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Feb 17, 2012

Stephen rated it:

In the immortal words of The Queen

Simply…the…BEST.

And yet I seem to be the only person who feels that way about this 4th installment of the Dark Tower series. Can you please riddle me why that is, sais? It’s not that fans of the series dislike this novel, but I often see it cited as their least favorite. I find that stunning and I don’t ken it. I don’t ken it a bit.

While I love the entire series, this one is easily my favorite. My gushing was so torrential wh More...

67 comments like (71 people liked it)

Dec 30, 2011

Kemper rated it:

Stephen King ended the third book in the Dark Tower series on a wicked cliffhanger in 1991. By 1994 my patience had grown thin, especially after King had delivered 787 pages of pure crap with Insomnia. Even worse was that he actually had the nerve to tease some of the DT stuff in that overstuffed abomination. I was relatively sure that King was sitting on pile of money somewhere and laughing at me as he wrote page after page that was NOT the fourth DT book.

So in October of ‘94 when More...

29 comments like (33 people liked it)

Jun 03, 2011

Dan rated it:

After a riddle contest with Blaine the Mono, Roland and his ka-tet continue on their quest for the Dark Tower. While camping, Roland reveals the story of his youth and his first love.

The best part of this was Roland's backstory. You see that he wasn't always the killing machine he's become and learn a lot more of the backstory of the series as well. Astute Stephen King readers will appreciate the world they go through after entering the thinny.

The only complaint I have More...

7 comments like (25 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2011

± Colleen of the Crawling Chaos ± rated it:

3.5

I really enjoy the meat of this story - I really do. I like learning more about boy Roland and his ka-tet, about Susan and everything that happens.

There are moments that I really love - a moment between Eddie and Roland, close to the beginning, when Eddie realizes how deep Roland's emotions actually go. A lot of the stuff between Roland and Susan, and seeing more of Cuthbert and Alain, who were little more than names in the past. And, towards the end, with Roland More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jul 19, 2010

Allison (The Allure of Books) rated it:

Well, I got about two-thirds of the way through this sucker, and then set it down for over a week and a half. I wasn't bored exactly, the Roland flashback just had a rather long lull, and I felt the pull of the many other books in my TBR pile.

Before I picked it back up, I had pretty much made up my mind to forget my usual review policy of trying to give series a blanket rating...because I didn't think I would be able to give a book I could set down for a week and a half 5 stars.
More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 05, 2010

Jackie rated it:

The series is excellent up to this point. This is where it takes a drastic turn into the long-winded garbage that Stephen King is famous for today.

I had great expectations for this leg of the series, however it fell short of the mark. I did like that I discovered more about Roland's past, and his love, Susan.
Blaine the monorail train was something I hope never to suffer through again, it ruined the book for me.

At one time I was extremely excited by this series, More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 13, 2008

Space rated it:

This book is most interesting and gripping when it actually moves the story of 'The Dark Tower' forward, something the insanely long flashback does not do at all for the majority of the book. The flashback isn't a bad story in itself, I just wish it had been published as a separate side story that fans could dig into later. The short and sweet flashbacks in the first 'Dark Tower' novel offer far more insight into Roland's character than King is able to cover in almost 500 pages here. Is the f More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2008

Alan rated it:

This is as good as genre fiction gets. This is my favorite book of the Dark Tower series so far - I'm about halfway through book 5 as I write this. I will post a more comprehensive review once I've finished the series, but this book is worth some thoughts by itself. I was dreading reading this one when I started it... I knew it was mostly Roland's backstory and I just wanted to get through this so Roland and his ka-tet could continue easing down the road towards The Tower. I was pleasantly surp More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 03, 2011

Andrea rated it:

Comenzar es difícil y se nota definitivamente que Stephen King tuvo muchas dificultades para retomar la saga de la Torre Oscura después de que pasaron muchos años entre que escribió Las Tierras Baldías y La bola de cristal.

Este libro se centra en el pasado de Rolando y su primer y único amor. Lamentablemente a Stephen King no se le dan muy bien las historias de amor “juvenil” (él mismo lo dice en el post scríptum) y nos presenta el típico cliché de la historia de vaqueros que llega a a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 05, 2008

D_Davis rated it:

The first part is awesome, the final battle and the last part are awesome. The 400 page flashback is not. There is no need for it. King grinds his narrative to a halt for no reason. Everything we need to know about Roland has been thus far expertly SHOWN in his actions and mannerisms. The flashback is worst than unnecessary, it is down right insulting. It's as if King didn't have enough faith in his own characterization or in the intelligence of his readers, and so he felt as if we had to More...

