Stephen King Fans discussion
Dark Tower Series
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To much Dark Tower?
I hit a wall in the middle of the seventh book but from what I have heard that is normal
I actually hit a wall with the beginning of Wizard & Glass. Took a long break then came back to it and zipped through the rest of the books.
I also hit a wall in the middle of Wizard & Glass; somewhere in last year. So I got myself the audio books and must say it's going much better now!
Song of Susannah is a little slower than the others, but I flew through all of them. I hit the wall with the first book - it took me 10 years to finish lol.
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I get this way anytime I read a series, or just a lot of Stephen King in general.....I love the man but sometimes my mind needs a break from constantly being blown away lol. I like to read one Stephen King book and then one not authored by him just to change things up. And usually my in between book is a young adult novel so then I'm running to King for an awesome adult story hahah.
I had no problems, whatsoever, with Song of Susannah.:)
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With me at least, "problems" and "hit the brick wall" should be taken with a grain of salt. As well as my calling it the "weakest".
It's all relative. These words are relative to books I,II,III,IV,V and VII of the series. If you compare it to the average book out there, it stands among the awesome.
I experienced the same thing with "Wolves of the Calla" - I think reading an epic series like the Tower in a fairly short amount of time can result in the occasional burn-out for the reader. My solution was to leave it for two or three weeks and read something lighter - then I went back to it, was hooked again and finished the last half of the book in a couple of days. I hope you manage to get along with "Song of Susannah" better once you've had a break from it - I know it's generally considered the weakest of the series but I never really got that myself, I thought it was great.
I had no problem getting through any of them but I didn't try to read any back to back. I read them as they came out.
I finished Song of Susannah. It finished strong, so I'm back on track with the series. I really like the way the last book is starting out. To be fair, I think it was me being burnt out than it was the book being a little slower. Anyway I'm 900 pages from the end of this epic story. Can't wait to see how it ends.
Gatorman wrote: "I had no problem getting through any of them but I didn't try to read any back to back. I read them as they came out."So did I Gator granted my wait between book 3 ans 4 was probably shorter than yours if you're on of the folks who got to the series as it was first coming out. I started reading it in the mid 90s. I think I waited a year or two for Wizard and Glass.
And I am still waiting to begin the series. I want to get some other books off of my shelves (reading first of course) and out the door before I even attempt to read a whole series. I'm probably the only person on the planet left who hasn't read the Harry Pottery books. Same thing. I would want to read them all in order and fairly close together so that means reserving a big hunk of time for them. I don't have the best memory for details so I don't want to wait very long between books or I'll forget what I learned in the previous one.
I am reading the dark series. I am on the third book and so far it is amazing. I might take a break between dark tower five and six because I might not have six and seven by the time I finish five. I am thinking about Under the Dome after wolves of the calla, to split it up a little bit. King is my all time favorite writer.
David wrote: "I am reading the dark series. I am on the third book and so far it is amazing. I might take a break between dark tower five and six because I might not have six and seven by the time I finish five...."Wow, that is AWESOME, David!
Don't forget about the up-coming Wind Through The Keyhole, which is basically DT 4.5.
Yea. I'ma try and get that too. King is my favorite writer of all time.
Take a look at my Dark Tower poll> Feel free to choose an answer! http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/65361
Terri wrote: "And I am still waiting to begin the series. I want to get some other books off of my shelves (reading first of course) and out the door before I even attempt to read a whole series. I'm probably ..."You aren't the only person who has never read Harry Potter.....lol :)
Kathryn wrote: You aren't the only person who has never read Harry Potter.....lol :)Yep, it'll make that other person that hasn't read it feel good that they're not alone! ;)
I've never read Harry Potter either LOL.
Sorry, the TWO other people who haven't read it yet!JEEZ!! ;)
Courtney wrote: "I've never read Harry Potter either LOL."Yes! See?! I knew I wasn't the only one! People always assume I read them because I read quite a bit. When I tell them I haven't, they look at me funny, especially when I tell them I don't ever plan onreading them. Lol
Kathryn and Courtney- you really haven't read the Harry Potter series!?
Dustin wrote: "Kathryn and Courtney- you really haven't read the Harry Potter series!?"Nope. I don't plan to either. Lol.
May I ask why? I'm just curious, because it really is a fantastic series, and it's well-written, too.:)
I've tried to read the first book a couple of times. I couldn't get into it. It's just not really my thing.
This is going to sound quite odd....especially since I am reading the Dark Tower series and I want to read GRRM's books, ASOIAF, but I really am tired of series books. Depending on length of the books and the series, it can be quite the commitment. I tend to like single books because the story ends within the same pages it started from. Plus, it just doesn't really sound like something I would like or get into. I have read a few series sets and by the end, I was kind of exhausted with the story. The Dark Tower has been an exception, though. I think that is why I was originally not ready to start it, but I am really enjoying it. I think part of that has to do with the fact SO much has happened in just the books I have read, it has really surprised me. And it is King, after all. :) ASOIAF just seems so intriguing, and my cousin keeps begging me to read them. Haha
Kathryn: you say that you are tired of series books: how much YA lit have you read at this stage in your life, if you don't mind my asking?
Bondama wrote: "Kathryn: you say that you are tired of series books: how much YA lit have you read at this stage in your life, if you don't mind my asking?"Only a few....I don't really read YA, actually.
