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The Dark Tower #1-4
The Dark Tower
Set in a world of ominous landscape and macabre menace, The Dark Tower features one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations—The Gunslinger, a haunting figure who embodies the qualities of the lone hero through the ages, from ancient myth to frontier Western legend. As Roland crosses a desert of damnation in a macabre world that is a twisted image of our own, he moves ever closer to the Dark Tower of his dreams—and nightmares.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Stephen King
2,422 books887k followersStephen 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
July 8, 2017
Warning: There are some mild spoilers in this review.
These are the first Stephen King novels I’ve read. I wanted to read the first four set in this series before posting a review. Each book now has creases over their spines. I’ve enjoyed these novels very much. Let’s start with, of course, The Gunslinger. . .
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
The story plunges us dead into the already long and gritty quest of Roland Deschain of Gilead to reach the Dark Tower. In Roland’s world things are happening, both in his homeland of In-World and beyond it in Mid-World. A great shift is spreading in what is referred to by the people living here as “moved on.”
This last known gunslinger is on a manhunt for the man in black, aiming to gain information about how to find the tower. In the first chapter, Roland stumbles across Brown, a corn and bean farmer, who takes him and his sick mule in for the night. Brown is the first person Roland has seen since leaving Tull, a town on the edge of the desert where none have dared to cross. Tull is where Roland’s hunt for the man in black is temporally delayed when he falls in with a woman named Allie, who bartends at a saloon with a piano player named Sheb.
As the story progresses, we get a glimpse into Roland’s childhood, when he and his best mate, Cuthbert, accidentally unmask a child killer who is then hanged at Gallows Hill, and when Roland earns his guns in a challenge he made against his teacher, Cort. It’s also a time in Roland’s life when he discovers a terrible secret about his mother.
Slingshot back to the present, Roland continues on with his manhunt after a bloody farewell to the townspeople of Tull. A trap set for the gunslinger by the man in black.
After leaving Brown’s farm and his mule, that had died during the night, the wasteland once again opens itself up to the gunslinger before it nearly claims him.
Dried out and delusional, Roland comes across a way station occupied by a young boy named Jake Chambers who saves his life. Jake has earned himself a pass into Mid-World through an unfortunate “accident” that changes his life in more ways than one. Once recovered, the pair sets off to the mountains and into a bizarre journey involving a horny Oracle and a cave full of mutants.
In the end, the hunt concludes itself and after a VERY long night, Roland awakens in the killing ground with new knowledge about what he needs for his quest for the Dark Tower. And so, he sets off once again.
I really enjoyed this story. It was well written, fast-paced and original. I like the characters, Roland and Jake. The descriptions King puts into his scenes were vivid. I even had a dream about Allie walking toward me, rubbing the scar she has slashed across her forehead. The mutants gave me the creepy crawlies, which is a testament to good storytelling.
My issues, though, is how the women are portrayed, especially Allie, who, when her man, Sheb, isn’t around any male can just paw at her, and she pretty much begs for sex from the gunslinger as did the Oracle. Granted, Roland is a far better prize than the weed-eating halfwit, Nort, and the weak little runt of a man, Sheb, but it’s exhausting to see women constantly being used as sex objects. And yes, I’m well aware of when this book was written. There were scenes that were a tad murky for me to understand exactly what was going on, yet none of this kept me from reading the next installment.
The Drawing of the Three
The story starts with the gunslinger being rudely awakened by a large man-eating lobster monstrosity that takes a chomp at him while Roland is asleep on the beach. After a narrow escape, but not quite coming out of it as a whole man, the gunslinger continues on. He follows the shoreline to search for the ones the man in black told him to find. The Prisoner, The Lady of the Shadows, and the Pusher. Wounded and growing very ill from an infection, Roland walks for many wheels (miles) until reaching a door suspended in midair.
Did-a-chick?
An oddity, yes, but Roland knows it’s what he has come to find. When he opens the door, he gets a peek into our world through the eyes of Eddie Dean, known to Roland as The Prisoner. Eddie Dean is a junkie and when we meet him, he’s in the process of smuggling in cocaine while it’s strapped to him as he’s flying to Kennedy International. (Obviously, this is before 911) While inside Eddie’s head, Roland learns plenty of things that later become useful to him, yet at the same time, he accidentally gets Eddie busted. With some quick thinking from both gunslinger and Eddie, he manages to get out of it without having any drugs found on him.
After a shootout with a drug lord named Balazar, and a horrifying loss of a loved one, Eddie bids farewell to a life of smack and drug smuggling to join Roland in Mid-World.
Detta Walker and Odetta Holmes. Two people sharing the same body.
Dad-a-chum?
Odetta is an African American activist in the Civil Rights Movement who had been deliberately pushed in front of a subway train, losing both her legs. She’s polite, caring, and all in all, a good-natured woman. Detta, on the other hand, is a vile mouth, shoplifting chick, who enjoys teasing men for fun. She’s very smart, obnoxious, and her hatred is a strong and dangerous force. Detta/Odetta, is The Lady of the Shadows and is next on the gunslinger’s list.
On the same beach, another floating door appears. Behind Door No. Two is New York City in 1964, seen through The Lady’s eyes. Using what he’s learned when inside Eddie, Roland pulls her into his world. By now Roland is extremely ill with a favor. Yet, he has one last person to meet, one major wrong to put to right before his newly formed ka-tet can be stable and whole.
I loved this book. My favorite so far. The plot differs from the first, which are both good by the way. I just enjoy different storylines in any series.
The Drawing of the Three properly introduces us to these new major characters that become Roland’s ka-tet and joins him on his quest for the Dark Tower. The book was written using a creative way with words and had a great deal of dark humor, which I’m a fan of. Tee-hee. Roland’s perspective on our world was priceless. He finds it odd that most people don’t carry weapons, and he refers to the police as slow gunslingers. He gets excited when he sees how much ammo he can get at a gun store, and—compared to his own guns—ours are like toys to him. The fact his can literally blow people’s heads off, I can see why. I thought it was clever and more authentic for the story to add that he can’t read most of our writings because the letters in his alphabet are different and therefore can’t pronounce words like aspirin, calling is astin instead. Eddie had me in stitches laughing with his smart ass mouth and taking on Balazar completely naked. As King put it, like some kid in a disco contest, so jived-up he didn’t realize he’d left his entire John Travolta outfit, underwear included, behind.
The personal struggle between Odetta and Detta was a hard read, but it was supposed to be. She had come with a lot of hurt and injustice strapped to her, and in the end, she emerges as a stronger character. One thing I could have done without was the unnecessary back story of characters that play minor roles. Having to read about flight attendant, Jane Dorning’s time in training on how to spot trouble on a plane, pulled the reins on the flow of the story.
I’d say, though, that The Drawing of the Three was a fitting continuation of the Dark Tower series.
