Rating: Summary: Unsure Review: After following Stephen King on his road to "stardom" I cannot believe that he would limit a title to 40,000 copies as he has this book. It is a slap in the face for any of the "over 40,000" fans who were unable to obtain this book. I ordered it well in advance of publication and will think long and hard about whether I will pursue purchasing this book in light of Mr King's obvious indifference to his fans (the people who took him to where he is!)
Rating: Summary: Wizard and Glass is an excellent story... Review: I wont' lie and say this was my favorite novel so far in the Dark Tower series, but I still loved it! I was drawn to it just as I was to the other three, reading it every chance I got. True, most of the book dealt with Roland's past, but it was still a wonderful story. I understand why Mr. King chose to tell us a story of Roland's past, to develop his main character much more in-depth, which will only add to the subsequent novels in the series. Stephen could have just moved the ka-tet onward to yet another adventure, providing some of the info of Roland's past in brief flashbacks, but we the reader would never have the more in-depth understanding of our hero, and all that he has been through in his extremely painful early years. In my opinion, only the readers who are truly into the epic story, including the adventure and all of the characters, will enjoy this next installment, and not those who just want Roland to be standing at the doorstep of the Tower now. One thing I do agree upon, which I'm sure everyone does, is please, Mr. King, don't wait another 7 years for the next novel! I took me two weeks to re-read the first three novels so I knew what was going on (Had to say it).
Rating: Summary: This time the man behind the curtain, has real magic. Review: It was Stephen King's Dark Tower series that made me want to read his other books in the first place. It is a series that has broken all genres and will go down forever as his greatest achievement. It is overall brisk and epic all at once. With part four it is also my favorite fantasy, western, romance of all. Wizard and Glass continues more of the story than expected, tieing up the ends only to send us on the quest for the Tower once again. However, by the conclusion we know so much more than we have before. We see what is in Roland's heart. The majority of this tale takes place in the gunslinger's campfire tail where he unloads his burdens and confesses to the ka-tet the soul of the search. Volume four wrenches the hearts of the travellers and the reader too. They have slowed just long enough for us to really catch up with them. As a stand alone novel it is a strange and wonderful insight into an old soul's quest. As part of this epic, it is definitly my favorite. So are we prepared for the Tower? King gives us enough reasons to turn back, but we're ka-tet and where he goes - so do we all.
Rating: Summary: money hugry stephen king Review: I CAN NOT IN ALL GOOD CONSCIENSE CONTINUE TO FEED STEPHEN KINGS LUST FOR THE DOLLAR. HE IS MY FAVORITE AUTHOR. THE PROSE THAT SPEWS FORTH FROM HIS PEN IS AWE INSPIRING, HOWEVER HIS LATEST INSTALLMENT IN THE TOWER SERIES IS A BLATANT ATTEMPT TO CASH IN . I AM NOT A COMMUNIST. HE SHOULD BE WELL COMPENSATED FOR SUCH POETIC DIMENTIA HE WRITES. HOWEVER, PLEASE KEEP THE STORY MOVING FORWARD. WE NEED NEW THINGS NOT 500 PAGES OF FILLER. AS IN THE GREEN MILE WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN ONE BOOK , MR. KING HAS FOUND A WAY TO PULL EVERY LAST DOLLAR OUT OF THE PUBLIC . KUDOS STEPHEN ON THE DEPTH OF YOUR PSYCHOSIS BUT PLEASE MOVE ROLAND TOWARDS THE TOWER BEFORE I BECOME TO SENILE TO READ.
