Rating: Summary: Dramatic, Romantic, and an Extreme Soul Stimulant Review: It has to be Stephen King's best. From the beginning to the end of the book, it was intensely captivating. The fine detail in the lives and adventures of the boys was astounding. King's depiction of Roland and Susan were beyond comprehension. All and all, "The Dark Tower" series is second to none. AND IT ISN'T FINISHED YET! Go for it Mr. King!!!!!
Rating: Summary: The very best so far Review: With each novel the series seems to grow in its scope and depth. I, like all Dark Tower fans, had been waiting a very long time for this novel to be published. The wait was well worth and then some.King is one of the few authors will take the time to sit back and let us explore a character. He is not always so concerned with constant action so we don't have to think to hard. It is impossible not to feel for Rolands character, for what happens to him and the pain he endures. There is much more story where this novel came from, at least two more Dark Tower novels I think. I enjoyed how the novel tied into other King novels (I wont spoil which) but it is a delight to discover them hidden within the confinds of a world that moved on. The novel is, more or less, a prequel to the first novel in the series. But never fear you will find out what happens on the Blaine the Mono. Never fear faithfull reader, Mr. King will not disapoint you in this tale.
Rating: Summary: Excellent. Couldn't put it down. Hated to see it end. Review: After waiting so long for the next in the DT series, I was not disappointed. It was very interesting to hear the story of Roland as a youth and his first love. This story made me laugh and cry. Stephen, I must say that you found the truth of romantic love perfectly. You have not forgotten the heat and passion. Thanks for another great ride. I cannot wait for #5.
Rating: Summary: I want more!!!! Review: Just when you thought the Dark Tower series could not get any better, Mr. King finds a way to captivate the mind, heart and soul. Is this a Romance, Thriller or an Adventure? Its all of them. I have read The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three and The Wastelands but this one was the best because it allowed you to enter Roland's mind like never before. Though the ending leaves you right back to square one (on the Path of the BEAM) the love affair between Roland and Susan is something everyone wishes they had. Most importantly, we see that Roland does in fact have feelings they are so supressed that even he did not know that they are there. We are Ka-tet (one made from many) and let Ka do as it may!!!!!!
Rating: Summary: I found it excellent Review: This was the book that was years in the waiting. It explains a large part of Roland's former life and continues the epic quest of his ka-tet. I think that this book is a stepping stone in a line of great books that will be King's greatest achievement.
Rating: Summary: worth the wait Review: When did the third dark tower book come out, 91. Now when did the fourth dark tower book come out, 97. I mean I do undertand that stephen king has many other books to work on but six years is a lot of years. Why couldent it have been two, or three years. When I did finish the book I realized it was worth it. The flashback was long ( not really a bad thing ) and their was not enough info on Rolands quest. That was the only real problem, and the last fifty pages were not dark tower quilaty. The rest of the book was really great.
Rating: Summary: Best-seller pulp no longer--now literature Review: The Dark Tower is King's magnum opus. "Wizard and Glass" ties together his other works into a living creation and elevates King from the horror pigeonhole of the bestseller list to the realm of literature. It makes him the American Tolkien. Now that I've said all these bold things, let me back them up a little. Disclaimer: this is liable to be long and relevant mostly for those already familiar with King's work. The masterful thing about this work isn't so much the content of the thing-though it's wonderful; more on that later-but the purpose it plays in what you can now call King's universe. Some review background: as King devotees know, his books have all kinds of little metaphysical snippets that seem really odd when you run across them. Why does so much weird stuff happen in Derry? What does "the coming of the White" mean? What's the Turtle stuff about in "It"? And most importantly, who-or what-is Flagg, and what's he doing in all of these different stories? If you read these books as stand-alones, they're good reads with all this extraneous stuff that means nothing. If you read "Wizard and Glass" as a stand-alone or merely as a continuation of the Dark Tower, you get the same thing (plus frustration and whining about too many allusions or too long or doesn't tie up all loose ends.) But think of Wizard and Glass like this. Imagine the first three DT books as a train (Blaine, if you like) headed ultimately to the field of roses. In "Wizard and Glass," King stops the train, hooks up more cars, and starts to pull out of the station. Simple physics: when the train picks up speed (next books) and hits the clearing at the end of the path(conclusion), the collision is going to be monumental, far greater than it would be if the ka-tet killed more bad guys and completed more levels. This book is the story taking a breath; it's patching up its wounds and healing before the next big push. There are those who may think this is unnecessary, takes too long, and detracts from the Gunslinger's saga. They would be wrong. With this book, this has gotten way bigger than the what-happens-next roller coaster, start-to-finish of many other series. This has taken on life. That's why he's the American Tolkien. