Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4)

Rating:
Summary: The Dark Tower Series Gets Better with each Book
Review: I was impressed with the third book in the dark tower series, "The Waste Lands," and impressed even more with this book, the best yet in a series where each book to this point has been better than the last.

This book picks up exactly where "The Waste Lands" left off. The five members of the ka-tet, Roland of Gilead, Jake Chambers of New York, Eddie Dean of New York, Susannah Dean of New York, and Oy, are on Blaine the Mono, heading for certain doom unless they can ask Blaine a riddle that Blaine is unable to answer. After a harrowing and narrow escape from Blaine, the ka-tet find themselves in a Kansas that none of them knows, but which readers of "The Stand" will find quite familiar.

At long last Roland tells the ka-tet of a story that has haunted him his whole life, a story involving his deepest love, Susan Delgado. This story turns out to be a novel within a novel, absorbing most of "Wizard and Glass." In this story we learn how Roland and his two best friends, Alain and Cuthbert, come to the town of Mejis and prevent minions of The Good Man from capturing petroleum to power engines of destruction against Gilead. While they were unable to prevent what ultimately happened to Gilead, they were perhaps able to slow down the inevitable. As the reader will learn, they had other effects on happenings in Gilead.

The importance of this story is that we learn of Roland's past, and why he is such a haunted individual. We learn that Roland's commitment to the Dark Tower is greater than his commitment even to his own love.

The Dark Tower series has achieved phenomenally epic proportions with this book. The number of pages in the series approaches two thousand at this point. The story is complex, and we are fortunate to be able to have all seven novels available, versus when I read the first three as they came out, only to have to wait five years for the fourth, and then at least another five for the fifth. Regardless of whether the remaining three books live up to the quality of the first four and most especially the fourth, the journey thus far has been enjoyable.



Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING!!! King's Best Novel!!
Review: "Wizard and Glass," Volume IV of Stephen King's fantasy/western "Dark Tower" series is even better than the three books which preceded it. I didn't think it would be possible to top "The Wastelands," Book III, but King has accomplished the task with great elan. The author's tremendous talents and consistency as a writer are evident here. I can only advise the reader not to begin this novel during a busy period in your life, as it will cause you to miss all sorts of deadlines. I really found it difficult to put this page-turner down.

The novel opens with a wrap-up of the cliffhanger which began in Book Three, where bizarre Blaine, the psychotic, riddle-loving monorail tries to take the stoic Gunslinger and his companions on a suicide trip to a terminal destination. Given the dark humor, it's a really fun ride. The band of four...and a half, the Gunslinger, Eddie, Susannah, Jake and their talking dog-like pet, Oy the Bumbler, disengage from the wreckage of Blaine, and continue along the path of the Beam toward the Dark Tower. They finally take a rest, around a campfire, while Roland narrates the details of his quest, the whys and wherefores behind his decision to take this particular course. He tells the tragic tale of his lost love, Susan, and his beloved friends and companions Cuthbert and Alain, who all formed a magnificent Ka-tet, (King's word for a group of people drawn together by fate). These characters have been brought up in prior novels and all played a formidable role in Roland's past life...one which will haunt him to the ends of the changing world. "Wizard and Glass" is more a traditional fantasy novel than the other, more darkly fantastic books in the series. The forces of magic aren't often on the side of Roland and his friends, so they must rely on their wits or their weapons instead.

Roland's father, the best Gunslinger who ever lived, sent him away from the Inner Baronies and looming danger, with his closest friends Cuthbert and Alain. All were disguised and took aliases. They arrived at their destination, the small seaside town of Hambry, in Mejis, on the outskirts of Mid-World, ostensibly to count the taxable goods for the Affiliation. The trio discovered that there was trouble brewing here also, worse than that in Gilead. They were in much more danger in the Barony of Mejis than they would have been staying at home. The town's officials had secretly defected to the side of John Farson, "The Good Man," whose armed revolution was gradually destroying the world. Farson's group planned to use oil wells and refineries, built during the long-ago Age of the Old Ones, to create gasoline to power weapons of war. These relics of the past, and other resources, lay right outside Hambry. Cut off from communications and support, Roland, Cuthbert and Alain were up against powerful adversaries, men of evil and ill will, as they attempted to foil the plot.

On their first night in Hambry, Roland met beautiful Susan Delgado, just sixteen, a year or so older than he. The two fall deeply in love. Unfortunately she had been coerced into giving her promise to the lecherous, aging Mayor to be his future lover, (and future mother of his child - he hoped). His wife had been unable to bear him children after 40 years of marriage. Susan was unable to break the contract without staining her family's honor. The young lovers entered into an illicit affair - one which endangered the lives of them all.

