The Dark Tower VII : The Dark Tower

Rating:
Summary: SK Got Us & He Got Us Good
Review: Feel 'put in your place' after reading this book? If you do, its certainly what the author intended. It became obvious to me in the 6th book that King was writing just to be done with it. He'd totally lost all interest in the story and characters and the sooner he wrapped all this up, the better.


I can't regard this book as part of the Dark Tower series. Its like he wrote it to 'get back' at the fan's that 'made' him write it. King is saying: You want an ending? You want closure? I'll give it to you. But I'll tromp all over every character you loved, every expectation you had, I'll show you who's the boss around here.

So, you're all wrong. This book isn't tripe, it isn't garbage. Its SK's message to us to go screw ourselves. This was his story, not our's. We turned it into our's over the years and in the end, he showed us who it really belonged to. It could have been great, like Stephen King was once great. Instead, we get pettiness and ego. Excuse the hell out of us for loving you, Mr. King, and for expecting something marvelous. What were we thinking..



Rating:
Summary: Journey's End?
Review: I am a believer that the story is the journey, so, I am not dissapointed as some have been by the ending. I was surprised by it, and, after spending decades with these characters, reading seven books and thousands of pages, what more can a reader ask for than to be guessing until the end?

Will Roland learn, or will he be damned to repeat the same mistakes? Will Suzannah live happily with other world Eddie and Jake? Will the Artist make it somewhere further or die in the desert?

We end at the beginning. Fitting. Thank you sai King, it was quite a yarn.

Rating:
Summary: Ka is a circle...(No Spoilers here!)
Review: I had never read the Dark Tower books until this last December. My good friend Seth was a huge fan, and had just read the fifth book. He started me on my journey with Roland to the Dark Tower, and wow. This book, for better or for worse, is far different from all of the others. By the time you get to the end, you'll look back at the beginning of the book and it will feel like eons ago. Yet even with thi length, I devoured through the book. The only real problem I had was how King dealt with Mordred, and even then it wasn't bad; I just felt the solutions to other problems were so much better that this felt like a let down. Is the matter of the Crimson King dealt with in a quick-fix sort of way? Yes. But so are almost all of the great endings in history, and this one fits much better than most. The confrontation was better than a standard, "fight to the death I am bigger and tougher than you are" battle. Instead, it was unique. And his dealing with Walter, perfect.
The Ending is the thing I have been rolling in my head since finishing last night. All through my economics class, Roland and his journey was on my mind. I read an epilouge to an earlier version of the Gunslinger, in which Stephen King gives a rough outline of what might happen or what he may end it with. And I am glad he didn't end it with anything like the endings he postilated there. Instead, the ending is...beyond description. I guess the only way to describe it would be to say that it fits perfectly with the tale; that no matter what you thought of it, you could nodeny that the ending was RIGHT. And be warned, you won't see it coming. He makes countless hundreds(at least) references to how it will end, and once you read it, you will say, OF COURSE! It is the PERFECT way to finish the tale of Roland's quest. Wow.

Rating:
Summary: Just need to express my opinions
Review: I just finished the Dark Tower last night and felt the need to express my feelings. Overall, the story was good and had many interesting concepts. It was also engrosing and you came to care for the characters, evern though none were perfect.

There were, however, a number of problems, some minor, some major, that lessened my enjoyment of the series.

Minor points:
1. Confrontations that were a let down after a major build up.
a. The Wolves - one of the longer books building up to a showdown with a seemingly unstoppable foe, that was defeated rather simplisitically.
b. Mordred - build up over the course of three books with the spider almost dead before the confrontation even begins.
2. The Tet Corperation. Did not seem to add much of anything to the story, nor did the rose itself, in my opinion.

Major points:
1. I did not like all the multiple versions of "America-side". I would have much perferred it to be limited to Roland's world and ours (or if there were any others, not have them just be different versions of ours).
2. Did not like how Steven King was in the story. He said at the end it was to make it feel more real, but I felt it made the story feel less real. (Pointing out that the characters are not only fictional in real life, but they are fictional as far as the story itself goes as well, does not help you feel concerned for them.)
3. Characters who are inserted to overcome an obsticle only (the people that help found the Tet Corperation, and Patrick the artist at the end).
4. The end. I could see that type of end if Roland's mission were just to get to the Tower (kind of a punishment for his single minded obsession), but the mission is also to save the Tower from those trying to tear it down. The end seems contrary to the Tower's nature (and to it's own welfare).

Overall a good story, but I thing it would have been better if someone other than Steven King had written it.

Rating:
Summary: Alternate Ending - Hints to spoilers
Review: If I am rating the book alone, I give it a 3. The collection I give a 4.5. As several others have mentioned, the ending seemed a bit hurried. It is almost as if SK limited himself to 7 books - with all the time blabbing in the earlier ones he limited the amount of time to wrap up the plot. How about 40 less pages on how to make clothes out of deer hide and getting to the point?

