Rating: 
Summary: Pete
Review: I thought the first two books of the series were great and the third was good, but this was a major disapointment. Almost the whole book is a flashback that has nothing to do with the main dark tower story. And it's a sappy lover story to boot.
Rating: 
Summary: Best In the Series (so far)
Review: As much as I love the first three books in the series, Wizard and Glass has something that the rest of them don't. Those looking for an ending to the drawn-out riddle-contest between Blaine and the ka-tet will be satisfied, but it isn't long before Roland and his friends take a rest stop, where Roland tells a story about his past. It isn't one of those things where the flashback takes up 20, maybe 30 pages, either. No, this story lasts 520 pages, and is clearly the main focus of the book. Those hoping to find Roland and his ka-tet making large steps towards reaching the Tower will have to wait for Wolves of the Calla (which I have yet to read).However, this side-story that is the main focus of Wizard and Glass is an amazing piece of fiction. Simply put, it's a beautiful love story. The usualy readers who're used to King's grisly works of horror may be put off by this notion, but I assure you, this isn't your usual love story. It's simply so genuine and moving, I guarantee you will be blown away. Of course, love isn't the only element of Roland's past, but it plays a huge role in the adventure. Alain and Cuthbert, Roland's adolescent friends, are also components of this story. It has a distinct Western feel to it, which is clearly what Stephen King intended, with the usual amount of dark fantasy to make things interesting. I'd say that the story of young Roland is quite Shakespearean in its grandiosity and epic qualities. Even if you're not a fan of the series, and have not read any of the other books, open this book to page 116, and begin reading the story Roland tells. It's incredible, and moved me as much as one of my other favorite books, The Once and Future King (in a similar way).
Rating:
Summary: The Story of Roland Deschain, the Last Gunslinger
Review: "The Waste Lands," Book 3 in the Dark Tower series, left us with a bit of a cliffhanger: Roland Deschain, Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean, Jake Chambers, and Oy the Bumbler were all aboard a sentient (and quite suicidal) super-monorail named Blaine, who was planning on derailing at near 800 mph and taking Roland's ka-tet with him unless they could present unto him a riddle he could not solve. Book 4 picks up right where Book 3 left off and wraps the dire situation up rather quickly to make way for the real essence of "Wizard and Glass": the story of Roland Deschain, a story of young love and tempered friendships, of shady villagers and a deep-running conspiracy, of a wicked witch and her parisitic crystal ball. Chances are if you've been reading the Dark Tower series this far, you have at least some like for Roland, and have wondered what could have made him such a seemingly cold-hearted jaded figure. Rest assured that this novel answers all those questions (and a couple hundred more). The introductions of the oft-mentioned characters Cuthbert Allgood, Alain Johns, and Susan Delgado alone is worth the trip through this hefty tome. The Dark Tower is getting closer and closer, and as it does, true fans are being rewarded more than ever. "Wizard and Glass" is a treat for fans and non-fans of King alike. With the series finale looking to come about in late 2004, now is the perfect time to catch up on everything you've (and that's quite a lot, believe me). You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: A very good novel...
Review: But the thing that bothered me with Dark Tower 4: Wizard and Glass, it took me 6 TIMES TO READ IT because he dragged on and one about Roland and his ka-tet: The story takes place in Roland's past, he was 14 at the time.
Wizard and Glass starts off with the older Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy on Blaine heading for a suicide with them on. The one way they have to fight for their lives is for Blaine to get stuck with one of their riddles, so far no cigar.
As Blaine heads for the end of the line, Eddie then tells one of his 'stupid riddles' on which Roland calls them. Blaine then gets pissed, stops the train, and they make it out alive. Now they are in Kansas, or what was Kansas. Jake then finds a newspaper, and discovers that the world was hit with a superflu virus; the cars on the freeway were packed with cars and rotten dead bodies (Remind you of something? I thought it would).
