John Farson (also known as The Good Man) was originally a harrier and stage-robber who began to gain a political following in the lands of either Garlan or Desoy while Roland was still a boy. His sigul was the eye of the Crimson King.
Although Farson's name features large in 'Wizard and Glass' he does not actually appear to any of the characters in any of the seven 'Dark Tower' volumes and is only referred to by other characters. Probably due to the confusion of those times, some characters even identify him with Walter/Marten/Flagg. However, John Farson is a separate individual.
History[]
In his early years he used his brother Jack Farson to infiltrate the village of Tomesbury, hoping to steal the assets of the wealthy there. Farson's plan went awry and his brother betrayed him, choosing to no longer help him in his schemes. He grew angry at his brother's betrayal, and so he planned his murder; whilst Jack was on vacation, John sent a group of Billy-Bumblers to kill him and his wife, taking their two-year old son, James, as his own. However, a wedge was driven between them by Walter Padick.
Role in the Dark Tower Series[]
His Beginnings[]
Farson promised his supporters a fair and democratic society as opposed to the Feudalist-style Affiliation. He even had a John F. Kennedy-like slogan, "Ask not what the Good Man can do for you, but what you can do for him." This was so enticing to some of his supporters that they were willing to commit treason for him. One such was Hax the Cook, who accepted the assignment of poisoning the people of Taunton. Hax remarked that no matter how much it grieved him to cause the deaths of so many innocent children, it would hurt him more to see them grow up in a society which was "under the rule of the gun".
Wizard and Glass/The Gunslinger Born[]
Later, after Roland, Cuthbert and Alain were sent to Mejis, they became aware of a plot to supply Farson's forces with oil, indicating that Farson had access to a greater share of technology from before Roland's world had 'moved on' - namely, infantry that still possessed some degree of mechanization. Farson's corruption had also extended to the horsemen of Mejis and their enforcers, the Big Coffin Hunters, led by Eldred Jonas, the failed gunslinger. It is also during this time that Farson destroyed the capital of Cressia, Indrie, betting his followers on how far he could bat the heads of his victims.
Treachery[]
He allowed his nephew, James, to infiltrate Gilead, in the hope of retrieving the Pink Sphere for himself, after Marten informed him it was there. Previously, Clay Reynolds appeared at his camp without it.
The Fall of Gilead[]
He led a final army against the city of Gilead. This army consisted of Slow Mutants and the Troitans. His army was successful and Gilead was destroyed.
Events afterwards[]
Roland's ka-tet only managed to postpone the fall of Gilead a mere twenty months. However, Farson is not mentioned as a factor at the battle of Jericho Hill, suggesting that he may have been killed or lost his power before then. Due to his allegiance to the Crimson King and his methods of subversion, treason and mass murder, it is highly unlikely that he ever really entertained any notion of installing a society that was remotely democratic or fair, and while many of his followers (like Hax) did fall for his message, others (like Jonas) were simply out for profit.