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The Dark Tower (series)
''The Dark Tower'' is a series of eight novels, one novella, and a children's book written by American author Stephen King. Incorporating themes from multiple genres, including dark fantasy, science fantasy, horror, and Western, it describes a "gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. The series, and its use of the Dark Tower, expands upon Stephen King's multiverse and in doing so, links together many of his other novels. In addition to the eight novels of the series proper that comprise 4,250 pages, many of King's other books relate to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into play as the series progresses. The series was chiefly inspired by the poem " Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning, the full text of which was included in the final volume's appendix. In the preface to the revised 2003 edition of '' The Gunslinger'', King also identifies ''The Lord of the Rings'', Arthurian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gunslinger
''The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger'' is a dark-fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first volume in his '' Dark Tower'' series. ''The Gunslinger'' was first published in 1982 as a fix-up novel, joining five short stories that had been published between 1978 and 1981. King substantially revised the novel in 2003; this version has remained in print ever since, with the subtitle "RESUMPTION". The story centers on Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, who has been chasing his adversary, "the man in black," for many years. The novel fuses Western fiction with fantasy, science fiction, and horror, following Roland's trek through a vast desert and beyond in search of the man in black. Roland meets several people along his journey, including a boy named Jake, who travels with him part of the way. Background and publication The novel was inspired by Robert Browning's poem " Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" (1855), which King read as a sophomore at the University ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space exploration, time travel, Parallel universes in fiction, parallel universes, and extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial life. The genre often explores human responses to the consequences of projected or imagined scientific advances. Science fiction is related to fantasy (together abbreviated wikt:SF&F, SF&F), Horror fiction, horror, and superhero fiction, and it contains many #Subgenres, subgenres. The genre's precise Definitions of science fiction, definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Major subgenres include hard science fiction, ''hard'' science fiction, which emphasizes scientific accuracy, and soft science fiction, ''soft'' science fiction, which focuses on social sciences. Other no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Man With No Name
The Man with No Name () is the antihero character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "''Dollars Trilogy''" of Italian Spaghetti Western films: '' A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), '' For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), and '' The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' (1966). He is recognizable by his sarape, brown hat, tan cowboy boots, fondness for cigarillos, and the fact that he rarely speaks. The "Man with No Name" concept was invented by the American distributor United Artists. Eastwood's character does have a name, or nickname, which is different in each film: "Joe", "Manco" and "Blondie", respectively. When Clint Eastwood was honored with the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996, Jim Carrey gave the introductory speech and said: The Man with No Name' had no name, so we could fill in our own." In 2008, ''Empire'' chose the Man with No Name as the 43rd greatest movie character of all time. Appearances * '' A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) * '' For ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's ''Dollars Trilogy'' of spaghetti Westerns during the mid-1960s and as antihero cop Dirty Harry (character), Harry Callahan in the five ''Dirty Harry (film series), Dirty Harry'' films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These roles, among others, have made Eastwood an enduring cultural icon of masculinity. Elected in 1986, Eastwood served for two years as the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Eastwood's greatest commercial successes are the adventure comedy ''Every Which Way but Loose'' (1978) and its action comedy sequel ''Any Which Way You Can'' (1980). Other popular Eastwood films include the Westerns ''Hang 'Em High'' (1968), ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' (1976) and ''Pale Rider'' (1985), the action-wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' (, literally "''The good, the ugly, the bad''") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cleef as "the Bad", and Eli Wallach as "the Ugly". Its screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni, and Leone (with additional screenplay material and dialogue provided by an uncredited Sergio Donati), Sir Christopher Frayling, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly audio commentary (Blu-ray version). Retrieved on 26 April 2014. based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone. Director of photography Tonino Delli Colli was responsible for the film's sweeping widescreen cinematography, and Ennio Morricone composed the film's score. It was an Italian-led production with co-producers in Spain, West Germany, and the United States. Most of the filming took place in Spain. The film is known for Leone's use of long shots and close-up cinematography, as well as his distinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matter Of Britain