Now, they set on the side of the road, and Roland begins to tell his tale of a long story (and I mean LONG!) about his past, and his love Susan Delando. The book drags on with Roland meeting Susan who is arranged to marry the town mayor who is old, but he just wants to bear his child so his name could live on. Eventually, Roland and Susan fall in love, and make love. Rolands ka-tet: not Eddie, Susannah, Jake or Oy, his OLDER ka-tet, get jealous because they believe that Susan is poisoning Rolands mind. Now in the old oil wells, the man in black (Randall Flagg) is planning to use that oil (in Roland's world, oil is considered nothing, it is useless) to develop an army and take over the world. Roland and his ka-tet blow up the oil wells.
Oh Susan's aunt is also hiding something; a pink glass ball that can see everything all around. She cherishes it; like Bilbo Baggins did the ring in the beginning of The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring. Eventually, she loses it, and now Randall Flagg wants his hands on it. Susan sneaks it out of her aunts out, and gives it to Roland. Now with Roland and Randall Flagg almost going mono e mono, Roland then see's through the glass ball Susan getting burned at the stake, and her last words: "ROLAND I LOVE THEE!"
Now we are back in the present time. Then the ka-tet gets their stuff and head back on the road, now they are on the path of the beam.
This is a good novel, but the reason it took me so long to finish it because I found the novel no use for the role in the Dark Tower, it could of been shorter, maybe like 400 pages instead of 648, and King just dragged on and on, but it is a good read, but this is a hard novel to get through, but once your finished, then you have a little bit more grasp on the series and with Roland.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story...until the end
Review: Wizard and Glass is probably my favorite Stephen King book behind the Gunslinger, and that has mostly to do with the excellent chunk of backstory it provides. Through the Gunslinger, Roland's mysterious character was fascinating: we didn't know much about him except that his quest was the only thing left to him and he'd do anything to complete it. The development of other characters carried "The Drawing of the Three", and "The Wastelands" came back around to the quest itself. However, Roland's image as a obsessed and driven man could not ultimately have sustained a sympathetic character. His task and what he had to to do to progress it had taken up much of the books. In Wizard and Glass, King brings Roland's humanity and his tragic past jarringly to the forefront. We are given a glimpse of the world Roland once knew and all of the things that once mattered to him that he has since lost. It's a welcome change in the path of the story.
Stephen King's narration keeps the pages turning at an unbelievable rate. I never thought I would be pulled in by what is very much like an Old Western story, but it happened. The world of Roland's past that has so horribly decayed is brought richly to life. It offers not only an observation of this interesting world but an insight into Roland's character. It essentially explains without explaining why he will sacrifice anything in his attempt to make things right.
There are a few disturbing elements to the novel. There was a palpable feeling in the last hundred pages or so that King suddenly decided there were too many things in the story left unexplained and to many unresolved plotlines. He was probably also concerned that the greatest plotline of all-- the quest for the tower itself-- was still not clearly getting close to its latter half, even after almost 2,000 pages of manuscript. The last hundred pages feel like a hurried attempt to clear things up and move along. It doesn't quite work-- you're left with the feeling that a drive-by shooting has happened to the richly layered story. The mop-up job culminates in a ridiculous sequence involving the Wizard of Oz story. The whole problem can best be summarized in the character of the Tick-Tock Man. At the end of Book Three, "Ticky" was a very interesting relic of the half-mad, wholly destroyed world of the Gunslinger, and a promising addition to the story. He abruptly returns at the end of Book 4 and is immediately discarded-- no room for all these characters, sorry.