The Waste Lands
Ooh, things are getting really good now!
In this next book, there are loads of goodies waiting. There’s a bit of steampunk tossed into this novel. Eddie nearly gets eaten by an incredibly large mechanical bear named, Mir, there’s a dead and twisted city, and we get our very own steam locomotive with a fetish for riddles. Roland has his ka-tet, Eddie, and the now Susannah Dean. After fighting her demons, Susannah has merged Odetta and Detta into one and therefore has become a whole person once again. She’s also Eddie’s wife.
Roland is still recovering from his illness and believes he’s going insane. Yet his small troupe pushes on, following the path of the beam that supposedly leads to the Dark Tower. Back in our world, young Jake Chambers struggles to find an existence he knows he was part of before. After his sudden departure from Mid-World, Jake returns to his own, carrying with him a strong imprint that his old life isn’t where he belongs anymore. He goes on a journey through the streets of New York to try to find this other place, even hoping it’ll be there behind every closed door he opens. But getting back isn’t that easy.
Thanks to Eddie revisiting an old childhood hobby, they managed to pull the boy back into Mid-World. (I don’t wanna give away too much, but I’ll say it’s a very dramatic scene). Now the ka-tet trio is a foursome and after a brief stop at a peaceful little town, they make their way to the not so peaceful city of Lud. Oh, and along the way, Jake makes friends with an animal that’s part raccoon and part badger with the personality of a loyal dog, called a billy-bumbler. Jake names him Oy.
It isn’t long after the group reaches the gutted and rusted city that they run into trouble. Jake is kidnapped and taken to the Tick-Tock Man, a violent psychopath who rules an underground gang of thugs. While Roland and Oy track Jake down, Eddie and Susannah go off to find the only thing in which can carry them closer to the Dark Tower; a train that has gone insane after a system degradation called Blaine the Mono.
The Waste Lands is a highly entertaining novel with loads of action, suspense and more of King’s clever writing. When not reading it, I was always wondering what was about happen, especially in the city of Lud. It was interesting finding out how the books Jake had brought over from his world tied in with their quest.
I was not disappointed in this third installment, yet, there were things about it that made me frown. For instance, the scene where they’re bringing Jake over into Mid-World. While Eddie works to open the portal inside a circle outlined in bones, Roland and Susannah have to keep a sex hungry demon off of him. Depending on if the demon is male or female would determine which one of the three it would go after. When reading this, I was like, “Gee, I wonder who is about to get buggered.” Of course, it was Susannah (the woman), duh! This goes back to my earlier complaint. I also felt there was a tad too much explaining that bogged the story down at times throughout, but all-in-all, this was a damn good book!
And finally, Wizard and Glass.
Roland, Jake, Eddie, and Susannah are trapped on Blain the Mono, who is surging them at incredible speed towards certain death. With a stroke of luck and thinking outside the box, one of them, (I won’t say who) saves the day. They reach their stop: Topeka, Kansas, or Kansas Turnpike. They leave Blaine where he rests because as King put it, it was just another artifact of a world that has moved on. They continue following the path of the beam on 1-70 when a building in the far distance is seen standing in their way. The ka-tet makes camp and Roland opens up about his younger days as a newly born gunslinger. He and his original ka-tet, Cuthbert Allgood and Alain Johns, both fourteen the same as Roland in this, are sent on an “errand” by their fathers, to a town called Hambry in the Barony of Mejis territory. Shortly after arriving, Roland meets a beautiful young woman, Susan Delgado. She’d lost her father and now lives with her aunt, Cordelia. Roland and Susan are instantly attracted to each other.
Falling in love is easy, however, being together isn’t.
Before Roland and his kat-tet show up at Hambry, Susan had already promised herself to a much older man, Hart Thorin, to be his gilly. (Again, it boils down to sex for the woman. And I’m not just pointing it out in the Dark Tower series, mind you. Just sayin’ it’d be nice to read about more female characters who haven’t been sexually abused or who aren’t whores or use sex to get what they want, or who are teases. And if they’re virgins, having their virginity being offered up as some sick prize, to which, of course, the girl always has to go through some humiliating process to prove her purity. It’s a pattern that, personally, I’d like to see broken, especially in fiction.) Anyway, back to the story.
In Hambry, Roland’s ka-tet gets into a spot of trouble with the Big Coffin Hunters when Cuthbert saves Sheemie Ruiz, a simpleton with a big heart, from licking the boots of Elder Jonas before the man murders him. There are other problems for the boys as well when they uncover something very dangerous the Big Coffin Hunters are planning, using machines. To stop them, the boys devise a plan with Susan’s help. In the midst of all of this, Roland and Susan develop a forbidden love affair that drives a rift between him and Cuthbert when Cuthbert senses Roland losing his focus on their mission. Also, ol’ Aunt Cordelia, who stands to profit from the arrangement made between them and Hart Thorin, is growing suspicious about Susan and Roland. It takes a mental and sometimes physical toll on both aunt and niece. If Susan doesn’t give herself to Thorin come Reaping (the town’s version of a fall celebration) as a virgin, (naturally) than all her aunt’s dreams of becoming wealthy are gone in a puff of smoke. Then there’s the dirty and vile witch, Rhea of the Cöos, who sticks a poisonous throne in everyone’s side. She has in her temporally possession a glass ball, called Marilyn’s Grapefruit, which allows her to see into people’s lives and even the future, which Roland finds out later on. It takes hold of her in a very bad way, making Rhea an addict for its power. Roland has the misfortune of looking into the glass ball himself, only to see the hard road he must take, and to do so, he must leave everything behind, even Susan.
The story of young Roland and Susan takes up most of this book, which, as a filler, it’s really good. We’re learning more about our main protagonist and the genesis behind the quest for the Dark Tower. It opens up to other areas that I’m curious on how it’ll feature in the books to come. I truly enjoyed this novel and the others in the Dark Tower saga. Wizard and Glass has all the elements that I liked in the previous in books. As a storyteller myself, King as unknowingly helped me evolve in my own writing as some other authors whose works I’ve read have done.
My issues? Other than the constant link between women and sex that always irks me, Wizards and Glass, I feel has too many characters to keep track off, and again there’s too much over explaining. If you put the book down for a while and then pick it back up again, you run the risk of forgetting allllllllll the details given, which may or may not matter. I also thought the whole Wizard of Oz bit in the end was played out too much. Partially that’s due to the fact I’ve seen so many Wizard of Oz references and adaptations over the years, which came well after this book was written. I did find Roland’s confusion when listening to his ka-tet talk about it, funny.
The story kept my interest, through and through. I’ve already ordered Wolves of the Calla, hoping to read the next four books before the movie and TV show adaptation comes out ’cause I’m not watching them until I do.
So to Mr. Stephen King, as I tap my breastbone three times with my left hand, I say, thankee-sai for writing these tales.
