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Wizard and Glass

(The Dark Tower #4)

Stephen King (Goodreads Author)

4.23 · Rating details · 174,866 ratings · 6,273 reviews

The fourth volume in the brilliant Dark Tower Series is “splendidly tense…rip-roaring” (Publishers Weekly)—a #1 national bestseller about an epic quest to save the universe.

In Wizard and Glass, Stephen King is “at his most ebullient…sweeping readers up in…swells of passion” (Publishers Weekly) as Roland the Gunslinger, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake survive Blaine the Mono’s fi ...more

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Kindle Edition, 1041 pages

Published January 1st 2016 by Scribner (first published November 4th 1997)

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· 174,866 ratings · 6,273 reviews

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Mar 20, 2011 Mark Lawrence rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

There seem to be two distinct schools of Dark Tower readers. One school consider this the weakest of the seven volumes. They can't see what the point is. A huge flashback - stuff that has already happened - how does that advance the plot? I call these people the Rolands. The other school considers this to be the finest book of the series, they loved every page of the thing. They think the huge flash-back was a wonderful story in itself which develops a greater understanding of what motivates the ...more

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Aug 01, 2013 Jayson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: author-american, genre-adult-fantasy, 600-plus-pp, genre-western, format-illustrated, genre-science-fiction, read-in-2011, genre-crossover

(A-) 84% | Very Good
Notes: A slow, but never dull, build to a thrilling climax, it provides the sorely needed back-story lacking in previous books.

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Aug 17, 2008 Stephen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 6-star-books, all-time-favorites, 1990-1999, epic, fantasy, award-nominee-locus, quests, kings-of-badassia

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 when I read this that I was on an ...more

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Sep 22, 2007 Kemper rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: uncle-stevie, magic, dark-tower, fantasy, western, alt-universes, 2011-r

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 I read that K ...more

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Mar 07, 2018 Mario the lone bookwolf rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: king-stephen

Possibly the most controversial Dark Tower novel, as King has the audacity of mainly backstorying and retrospecting around instead of continuing the main plot.

King often said that writing outside his comfort zone is something he avoids and fears, but sometimes does, and that entering the realms of emotional, heck, who do I want to fool here, let´s call the monster by its name, I hope it doesn´t hear it and comes at night, romance fiction, was something that took him time and overcoming to do it. Possibly the most controversial Dark Tower novel, as King has the audacity of mainly backstorying and retrospecting around instead of continuing the main plot.

King often said that writing outside his comfort zone is something he avoids and fears, but sometimes does, and that entering the realms of emotional, heck, who do I want to fool here, let´s call the monster by its name, I hope it doesn´t hear it and comes at night, romance fiction, was something that took him time and overcoming to do it.

There is a highly subjective problem with this, as I have never (and will never, don´t try to change me) read emotional, character focused works, I can absolutely not say if this is a good or just average description of pheromones and other chemical reactions going wild in primate brains or not. But Kinged as I am, I liked it, but I completely understand that many fans were outraged after waiting 6 years for the next part to be pranked in such a way.

Just for the witch alone, it´s worth reading it, this may be one of the best fantasy job descriptions I have ever seen, prepare to be surprised by her lovely magic.

But the love story has horror elements, a creepy setting, (view spoiler), possession spreading McGuffins, so it´s not all just brainless love idiot drivel or something, don´t be afraid, it´s still Kingian. Different, but still the master. I´m not the emotional guy, what understatement, but even I had some kind of, I don´t know how to say, uncommon body reactions (not that! psychological, not physical), while reading.

Well, for the disappointed fans, that´s the funny King, he also has the bad habit of spoilering in introductions, forewords, interviews, whatever, to innocently grin afterward, saying that he doesn´t believe in the concept of spoilers, because the reading itself is what counts or something similar. In rare cases, I felt slight anger because of this jokester element of his personality.

Furthermore, we learn much about the traditions of gunslingers, their code of ethics, and how Roland became the desperate desperado he is. King also likes to play within his interconnected worlds and novels and couldn´t resist adding an innuendo to „The Stand“.