The ending wasn't bad and I can see why he placed it that way - it sucks for Roland and those that bit it, but it wasn't a bad ending. I do wish the final battles had been a little more vicious - especially with Walter, Mordred, and the Crimson King. The other thing that was a little bothersome was that SK began talking to the readers too much - I would have preferred sticking with the plot and letting us figure things out for ourselves.

Here's my proposed alternate ending - I am not a writer so I'll stick to plot thoughts only:

1. Mordred kills the Crimson King and assumes power. Skip the whole food poisoning thing
2. Mordred and Roland duke it out in a huge battle. Roland wins. Oy still gets killed.
3. Susannah goes back, takes over the Tet corp and gets rid of Nancy Deepnau. No luck seeing Eddie II.
4. Eddie still crokes - tough luck
5. As a reward the tower grants Roland the ability to close the open chapters of his life. The floors let him converse with his past - Mom, Dad, Cuthbert Alain, Susan Delgado, perhaps even Arthur Eld - as a reward not punishment.
6. Roland and Jake become tower trustees for white and Gan - OK that might be a little lame, but hey I'm not a writer. If they make this a movie I'll bet $100 that the ending won't be what is in the book.
7. Tell me I'm not the only one who thought of this - Patrick Danville draws Roland some fingers, Susannah some legs, and a tongue for himself...

There... I feel better


Rating:
Summary: words cannot describe how stunned I am- but I'll try.
Review: If there is any dissapointment I feel in reguards to this touching, brilliantly conceived, heart-breaking opus, is that other 'constant readers' refuse to stand in the shadow of the tower, to be dwarfed by its magnitude and the inevibility that springs from it.

Firstly, Mr. King- this book broke my heart, and it broke my heart in a way I wanted it to; the hints have been there since the begining and if Ka is a wheel then I to were cuaght in its spokes, because just as Oy accepted his fate and rushed at Mordred, and just as Susannah shattered me when she scooted through that door- I too accepted my fate. I would hurt to loose these characters and hurt with Rolands final reckoning- and this is the sacrifice made for us to be safe.

and thats the point right? King writes these books and goes to so much effort to creating the illusion that they are real? That we are part of the story? How can anybody deny the opportunity to be part of Rolands jouney? Who would say no to that?! Therefore , how can you deny its creator the same involvement.

And here is my biggest criticism- upon the audience which sees fit to trivilize something important to a certain somebody. King is a character in these books. It was inevitable, and nothing would have changed it. It was a beautiful wheel, we were there and so was king.

I beleive that one of the most beneficial ways to overcome life changing tradgedies is to work them out via a creative outlet. King almost died on that road, and it obviouslly had an effect on him; he appears to be working it out through his novels and screenplays (Kingdom Hospital)... And who would deny him this oportunity? And people call him narcassitic? I dont think that Stephen King is a newfound Woody Allen, I think he is as brave as the entire ka-tet in opening up his wounds in order for them to heal. And for that I take my hat off to you Mr. King.

And the book itself... As with all of the books, its a page turner. It ebbs and flows as the entire series does. The characters are fully realised and utterly convincing. The book attacks you at all angles, on some levels it is this long lost horror novel- everything you want from the Stephen King we all love; with words spinning Killer joking Clowns, feeding off emotion into life, with a stalking child spider and the like. And Mordred; what a kid- what a wonderful, somewhat beautifuly Fantastic little bit of nostalgic horror. In a world so vast with monsters of majesty and magnitude what a delight it was to me that the spawn of the Crimson King was none other than a itsy-bitsy spider; so simple, yet something so many of us are afraid of.

There are some great scenes, Callahan goes down with glory, and I love Pleasantvile; it can just picture its picture perfect facades, which hold its nastiness- it was like I was walking the streets of a Lynch movie. Flagg's death is bitter and ironic, dying at the hand (or teeth) of the son of his master- the man in black becomes nothing more than the miles he trod over to get to this point; just dust and memories. What a way to go.

And the Crimson King, what a sad feeble little ghost he is. Somepeople find his revelations a bit dissapointing, and I guess I can understand that- in the way I guess somepeople find the Wonderful Wizard of Oz a little bit anti-climatic. I mean, he turned out to be just a humble guy -- and he was short. and as for the Crimson King- as insane as he was reputed to be. However I love the fact that he was undead and the way he killed himself by swallowing the sharpened spoon- oh: what truly wonderful, dark fantasy. Love it! Love it.

As you can guess, I could go on forever about how satisifed I am about this series and this wonderful conclusion. So I'll sign off after my own little CODA.