These are the first Stephen King novels I’ve read. I wanted to read the first four set in this series before posting a review. Each book now has creases over their spines. I’ve enjoyed these novels very much. Let’s start with, of course, The Gunslinger. . .
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
The story plunges us dead into the already long and gritty quest of Roland Deschain of Gilead to reach the Dark Tower. In Roland’s world things are happening, both in his homeland of In-World and beyond it in Mid-World. A great shift is spreading in what is referred to by the people living here as “moved on.”
This last known gunslinger is on a manhunt for the man in black, aiming to gain information about how to find the tower. In the first chapter, Roland stumbles across Brown, a corn and bean farmer, who takes him and his sick mule in for the night. Brown is the first person Roland has seen since leaving Tull, a town on the edge of the desert where none have dared to cross. Tull is where Roland’s hunt for the man in black is temporally delayed when he falls in with a woman named Allie, who bartends at a saloon with a piano player named Sheb.
As the story progresses, we get a glimpse into Roland’s childhood, when he and his best mate, Cuthbert, accidentally unmask a child killer who is then hanged at Gallows Hill, and when Roland earns his guns in a challenge he made against his teacher, Cort. It’s also a time in Roland’s life when he discovers a terrible secret about his mother.
Slingshot back to the present, Roland continues on with his manhunt after a bloody farewell to the townspeople of Tull. A trap set for the gunslinger by the man in black.
After leaving Brown’s farm and his mule, that had died during the night, the wasteland once again opens itself up to the gunslinger before it nearly claims him.
Dried out and delusional, Roland comes across a way station occupied by a young boy named Jake Chambers who saves his life. Jake has earned himself a pass into Mid-World through an unfortunate “accident” that changes his life in more ways than one. Once recovered, the pair sets off to the mountains and into a bizarre journey involving a horny Oracle and a cave full of mutants.
In the end, the hunt concludes itself and after a VERY long night, Roland awakens in the killing ground with new knowledge about what he needs for his quest for the Dark Tower. And so, he sets off once again.
I really enjoyed this story. It was well written, fast-paced and original. I like the characters, Roland and Jake. The descriptions King puts into his scenes were vivid. I even had a dream about Allie walking toward me, rubbing the scar she has slashed across her forehead. The mutants gave me the creepy crawlies, which is a testament to good storytelling.
My issues, though, is how the women are portrayed, especially Allie, who, when her man, Sheb, isn’t around any male can just paw at her, and she pretty much begs for sex from the gunslinger as did the Oracle. Granted, Roland is a far better prize than the weed-eating halfwit, Nort, and the weak little runt of a man, Sheb, but it’s exhausting to see women constantly being used as sex objects. And yes, I’m well aware of when this book was written. There were scenes that were a tad murky for me to understand exactly what was going on, yet none of this kept me from reading the next installment.
The Drawing of the Three
The story starts with the gunslinger being rudely awakened by a large man-eating lobster monstrosity that takes a chomp at him while Roland is asleep on the beach. After a narrow escape, but not quite coming out of it as a whole man, the gunslinger continues on. He follows the shoreline to search for the ones the man in black told him to find. The Prisoner, The Lady of the Shadows, and the Pusher. Wounded and growing very ill from an infection, Roland walks for many wheels (miles) until reaching a door suspended in midair.
Did-a-chick?
An oddity, yes, but Roland knows it’s what he has come to find. When he opens the door, he gets a peek into our world through the eyes of Eddie Dean, known to Roland as The Prisoner. Eddie Dean is a junkie and when we meet him, he’s in the process of smuggling in cocaine while it’s strapped to him as he’s flying to Kennedy International. (Obviously, this is before 911) While inside Eddie’s head, Roland learns plenty of things that later become useful to him, yet at the same time, he accidentally gets Eddie busted. With some quick thinking from both gunslinger and Eddie, he manages to get out of it without having any drugs found on him.
After a shootout with a drug lord named Balazar, and a horrifying loss of a loved one, Eddie bids farewell to a life of smack and drug smuggling to join Roland in Mid-World.
Detta Walker and Odetta Holmes. Two people sharing the same body.
Dad-a-chum?
Odetta is an African American activist in the Civil Rights Movement who had been deliberately pushed in front of a subway train, losing both her legs. She’s polite, caring, and all in all, a good-natured woman. Detta, on the other hand, is a vile mouth, shoplifting chick, who enjoys teasing men for fun. She’s very smart, obnoxious, and her hatred is a strong and dangerous force. Detta/Odetta, is The Lady of the Shadows and is next on the gunslinger’s list.
On the same beach, another floating door appears. Behind Door No. Two is New York City in 1964, seen through The Lady’s eyes. Using what he’s learned when inside Eddie, Roland pulls her into his world. By now Roland is extremely ill with a favor. Yet, he has one last person to meet, one major wrong to put to right before his newly formed ka-tet can be stable and whole.
I loved this book. My favorite so far. The plot differs from the first, which are both good by the way. I just enjoy different storylines in any series.
The Drawing of the Three properly introduces us to these new major characters that become Roland’s ka-tet and joins him on his quest for the Dark Tower. The book was written using a creative way with words and had a great deal of dark humor, which I’m a fan of. Tee-hee. Roland’s perspective on our world was priceless. He finds it odd that most people don’t carry weapons, and he refers to the police as slow gunslingers. He gets excited when he sees how much ammo he can get at a gun store, and—compared to his own guns—ours are like toys to him. The fact his can literally blow people’s heads off, I can see why. I thought it was clever and more authentic for the story to add that he can’t read most of our writings because the letters in his alphabet are different and therefore can’t pronounce words like aspirin, calling is astin instead. Eddie had me in stitches laughing with his smart ass mouth and taking on Balazar completely naked. As King put it, like some kid in a disco contest, so jived-up he didn’t realize he’d left his entire John Travolta outfit, underwear included, behind.
The personal struggle between Odetta and Detta was a hard read, but it was supposed to be. She had come with a lot of hurt and injustice strapped to her, and in the end, she emerges as a stronger character. One thing I could have done without was the unnecessary back story of characters that play minor roles. Having to read about flight attendant, Jane Dorning’s time in training on how to spot trouble on a plane, pulled the reins on the flow of the story.
I’d say, though, that The Drawing of the Three was a fitting continuation of the Dark Tower series.
The Waste Lands
Ooh, things are getting really good now!
In this next book, there are loads of goodies waiting. There’s a bit of steampunk tossed into this novel. Eddie nearly gets eaten by an incredibly large mechanical bear named, Mir, there’s a dead and twisted city, and we get our very own steam locomotive with a fetish for riddles. Roland has his ka-tet, Eddie, and the now Susannah Dean. After fighting her demons, Susannah has merged Odetta and Detta into one and therefore has become a whole person once again. She’s also Eddie’s wife.