It is difficult to summarize the richly detailed and intricate plot of "Wizard and Glass" and do it justice. The characters, major and minor, are outstanding - they just come to life on the page. There's the ancient witch who becomes addicted to Farson's pink crystal ball, and whose hatred for Susan will prove to be disastrous for the Ka-tet; Jonas the failed gunslinger, banished to the West long ago, and his two cronies - all in Mejis to do Farson's work; Cordelia, Susan's deranged aunt who is eaten up by jealousy, guilt and her own pettiness; Sheemie, who is devoted to Cuthbert for saving his life, and proves to be loyal and courageous - an honorary member of the Ka-tet. And, of course there's young Roland, the newly made Gunslinger, who longs to lead his friends with honor and be worthy of his father's name; Alain, serious, noble and gifted with the Sight; Cuthbert the cutup, who is so like Eddie; Susan, a strong young woman, with her dream of first love finally realized, and so much to lose. King demonstrates a huge talent for creating a wide variety of characters and weaving them into a credible community. His narrative is rich in vivid detail and the pace is fast-going enough that I had a problem deciding where to pause. Ultimately, the reader is given an understanding of why Roland is the man he is. And this is a good place to acquire it. Roland, while never unsympathetic, has always seemed a bit too stoic - a hard, ruthless, unsentimental man who will kill for his cause.

I think this is Stephen King's best book ever, and certainly one of the best novels I have read in a long time. One of the high points, for me, is the way the author brings in characters and themes from his other books, pointing out to the reader that the figures of evil in all his work are the same throughout - no matter what their names. Whatever the storyline, the purpose of total destruction remains consistent. It may have taken the author a long time to get this book out, but it is sure worth it. "The Dark Tower" is really Stephen King at his best and most ambitious. He examines here, in this extraordinary epic, the importance of mythology, and of the quest, in man's life! Very highly recommended!
JANA

Rating:
Summary: Dark Tower Book 4
Review: This in my opinion is the best book in the series, you really get to connect with Roland and where he came from, his best friends and the love of his life. It was the best written story I have ever read! Stephen King is a mastermind.

Rating:
Summary: A Great and Enchanting Book.Beautifully Written.
Review: I love Stephen King and I love the Dark Tower series and I loved this book cause not only did SK decide to give a little insight into Rolands past but he also wrote the story beautifully.The story starts exactly where "The Wastelands" left off. Roland,Eddie,Susannah,Jake,and Oy are stuck on the demonic train called Blaine. After narrowly escaping,Roland tellls the story of the lovely Susan Delgado. Now the way King wrote the character of Susan is so much more in depth then a lot of his characters.Don't get me wrong,I love Stephen King but
usually he doesn't quite write his characters like this. King writes Susan Delgado to where she almost seems like a real person,you can almost see the beauty that King portrays her as being. Now the story is about Roland and his two friends Cuthbert and Alain going on a mission to some town (I can't remember the name) to discover something unknown. This is how King writes stuff. You find out about things when the characters do,not before nor after. Traveling under different names they meet the lovely Susan Delgado who is set to marry the much older mayor of the town. Roland (traveling under the name Will Dearborn) falls in love with Susan as does she. However due to certain circumstances she can't tell him. Also
a group of men called the Big Coffin Hunters led by a mean spirited man named Jonas,have an immeadiate hatred of "Dearborn"
and his friends.After the storys over,Roland,Eddie,and Co.
enter a demonic version of the Wizard of Oz that is entrancing.
This is so far the best book in the "Dark Tower" series as well as Kings saddest book. King has a gift of mixing horror,drama,love,and everything else into one story.
A-.

Rating:
Summary: To get where your going, you have to know where you've been
Review: Stephen King's Wizard and Glass is definitely the best book since the first one, in my humble opinion. It seemed that in "The Drawing of Three," as well as in "The Waste Lands," there was long, dry, slow parts of the book. In "The Wizard and Glass," you find yourself glued to every page. The plot just seems to thicken, and thicken, then thicken some more, until finally, it starts to unravel.

I really enjoyed reading about Cuthbert, and doing my own comparisons to he to Eddie. King constantly makes reference in "The Drawing of Three," as well as in "The Waste Lands," of how much Eddie resembles Cuthbert. I wondered to myself if Eddie would have saved Shemie at that bar? We'll never know, and I wonder if we'll ever find out what happened to poor Shemie in the end, as you know he died somewhere in the voyage I'm sure (just like everyone else).

Alain was a delightful character, I was rooting for him, and hoped his character would be better developed, in a similar fashion to Cuthbert, but it wasn't. Rhea's character was also defined very well, and you learned to hate her from the beginning, however, that didn't keep me from being fascinated w/her. I hope in Wolves of Calla they describe Roland's last meeting w/her.

King said the hardest part of writing the story was describing the character Susan Delgado from Roland's point of view, and describing a first love. Their desire for each other was described to perfection in my opinion. What happens to them is beyond words, however, coming from King, I guess you should have expected it.

This may be the best book of the series. I still put it second behind "The Gunslinger," but I can easily see how some people would say the best book he ever wrote. I also loved the wizard of Oz reference. Another delight in the series.

Grade: A


Rating:
Summary: Not bad as a bridge piece
Review: The book kind of drags on towards the early/middle parts as it begins to unfold, but the story that is told is definitely a good one and will give you a lot of insight into Roland's background. If you're like me you got sick of hearing all these tales of Susasn, Cuthbert, etc. without getting any real glimpse of them and their roles in Roland's early life. I have not started on the last three books yet, so it remains to be seen whether or not this historical break in the journey serves a solid purpose or sets up some future event, but by itself it's defiinitely a good read for fans of the series.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Great
Review: Maybe the best book and best story I have ever read or even heard.