I didn´t realize until exactly now how excessively King was using allegories, MacGuffins, symbols, metaphors, innuendos,… in his earlier works and how few of these elements appear in his newer novels that are all just rotating around the characters and 2 to 3 parallel plotlines without magic, artifacts, dark fantasy tropes, and stuff. These elements seem to have gone missing, just as the worldbuilding, and I miss them both so much.

If one is just interested in the Dark Tower series itself, most of the novel that is telling the backstory can be skipped, reading the beginning until Roland starts telling and jumping in back at the end (I don´t remember where) should suffice.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph... ...more

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Dec 10, 2018 Adina (taking a break from literary fiction) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sf, stephen-king

I think I might be done with this series. Wizard and Glass was a dissapointment for me, unfortunately, despite looking forward to reading Roland’s backstory. The book’s main problem was that it was BORING as hell. I struggled for two months to finish and I started to skip at the end. I did not like the beggining as I am not a fan of riddles and, unexepectedly, Roland’s story was even worse.

By the end of this novel I realize I don’t like the characters too much ( except for Jake), I actually des ...more

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Mar 13, 2018 megs_bookrack rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: stephen-king-read, favorites

Wizard and Glass.

Honestly, what can I even say about this book?

It is immense. Epic. A beautifully told story of love and loss. It's tragic, it's moving, it's so damn good.

If you are reading this, you are most likely aware that Wizard and Glass is the fourth installment in Stephen King's beloved Epic Fantasy series, The Dark Tower.

My favorite series of all time.

In this book we hear the incredible tale of the early life of Roland of Gilead, beginning shortly after he became a Gunslinger.

He ha ...more

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Feb 10, 2020 Baba rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-let-it-be-your-fantasy, constant-readers

After all this time, laid out for all of us to read, we get the making of Roland! How Roland became the man we first met in The Gunslinger, is narrated by Roland in a tale of Wizard and of Glass. For some Constant Readers this is the book of The Dark Tower series, the making of The Gunslinger, or should that be the unmaking?

A superb neo-Western with Stephen King setting up the scene so well, in his own unerring style. You can smell the stables, see the spurs, taste the West... pray, get ready to ...more

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Apr 10, 2015 Delee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, adventure, group-or-buddy-read, fantasy, reviewed

This buddy-read has been long- Some of our ka-tet have fallen...some have been left behind in the dust. We have picked up a few new members along the way- but only the strongest and most cunning will survive the whole journey to The Daaaaark Tooooooower.

photo d4a2346f-b680-4982-b649-c1467dfd426f_zpsqav0bzkm.jpg

photo d4a2346f-b680-4982-b649-c1467dfd426f_zpsqav0bzkm.jpg

Buddy-read with our fearless leader- Quick Draw Stepheny, Jumpin' Jeff, Calamity Bev, Welcome- Kid Colt Karly, and Dastardly Dan...and let us have a moment of silence for our fallen members- Bronco Bustin' Black Jackin' Jason- Jason's perverted n ...more

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Apr 19, 2016 Johann (jobis89) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

“If it’s ka it’ll come like a wind, and your plans will stand before it no more than a barn before a cyclone.”

The fourth book in the Dark Tower series finds Roland telling his ka-tet the story of the first time he encountered a thinny, and also his first love, Susan Delgado.

Sadie and Jake of 11/22/63 have been my favourite King love story since forever, but I’ve got a new favourite - Roland and Susan. “If you love me, then love me.” Okay, yes. They’re teenagers and it might get a bit icky if you ...more

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Jun 13, 2014 Will M. rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: western, books-i-own, 2015, fantasy

Giving a Stephen King book 2 stars pains me a lot, but I can't bump it up to 3 stars just because he's my favorite author. This book was awful, and 500 pages longer than it should've been.

I get everyone's opinion that we need that backstory of Roland, but in my opinion, King could've just considered this a novella. Something that could be read if the reader wanted to. He made this the fourth novel, so that means the readers are obliged to read this if they want to continue on with the series. H ...more

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Dec 03, 2016 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, western

Fantastic! Fascinating to finally get some backstory for Roland and what a story! Loved it. I would say it's my favourite so far, but I also thought the Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three were 5 stars! ...more

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Apr 27, 2015 Jeff rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: buddy-reads, scifi-fantasy, cuz-mah-fah-says-so

As Rhea of Coos hobbled over to her table, she gave Musty, her foul smelling mutant cat, a swift kick.