Roland is still recovering from his illness and believes he’s going insane. Yet his small troupe pushes on, following the path of the beam that supposedly leads to the Dark Tower. Back in our world, young Jake Chambers struggles to find an existence he knows he was part of before. After his sudden departure from Mid-World, Jake returns to his own, carrying with him a strong imprint that his old life isn’t where he belongs anymore. He goes on a journey through the streets of New York to try to find this other place, even hoping it’ll be there behind every closed door he opens. But getting back isn’t that easy.
Thanks to Eddie revisiting an old childhood hobby, they managed to pull the boy back into Mid-World. (I don’t wanna give away too much, but I’ll say it’s a very dramatic scene). Now the ka-tet trio is a foursome and after a brief stop at a peaceful little town, they make their way to the not so peaceful city of Lud. Oh, and along the way, Jake makes friends with an animal that’s part raccoon and part badger with the personality of a loyal dog, called a billy-bumbler. Jake names him Oy.
It isn’t long after the group reaches the gutted and rusted city that they run into trouble. Jake is kidnapped and taken to the Tick-Tock Man, a violent psychopath who rules an underground gang of thugs. While Roland and Oy track Jake down, Eddie and Susannah go off to find the only thing in which can carry them closer to the Dark Tower; a train that has gone insane after a system degradation called Blaine the Mono.
The Waste Lands is a highly entertaining novel with loads of action, suspense and more of King’s clever writing. When not reading it, I was always wondering what was about happen, especially in the city of Lud. It was interesting finding out how the books Jake had brought over from his world tied in with their quest.
I was not disappointed in this third installment, yet, there were things about it that made me frown. For instance, the scene where they’re bringing Jake over into Mid-World. While Eddie works to open the portal inside a circle outlined in bones, Roland and Susannah have to keep a sex hungry demon off of him. Depending on if the demon is male or female would determine which one of the three it would go after. When reading this, I was like, “Gee, I wonder who is about to get buggered.” Of course, it was Susannah (the woman), duh! This goes back to my earlier complaint. I also felt there was a tad too much explaining that bogged the story down at times throughout, but all-in-all, this was a damn good book!
And finally, Wizard and Glass.
Roland, Jake, Eddie, and Susannah are trapped on Blain the Mono, who is surging them at incredible speed towards certain death. With a stroke of luck and thinking outside the box, one of them, (I won’t say who) saves the day. They reach their stop: Topeka, Kansas, or Kansas Turnpike. They leave Blaine where he rests because as King put it, it was just another artifact of a world that has moved on. They continue following the path of the beam on 1-70 when a building in the far distance is seen standing in their way. The ka-tet makes camp and Roland opens up about his younger days as a newly born gunslinger. He and his original ka-tet, Cuthbert Allgood and Alain Johns, both fourteen the same as Roland in this, are sent on an “errand” by their fathers, to a town called Hambry in the Barony of Mejis territory. Shortly after arriving, Roland meets a beautiful young woman, Susan Delgado. She’d lost her father and now lives with her aunt, Cordelia. Roland and Susan are instantly attracted to each other.
Falling in love is easy, however, being together isn’t.
Before Roland and his kat-tet show up at Hambry, Susan had already promised herself to a much older man, Hart Thorin, to be his gilly. (Again, it boils down to sex for the woman. And I’m not just pointing it out in the Dark Tower series, mind you. Just sayin’ it’d be nice to read about more female characters who haven’t been sexually abused or who aren’t whores or use sex to get what they want, or who are teases. And if they’re virgins, having their virginity being offered up as some sick prize, to which, of course, the girl always has to go through some humiliating process to prove her purity. It’s a pattern that, personally, I’d like to see broken, especially in fiction.) Anyway, back to the story.
In Hambry, Roland’s ka-tet gets into a spot of trouble with the Big Coffin Hunters when Cuthbert saves Sheemie Ruiz, a simpleton with a big heart, from licking the boots of Elder Jonas before the man murders him. There are other problems for the boys as well when they uncover something very dangerous the Big Coffin Hunters are planning, using machines. To stop them, the boys devise a plan with Susan’s help. In the midst of all of this, Roland and Susan develop a forbidden love affair that drives a rift between him and Cuthbert when Cuthbert senses Roland losing his focus on their mission. Also, ol’ Aunt Cordelia, who stands to profit from the arrangement made between them and Hart Thorin, is growing suspicious about Susan and Roland. It takes a mental and sometimes physical toll on both aunt and niece. If Susan doesn’t give herself to Thorin come Reaping (the town’s version of a fall celebration) as a virgin, (naturally) than all her aunt’s dreams of becoming wealthy are gone in a puff of smoke. Then there’s the dirty and vile witch, Rhea of the Cöos, who sticks a poisonous throne in everyone’s side. She has in her temporally possession a glass ball, called Marilyn’s Grapefruit, which allows her to see into people’s lives and even the future, which Roland finds out later on. It takes hold of her in a very bad way, making Rhea an addict for its power. Roland has the misfortune of looking into the glass ball himself, only to see the hard road he must take, and to do so, he must leave everything behind, even Susan.
The story of young Roland and Susan takes up most of this book, which, as a filler, it’s really good. We’re learning more about our main protagonist and the genesis behind the quest for the Dark Tower. It opens up to other areas that I’m curious on how it’ll feature in the books to come. I truly enjoyed this novel and the others in the Dark Tower saga. Wizard and Glass has all the elements that I liked in the previous in books. As a storyteller myself, King as unknowingly helped me evolve in my own writing as some other authors whose works I’ve read have done.
My issues? Other than the constant link between women and sex that always irks me, Wizards and Glass, I feel has too many characters to keep track off, and again there’s too much over explaining. If you put the book down for a while and then pick it back up again, you run the risk of forgetting allllllllll the details given, which may or may not matter. I also thought the whole Wizard of Oz bit in the end was played out too much. Partially that’s due to the fact I’ve seen so many Wizard of Oz references and adaptations over the years, which came well after this book was written. I did find Roland’s confusion when listening to his ka-tet talk about it, funny.
The story kept my interest, through and through. I’ve already ordered Wolves of the Calla, hoping to read the next four books before the movie and TV show adaptation comes out ’cause I’m not watching them until I do.
So to Mr. Stephen King, as I tap my breastbone three times with my left hand, I say, thankee-sai for writing these tales.
March 26, 2018
Book 1: The Gunslinger (★★★★☆)
Book 2: The Drawing of the Three (★★★★☆)
Book 3: The Waste Lands (★★★★☆)
Book 4: Wizard and Glass (★★★☆☆)
Book 2: The Drawing of the Three (★★★★☆)
Book 3: The Waste Lands (★★★★☆)
Book 4: Wizard and Glass (★★★☆☆)
January 18, 2015
I didn't read this boxed-set edition but I wanted to review these as a lump.
