The Dark Tower: Treachery

I love The Dark Tower. I read the first novel, The Gunslinger when I was probably around 13. Now I’m… older and my affection for the series hasn’t changed. Treachery is the third graphic novel in the series. It continues to follow the young Roland and his “ka-tet”. This is part of Roland’s evolution into his becoming the Gunslinger of Stephen King’s novels.

Without giving too much away, I ask: Does Roland’s mother, Gabrielle Deschain, deserve her fate? If she hadn’t stolen what she did, would the gun have been drawn at that moment? Did she do it to herself? We first hear of what happened to Roland’s mother during the novels when he tells his new ka-tet of his past. It is decades later and he still feels guilty. Now, with the graphic novel, getting to see what led up to it, I think Gabrielle laid the path herself. She took the only thing that would cause Roland to do what he did.

I also ask: Why is John Farson called “The Good Man”? He isn’t good. He’s cruel and vicious. He’s a terrible man. I understand the want to revolt against Gilead. Women and men aren’t equals. There’s a definitive class system. There really isn’t room to follow your dreams and desires. So I can see the appeal in wanting to change things and even joining with a rebellious force. Farson murders and I’m not just thinking the army versus army killing. He deliberately kills civilians. Who would follow such a leader?

Treachery is the bloodiest of the Dark Tower graphic novels. Just be warned. It was still another great installment in the series that could have ended with the seventh novel. These graphic novels really fill in the blanks for Roland and the world he lives in. They introduce new characters without stepping on old ones and they make characters who were only lightly touched on more real. They are beautifully drawn; the art is dark, intense and bloody. Treachery isn’t a stand-alone graphic novel, but it makes me eager for the next in the series.