I got that impression, actually..... I'm 63, and, until the recent renaissance in quality in YA books, didn't read too many either... but I've been very, very pleasantly surprised recently!
If u don't like book series u have not read Narnia or try Dean Koontz Frankenstein series
I love Narnia! I hadn't heard of the Dean Koontz series I'll have to check it out.
Terri wrote: "And I am still waiting to begin the series. I want to get some other books off of my shelves (reading first of course) and out the door before I even attempt to read a whole series. I'm probably ..."I have only read the first Harry Potter, so don't feel bad!
Nope, i have not,& hope never to read Harry Potter.
To much DT? Well whenever I read a reader review on the net it usually started out "It has so-and-so references to the Dark Tower"....So these people would read a 700 page book and the most important thing was to look DT connections? I think it has been damaging.
For the record I have never read The Harry Potter series either :)On the subject of Dark Tower, though, I'm nearing the end. I'm actually gonna force myself to hit a brick wall because I like to draw out the story, speculate and turn over what's happened in the story. It's actually good to take breaks with a series because it enriches itself given you are taking time to analyze it. I do that with tv series and sometimes video games too.
Wizard and Wolves are both ones where they settle down in one place and that kind of draws you into the community they have there. Then it's followed by something completely different in Songs of Susannah it's no wonder you were thrown off
I've read the series 4 times and I hit that brick wall right at the beginning of W&G. The series starts out fantastically but then when Roland starts telling stories, the story sags. W&G is about 300 pages too long, and is a story that doesn't mean anything in the long run--or at least doesn't have enough significance to merit 700+ pages( given the ending of both the book and the series). I've never thought The Dark Tower was too much at all, but I dread W&G. My last reading took me 42 days, but W&G took 15 of those.
I rank them:
1. The Drawing of the 3.
2. The Wind throgh the Keyhole.
3. The Wastelands.
4. The Gunslinger ( 5 stories. Haven't read the revised version).
5. Song of Susannah.
6. The Dark Tower.
7. The Wolves of the Calla.
8. Wizard & Glass.
Squire, I completely agree about Wizard and Glass. I think my disappointment and dislike of it pissed some people off. It was about 300 pages too long, and I hit a major wall when it came time for Roland's story. For the sake of finishing, I ended up skipping ahead. It was my least favorite of the series.
Mod
Just kidding. Your
Right after I finished Wizard and Glass, I was left with the same impression as Squire. However, after a little time passed, and especially after I completed the series, I started appreciating it more. The narration and the setting of Roland's story are beautifully written. It was definitely strange seeing Roland as a more fresh and inexperienced character, which I think was what I originally didn't like.For me the "brick wall" was right after W&G, especially during Song of Susannah. I think while I was reading I was mostly looking forward to the end, not enjoying the book itself.
PS.: It should be noted that when I'm talking about the weakest books in the series. They are still great in general.
PSS.: I have read every Harry Potter book at least 5 times.
Larry wrote: "To much DT? Well whenever I read a reader review on the net it usually started out "It has so-and-so references to the Dark Tower"....So these people would read a 700 page book and the most import..."Not the most important thing in whatever story you're reading, but it's pointing out the massive universe that King has created. This universe is the sum of its parts, and some clues are very slyly and cleverly hidden, so it's a nice heads up. There's all sorts of connections I totally missed unless someone brought it up. Plus, if I'm reading a review of a SK book I haven't read yet and I see that 'it has a DT connection,' that seals the deal for me. I'm reading it.
Actually I took a break after the 5th book. I needed a change and I went back into history. After a book or two I decided to read the 6th and since I got kinda scared and not ready for the story to end I read another book in order to finish the series.
I pretty much stormed through the first book and really enjoyed it, but when I picked up the drawing of three straight after I just couldn't get into it. I've tried taking a break and have read a few other books between then and now (including Horns, by Joe Hill, that I've just finished and would recommend) and hopefully I'll try and pick up the drawing of three again next week.
I love the Dark Tower series so the more the better! When I first started reading the series I took a chance and got a box set of, I think the first three books, and I went through those pretty quickly and I just bought the remainder of the series as they came out.
Erin wrote: "I love the Dark Tower series so the more the better! When I first started reading the series I took a chance and got a box set of, I think the first three books, and I went through those pretty qu..."I got the first four all at once! I had/have high hopes.
I haven't started DT yet - big commitment. I'm kind of liking stand alones at the moment. For the record I read HP 1-3 a few years ago and just couldn't finish 4 and now probably never will.
I zipped through 1-3 fairly quickly but my wall came at Wizard and Glass. My least fav one by far. Can't wait to finish the series but I'm on a bit of a DT hiatus atm
I'm hoping I don't come up against the DT wall. Since I've decided to space my King reading into every other book starting with Carrie and working my way up in order published, this shouldn't be a problem. At least I hope not. About half the books are re-reads for me though, and if I remember right, I stopped DT at Wastelands shortly after it was published originally.
I was excited to start Song of Susannah yesterday. It was like hitting a brick wall for me. I'm about 200 pages in and I'm struggling with it.
Has anyone else run into this? Maybe it's just a little to much Dark Tower at one time. I'm going to read something else then come back to it.I'm kind of bummed out.