Let's face it - I loved the whole thing. There isn't another story out there quite like this one. I am not a fan of the fantasy genre - I like my science-fiction on the hardcore side. This series softened my attitude toward fantasy fiction because King applies his softest touch ever here. You can tell that he didn't just knock out another tome for the sake of his publisher, which is a feeling I get about a lot of his latest work. This is the work of King's lifetime of telling stories. If you are a King fan, there is much here to fascinate you.
I was almost scared to read the last volume of this work. I'd been reading the books as they came out, ever since the first one, and I was worried an anticlimax was coming. King didn't let me down though! The ending of the series is just so.
Let's face it - I loved the whole thing. There isn't another story out there quite like this one. I am not a fan of the fantasy genre - I like my science-fiction on the hardcore side. This series softened my attitude toward fantasy fiction because King applies his softest touch ever here. You can tell that he didn't just knock out another tome for the sake of his publisher, which is a feeling I get about a lot of his latest work. This is the work of King's lifetime of telling stories. If you are a King fan, there is much here to fascinate you.
I was almost scared to read the last volume of this work. I'd been reading the books as they came out, ever since the first one, and I was worried an anticlimax was coming. King didn't let me down though! The ending of the series is just so.
January 19, 2011
And now for the best and most complex of them all....... I deliberately postponed reading this to catch up with the group. I really don't have anything to add to this. The bleak, seemingly unending journey is described so heartrendingly that yes, one does feel some pity for Mordred.
I am so very glad I decided to re-read the entire series - it was like plunging into another world. I found myself unable to concentrate on any other books while I was reading "The Dark Tower."
And I agree with King, this is the only ending that could have been. Only this tine, Roland has the Horn of Eld with him on his journey.
I am so very glad I decided to re-read the entire series - it was like plunging into another world. I found myself unable to concentrate on any other books while I was reading "The Dark Tower."
And I agree with King, this is the only ending that could have been. Only this tine, Roland has the Horn of Eld with him on his journey.
December 20, 2006
I can't help it - I'm a sucker for horror novels. I love 'em, and I unashamedly admit that I am a big fan of Stephen King. I've read nearly all of his novels, and the Dark Tower series is my favorite. Don't get me wrong - I thoroughly enjoyed his horror classics (The Shining, Carrie, 'Salem's Lot, etc); they are fabulously tense, scary, and just gory enough to make one cringe and get the blood racing. However, the Dark Tower has it all - fantasy, mythology, science fiction, epic, allegory, adventure, horror (demons, and wizards, and monsters, oh my). I read the first book (The Gunslinger) in 6th grade and have been hooked ever since, just waiting (sometimes for years) for publication of the next installment. If you have any interest in this genre, I highly recommend it.
***As an aside, many of King's novels tie-in to/mention/reference this epic.
***As an aside, many of King's novels tie-in to/mention/reference this epic.
June 21, 2007
OK, I'm not much for horror, but this series is amazing. It's not really horror, more of fantasy/adventure/sci-fi/western. Sarah got me hooked on them. I was trying to put down the whole series (I think there are 7) but couldn't find it all together. These are really good. There is some gore, but the characters are really well-drawn and the story sucks you right in. I think Wizard and Glass was my favorite, as you get the back story of the Gunslinger. The 6th one, Susanna's Song, was the least interesting to me, really just a transition book for the big final one, The Dark Tower. Some people hate the final ending to it all, but I think it makes perfect sense to me and wouldn't have it end any other way. If you like Harry Potter, you will probably like this, although it is considerably darker.
Currently reading
October 14, 2010My brother gave me the series to borrow. The first book is going very slowly and difficult to get into, which is strange as I've grown up reading Stephen King, and most of his work (good or bad) is usually very accessible. I'm still holding out for something to click with me.
10-14-10 Twenty pages into the second book, which looks more promising. The first had its moments, but it felt like he was writing in a style that didn't quite suit him. Work and getting ready for winter has been keeping me busy and tired, so this may take a little longer than it normally would, as I can only manage 20-30 pages before passing out (not a reflection on the book, btw).
10-14-10 Twenty pages into the second book, which looks more promising. The first had its moments, but it felt like he was writing in a style that didn't quite suit him. Work and getting ready for winter has been keeping me busy and tired, so this may take a little longer than it normally would, as I can only manage 20-30 pages before passing out (not a reflection on the book, btw).
October 31, 2017
I read this series about 10 years ago and loved it, except for the first book.
Now I was ready for a reread. Not only did I love the first book as well, but I found so many hidden things in all of the books I didn't notice the first time. So glad I read them again!
Now I was ready for a reread. Not only did I love the first book as well, but I found so many hidden things in all of the books I didn't notice the first time. So glad I read them again!
January 31, 2008
I love Stephen King, but this series is the best I've read of his. The first four books I read twice while I waited for the next three to come out!
January 9, 2015
Gli ambienti sono straordinari e i protagonisti bellisismi.
Tutto il resto lascia il tempo che trova :)
Tutto il resto lascia il tempo che trova :)
October 2, 2015
These are almost no words to describe Stephen King's Magnus opus. The Dark Tower takes you on a wonderful, weird, amazing quest and is set in a universe different, but so like ours.
March 29, 2019
Book 1: The Gunslinger
Grim and intriguing with occasional bursts of philosophical genius, but far too vague in detail and plot direction. Even after having finished the novel, I have no sense of direction of where the plot is heading or where it was ever meant to be heading in the first place. The motivations of the characters, the setting and the story were lost in a jumbled sea of hallucinatory prose and characters speaking in riddles. I have so many unanswered questions that I had to sit back and think about what the hell I just read before writing a review.
The only thing that kept me going was the relationship between Roland and the man in black. I don’t know enough about either of them too sympathize with their respective struggles, but they’re both so darn interesting that I’m dying to learn more about them and the things that drive such cold and distant men.
Despite feeling a bit unsatisfied with the novel’s conclusion, I’m curious to see how such a mysterious and intriguing introduction spanned this long of a series. I feel like this book was less of a fully realized tale that could serve as a stand-alone work and more of a massive prologue for the real story. Not too impressed, but impressed just enough to want to read the rest of the series to see where it goes.
*****
Book 2: The Drawing of the Three
After being fairly disappointed with the first book, the second book completely defied my expectations and gave me the deep characterization, coherent narrative and hardcore action that the first book was severely lacking in. I was blown away by what a massive improvement this book was over the first one. This time, I actually feel excited for the next installment and like I have a better grasp on the world and the protagonist’s goal. This was a much more complete and self-contained experience.
The best part of this book was easily the introduction of Eddie and Odetta, a foul mouthed heroin junkie and a woman suffering from severe schizophrenia. Not only were they incredible characters in their own right, but they also brought out some much-needed personality out of Roland. The three of them being on page simultaneously was a joy to behold. Sometimes it was tragic, sometimes it was hilarious, sometimes it was terrifying and sometimes it was beautifully human.
