Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4)

Rating:
Summary: The ending... the horror...the horror...
Review: Gosh... this book is a glorious dive off of the the high board. A swan dive into double twist, and a double flip- all perfect- then to finish we have a frickin cannonball. I was expecting a clean splash that would lead us into the next book... instead I am stunned by the turn it took- anyway I look at it I have to assume it's later writing for Mr. King. The good news is Stephen has promised to get back up the ladder again and maybe the cannonball was part a a bigger performance piece- triple lindy in the works...? perhaps.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring. Compelling! Thought-provoking. In a word; Awesome
Review: Mr. King is out-doing himself with his labor of Love. Stephen said in his afterword that writing this particular book was the hardest because he finds it easier to write about scary stuff than Love. Well, Stephen, you asked the readers what they thought of your efforts in this arena previously unexplored by you in written form, and I must say that you did a fine job! =) I, too, do not want Roland's adventures to ever end and hope that you will definitely give us more, more, more! I cannot get enough of the artistry, the allegories, the parallel universes you explore....and the addition of Randall Flagg to this tale was interestingly woven in and I hope we read more of him in the next book. You go, Stephen! Kudos from Feather in Mendocino...

Rating:
Summary: a classic in the making
Review: Once again King has proven why he is the top selling author of this time (or any time). I beleive that the Dark Tower Series will be hailed as a classic a few years down the road. It contains two of my favorite genres, horror and apocalyptic fiction, it's an epic fantasy, a western, and now King has written his first "romance novel." I think that before this ends, King will have included every genre possible in this series. What I like is how he draws his other books into this series as well. I've read some complaints down further about the flashback. I felt it was a beautiful story and helped to explain why Roland is the way he is. People also complain because they don't know what happened to Sheemie, Alain, or Cuthbert, well, it looked to me that Roland was going to explain it later in the series. As I'm sure Rhea will. Another complaint I've read is the Wizard of Oz ending. Why wouldn't one of the greatest sagas include a little bit of our classic quest? This series is one of my favorite King novels (along with the Stand and Salem's Lot). You don't even have to be a King fan to enjoy this series. Now, go buy the book.

Rating:
Summary: great!
Review: Although I was a late-bloomer and didn't discover the Dark Tower series until recently (I didn't have to wait 7 years like everyone else!), I greatly anticipated Wizard & Glass' release. I was never too excited by the Blaine the Mono story, but I was looking forward to the story of Roland's past. When that part of the book finally started, I could hardly put it down. It was a little long, but I thought it was an integral part to the story of the Dark Tower as a whole. After reading Wizard & Glass, I went back and reread the first three installments. I took a lot more from them after learning about Roland's youth and all he gave up in order to search for the Tower. King's character development is incredible, and I feel the flash-back was necessary for the readers (as well as his ka-tet of listeners) to understand Roland and the Tower itself. I found myself more interested in the world of Roland's youth than that of Midworld. Despite loving the book overall, I was a little disappointed with the ending (the Oz tie-in was stretching it a little). I look forward to the next book and only hope King will let us know what really happened to Cuthbert, Alain, and all of Roland's other friends that he has lost on his mission. I think a little more about Roland's past (the fall of Gilead, the events that led him to chase Walter over the desert) would be interesting. But overall - a great story by a great storyteller!

Rating:
Summary: Why so few copies???
Review: I come from South Africa and have been an avid reader of King's works for as long as I can remember. Of all these works, by far the most awe-inspiring is the Dark Tower series. My problem is that until I stumbled across this page, I did not even know the fourth part had been published. Such is the importance to American publishers of our market. But, to my horror, I see that it is only a limited edition. This basically means that NONE of King's many South African fans will ever get a chance to read this. Why oh why? I guess he, like many other Americans, believes the world ends at their borders. Please think of your international fans next time Stephen King.

Rating:
Summary: Dazzling with vivid imagery
Review: King has done it again. This one doesn't disappoint the devoted fans of this series. ROland finds love, an evil witch and the coldness of the world we live in today. King does a great job of paradoxing the Wizard of Oz. And also reminding us once again of the apocalyptic vision of The Stand with Randall Flagg.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT
Review: This was one of King better books. When I got this one I didn't expect it to be a flash back one but it showed us alot of Rolands past but still left more questions as to what happened to Alain, Shimie and Cuthbert and Rhea. I can't wait till the next ones to come out.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to put down!
Review: This book was what I was waiting for. This, the fourth book of this series, really filled in the blanks of Roland's past. If you have read the first 3 books and couldn't wait for more adventures of the Gunslinger, you will really sink your teeth into Wizard and Glass.

Rating:
Summary: Painful...aaaaaarrggghhhh.....
Review: Junk. I'm a big fan of king (the 'k' is small when the work is this poor.) and this is underdeveloped, predictable, unresolved, rehashed, overdone, verbose and painful reading. king in his comments remarks that this work was difficult to write and forced by the request of correspondence. Quite obviously. king delivers on none of the meager promises made by the tale. He's done most of it before (see The Stand, Dragon's Tears, earlier Dark Tower). What he hasn't done, others have (see Lord of the Rings, Tower of Geburah, on and on...) And the 'Wizard of Oz' junket has been done often and with more style (see Heinlein, and others). Good god amighty, steve. Write what you want, not what others ask, and ask for a well read and unintimidated editor. And the rest of you reviewers, if you liked this, try Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, et al and be blown away.

Rating:
Summary: You like/You hate it
Review: It isn't Faulkner, it isn't Twain, it isn't Tolkien, it isn't Lewis, it isn't L'Amour. It's King. And if there is ONE thing we KNOW about Stephen King, it is that we NEVER know quite what to expect. And so it was with the fourth installment of the Dark Tower series. We just weren't quite sure what to expect. Therefore, we aren't quite sure how to react. I liked this book. It didn't change my way of thinking or my way of life (hence-- no 10). But I found it to be a well crafted story set in a semi-western/sci-fi world. I liked the characters, the action (little though it was, which was fine) but most of all I liked the vividness of the imagery used. Now, that sounds artsy, and I'm not much of an artsy person, but King's use of words in this is amazing. The love story is compellingly romantic without seeming trivial. And then there is the sense of foreboding doom. Inevitably, we know that most of the characters will die (a la the Stand, et al) but that Roland lives and endures much pain. I think some people are wrong when they think this didn't shed any light on the main story (oh, yeah, that whole quest thing). If anything we can realize the importance of this Dark Tower (whatever and wherever it may be). If you dislike love stories and westerns, skip the middle 500 pages. I don't think King will mind. It seems to me that this series is more for him than it is for the reader. I'm right there with him cheering him on, whether he knows it or not. This is an excellent book. If you just want the quest, stick with the first 100 pages and the last 75 pages. That is the minimum requirement. If you do decide to read the middle part, don't just read-- experience it. It is the story that is willing to draw you in and make you a part of it. Be a part of it.