Rating: Summary: What a disappointment! Review: This book, for which I waited patiently for seven years, started out with so much promise, yet left me bitterly disappointed. We finally see our heroes escape from the clutches of Blaine the Mono, in a way that even I would not have expected. If you haven't read the book yet, I won't spoil it for you. After they escape Blaine and end up in the world of "The Stand," I thought, "Okay! This is warming up to be pretty darned cool!" Coupling this with the discovery of the mysterious "thinnies," I was under the impression that I was in for the same ride I got with "The Waste Lands." Boy, was I in for a shock! Instead, I got nearly 500 pages of a ponderously-detailed, mind-numbingly boring FLASHBACK! The story simply grinds to a halt almost as soon as they're off the train. Nearly three-fourths of the novel is taken up by Roland's tale of how he met Susan Delgado and what eventually became of her. This story could have been told using half the ink and a quarter of the pages King used. I don't know if he just needed a lot of filler or if he genuinely thought that this drawn out flashback was necessary, but what I do know is that it made for some pretty uninteresting reading. The ending was rather a let-down, as well. Like "The Waste Lands," it left you with a sense that too many things were left unresolved, and then, upon closing the book, you get the haunting feeling that it's going to take Mr. King *Another* 7 years to put out the fifth volume (assuming he lives that long). In general, the book is quite well written, and keeps with the spirit of its predacessors (even the flashback has its moments of tension and beauty), but the book as a whole does nothing to advance the story. At the end, Roland and his companions are no closer to the Tower than they were at the beginning. This left me very frustrated and, naturally, clamoring for the fifth volume which, I can only hope, will have a lot more plot and less reminisces about Roland's lost loves. Oh well, I guess we'll know in 2004. : )
Rating: Summary: the grand love story in the series Review: Stephen King said that he was not sure he could pull off this love story, which is why it took him so long to write this. Well, before this I'd be skeptical too, but this is really good.He captured the feel of fallen-head-over-heel love perfectly. My complaints is that it took too much of the book to tell it, and while Roland and his friends are playing the waiting game, the "Castles" game he said, the readers are forced to play it, too, waiting until the pace would quicken and will something exciting happen before I have to go to uni. please! On the other hand, the beginning and the end is Prime King, twisted surreal landscape and psyche, this is the stuff that got me hooked on when I first read "Drawing of the Three". Can't wait until he got on to the next one - somebody pass me the patches for this cold turkey.
Rating: Summary: Stephen King weaves a masterpiece. Review: Only Stephen King could give us a novel that is part Science Fiction, part Horror, part Western, and part Romance. Only Stephen King could flawlessly combine these together to form one of the best books I've read in recent time. Only Stephen King could write a masterpiece such as "Wizard and Glass." I call it a masterpiece because it invokes emotion in the reader and makes you actually feel for the main character, Roland. I have followed Roland through three books, and I was never touched until now by what pain he expierienced as a youth, and how he became the stern, cold-hearted Gunslinger he is now. We learn to see Roland as an actual person than that of a character in a book. The other characters could use a little polishing up on, but Mr. King has promised us three more books, and you can bet that they won't be that way for long. Not that their not good characters, it's just that their not as polished as Roland is. The plot is fantastic, reverting to about 500 pages of story-telling magic about tragic love and the beginning of a quest for the Dark Tower. For all of you who complained about the book, open your minds, and realize that the adventure in Wizard and Glass is every bit as epic as the main quest for the Dark Tower. I will gladly follow Roland and his adventures even if every book hereafter is about Roland's past. The Dark Tower is King's crowning achievement, and there's still more to come.
Rating: Summary: AWESOME! Review: first the bear, then Blaine, thinnies, and more, where does King's imagination stop???The 4th book in the DT series was as phenomenal as all of the others, the intertwining of characters from other novels is masterful. Cant wait for the next volume!!!!!
Rating: Summary: Hail to the King baby. Review: Hi-
I was a little nervous when I saw this 780 page book and wondered if SK had fallen into a problem of overwriting he has been prone to in recent books. The book also seems to veer toward romance and I grew wary early on- but as the character development built and the cast was formed I realized that this book was the perfect bridge in the series. It truly covers an emotional spectrum with proper cringes and shocks. A necessary link to Roland's past to give us a deeper understanding of the Gunslinger and who and why and what and when (well... when is still a question) But anyway I was surprised that the bulk of the book takes place in Roland's past and our current ka-tet hasn't done much since the train ride. In a way I'm not sure if I'm happy where it has left off- but my faith in Stevie boy shot through the roof with this friggin book. Mayhap critics will turn their nose up at an epic of this enormity written by someone who is "salami" writer, but I feel the Dark Tower series is a modern masterpiece and most likely be remembered as one of the greatest stories told in the history of American literature. I was thinking about giving it a 9 because a 10 is just... well...whatever... but remembering how involved I was while reading it... the 10 is deserving.
Friggin Bra-friggin-vo!
Rating: Summary: Journeys Review: Stephen King has picked up the threads of the previous Dark Tower novels, and begun deftly weaving his spell once more.
Wizard and Glass continues to follow Roland and his friends on their quest for the Tower. In the previous novels, the path our adventurers followed often took strange and wondrous turns - and Wizard and Glass is no exception. In order to move forward, Roland must delve into the past which haunts him, and share his memories with his fellow travelers. It's a cathartic experience - one that serves to bind the ka-tet even closer as they move once more along the path to the Tower.
King shows one of his strengths by refusing to make us ride the story-telling bullet train. Instead, he takes us down back roads and scenic routes, and reminds us once more that the pleasure is not in the destination, but in the journey we take to reach it.
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