"I'll give ya a tongue bath later"!

Rhea was anxious to examine the contents of the bag the silver headed stranger had just dropped off. In the bag were two glass balls; both the size of grapefruits. One was shaded pink, the other a bright purple. She grasped the pink orb and immediately felt a warm tingling between her legs. Ermot dropped down the floor from beneath her skirt and crawled over t As Rhea of Coos hobbled over to her table, she gave Musty, her foul smelling mutant cat, a swift kick.

"I'll give ya a tongue bath later"!

Rhea was anxious to examine the contents of the bag the silver headed stranger had just dropped off. In the bag were two glass balls; both the size of grapefruits. One was shaded pink, the other a bright purple. She grasped the pink orb and immediately felt a warm tingling between her legs. Ermot dropped down the floor from beneath her skirt and crawled over to the garbage heap.

“Hehehe”, she cackled. “Let’s see what forspecial things I can see whilst looking at this marvelous ball.”

She picked up the orb and felt a current of energy go through her tired and creaky limbs. She saw that wretched Susan Delgado and that young pup from Gilead. And nothing else but for hours upon hours. It seemed that nothing else mattered and the courtship and mating dance would go on for eons. Her head felt like a sack of potatoes and she fell asleep.

She woke finding Musty, its extra lags dangling, licking the drool that had collected on the table. Rhea chased the cat off the table and looked for the bag with the other orb. The purple one. She picked it up and it went from a royal purple to hideous neon grape color. The purple enveloped her and her face took an even more gaunt and skeletal countenance; what was left of her hair dangled in her face.

She saw another ka-tet, a different one, but she couldn’t name the place they inhabited. She watched as two blonde female gunslingers dragged another tall, muscular fellow off a horse and dragged him over to a cellar door. He was hog-tied, so the women had to struggle to move him.

The taller of the two blondes opened the door and said, “Got someone here to keep you company, Stephen.”

She turned to the other one and said, "Pistol Packin’ Rootin’ Tootin, best we fetch the sledge hammer ‘n make sure this big fellow don’t decide to wander off.”

“It’ll be my pleasure, Quick Draw”, said the other. And both howled with laughter.

Rhea grinned as the two got to work.

...more

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Jul 23, 2014 Markus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2015, hanging-out-with-mrs-kholin, the-dark-tower

There is a kind of echo in the bright air, a yearning for other places in the blood, a loneliness in the heart that sings like the wind.

Who is Roland?

What secrets are hidden in the past of the last gunslinger of Gilead?

The questions are stuck in your mind from the very moment you open the first book in the series and read the best opening sentence ever written. The enigmatic nature of Roland’s character is part of what made him one of my favourite protagonists of all time and one of the saving ...more

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Jan 09, 2019 Lyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

At a crossroads in rural Maine in early 1970, a young Stephen King meets with The Dark Man and discusses his future in writing and specifically a forthcoming book called Wizard and Glass.

DM: So we gonna close this deal or what? I got people waiting –

SK: I dunno, Mr. – what do I call you again?

DM: Friend, you call me friend, right? Come on Stevie, I thought we’d been through this, you came to meet with me and I’m acting in good faith here, you got some other agenda? Something I should know about ...more

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Feb 03, 2016 ♛Tash rated it it was ok

It pains me to give this book just 2 stars but I skimmed more than a quarter of it, because I just want to get to the goddamned tower, take a selfie, then go home. ...more

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Jul 25, 2015 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, adventure, literature, horror, 20th-century, fantasy, science, novellas, united-states

Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower #4), Stephen King

The novel begins where The Waste Lands ended. After Jake, Eddie, Susannah and Roland fruitlessly riddle Blaine the Mono for several hours, Eddie defeats the mad computer by telling childish jokes. Blaine is unable to handle Eddie's "illogical" riddles and short-circuits.

