Gina

One of the best combos available. George Guidall is Walt Longmire.

He has the perfect voice and inflections for a weathered Wyoming Sheriff, who finds himself caught in a spring snowstorm, high in the Cloud Peak Wilderness area while trying to roundup a group of escaped prisoners. Craig Johnson's seventh book in the series tackles not only the unpredictable weather, but leads Walt on a journey mirroring that of Dante, substituting frigid temperatures for the warmer climates of hell. Walt's guide on his mystical trail is the grandfather of a murdered child, some thirteen years earlier, Virgil White Buffalo.

If you're looking for a cool read this summer, the frozen landscapes are sure to drop the thermostat a few degrees, but I'd call it the hottest listen of the summer.

"A person's never too old for stories," Roland Deschain tells Billy, before relating a tale his Mother used to read to the young gunslinger as a child. Stephen King knows just how to capture an audience, and he does so by having the gunslinger Roland tell a story within a story to his ka-tet while they wait out a storm.

The beginning seemed a little cumbersome, falling flat as an introduction to the tale, but once Roland began relating the story of an early assignment I was thoroughly engrossed. Rediscovering the rich lore and interesting land of Mid-World, made me realize how I've missed the adventures of Roland and his ragtag group of survivors.

I listened to the audio version of the book, read by Stephen, and wonder at the reviews complaining about his narration skills versus voice actors. Personally, I enjoyed the author reading me his own tale. I'm never too old for a good bedtime story.

As a stand-alone novel it does a great job, but as an introduction to the Dark Tower series, I believe it will be confusing to first time readers as there isn't a lot of explanation of the language used and too many assumptions made within the stories being told.

I wish I could personally thank Stephen someday for his wonderful tales, and the inclusion of references from fairy tales, Disney, and other pop culture icons are always an added bonus.

A must read, or listen, for any fan of the Dark Tower series!