The chemistry between the three unstable misfits kept the tension and the emotion high at all times. Now that Roland has gathered the necessary crew to continue his journey, where will destiny take them? I’m eager to find out.
*****
Book 3: The Wastelands
The ridiculously slow pacing, the jumping around between various settings and the lack of progression in many areas definitely got under my skin quite a few times, but the payoff to each of the individual story arcs always left me feeling satisfied and entertained enough to move on to the next one.
Here's the funny thing though. I find myself no longer caring about Roland's purpose or the Tower itself, the thing that I really enjoy about these books are the interactions between the incredibly broken characters and watching how they grow beyond their individual flaws through mutual suffering and bonding. Tough times bring people together, as they say.
I also enjoyed the introduction of Oy, a silly bird creature that feels like the classic video game traveling companion. The four misfits and their furry companion bring a lot of joy, tears and dark humor to life and I care more about their bonds with each other than the actual plot and mystery of the Tower itself. As much as I love their antics, I hope the future books in this series will make me care more about the actual plot and conclusion.
*****
Book 4: Wizard and Glass
The first 100 pages were brilliant, the last 100 had some good moments as well. But good lord, the 500 page flashback in the middle was a dreadfully dull slog to get through. The horror, mystery and suspense that's kept me interested in this series was thrown out the window in exchange for a cheesy teenage romance plot with elements of a western lifetime movie to go along with it. I'm not saying the flashback was terrible, it's just not what I signed up for at all. It was especially difficult to get through since we were pretty much told exactly how the flashback would end long before it even started.
Outside of the corny stuff I already mentioned that I didn't like about the book, I didn't care for Rhea the witch or the awkward Wizard of Oz parody sequence either. It felt so out of place with the grim atmosphere and tense mystery that first drew me into the series. Honestly, I feel impressed with myself just for being able to get through this book without giving up. I feel satisfied, but I think I need to take a long break from this series before I decide to continue. This book drained the life out of me.
Grim and intriguing with occasional bursts of philosophical genius, but far too vague in detail and plot direction. Even after having finished the novel, I have no sense of direction of where the plot is heading or where it was ever meant to be heading in the first place. The motivations of the characters, the setting and the story were lost in a jumbled sea of hallucinatory prose and characters speaking in riddles. I have so many unanswered questions that I had to sit back and think about what the hell I just read before writing a review.
The only thing that kept me going was the relationship between Roland and the man in black. I don’t know enough about either of them too sympathize with their respective struggles, but they’re both so darn interesting that I’m dying to learn more about them and the things that drive such cold and distant men.
Despite feeling a bit unsatisfied with the novel’s conclusion, I’m curious to see how such a mysterious and intriguing introduction spanned this long of a series. I feel like this book was less of a fully realized tale that could serve as a stand-alone work and more of a massive prologue for the real story. Not too impressed, but impressed just enough to want to read the rest of the series to see where it goes.
*****
Book 2: The Drawing of the Three
After being fairly disappointed with the first book, the second book completely defied my expectations and gave me the deep characterization, coherent narrative and hardcore action that the first book was severely lacking in. I was blown away by what a massive improvement this book was over the first one. This time, I actually feel excited for the next installment and like I have a better grasp on the world and the protagonist’s goal. This was a much more complete and self-contained experience.
The best part of this book was easily the introduction of Eddie and Odetta, a foul mouthed heroin junkie and a woman suffering from severe schizophrenia. Not only were they incredible characters in their own right, but they also brought out some much-needed personality out of Roland. The three of them being on page simultaneously was a joy to behold. Sometimes it was tragic, sometimes it was hilarious, sometimes it was terrifying and sometimes it was beautifully human.
The chemistry between the three unstable misfits kept the tension and the emotion high at all times. Now that Roland has gathered the necessary crew to continue his journey, where will destiny take them? I’m eager to find out.
*****
Book 3: The Wastelands
The ridiculously slow pacing, the jumping around between various settings and the lack of progression in many areas definitely got under my skin quite a few times, but the payoff to each of the individual story arcs always left me feeling satisfied and entertained enough to move on to the next one.
Here's the funny thing though. I find myself no longer caring about Roland's purpose or the Tower itself, the thing that I really enjoy about these books are the interactions between the incredibly broken characters and watching how they grow beyond their individual flaws through mutual suffering and bonding. Tough times bring people together, as they say.
I also enjoyed the introduction of Oy, a silly bird creature that feels like the classic video game traveling companion. The four misfits and their furry companion bring a lot of joy, tears and dark humor to life and I care more about their bonds with each other than the actual plot and mystery of the Tower itself. As much as I love their antics, I hope the future books in this series will make me care more about the actual plot and conclusion.
*****
Book 4: Wizard and Glass
The first 100 pages were brilliant, the last 100 had some good moments as well. But good lord, the 500 page flashback in the middle was a dreadfully dull slog to get through. The horror, mystery and suspense that's kept me interested in this series was thrown out the window in exchange for a cheesy teenage romance plot with elements of a western lifetime movie to go along with it. I'm not saying the flashback was terrible, it's just not what I signed up for at all. It was especially difficult to get through since we were pretty much told exactly how the flashback would end long before it even started.
Outside of the corny stuff I already mentioned that I didn't like about the book, I didn't care for Rhea the witch or the awkward Wizard of Oz parody sequence either. It felt so out of place with the grim atmosphere and tense mystery that first drew me into the series. Honestly, I feel impressed with myself just for being able to get through this book without giving up. I feel satisfied, but I think I need to take a long break from this series before I decide to continue. This book drained the life out of me.
May 10, 2018
This is one of my favorite stories of all time. I loved Lord of the Rings (of course). I read that Stephen King was influenced by Tolkien as well but was determined to retell the epic story in his own style. He really did. It is a sweeping epic that crosses many different genres (western, sci-fi, fantasy) with one of the most brilliant endings I've ever read. It's a story that has stuck with me my entire life. Steven King is the author that as a kid made me love to read and appreciate the craft of writing. This series, as a whole, is his masterpiece. Do yourself a favor, read it. Read it all. You will soon find yourself falling in love with the characters and wondering where they will take you next.
February 5, 2017
Just finished the fourth book today! Can't wait to read the next 3 books.
I loved the first book and was obsessed with the second, I was less impressed with the third but the fourth book made up for it and then some!
I loved the first book and was obsessed with the second, I was less impressed with the third but the fourth book made up for it and then some!
November 13, 2017
A very strange mix of fantasy, science fiction, old west, and horror - something that only Stephen King could create. This epic story stirs the emotions and evokes fascination every step of the way. Brilliant!
August 10, 2017
one book down.
Read
April 9, 2020my most fave of all
May 22, 2020
The only King I can't get through & I've been reading King for about 30 years.