The four gunslingers and Oy the billy-bumbler disembark at the Topeka railway station, which to their surprise is located in the Topeka, Kansas, of the 1980's.

The city is deserte ...more

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Jul 14, 2009 seak rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: stephen-king, 2012, top-12-fantasy

In a sentence: Stephen King does Tombstone (the movie) to great effect.

With only about 25% of actual series plot development (or 500 pages sandwiched between plot development), you'd think I would hate this book. Had I not known about this beforehand or had I waited 6 years for more Dark Tower, I'd probably be singing a different tune.

Then again, I love me a western and to call them Gunslingers on top of it all (such a cool word), I'm pretty sure I would have loved Wizard and Glass no matter wha ...more

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Feb 07, 2008 Dan Schwent rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kitten-squisher, western, 2011, weird-western, reread-in-2011

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 about this one is that I c ...more

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Nov 10, 2011 sj rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: drunk-review

September, 2012:

All right. I've had a few glasses of wine, and I finally feel ready to talk about why I so very much HATE THIS FUCKING BOOK.

Please, don't get me wrong. I'm a HUGE Tower Junkie. By the time I got this book, I'd already read and re-read the first three more times than I could count, and even though it was only 6 years after TWL, I'd really been waiting 9 years total.

15 years after this book came out (and I've probably read the whole thing 5 or 6 times, and skimmed it many more t ...more

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Sep 02, 2017 R.K. Gold rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Yeah, it's happening, finally finished. It's funny I got halfway through this book in like a day then it took me over a week to read the second half, not due to a lack of interest, more the world around me suddenly got more exciting. See this is why friends suck, they get in the way of reading phenomenal books by making you have a life.

Anyway, what I thought of this book. Well, FINALLY I learned about Roland's history. I mean sure I knew about Martin and his mother, and how he originally became ...more

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Feb 03, 2016 Vanessa J. rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, stephen-king, 2016, dnf, disappointing, angsty-angst-is-annoying, romance, boring

DNF at 55%

Yoo hoo! You know what this is? This is me abandoning the fourth book in the Dark Tower series:

Well, metaphorically.

It is so frustrating to feel myself forced to abandon this book, especially since things were getting better in the previous one. You see, I thought book 1 was okay, 2 was better, but book 3 was great. I really liked it, so I expected this one to be better, or at least as good as the other ones had been. But no, it was bad.

See, the thing is that after the horrible cliffha ...more

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May 28, 2015 Stepheny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-series, favorites, all-hail-the-crimson-king, badd-ass-fantasy, coming-of-age, dystopians, like-a-meth-addiction, guilty-pleasure-reads, hands-down-favorites

We are Ka-Tet, we are one from many. We have shared khef. We have travelled alongside one another. We have lost a few of our tet along the way, but we have also gained a few. There’s Jumpin' Jeff (Only the man Jesus knows where he's at!), Rootin' Tootin' Pistol Packin' Ass Whuppin’ Virgin Blood Drinkin' Delee, Calamity Bev who is still plugging along, Kid Colt Karly, Bloody Black Kit Kat (who was sorely missed for this read!), Bronco Bustin Black Jack(in') Jason who was fashionably late, Dastard ...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Bradley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, worldbuilding-sf, sci-fi, 2020-shelf, horror

Upon re-reading this novel, I feel like I have become Susan Delgado, trapped behind the glass. Mayhap I'm banging my hands against the walls of the thinny, mayhap I'm rustlin with some of the timbers just whispering to a spark.

I love and hate this book.

The first time I read it when it came out, I was like... GREAT! We get to see what happens to Blaine and the Ka-Tet! How far do they get to the Tower before all turns to Ka-Ka? After 500 pages, I knew. After 700, I despaired. After 1,850 pages, I Upon re-reading this novel, I feel like I have become Susan Delgado, trapped behind the glass. Mayhap I'm banging my hands against the walls of the thinny, mayhap I'm rustlin with some of the timbers just whispering to a spark.

I love and hate this book.

