I'm halfway through the epic fantasy series The Dark Tower by Stephen King, and I must say I truly hope that the latter half picks back up.. The first three were good, better, and best, and maybe I had higher standards than I should have, but this fourth novel that I've just finished, Wizard and Glass, fell far short of my expectations. It was very interesting getting to learn the entire backstory of Roland of Gilead, and the tragic story of his love, Susan Delgado, especially since so many references are made to these characters, and to the story of how Roland became a gunslinger and started off on his quest for the Dark Tower. But, I don't think it required a full 660 pages of text. It was the length of the first three books in the series. COMBINED. And it got rather dull and dry at times. Maybe if he had broken up the story a little bit more, it would have been easier to read?
That being said, the rest of the series itself is outstanding (even with the long backstory of this fourth novel), and I'm looking forward to what happens to Roland and his ka-tet on their journey to the Dark Tower. The characters are all likable and fun to read about (which may have had an impact on how I felt about the fourth book, which focused on these earlier characters in Roland's life, not on the ka-tet that he is with in present and to whom he is telling the stories of his youth). Ah well, Wolves of the Calla is another book, which I'll have my hands on tomorrow or at least before the end of the weekend. I definitely recommend at least taking a look at the Gunslinger, the first book in the series, before simply writing off the entire series. It's a great fantasy story that has all the darkness and depth of a Stephen King story, with alternate realms and a huge sci-fi/fantasy core that I did not expect from the master of horror and suspense literature.
Happy fourth of July everyone! I'll put up another post soon, I'm about halfway through Joshua Foer's novel Moonwalking with Einstein, an interesting story on 'The art of remembering everything'. Keep an eye out, and if you're reading this and you haven't already, FOLLOW ME FOOLS! Thanks, peace out and such.
Justin
Ah you're reading so much more than me! I've always been curious about the Dark Tower series but it seemed so long and involved. Also I keep recommending The Art of Racing in the Rain to customers for summer reading purely because you told me you liked it :P
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