Summary
In the grand pantheon ofStephen King’sworks, many have ties to his magnum opus,The Dark Towerseries. These novels have one or more connections to the story of Roland the Gunslinger and his quest for The Dark Tower, the grand structure that binds all reality together. The most prominent that fans are aware ofinclude Stephen King’sThe Stand,The Shining,Salem’s Lot,and more, but there is one book in particular that not only has ties to the main antagonist ofthe Dark Towerseries, but a figure that could hold the key to Roland’s mission altogether,Insomnia.
The novelInsomniaseems innocent enough at first, following a retiree named Ralph Roberts as he develops insomnia and begins to see things that others can’t. However, what becomes a medical issue for Ralph turns into a fight for the entire multiverse as he and a woman named Lois both realize their insomnia allows them to see auras around people and places, as well as entities known as the little bald doctors, who seem to impact fate itself. The mission Ralph finds himself on draws him into the conflict between the forces of good and evil, andthe Dark Tower at the center of it all. Adapting this novel could hold important clues and impacts on Mike Flanagan’sThe Dark Toweradaption.
Insomnia, EXPLAINED
The novel follows Ralph Roberts,who develops insomnia shortlyafter retiring and discovering his friend Ed, a once kind and friendly man, has become violent and irate at the world. After Ed’s wife leaves him and hides at a woman’s shelter, he becomes abusive. As Ralph’s insomnia continues, he begins to see auras around people with varying colors, determining their health and life status, and three creatures he dubs the little bald doctors. Two of them, Clotho and Lachesis, are servants of The Purpose, one of two opposing forces of nature who help maintain and guide fate for people. The third doctor, Atropos, is a rogue doctor who seeks chaos and gains pleasure in causing people’s premature deaths.
Along with Ralph, his new love, Lois, also sees the auras and the doctors, and they learn that Ed not only sees these things as well, but is one of the few beings who don’t serve either side of these forces. Instead, he has the power to change things entirely, making him the target of Atropos and his master, the Crimson King. The Crimson King, a shape-shifting entity seeking to cause chaos anddestruction by toppling the Dark Tower, has been manipulating Ed into his more destructive behavior, leading Ed to target an abortion rally being held.
What no one but the Crimson King realizes is that the target is not the rally itself or the speaker leading the rally, but a young boy who lives at the homeless shelter nearby. Patrick Danville, the young boy, is prophesied to be a pivotal player inthe quest the gunslinger is on to save the Dark Tower, and will be the Crimson King’s downfall. Ed, being able to change reality, has been manipulated into targeting Patrick at this rally using a kamikaze plane full of C-4. Ralph agrees to work with the good doctors to protect Patrick and stop the attack.
In a final fight between Ralph and Ed, the Crimson King appears to stop Ralph, but Ralph is able to stop the villains and crash the plane somewhere else, shifting himself out of reality long enough to survive the crash. Sometime later, after falling in love and spending some time with Lois, Ralph sacrifices his life to save the daughter of Ed’s ex-wife Helen, a deal he made before with the doctors years before, when he agreed to stop the Crimson King and Ed.
Insomnia’s Connections to The Dark Tower
While Insomnia is its own perfect story that tells a heartfelt story of an older man sacrificing everything to save innocent lives, the larger story being told is so much more grand. The doctors tell both Ralph and Lois about the larger multiverse at stake if Ed is successful, knowing that hisactions could destroy the Dark Towerin the future. The doctors gave Ralph and Lois insomnia to help them not only see them and the auras, but access different levels of reality, which are really different levels ofThe Dark Toweritself.
The book also has several connections to other books in Stephen King’s universe, many of which connect to the Dark Tower as well. The main story takes place in Derry, Maine, the fictional town that Stephen King uses in many of his books,including the novelIT. The book also includes a brief appearance by Mike Hanlon, one of the members of the Losers Club who helped stop Pennywise the Clown. The bad doctor, Atropos, also has a collection of trophies he keeps, one of which is the lost shoe of Gage Creed, the young child who lost his life in Pet Sematary.
Then there is the Dark Tower itself, which Ralph has a vision of when he gains his abilities. The character of Patrick has visions of Roland the Gunslinger as well during the novel, and, of course, the Crimson King being the central protagonist allows the novel to highlight the power and the evil that he represents within theDark Toweruniverse as a whole. Bringing these characters and the story of Insomnia to life on either the big or silver screenwould allow Mike Flanagan’sDark Toweradaption to have more depth, and expand on the universe that Stephen King created as a whole.
Stephen King
Stephen King is one of the most prolific living authors. A master of horror, King’s classic works include The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, It, and the Dark Tower series. Many of his books and short stories have been adapted to film and television, including The Shawshank Redemption, Lisey’s Story, 1408, Secret Window, and The Stand.