The first time I read it when it came out, I was like... GREAT! We get to see what happens to Blaine and the Ka-Tet! How far do they get to the Tower before all turns to Ka-Ka? After 500 pages, I knew. After 700, I despaired. After 1,850 pages, I just wanted to click my heels and go the f*** home. Is this an end? Is this a GOOD end? I leave that determination up to all you good folk on the outer edges of Mid-World.

Me, however, I DID NOT like what I did for the Dark Tower. A little bit, yes. Some parts were fantastic and necessary and a real wooo-wooo moment for fans of SK in general. But let's just say you probably should start out a big honker of a tale like this at the BEGINNING of a big honker of a bigger tale. Instead, we have 10% story progression and 90% flashback.

Don't get me wrong, however! The 14-year-old Roland and his youthful Ka-Tet is a great story all on its own, ushering forth a doomed romance, gunslinging, magic, a LoTR Palantir, and enough WWII machinery to burn away Mid-World. This is the time before the World Has Moved On and the conflagration that set this choo-choo a-humping.

For itself, the tale might have been better at the very beginning, or better yet, spread throughout the first book of the DT, giving us a back-and-forth of young-man Roland and Terminator Roland as he hunts down the Man in Black. Yes, the first book would be huge, but at least things would be in their proper places.

As for Roland's later Ka-Tet? Sure, we could have another campfire story, but it would be a LOT shorter and we wouldn't have to rely on the Thinny to spread a week's tale into a single night. And also that... thing... that Baum thing... wouldn't feel like such a fizzled bomb.

Good, fun writing, all told, never boring, but the structure of this... well... I think Stephen King forgot the face of his father. ...more

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Jul 12, 2019 Ken rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve read the first three books in The Dark Tower series, I’ve got a real urge to finish them this year.
Even though this was an enjoyable entry in the series - the middle overlong story within the story of a young 14 year old Roland dragged slightly.

If I’d had waited the 6 years for the resolution from the previous book (like those in the ‘90’s) I would have been more disappointed with this volume.
I really like Roland and his current Ka-tet and would have felt ...more

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Jun 15, 2015 Ɗẳɳ 2.☊ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: the-wonder-years, western, high-fantasy, buddy-reads

“Kill if you will, but command me nothing!” the gunslinger roared. “You have forgotten the faces of those who made you! Now either kill us or be silent and listen to me, Roland of Gilead, son of Steven, gunslinger, and lord of ancient lands! I have not come across all the miles and all the years to listen to your childish prating! Do you understand? Now you will listen to ME!”

I hear you brother. In fact, it felt as though I’ve been listening to you ramble for days on end. Damn buddy, I honestly ...more

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Sep 07, 2020 Ron rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: series, love, fantasy, favorites, 2020

Just a short moment in time occurs between the end of The Waste Lands and the beginning of Wizard and Glass, in story-time that is. When starting this reread, I realized that the span is barely even that - the time between leaving our Ka-tet on Blain the Mono and then rejoining them again. But the first time around it felt like an age had passed. Six years in actual time had passed between these two books (1991-1997). King addresses this gap in the afterward here in Wizard and Glass, with apolog Just a short moment in time occurs between the end of The Waste Lands and the beginning of Wizard and Glass, in story-time that is. When starting this reread, I realized that the span is barely even that - the time between leaving our Ka-tet on Blain the Mono and then rejoining them again. But the first time around it felt like an age had passed. Six years in actual time had passed between these two books (1991-1997). King addresses this gap in the afterward here in Wizard and Glass, with apologies. He knew he must return to writing The Dark Tower, but Roland's backstory, particularly that of his first love with the girl named Susan, had been hard for him to find. By 1997 you could have considered me a little indignant over this gap between books. Over that span, the details of what had occurred in the previous three novels had become foggy to say the least. More to the point, I had forgotten how it felt to be on the path of the beam. So it took me a while longer before I actually picked up Wizard and Glass, finally opening its pages to the voice of the Mono demanding for riddles from our Ka-tet. Riddles or death. That was his game. There is a beauty to reentering Mid-world after being away. I had been transported by King once again into this otherworldly land falling apart as we read. All the suspense and urgency had returned, but with this volume far more is realized by moving backwards in time (versus that continuous trek forward) to a Roland of fourteen. At fourteen, he is wise beyond his years, or so it seems when reading. But by the end, I once again understood that the few mistakes made are due impart to youth, and in part to Ka, as they say. And never forget the blindness that comes with love. This book blew me away the first time I read it. Maybe a bit of that was due to that six-year gap I’d experienced. My feelings during this reread were much the same, but books 2, 3 & 4 are hard to separate or place in any hierarchy for me now. Roland's words about “learning to love again” speak most to me this time, and also the foreshadowing of this Ka-tet's future. So, had I really been a little mad over that wait all those years before? Can't imagine why now, and if I was, it only speaks to how much I adore this series. ...more