The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the list of legendary kings of Britain, legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth's (''History of the Kings of Britain)'' is a central component of the Matter of Britain. It was one of the three great Western Literary cycle, story cycles recalled repeatedly in medieval literature, together with the Matter of France, which concerned the legends of Charlemagne and his Paladin, companions, as well as the Matter of Rome, which included material derived from or inspired by classical mythology and classical antiquity, classical history. Its pseudo-chronicle and chivalric romance works, written both in prose and verse, flourished from the 12th to the 16th century. Name The three "matters" were first described in the 12th century by French poet Jean Bodel, whose epic ' ("Song ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lord Of The Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, ''The Lord of the Rings'' is one of the List of best-selling books, best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. The title refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who History of Arda#Second Age, in an earlier age created the One Ring, allowing him to rule the other Rings of Power given to Men in Middle-earth, men, Dwarves in Middle-earth, dwarves, and Elves in Middle-earth, elves, in his campaign to conquer all of Middle-earth. From homely beginnings in the Shire, a hobbit land reminiscent of the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following Quests in Middle-earth, the quest to destroy the One Ring, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Browning
Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings and challenging vocabulary and syntax. His early long poems Pauline: A Fragment of a Confession, ''Pauline'' (1833) and Paracelsus (poem), ''Paracelsus'' (1835) were acclaimed, but his reputation dwindled for a time – his 1840 poem Sordello (poem), ''Sordello'' was seen as wilfully obscure – and took over a decade to recover, by which time he had moved from Percy Bysshe Shelley, Shelleyan forms to a more personal style. In 1846, he married fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Elizabeth Barrett and moved to Italy. By her death in 1861, he had published the collection Men and Women (poetry collection), ''Men and Women'' (1855). His Dramatis Personæ (poetry collection), ''Dramatis Personae'' (1864) and book-leng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came
"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" is a narrative poem by English author Robert Browning, written on 2 January 1852, and first published in 1855 in the collection titled '' Men and Women''. The poem is often noted for its dark and atmospheric imagery, inversion of classical tropes, and use of unreliable narration. Childe Roland, the only speaker in the poem, describes his journey towards "the Dark Tower", and his horror at what he sees on his quest. The poem ends when Roland finally reaches the tower, leaving his ultimate fate ambiguous. Synopsis The poem opens with Roland's suspicion about the truthfulness of a "hoary" crippled man with "malicious eye", whose advice he nevertheless follows by choosing to turn off the thoroughfare into an 'ominous tract' that leads to the Dark Tower. The gloomy, cynical Roland describes how he had been searching for the tower for so long that he could barely feel any joy at finally finding the pathway to it, just a grim hope "that some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poem
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in place of, Denotation, literal or surface-level meanings. Any particular instance of poetry is called a poem and is written by a poet. Poets use a variety of techniques called poetic devices, such as assonance, alliteration, Phonaesthetics#Euphony and cacophony, euphony and cacophony, onomatopoeia, rhythm (via metre (poetry), metre), and sound symbolism, to produce musical or other artistic effects. They also frequently organize these effects into :Poetic forms, poetic structures, which may be strict or loose, conventional or invented by the poet. Poetic structures vary dramatically by language and cultural convention, but they often use Metre (poetry), rhythmic metre (patterns of syllable stress or syllable weight, syllable (mora) weight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Fiction
Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and Louis L'Amour from the mid-20th century. The genre peaked around the early 1960s, largely due to the popularity of televised Westerns such as ''Bonanza''. Readership began to drop off in the mid- to late 1970s and reached a new low in the 2000s. Most bookstores, outside a few west American states, only carry a small number of Western fiction books. History Pre-1850s The predecessor of the Western in American literature emerged early with tales of the frontier. The most famous of the early 19th-century frontier novels were James Fenimore Cooper's five novels comprising the '' Leatherstocking Tales''. Cooper's novels were largely set in what was at the time the American frontier: the Appalachian Mountains and areas west of there. As did ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fantasy
file:Warhammer40kcosplay.jpg, Cosplay of a character from the ''Warhammer 40,000'' tabletop game; one critic has characterized the game's setting as "action-oriented science-fantasy." Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines trope (literature), tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as grounded by the laws of nature and comprehensible by science, while a conventional fantasy story contains mostly supernatural elements that do not obey the scientific laws of the real world. The world of science fantasy, however, is laid out to be scientifically logical and often supplied with hard science-like explanations of any supernatural elements.Eric R. Williams, ''The Screenwriters Taxonomy: A Collaborative Approach to Creative Storytelling''p. 121/ref> During the Golden Age of Science Fiction, science fantasy stories were seen in sharp contrast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
