving at the library. I had no idea that this book even existed until December of last year. This book of fiction short stories, with a preface by Walter Hooper, was discovered after Lewis passed away in 1963, as his estate was being cleaned out. In fact, they barely escaped being tossed into the fire.
But they were rescued, and are presented here, exactly as found. This, of course, presents a small problem, as two of the stories contained in this book are incomplete. Both the title story and the final story in the collection, After Ten Years, end in mid-sentence.
How does one review stories that aren't finished? It does present a challenge. But I think I can give a review based on what I have to work with, here.
This collection shows a definite dark side of Lewis that makes me wish he had written more fiction. And it appears that The Dark Tower was intended to be a sequel to his space trilogy, as the character Ransom appears in the story. In this story, as four friends are discussing the possibility (or lack thereof) of time travel, one reveals that he has invented a thing he calls a "chronosphere," which enables one to see into a different time. The odd thing about it is that it seems to control what one is allowed to see. What the four friends are able to see is most disturbing, and they spend a bit of time discussing exactly what it is or when it is or where it is.
Even more disturbing, they note that there are, it would appear, doppelgangers for a couple of them in the time/place they are observing. At one point, one of the friends becomes so disturbed that he rushes the chronosphere, breaking it, and suddenly finding himself exchanged for his doppelganger in the other place. It is evident in the tale that he eventually makes his way back somehow, but, alas, we will never know how, because the story simply stops in mid-sentence. It is, most definitely a chilling tale, though.
In "The Man Born Blind," we encounter a man, as stated, who was born blind, who received his sight by some means. The problem he is having is that he hears everyone talk about "light," yet he cannot see any "light." It's an interesting dilemma, actually, when one considers that light, itself, cannot be seen, if one thinks about it. Light makes other things visible, and one can see the source of light, but can one actually see light, itself? It's a great story, with a somewhat horrific and tragic ending.
In "The Shoddy Lands," a man has a sort of vision while in the middle of a conversation with some people, in which most things are blurry to him. There are some things that are not blurry at all, and it doesn't seem to make much sense, the ones that are clear to him. However, when he mentally returns to the setting, he is overjoyed and becomes a much more positive person.
In "Ministering Angels," a somewhat humorous story, the circumstance is examined in which some men have volunteered to go on a mission to Mars, which will take, of course, some time out of their lives. The "powers that be" decide that morality can be suspended, and that these men need "female companionship" while they are there, so they send some women to "be with them." Needless to say, it doesn't go well.
In "Forms of Things Unknown," we encounter a rather famous mythical creature on the Moon, as several expeditions have traveled there, but never returned. In fact, in each case, they are interrupted in mid-transmission. Our "hero" is going on yet another expedition and discovers what has happened to the others.
Finally, "After Ten Years" is an interesting retelling of the story of Menelaus and Helen of Troy (of which I confess I am not familiar), which includes an interesting take on the Trojan Horse. This one, as well, stops mid-sentence.
I truly loved every one of these stories. And, again, I say it makes me wish that Lewis had written more such tales. And who knows but that he may have, and they were lost forever, in the cleaning out of his estate?
As for what genre these stories fall into, that is also difficult. A couple of them could definitely qualify for horror, while all of them, I believe, could be sci-fi/fantasy. Nevertheless, it is a great collection of stories.
But they were rescued, and are presented here, exactly as found. This, of course, presents a small problem, as two of the stories contained in this book are incomplete. Both the title story and the final story in the collection, After Ten Years, end in mid-sentence.
How does one review stories that aren't finished? It does present a challenge. But I think I can give a review based on what I have to work with, here.
This collection shows a definite dark side of Lewis that makes me wish he had written more fiction. And it appears that The Dark Tower was intended to be a sequel to his space trilogy, as the character Ransom appears in the story. In this story, as four friends are discussing the possibility (or lack thereof) of time travel, one reveals that he has invented a thing he calls a "chronosphere," which enables one to see into a different time. The odd thing about it is that it seems to control what one is allowed to see. What the four friends are able to see is most disturbing, and they spend a bit of time discussing exactly what it is or when it is or where it is.
Even more disturbing, they note that there are, it would appear, doppelgangers for a couple of them in the time/place they are observing. At one point, one of the friends becomes so disturbed that he rushes the chronosphere, breaking it, and suddenly finding himself exchanged for his doppelganger in the other place. It is evident in the tale that he eventually makes his way back somehow, but, alas, we will never know how, because the story simply stops in mid-sentence. It is, most definitely a chilling tale, though.
In "The Man Born Blind," we encounter a man, as stated, who was born blind, who received his sight by some means. The problem he is having is that he hears everyone talk about "light," yet he cannot see any "light." It's an interesting dilemma, actually, when one considers that light, itself, cannot be seen, if one thinks about it. Light makes other things visible, and one can see the source of light, but can one actually see light, itself? It's a great story, with a somewhat horrific and tragic ending.
In "The Shoddy Lands," a man has a sort of vision while in the middle of a conversation with some people, in which most things are blurry to him. There are some things that are not blurry at all, and it doesn't seem to make much sense, the ones that are clear to him. However, when he mentally returns to the setting, he is overjoyed and becomes a much more positive person.
In "Ministering Angels," a somewhat humorous story, the circumstance is examined in which some men have volunteered to go on a mission to Mars, which will take, of course, some time out of their lives. The "powers that be" decide that morality can be suspended, and that these men need "female companionship" while they are there, so they send some women to "be with them." Needless to say, it doesn't go well.
In "Forms of Things Unknown," we encounter a rather famous mythical creature on the Moon, as several expeditions have traveled there, but never returned. In fact, in each case, they are interrupted in mid-transmission. Our "hero" is going on yet another expedition and discovers what has happened to the others.
Finally, "After Ten Years" is an interesting retelling of the story of Menelaus and Helen of Troy (of which I confess I am not familiar), which includes an interesting take on the Trojan Horse. This one, as well, stops mid-sentence.
I truly loved every one of these stories. And, again, I say it makes me wish that Lewis had written more such tales. And who knows but that he may have, and they were lost forever, in the cleaning out of his estate?
As for what genre these stories fall into, that is also difficult. A couple of them could definitely qualify for horror, while all of them, I believe, could be sci-fi/fantasy. Nevertheless, it is a great collection of stories.