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Jan 07, 2015 Karlyflower *The Vampire Ninja, Luminescent Monster & Wendigo Nerd Goddess of Canada (according to The Hulk)* rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: buddy-reads, willow-says-bored-now

Category: A book with more than 500 pages

3 Stars

Unfortunately Kat could not join me on this journey, but keep heart…. Jeff, Stepheny, Dan 2.0 and Delee all ventured along.

King’s Wizard and Glass is a great example of when a story within a story gets really carried away with itself. About 500 of the 718 pages are Roland’s backstory rather than present day story of the search for the elusive ‘dark tower’. This is the story of Susan…. And Cuthbert… and Alain. This is the story of how Roland becam ...more

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Dec 24, 2017 Leo . rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Read this series years ago, great books. Just watched the film with Idris Alba too.

The film is actually quite good. 🐯👍

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May 07, 2014 Edward Lorn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Who's a Stephen King fanboy? *raises hand* "I am! I am!" Stephen King has been a hero of mine since I was thirteen. Two decades of idolatry later and I'm still dumbstruck at what this man has accomplished. I do not wish to be like him, or write like him, because mimicry is the failure of self, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want his money. I preface this review with this paragraph because you should know that my love for King's work goes far beyond the reaches of a mere fan. I'm a fanatic o Who's a Stephen King fanboy? *raises hand* "I am! I am!" Stephen King has been a hero of mine since I was thirteen. Two decades of idolatry later and I'm still dumbstruck at what this man has accomplished. I do not wish to be like him, or write like him, because mimicry is the failure of self, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want his money. I preface this review with this paragraph because you should know that my love for King's work goes far beyond the reaches of a mere fan. I'm a fanatic of the highest order, and no matter how many times he lets me down, I will buy every book, in every format, that he releases upon the world. This review should not be taken as my opinion of Stephen King, only as an opinion of this particular work. Even the best have their bad days.

In my review for THE WASTE LANDS, I said that it was not only the best book in the Dark Tower series but one of my favorite King books of all time. WIZARD AND GLASS is the exact opposite of that. It is damn-near my least favorite, and is only beaten out for the bottom spot by FROM A BUICK EIGHT, of which I shall never speak of again. I have many problems with WIZARD AND GLASS, but some issues I have come down to personal preference. Although, there are some things that I don't think any reader will enjoy, and I'll start with those. Unfortunately, though, they are spoilers.

SPOILED ROTTEN SPOILERS SPOILING BELOW

This book snatches you away from the characters you come to know and love - Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy - and shoves you crotch first into a time and place you're unfamiliar with. This is my third read-through of this book, and it never fails to jar me out of my socks when we're thrust into Rhea's head for the first time. Then, just as jarringly, we're tossed into Susan's head. All the while we're waiting on Roland to pop up. When he finally does, he's not the man we remember, but a kid with his brain nestled firmly in the wrong head. Now comes the issue I have with this five-hundred-page flashback. We know Susan dies because Roland told us as much in the first book. We even know how she dies because, once again, we're told in the first book. Had WIZARD AND GLASS been written before THE GUNSLINGER (and yes I realize as an author myself how unfair that is to say, what with me knowing how finicky stories can be with the information they deliver and when) I wouldn't have half the problems I did with this novel. I think that's my biggest complaint: this book feels like an afterthought, as if King said to himself, "Shit, I need to toss this in somewhere..." and decided to weigh down this volume in Roland's tail with a bloated and boring romance. I couldn't let myself get attached to Susan because I knew she was going to die. Simple as that. I don't care how well-written this book is, it's a chore to get through because you know what's going to happen.