16 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 04, 2007

Mathew rated it:

I read this entire collection of the Dark Tower books. It took me five years to finish all of them because I did not read as much back in high school. So this seven book series was a big part of my life for a while. The main character Roland, became a very familiar character to me. This book, I found, to be the best of all seven books. It seperates its self from the rest of the books because three fourths of this book is a completely different story, only quazy related to the main continous More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 16, 2008

Bonnie rated it:

I didnt find this book as amazing as all the others. Quite frankly, since most of the characters in this book are already dead anyhow (this book is one major flashback) I could really care less about them. Why get attatched to Cuthbert? Or Alain? Or Sheemie? Or Roland's old girl?

This WAS one of the more popular books at the time, I think Stephen king KNEW that most people didnt want to read about Roland's past. So what did he do? He cleverly DIDNT finish the ride on Blaine the train More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 26, 2008

Liza rated it:

EXCELLENT. Here we get the grand tale of Roland's youth; we learn just who Susan Delgado was (and what happened to her) as well as more about the Dark Tower and the dangers involved in trying to reach it.

King did a great job, I thought, with the love story between Roland and Susan. In his afterword, he stated that he was old enough to have pretty much forgotten those frantic feelings of lustful first love... but certainly, I think he got it all spot-on. Roland as a 14-year-old i More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 26, 2012

Mnava rated it:

Allora, iniziamo subito con il dire che non sono ne un detrattore ne un fan sfegatato di Stephen King. Ho avuto il mio periodo "King" in cui mi sono letto diversi suoi libri, alcuni con piacere, altri meno. Quello che penso è che questo autore abbia uno stile di scrittura davvero molto leggero e fluente, in grado di farti mandare giù praticamente qualunque cosa senza neanche accorgertene. A questa sua grandissima dote si aggiunge il numero impressionante di libri che ha scritto durante More...

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Jan 06, 2011

Travis rated it:

I had hoped that this would be the year I finally finished reading The Dark Tower. That's...obviously not going to happen. But at least it's the year I finally finish rereading the books I read years ago, so that I can finally read the final three.[return][return]I read Wizard and Glass not long after it came out, so it's been a while. I found there was a lot I didn't remember, though I still remembered the gist of things. I wasn't quite as annoyed by the detour this time around, since I have th More...

0 comments like

Jan 05, 2011

Brian rated it:

Series: 5/1/2005 8/10

The Dark Tower series is Stephen King's magnum opus. It ties together a lot of his books. The gunslinger, Roland, is an interesting character and so is the world the series is set in. I've really enjoyed the early books, re-reading them many times. I thought the series ended kind of weakly though. But then again, it would have been difficult to live up to expectations.

For more info, check out:</b>
Official Stephen King page
Stephen King FAQ
Fan site
Dark Tower site
Dark T More...

0 comments like

Jan 16, 2009

trishtrash rated it:

This book does so much that, while I eventually preferred 'Wolves' for storytelling, 'Wizard and Glass' is still my favourite for character and pace.

Where some see a dragging diversion leading away from Roland's latest Ka-Tet and the part of the quest that King's readers had become comfortable with, I was personally blown away by how much depth this volume brought to the saga. The majority of the book is an absolutely spellbinding expedition into Roland's past, his more youthful cha More...

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Dec 31, 2008

Barry rated it:

Book 4 picks up right where book 3 left off, and I mean that literally. The adventures on Blaine the Mono end in an exciting manner, and then the excitement of the book ceases for a while. 2/3s of the book is gunslinger backstory, and that part is definitely worth the read. The most fascinating part of book 1 is the gunslinger backstory, so it is satisfying to revisit that epoch and discover more about Roland's life as a youngen.

However, after Roland's incredibly long overnight story More...

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Jan 01, 2012

Ricky rated it:

What was only hard-to-follow details and a lot of random images, WaG starts to clear things up after Blaine is defeated and the group is left in some freaked-out version of Kansas. I liked the build-up to Roland’s story, and how much information we get about how Roland used to be when he was growing up. That part of the novel, which was the majority of it, was excellent—very easy to read, very slow but rather enjoyable in its execution, with the drama of Hambry and how it played into the searc More...

0 comments like

Dec 23, 2011

Mick rated it:

Wizard and Glass is SK's fourth installment in the Dark Tower series. I was actually surprised by this one. I had read a couple reviews without any major spoilers and I went into the story knowing that there would be a huge flashback taking up the majority of the book. Wizard and Glass gives us readers a look into Roland's past as a child of fourteen, just after he bested Cort and was sent away from Gilead with his guns, and his pals Cuthbert and Alain.

The story really takes its ti More...

