Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4)

Rating:
Summary: Read it and Weep!
Review: OK, I have a bit of a laundry list of things I don't like about this book. First off, I love Roland as much as the next person, and Stephen King is a pretty good author in general. However, this book seems to have taken what was a pretty good saga and... well, messed it up. For starters, I think that Roland has been idealized in this book. Not only does he not act like any 14-year old kid I've ever met (yes, I know he's a gunslinger, but honestly!, but Stephen King makes him too perfect, too calculating, and always--always!--the only one of the three boys that has any idea what is going on. I think that, with the hype the Dark Tower novels have gotten, that maybe too much effort was put into making him a good character as a child. Also, I think, as time goes on, SK seems to be falling more and more in love with the character. That's good, but not when a believable guy is suddenly made perfect (see Lestat in the Vampire Chronicles), and the faults enumerated in The Gunslinger are made virtues. Likewise, it irritates me that Cuthbert and Alain are little more than puppets dancing to Roland's tune. All they do in the novel is talk about him or fret unnaturally over him. It gets tedious. Also, I DID NOT LIKE SUSAN. Sorry, but I found her to be yet another lackey to King's godlike Roland. She is hard to describe, but simply irritating. Once she meets Roland (on maybe the fifth page of her part of the novel?) she falls instantly in love with him. I don't buy it, ka or no ka, and her sappy fantasies and stupid dialogue like, "I've set everthing on you, all else is cast aside," is ridiculous. Would any self-respecting woman actually say that? It's embarrassing. Susan is yet another of King's flat female leads, and I was glad to see her go. Beautiful only because King tells us so, is Susan Delgado; I see nothing besides that that makes her an appealing character. Lastly, the whole Wizard of Oz thing at the end of the novel is like an afterthought. Indeed, it seems rather unimportant that they even do anything after the story. The only significance to finding Flagg and Quick is to hurry the plot along to Thunderclap. It shouldn't have to be so hurried. Likewise, the red shoes and the Stand stuff denegrate the story. It shouldn't have to include junk from pop culture and other King novels to move on. It should do it on its own. Also, it's embarrassing (I think) to what is supposed to be a dignified character (Roland, of course). To finish up, I like Stephen King, but I don't dig this book. The Wastelands was the peak and now things seem to be dropping off. It made me remember, as I read it over agaian, why I was not able to finish it the first time. In other words, Wizard and Glass is kaka (heh heh).

Rating:
Summary: Gimme More
Review: Well I am just a Dark Tower addict now. Wizard and Glass works really nicely to tell you the current story of the travellers whilst also switching back to Roland life as a youngster. It has been awhile since I read this but news of the upcoming 5th Book, Wolves of the Calla reminded me how much I missed the books.

Rating:
Summary: Hile, Gunslingers!
Review: Let me start by saying that the Dark Tower is the best series I've ever read. Never before have I been totally absorbed by a set of books. Wizard & Glass is a welcome continuation of the series. This was my favorite of the Dark Tower series thus far, primarily because the story of Roland's past gives more insight to his character than any other literary character I've ever read. I found myself totally absorbed by this tale of his youth. Because of the events of this book, I further understood why the Gunslinger sometimes comes off as a very cynical individual. The way King spins the tale of love between Roland and Susan was amazing, and I found myself really caring about what was going to happen to them - the mark of a great novel. Another thing I really enjoyed is how the adults underestimate Roland & crew. These kids are smart, and seem to always have the upper hand on what will happen.
Even as a stand alone novel, Wizard & Glass works well. I like to compare the way the story works to the Star Wars series (Middle story first, then the flashback). Another thing I was glad to see within its pages were several references to The Stand, further cross-referencing the Stephen King World. I recommend this book, as well as the rest of the Dark Tower series, to as many people I can. I implore all you fellow Gunslingers to do the same. And Thankee-sai.

Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: If you have imigination you will totally get lost in this series. We have been waiting for years for the final saga. I do not usually read King, but this is the exception.

Rating:
Summary: can't wait for #5
Review: The best dark tower book yet, a riveting tale of the emergence of Roland as a great gunslinger and a compelling side story that gives another insight to Roland's character. A must read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent; simply brilliant...
Review: His writing style may be unorthodox, but surely, Stephen King can enthrall a reader like few of his literary contemporaries. His vivid descriptions and verbose illustrations truly bring to life what he is trying to say.
And truly, he does this best in his "Dark Tower" books of fantasy/sci-fi/western/horror. From chasing the Man in Black through a parched desert to Blaine the insane Mono, all the way to the great, glass palace where the reader is forced to believe he is in some twisted macabre rendition of the Wizard of Oz", the whole series was a roller-coaster thrill ride with few respites.
As the series continues here in "Wizard and Glass", King continues his tricks and twists of the plot and draws one deeper and deeper into his world, into Roland's world. On top fo all that, this book is like 2 books in 1! Part of this book is a post-apocalyptic Western romance (Roland and Susan Delgado's short-lived love affair).
All in all, 5 stars without a doubt and kudos to you, Mr. King. I hope the rest are just as good...

Rating:
Summary: Roland's Roots
Review: In my opinion this is the best yet of the dark tower books. Although the first 112 pages are kind of dull. King should have ended the part with Blaine in the waste lands. However when Roland sits to tell his friends of his younger days, the reader is treated to something wonderful. The reader learns of Roland's friends Cuthbert and Alain, but the main point of the book is the love Roland feels for the beautiful blonde girl Susan Delgado, and what makes the love even more tragic is that the reader knows ever since the first book that Susan was going to die a horrible death. A wonderful book that shows the master of horror can weave a wonderful love story also. However, what was the with the wizard of oz references at the end of the book? That was just corny.

Rating:
Summary: G-E-N-I-U-S
Review: Almost this entire book is backstory...and it is the most awesome backstory I have ever read. King knows how to write a book. His characters are real, you can feel the tension in the scenes building up without anything even happening. You just know *something* is about to happen, but you dont' know what! Then BANG! King smacks you with a rough fist and gives it to you. This story is awesome and you will enjoy it. Roland is awesome.

Rating:
Summary: My God, this book is horrible
Review: I ordinarily like Stephen King, but he tends to get bogged down in details at times. This is one of those times. Leaving the extremely interesting story of Roland of Gilead and his current companions, King drags a story of lost love out WAY TOO LONG. Don't buy this--just skip to the next one, if it ever comes out.

Rating:
Summary: Absolute BEST in the Series....so far.
Review: It's worth reading all the books in the Dark Tower Series just so you'll have the proper backgroud to plunge into this one, one of the best books ever written by Stephen King. In the mid 80's when THE GUNSLINGER was released to the general public, I read it because, perhaps like you, I read everything King writes. But I didn't get it. I tried to read book 2, but couldn't get through it. In November 2001 a friend brow beat me and said, "You gotta read these books." I did. I am so glad. But, if you haven't stated yet, I'd recommend reading The Drawing of the Three first, The Waste Lands second, Black House (not part of this series) third, and the best book of them all Wizard and Glass fourth. Get all them behind you and then for background read The Gunslinger. I think it makes more sense this way. If you read King much you know Flagg is everywhere, but I never really drew the other connections between Flagg and Walter and The Crimson King, and Jack's flip universe in The Talisman, and the Low Men in Hearts in Atlantis, and ... you get the idea. Steve's got a theme going here, get on board. It's worth the plunge.