The inside of the tower. Not at all what I expected, yet subconsciouslly what I always wanted it to be. It was scary as he climbed the stairs, that flight growing more narrow as he ascended... I got a lump in my throat as he relived his life in there. And there was that moment when he reached the top, to the room always rumoured to have been empty...

It's tragic that for the time being it is empty, with our Hero cast back to the begining. And us with him. Somewhere he's doing it all again, but maybe a little different this time. And I get comfort in that. But of course, that is another story, even if it is one riddled with dejavu.

Thankee-sai for taking the time to read my sprawl. Rock on and I'll see you all at the clearing at the end of the path.

Aaron (20yrs) from Branxton Australia.

Rating:
Summary: Pointless anti-climax
Review: If you choose the start at the beginning and read "The Gunslinger" you are in for a great read through an entertaining and interesting book. The only problem is, you are going to get suckered into six more books, the last 3 being terrible. But by that time you will be clutching on to the joy of the first books so hard you will be blinded to the FACT that the series winds down to a pointless anti-climax. Ka is a wheel, and the ending makes sense (I KNEW what would happen even before I read the book - ask my wife!). The rest is a series of introductions and disposals of 1-sided characters and pointless action. NOT IMPRESSED. This book (and the preceeding 2 BORING ones) is a letdown for the series. But, if you are already reading the series, you have no choice but to see it through. May you reach the clearing at the end of the path and GIVE THIS BOOK ONE STAR WHEN YOU GET THERE!

Rating:
Summary: AntiClimatic
Review: It's a real shame Steve King got hit by a minivan the way he did back in 1999, not just for the more obvious reasons, but also because that incident has cast a shadow over everything he has written since.

The first four Dark Tower Books were guilty pleasures, for King, and for us. They combined everything from Spaghetti Western to Classic Fantasy to SK Horror... the stories were idiosyncratic, compelling and (in typical King fashion) heartwarming touching.

These were books you could love for their imperfections.

After The Accident though, SK seemes that have lost the plot, he teased good old Constant Reader in Black House with ideas that never quite came to fruition in his latter books, and then rushed the three final volumes seemingly more concerned with ironing out the plotholes than actually expanding the story.

The result is compelling yet frustrating, confidently written but with severe problems of pacing. These are three books that, while bringing the tale to a satisfying conclussion, can still feel like a huge letdown.

This final volume could be summed up by the word "Anticlimatic", these books have been building up a series of characters and events for well over 20 years, and most of them are dealt with, then dispatched in such a dismissive way one can't help but feel insulted.

When killing some of the main characters Stephen King seems to be more concerned about emotionally manipulating the reader than carrying the story forward, and it's such his desire to confront the reader that he has to write himself into the story to do so.

And this he does over and over, what begins life as a cameo, ends up becoming a mess reminiscent of M Night Shamalyan's turn in "Signs", SK really ought to ask himself if wrapping the story around himself on such a way was such a good idea after all.

Ultimately, the demise of the final three books is their lack of focus, two volumes are wasted as the heroes quest to save a Rose or meet a writer; in Roland's world this might be necessary to keep the universe going, but was it really necessary to spend so much space going back and forth and back again?

Despite all its shortcomings, however, there's a lot to be enjoyed as old characters are invited back in, the nature of the "Breakers" is exposed and the gunfights crank up the action, this is still a Stephen King book after all, and it shows, his narration is as confident as ever, swooping in and out of the events and pulling the reader with him as he neatly and conveniently puts everything in place to bring you "The Ending", also called Coda.

And what an ending it is. It is here that The Dark Tower redeems itself, soaring and bringing the series to a conclussion that, while not necesarilly satisfactory, can certainly be called fitting, because, as sai King would say, "It was always about the Journey, not the Destination".

Rating:
Summary: Best book yet!
Review: Okay I have to say that I did not see that coming! I did enjoy the book as I have the others except one. When Jake was killed and Oy was left behind in an unknown world I was upset to say the least, but after reading more I understood. I didn't think the book was slow but I had put it down for like a month. I liked the way King added himself in and kinda rolled things together. Only thing i guess I really had a problem with is... why didn't they have Patrick draw Mordred so that they could kill him? Only King knows. Anyway really enjoyed the book.

Rating:
Summary: It ends
Review: When I finished the book I was pleased. The ending was unexpected, but as I sat back and thought about it , I realized the brillance of it. Was I completely happy with the way that the story turned out? No. So I asked myself the question- what ending would I have been happy with? Death? Destruction? Deliverence? Everyone that Roland lost somehow returning to him, his lost love coming back so they coud be together once more? Everything and everyone returning to normalcy or what constitutes as "normal" in this world?
No matter how this saga concluded, I probably wouldnt have been happy with anything, and I knew that a lot of the other fans that have followed these characters for the past twenty or so years would hate it as well.
It is a great story, a great saga and I think that we were lucky to get any kind of ending at all.