March 26, 2025
The dark tower books were a core of my introduction to fantasy. I read the gunslinger in 1983, at the age of 11, and kept going until wind through the keyhole.
Seeing the way that King threaded the universe not only through this series, but also books like Insomnia, and Hearts in Atlantis was amazing to me as I was exploring this universe.
Seeing the way that King threaded the universe not only through this series, but also books like Insomnia, and Hearts in Atlantis was amazing to me as I was exploring this universe.
March 19, 2015
THE GUNSLINGER
This is a pretty slow start to what becomes an incredibly engrossing series of novels from the Master of Horror. With the focus only being on one of the Dark Tower characters, the tale drags a little, but what it leads into is so wonderful that I think we can forgive Mr King.
THE DRAWING OF THE THREE
This is where the series really finds its feet and gets going, with the introduction of additional characters that help us sympathise a bit more with the plight of the book. Where Roland felt a little one-dimensional, the additonal characters feel much more real and create an impressive counterpoint for him.
THE WASTE LANDS
Although this is just as good as The drawing Of The Three, it does end on a note that makes me think it must have been hard for fans who read this on its release to wait over six years to find out what happens on board Blaine the train! I found it annoying just having to wait until the next day to pick up volume four!
WIZARD AND GLASS
After a wait of six years, the Fourth installment of The Dark Tower showed up in 1997 and picked up where King had left off in 1991. It was worht the wait. The links between the lands of The Dark Tower and those in The Wizard of Oz are far more obvious in this book, and there are even nods to King's other works, most noticeably The Stand. Fans will love this, and even though it was another six years before volume five, the last three volumes arrived thick and fast.
This is a pretty slow start to what becomes an incredibly engrossing series of novels from the Master of Horror. With the focus only being on one of the Dark Tower characters, the tale drags a little, but what it leads into is so wonderful that I think we can forgive Mr King.
THE DRAWING OF THE THREE
This is where the series really finds its feet and gets going, with the introduction of additional characters that help us sympathise a bit more with the plight of the book. Where Roland felt a little one-dimensional, the additonal characters feel much more real and create an impressive counterpoint for him.
THE WASTE LANDS
Although this is just as good as The drawing Of The Three, it does end on a note that makes me think it must have been hard for fans who read this on its release to wait over six years to find out what happens on board Blaine the train! I found it annoying just having to wait until the next day to pick up volume four!
WIZARD AND GLASS
After a wait of six years, the Fourth installment of The Dark Tower showed up in 1997 and picked up where King had left off in 1991. It was worht the wait. The links between the lands of The Dark Tower and those in The Wizard of Oz are far more obvious in this book, and there are even nods to King's other works, most noticeably The Stand. Fans will love this, and even though it was another six years before volume five, the last three volumes arrived thick and fast.
January 27, 2016
Hey you: yes, you.
If you're perusing the fantasy genre and for some reason you haven't dipped a toe in this series, I'm your guy. Let me explain to you what's going to happen.
You're going to pick up that first book and it's going to be intriguing to you, not unlike the Sergio Leone Westerns. The Gunslinger is sparse, but it gives you just enough to want to know more:
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
How can you not keep reading after that line?
You'll experience one of the most fascinating transformations of a writer when you follow King through the Land of Oz and everything else: this series is riddled with just about all the pop culture you can think of, and ancient history, too. You won't find any book series anywhere that has King Arthur and cocaine and Dorothy.
So, if you're thinking about it, don't think. Go for it. Put a little time in. And if you need an audiobook recommendation — Frank Muller while that magnificent alien was here on this Earth — was able to read the first few books. Just a warning that you might get fired from staying in your car too long though. His voice sounds like the Old West; you'll know what I mean.
More thoughts on my podcast, the Quillionaire:
https://thequillionaire.wordpress.com...
If you're perusing the fantasy genre and for some reason you haven't dipped a toe in this series, I'm your guy. Let me explain to you what's going to happen.
You're going to pick up that first book and it's going to be intriguing to you, not unlike the Sergio Leone Westerns. The Gunslinger is sparse, but it gives you just enough to want to know more:
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
How can you not keep reading after that line?
You'll experience one of the most fascinating transformations of a writer when you follow King through the Land of Oz and everything else: this series is riddled with just about all the pop culture you can think of, and ancient history, too. You won't find any book series anywhere that has King Arthur and cocaine and Dorothy.
So, if you're thinking about it, don't think. Go for it. Put a little time in. And if you need an audiobook recommendation — Frank Muller while that magnificent alien was here on this Earth — was able to read the first few books. Just a warning that you might get fired from staying in your car too long though. His voice sounds like the Old West; you'll know what I mean.
More thoughts on my podcast, the Quillionaire:
https://thequillionaire.wordpress.com...
January 19, 2011
I'm not usually a Stephen King fan.
That said, this series is fantastic. As this is a boxed set, I'll review the books individually...
The Gunslinger: Probably the simplest book, in terms of plot, it does a very good job of introducing Roland and his world, and beginning to reveal what exactly is driving him on his quest.
The Drawing of the Three: Roland gathers his ka-tet (at least, most of them). While the portion of the book that centers on Eddie Dean is highly entertaining and has the same sense of drive as The Gunslinger, the later portions suffer a little.
The Waste Lands: The group finds Jake and begins their quest in earnest. The first half of the book, while good, doesn't have nearly the pace that the first 1 1/2 books have. The latter portion moves the story along at a much faster clip while introducing notes of King's trademark gruesomeness.
Wizard and Glass: Roland tells the story of how he got set on the quest for the Dark Tower in the first place. This book moves along at an excellent clip, while also giving us the clearest sense of Roland as a character that we've gotten since the beginning.
All of these are highly recommended!
That said, this series is fantastic. As this is a boxed set, I'll review the books individually...
The Gunslinger: Probably the simplest book, in terms of plot, it does a very good job of introducing Roland and his world, and beginning to reveal what exactly is driving him on his quest.
The Drawing of the Three: Roland gathers his ka-tet (at least, most of them). While the portion of the book that centers on Eddie Dean is highly entertaining and has the same sense of drive as The Gunslinger, the later portions suffer a little.
The Waste Lands: The group finds Jake and begins their quest in earnest. The first half of the book, while good, doesn't have nearly the pace that the first 1 1/2 books have. The latter portion moves the story along at a much faster clip while introducing notes of King's trademark gruesomeness.
Wizard and Glass: Roland tells the story of how he got set on the quest for the Dark Tower in the first place. This book moves along at an excellent clip, while also giving us the clearest sense of Roland as a character that we've gotten since the beginning.
All of these are highly recommended!
December 30, 2007
If I told you what this series is about, it would ruin everything. In the sketchiest terms, it's about the end of the world, and a person who, more for personal obsession than any sense of goodwill, takes it upon himself to stop it.