All in all however, the story survives and leaves the reader hungry for more. The entire book is worth it just for the giant piece of Gunslinger backstory that takes up most of it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Best Chapter Yet
Review: The fourth, and what I felt best chapter thus far of the Dark Tower Series mostly leaves Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Bumbler Oy behind as we get a peek into the past of Roland and the great love of his life. King mostly departs from his usual blend of modern day horror and gore and instead weaves a wonderfully heartfelt and captivating Western infused love story. Here we're introduced to a much younger and untainted Roland, as well as pals Cuthbert and Alain. But it's the fair haired beauty Susan and her complicated and tragic destiny that intertwines with the Gunslinger and drives the bulk of the book. A final chapter returns us to our regular band of merry travellers with a conclusion drawn from "the Wizard of Oz' which was a little disconnecting in relation to everything that had preceded it. Still, the book overall is a great ride that's not the usual King fare, and doesn't fall into the trap of waiting for something to happen while galloping towards the end of the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark Tower series falters a bit
Review: After three books spanning countless years, one would hope Roland and his team would be somewhere near the vicinity of the tower during this book. Unfortunately, their not. Instead, while walking toward the tower, Roland flashes back to his teen years. If you're a fan of the series this might seem interesting to you, maybe even be exiting news. Don't get too excited however, as King takes Roland's teen years and turns them into a whacked out post apocalyptic New England version of Romeo and Juliet. The world of the young Roland doesn't even match the feel of the old books and his back story doesn't quite match what was revealed in the first book. Luckily, the story doesn't end with Roland's flashback. Instead, it carries on a bit more and we begin to see evidence that the ka-tet is actually nearer to the tower. Some old enemies return and there are characters from King's other books that are introduced making the DT series seem like a giant crossover for all Mr. King's books. To me this cheapens the series overall and disappoints me to no end. I hope the next book is better.
Rating:
Summary: Wizard and Glass
Review: This was the most disappointing Stephen King book I have read - and I have read just about everything he has written. There is nothing original here. He borrows from Lord of the Rings, he borrow from Star Wars, the Wizard of Oz, and himself (The Stand, The Talisman co-written with Peter Straub). The net result is a book that simply does not hang together and is really impossible to take seriously.
Rating:
Summary: The Genius of Stephen King
Review: King's world is magical. His characters frighten and amaze. Every person we've known and loved and feared can be found here.
With each novel, I try to understand more about the source of his genius, but I've come to realize that his knowledge comes to him and is conveyed to me in ways that will never be completely understood. Thank God he didn't go away when he had the chance.
Rating:
Summary: An Epic Shakespearean Love Story
Review: Most of the reviews for WIZARD & GLASS complain about exactly the aspect of the book I liked best: the detailed recounting about Roland's first love, Susan Delgado, told in a flashback that covers most of the book. I thought this tale - a tragic love story that echoes Romeo & Juliet in its intensity and depth - expanded Roland's character so much, made him so much more human, and did so in perfect timing to set the stage for the final 3 volumes of the Dark Tower. Also, you HAD to love this book if only because it resolved the 6-year cliffhanger from the end of THE WASTE LANDS with how Roland, Susannah, Eddie, Jake, and Oy fared on the runaway Blaine and the riddling contest. But the love story - with the innocence of Roland's teenage years soon clouded with strife and conflict - just blew me away and has stayed with me in the 5 years since I read WIZARD & GLASS. No, this book did not have the breakneck pace action of DRAWING and WASTELANDS - though there is PLENTY of action. But it DID make Roland, the central DT character, so much more real to us by revealing a formative tale in his life. I enjoyed this book in the way that I enjoyed Roland's recounting of his graduation to gunslinger in his battle with Cort, told in THE GUNSLINGER - you read it and think, so THAT'S how it all happened. And there were enough hints in the first 3 volumes about the love of Roland's life to make me eager to read all about their courtship. It is evident that Stephen King could have spun out 4 or 5 more volumes focusing only on tales from Roland's past if he wanted to (in fact, there was a short story, THE LITTLE SISTERS OF ELURIA available in some literary anthology, that was such a tale - find it and read it!). But since DT will be wrapped up in the next 3 volumes, this one strikes me as all the more brilliant for the one complete look back.
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