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Sep 13, 2011

La Stamberga dei Lettori rated it:

"Molto bene, Roland di Gilead.
Molto bene, Eddie di New York.
Molto bene, Susannah di New York.
Molto bene, Jake di New York.
Molto bene, Oy di Medio-Mondo.
Voi siete Ka-tet, siete uno derivato da molti. Lo sono anch’io. E’ doveroso ora stabilire chi di noi vanta il Ka-tet più forte. Allora gettate le vostre reti, miei cavalieri erranti! Mettetemi alla prova con le vostre domande e che abbia inizio la gara.”

Il viaggio su (con?) Blaine il Malandrino volge al ter More...

0 comments like

Sep 12, 2011

Jenn & Matt rated it:

This book was well written, and a worth entry in the Dark Tower saga, however this was my least favorite book so far, mostly because it was back story, and a whole lot of back story.
Picking up exactly where Part III left off, with Roland, Susannah, Eddie, and Jake on Blaine the Mono, the story races forward as fast as the demonic train to a finale that you both expected and hoped for. But as the katet continue on their path to the Dark Tower, this sequel then turns to a prequel More...

0 comments like

Aug 06, 2011

Paul rated it:

I'm a third of the way through book seven, "The Dark Tower," as I write this and, though it's good, so far, it will need a hell of a climax to beat "Wizard and Glass." Hands down, this is my favorite volume of the series. It chronicles the first adventure Roland had with his friends, Alain and Cuthbert, after besting his teacher, Cort, and receiving his guns. Sent away for their own safety by their fathers, the trio find themselves in danger from the start, as the find the More...

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Jul 27, 2011

Becky rated it:

I have read reviews that say Wizard and Glass is boring and unnecessary because it focuses on Roland’s back story - well I completely disagree with those reviews! Delving into his past gives us (and his fellow travellers) an insight into why Roland is the way he is - and having spent much of the first three books seeming aloof and unfeeling, it’s nice to see a different side to him. The book is anything but boring, in fact I quickly became completely and utterly absorbed by the goings-on in this More...

0 comments like

Jun 19, 2011

Joel rated it:

I have an off again and off again relationship with this series, and this book was definitely in the "off" portion of our relationship. I thought the 1st Dark Tower was okay, and definitely a compelling introduction to the universe. I disliked the second book, and loved the third. I found this book, the fourth, well, brutal.

If you've been keeping up with this series, this book is a long detour in understanding Roland, "The Gunslinger." Almost the entire book takes p More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 08, 2011

Books-treasureortrash rated it:

Book Review: 4 Treasure Boxes

The crazy train has now transported the gang many miles across the wasteland and when they arrive at their destination they are no longer in Roland's Mid-World and no longer on the path of the beam. Instead they have arrived in a deserted version of Topeka, Kansas in 1980, but it is not Eddie, Jake and Susannah’s world. Close by is a Thinny, this is a thinning of the fabric of reality between worlds and it is a very dangerous thing. This Thinny reminds More...

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Dec 07, 2010

Jeremy rated it:

Ah, The Dark Tower IV. I was filthy with desire to start on this one as it opens with Blaine, the pain, and that's the truth.

Quite a few surprises were in store with this installment. The world that began as Roland's gets stranger and stranger as time unravels. They find another civilization, this one familiar and already entirely vacated which further strengthens their quote of the day: “There are other worlds than these”.

Roland sits down to finally tell them the tale of wha More...

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Aug 13, 2010

Chris rated it:

So. Now that we've put three books behind us, and sit at the pivot of the series, it is time that we settle down and have ourselves a little palaver about Roland, the Gunslinger.

We know little about this man, the protagonist of our epic series. We know he's a hard man, the kind of man who can cross deserts, brave oceans, and kill entire towns if need be. We know he's a dedicated man, who will follow his quarry wherever they may flee to. We know he is single-minded, the kind of perso More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2010

Stephen rated it:

6.0 stars. On my list of All Time Favorite novels. The Dark Tower series is on my list of top ten greatest fantasy series of all time and this book is my favorite installment of the series. In addition to concluding the journey on "Blaine the Mono" started in The Waste Lands, the bulk of this novel takes the form of a flashback to the time when Roland, then 14 years old and the youngest gunslinger in memory is sent east by his father to the Barony of Mejis with his two companions, Cuth More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Apr 30, 2010

Anita rated it:

If I wasn't listening to the audio book version I'm not sure I would have gotten through this book. While the Drawing of the Three and the Waste Lands kept me listening intensely I found myself almost dozing off during large parts of Wizard and Glass. I was really looking forward to hearing more about Roland's past as that has been my favorite part of the Gunslinger. But the story we got wasn't what I had expected at all.

I think my main problem with it is that it was not my genre at More...

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