By Book 3 (The Waste Lands), you may start picking hints up about what's going on. They start pretty obscure, though.
By 4 (Wizard and Glass), the premise should be obvious, though I wonder if King himself knew how it would end at this point.
I think it's by book 6 (Song of Susannah) that you're actually told, and you get to decide whether the author pulled a fast one. But, then again, that may be because of all the things we missed in book 3.
And ah, the end. I could tell you exactly why it makes perfect sense, but that would blow everything.
To fully appreciate these, it helps to have read just about every other book King's written (there's a list of which of his stuff tie in in the later books). If you haven't (and I haven't), these books may make you want to read them, but once again I won't tell you why.
By Book 3 (The Waste Lands), you may start picking hints up about what's going on. They start pretty obscure, though.
By 4 (Wizard and Glass), the premise should be obvious, though I wonder if King himself knew how it would end at this point.
I think it's by book 6 (Song of Susannah) that you're actually told, and you get to decide whether the author pulled a fast one. But, then again, that may be because of all the things we missed in book 3.
And ah, the end. I could tell you exactly why it makes perfect sense, but that would blow everything.
To fully appreciate these, it helps to have read just about every other book King's written (there's a list of which of his stuff tie in in the later books). If you haven't (and I haven't), these books may make you want to read them, but once again I won't tell you why.
April 16, 2007
Steven King's magnum opus. I've given a short review of all the books below. Based largely on the strengths of books 1, 2 and 4, I rate the whole series of seven books a three.
On "THE GUNSLINGER" His first book in a very long series starts out well enough.
On "THE DRAWING OF THE THREE" Gotta chuk!? Gotta up-chuk!? Okay, not so bad but not as good as the first.
On "THE WASTELANDS" The series improves with fast-paced, difficult to follow forays into alternate realities.
On "WIZARD AND GLASS" The best of this series.
ON "WOLVES OF THE CALLA" Beginning of the slow degradation of this concept series into mish-mosh.
On "SONG OF SUZANNA" And now we begin to wonder . . . What's going on here?
On "THE DARK TOWER" Wonder no more . . . The grand finale of King's magnum opus fizzles with out a whimper or bang.
On "THE GUNSLINGER" His first book in a very long series starts out well enough.
On "THE DRAWING OF THE THREE" Gotta chuk!? Gotta up-chuk!? Okay, not so bad but not as good as the first.
On "THE WASTELANDS" The series improves with fast-paced, difficult to follow forays into alternate realities.
On "WIZARD AND GLASS" The best of this series.
ON "WOLVES OF THE CALLA" Beginning of the slow degradation of this concept series into mish-mosh.
On "SONG OF SUZANNA" And now we begin to wonder . . . What's going on here?
On "THE DARK TOWER" Wonder no more . . . The grand finale of King's magnum opus fizzles with out a whimper or bang.
April 13, 2009
I've always enjoyed Steven King's works, and I've often been recommended the Dark Tower series. I decided to get the boxed set convinced that I was going to enjoy the series so much I would want to go from book to book with no interruption.
After reading the first book, The Gunslinger, I felt like perhaps I had made a mistake. The book was incredibly bleak and depressing, and I debated on whether I even wanted to finish it. Book two, The Drawing of the Three, was considerably more interesting. There was much better cohesion here. It was book three, The Wastelands, the hooked me. Now that I have completed the fourth book, Wizard and Glass, I am really hooked. The fourth book is definitely my favorite so far.
If you haven't read the series, I definitely recommend toughing it out through the first two books. You'll be rewarded when you get to books three and four.
After reading the first book, The Gunslinger, I felt like perhaps I had made a mistake. The book was incredibly bleak and depressing, and I debated on whether I even wanted to finish it. Book two, The Drawing of the Three, was considerably more interesting. There was much better cohesion here. It was book three, The Wastelands, the hooked me. Now that I have completed the fourth book, Wizard and Glass, I am really hooked. The fourth book is definitely my favorite so far.
If you haven't read the series, I definitely recommend toughing it out through the first two books. You'll be rewarded when you get to books three and four.
January 16, 2013
A classic telling. Anyone who knows about the history of this series knows king took a break during the telling. Well it shows, the first bunch of books are far superior to the last bunch
The last bunch show a lack of a good editors hand, which I suspect is because it is King and can get away with more.
Also I almost dropped the book when King wrote himself in as a character.. seriously that was just lame.
Anyway despite some tough to get through middle books the ending was somewhat satisfying.. and i ended up reading a lot of tie in books (damn marketing genious!!)
He built up a lot of tension around various plot lines only to have them fizzel out... not really sure why it was like that.
The wastelands and drawing of the three are 2 of my favorite books.. and I have fond memories of working my way through this work
The last bunch show a lack of a good editors hand, which I suspect is because it is King and can get away with more.
Also I almost dropped the book when King wrote himself in as a character.. seriously that was just lame.
Anyway despite some tough to get through middle books the ending was somewhat satisfying.. and i ended up reading a lot of tie in books (damn marketing genious!!)
He built up a lot of tension around various plot lines only to have them fizzel out... not really sure why it was like that.
The wastelands and drawing of the three are 2 of my favorite books.. and I have fond memories of working my way through this work
November 3, 2016
I read this series over the course of about 10 years. Two of the seven books were awesome and I gave them five stars ("Gunslinger" & "Wizard and Glass"). One is probably the worst book I've ever read ("The Song of Susannah") ... ugh! The last book had some great parts, but was largely tedious (especially the last 3rd) and went out with a ginormous fizzle (except perhaps very end of the ending which somehow seemed appropriate). The other books were immemorial. If I could have a do over, I would only read the two five star books I mentioned before and skip the rest. Honestly, the last two books in this series lowered my opinion of King so much I don't think I can call him a favorite author anymore.
November 26, 2010
Books 1-4 were amazing, but it all went downhill from there. It is apparent to me that Stephen King tired of writing about Roland and only finished the series to appease his fans. Book 7 was horrible. Any time the author writes a letter to the readers in the front of the book telling them to bite their tongues and be happy the series got its ending, you know the book is going to be less than stellar. There are times I wish I hadn't read the ending and had just imagined one on my own.
Still, the first 4 books were some of the best I've ever read, and book 4 especially was impossible to put down.
Still, the first 4 books were some of the best I've ever read, and book 4 especially was impossible to put down.
June 26, 2025
I own the entire Dark Tower Set and I've listened to it on audio book for no telling how many years to go to sleep. As everyone knows King is the "King" of world building and taking you to crazy places. Blain/Blane (I can't remember how we spell the trains name) the mono is probably my favorite scene but the story of Roland and Susan Delgato lives with me to this day. I always wished we'd explored more inside the Dark Tower before getting to the ending that is both heartbreaking and yet somehow more perfect than S.K. even knows. For him The Dark Tower is a never ending story and that is true for me as well.
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