END THE SPOILS OF SPOILERTUDE

Personal preference time.

I fucking loathe romance novels. There is no greater love story than the one I've lived for the past 13 years, and whenever I read about puppy-dog love and love at first sight, I grow sick to my stomach. Love rarely works the way romance novels would have one believe. Now, granted, I can count on one hand how many love stories I've read, but I'd been dragged to numerous rom-coms and Nicolas Sparks film adaptations before I met my wife, because it seemed that was the thing to do. Women like romance, so I took my dates to such movies. Surprisingly enough, none of those dates turned into relationships because I never had any fun during those outings. Anyfuck, what I'm getting at is, 75% of WIZARD AND GLASS is a romance, and that 75% of this book never fails to bore me to tears. Literal tears, because I can't stop yawning, and my eyes water when I yawn. So yeah... literal tears. There's fifty pages or so of just sex. Roland and Susan scrumpin' like bunnies on any flat surface they come across. Who cares. I know I don't.

Every fun moment of this book is stalled by King's need to follow up with banal characters and world-build a time and place I don't want to be in. I want more Mid-World and Path of the Beam. I give not a fuck about Mejis or the politics of a place that has, as King puts it, moved on.

Then we have the plagiarism. Yes, I said it, plagiarism. King is famous for tossing in nods to other books from his prolific career, sometimes he even includes entire characters from other books (as is witnessed later in this series), but this go around, he completely rips off The Wizard of Oz, almost down to the word. It's lazy storytelling. I know he could have done better, yet he chose the easy road. There's the obvious nod to LORD OF THE RINGS, but instead of a ring, we're given a pink grapefruit.

The final bit of bullshit dripping from this pile of offal is the appearance of the Tick Tock Man. Why was he spared in the last book? What was the purpose? Oh yeah... King needed to reintroduce Flagg, that's right! Still, Tick Tock Man's part in this book is pointless, and I'm left feeling as if King regretted saving him in THE WASTE LANDS so he simply tossed him into the fire, so to speak, in this volume.

In summation: Not even this King fanboy can over look the boredom he feels while struggling through these pages. I only reread it because it's part of the entire experience, and Roland's overall quest is worth it. I tried to skip it during my last re-read in 2003 (when King finished the rest of the series), but found something lacking, so I ended up going through it again anyway. So there must be something redeeming about WIZARD AND GLASS, right? I just don't know what that is. There are only two books from King that I've ever given less than three stars to in a review. This is one, and I mentioned the other earlier in this post. We shant speak of the latter ever again. Even typing the name of that book above caused my bowels to quiver in rage. Now excuse me while I steam clean my chair. ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
2021 Reading Chal...: Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower #4)	21	32	Apr 13, 2021 04:13PM
The Constantly Re...: Wizard and Glass	5	20	Apr 19, 2020 08:41PM
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Goodreads Librari...: Series and sequence not showing for this book when added to the list, why?	5	21	Mar 08, 2019 01:28PM
Susan super annoying	20	264	Dec 02, 2018 05:23AM
Reading with E.: Dark Tower Reread: WIZARD AND GLASS	8	20	Oct 26, 2018 08:59PM
Stephen King Fans: Dark Tower #4- Wizard & Glass Dec 2017	53	121	Oct 24, 2018 08:50PM

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About Stephen King

Stephen King

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Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, M Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. ...more

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Quotes from Wizard and Glass

“True love, like any other strong and addicting drug, is boring — once the tale of encounter and discovery is told, kisses quickly grow stale and caresses tiresome… except, of course, to those who share the kisses, who give and take the caresses while every sound and color of the world seems to deepen and brighten around them. As with any other strong drug, true first love is really only interesting to those who have become its prisoners.
And, as is true of any other strong and addicting drug, true first love is dangerous.” — 291 likes

“If it's ka it'll come like a wind, and your plans will stand before it no more than a barn before a cyclone” — 171 likes

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