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" grew up from a world he had already created-although he thought of it as "discovering" it-and some market pressure; the thing was practically organic, having its birth in Tolkien's life and imagination. Same thing with King, only now he's realized what's going on, namely that the Tower has always been there and has always been collapsing-hence vampires and manic clowns and dry smiling shopkeeper with irresistible displays. I would call his inclusion of the elements of other books a masterful strategy if it wasn't simply his recognition that it's been one piece all along. Now that it is one piece, you can dig into the literature issues: the quest, fate, passage into manhood, red/pink symbolic nature, illusion/reality, humanity as fallen creatures. Most importantly, you have the absolute poles of good and evil and the struggle to embrace one and fight the other while being a fallen being without all this mamby-pamby "everything is grey" postmodern foolishness that passes for ethical discourse these days. In short, you can write a dissertation on King's work and actually enjoy reading it too! This is long and only the beginning of how I want to recommend this book. Comments/responses are welcomed. Final points: If you're in a hurry and want something you can read in an hour and have a complete story, get the Green Mile or some other thin book. Wizard and Glass ain't for you. The book is long and seems to spend a good number of pages where the characters don't actually get anything accomplished. This is all right; it's what it takes for the story to make sense and be a proper sub-creation (akin to Tolkien's attention to walking in his book; he had a map and structured it to be credible.) It is long and appears wordy, but for what it's trying to accomplish, that's how long it takes. Read it and get more insight. There's a neat little Wizard of Oz tie-in near the end. Other reviews have called it corny, tacky, or ill-advised. I strongly disagree. Try reading it as a tidbit of things to come, keeping in mind that L. Frank Baum was one of the first of the past two centuries to write stories about a real fantasy land that we could get to from here. This ties in strongly with the thinny (that you'll read about) and dimensional doors that the group has already used. Keep in mind as well "Oz the Gweat and Tewwible" from another of King's works (if I'm not mistaken and it's not someone else); this will probably creep up in future works. There!! Done (for now). Again, further comments and questions welcome.
Rating: Summary: The Counter Didn't Go Any Lower Review: I wonder from reading the comments of other readers whether we read the same book. This was an awful, awful tome. It was in dire need of a decent editor, who should have cut out AT LEAST half of the book. The disjointed plot is, of course, standard for the Dark Tower Series. The puerile prose must be read to be believed. I'm not kidding. Spare, expressive elegance is nowhere to be found. But Mr. King will be forgiven sins worse than this for producing such wonders as Shawshank Redemption, The Body, Christine and, most of all, the Shining. Mr. King can sell lots of anything now. People such as I, seeking echoes of earlier wonder, will buy. And buy. And buy. One would hope that he would have more pride. The only positive was that I bought this in the paperback UK edition, and did not have to pay the hardcover price. Stay away. Very, very far away.
Rating: Summary: Wow! Addiction at it's best! Review: Wizard and Glass - what can you say?! Through-out the entire series I have been part of Roland's ka-tet, and now I feel torn at the seams. I am in mourning for Roland and Susan's love and their Ka-tet as deeply as the 'ol gunslinger himself. I want to reach the Dark Tower and fulfil Roland's destiny - it's now *my* destiny. I couldn't put it down - almost as if I feared missing out on some part of the story and I wouldn't be able to catch it up as it galloped on without me, guns ablazing. I'm no big fan of Stephen King, but this...Wow! It's like he's poured his deepest self onto paper. I can't wait until the next book -and Dark Tower IV's only just come out in England - Argh!! Read it! - It is part of your ka!
Rating: Summary: IT ALMOST PUTS YOU UNDER A SPELL Review: I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN--THE BOOK HAD ME IN IT'S GRIPS AFTER THE FIRST FEW PAGES. I JUST READ ALL FOUR BOOKS THIS YEAR AND ROLAND HAS BECOME SO FAMILAR TO ME. I REALLY ENJOYED READING OF HIS PAST. TO THINK THAT THREE YOUNG TEENAGE BOYS COULD HAVE WIPED OUT ALMOST A WHOLE ARMY UNBELEIVABLE BUT SK NOT ONLY MADE YOU BELEIVE IT BUT MADE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WERE THERE. CAN'T WAIT FOR ANOTHER!
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