Rating: 
Summary: An amazing novel
Review: Without a doubt, The Wizard and the Glass is the best book of the Dark Tower Series, and the best book I have read by King. While little of the book deals with Roland's present quest, King shows us some of Roland's past. I enjoyed the first three books of this series, but not like this one. King brings young Roland to life, shows his arrogance, pride, and remorse. This novel reveals Roland to us while still plodding closer to the Dark Tower. If you have read the first three books, you will be amazed at the change of pace and plot. What happens. The riddling contest with Blaine continues. Once Eddie finishes the riddling contest, they arrive in a parrallel Kansas, not their own, but a Kansas stricken with disease. As they continue through this hybrid Kansas, Roland holds palaver to reveal parts of his youth to his Ka-tet. It is the story of how his father protected him from Marten by sending Roland and two of his friends, Cuthbert and Alain, west to Mejis. In Mejis, Roland falls in love with a beautiful girl named Susan. He and his friends also discover a plot of Farson's about to run its course in Mejis. Lied to and disliked by good, honest townsfolk, Roland must first discover the plot and then foil it. But it becomes more than a quest to foil Farson, it becomes a quest to save his life, and the life of his friends. Then we return to Kansas. We have reached the Tower of Oz and reunite with old friends. One is killed, while Flagg escapes. In the end, Roland has returned to the path of the beam. I highly recommend this book, even if you have not read the first three. The story of Roland, Cuthbert, Alain, Susan, and the Big Coffin Hunters is so rich it is worth reading by itself.
Rating: 
Summary: A big disappointment
Review: First off, I am a huge fan of the first 3 books of the Dark Tower series, especially book III, the Waste Lands. Each successive book became more action-packed and interesting, and made you care about the main characters more and more. Unfortunately, this steady progression of excellence came to a crashing halt with Wizard and Glass. I have problems with each of the three sections of the book: 1. The first section resolved the cliffhanger ending of the Waste Lands in cheesy and annoying fashion. 2. The "flashback" sequence to when Roland is a young man was way too long, was filled with mediocre character interaction, and seemed mostly pointless. 3. The last section, which moves back to the present, is filled with unimaginative references to The Stand and the Wizard of Oz, and the climax sequence is thoroughly disappointing. Overall, the high standards set by the first 3 books in the series were not achieved by this book. I'm still looking forward to book V because with King, an improvement is always likely. Here's hoping book V is a 5 star read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not thrilled at all...
Review: I will start off by saying that I loved the first three books and I read all four books in a week, BUT this last one left me extremely unsatisfied. I won't recap the book, others have done that better than I would, I will only tell you my thoughts on this installment.
I think that 800 pages was excellent and all the books should be this long, but I think that the story of Roland's love and loss went on for way too long and the Wizard story was laughably too short. King went on and on in the love story talking about everything, even if it was relevant or not, but the wizard section only received about 10 pages and that whole part felt unbelievably forced.
Which is really a shame because the first three books were really something special and the Drawling OF Three was particularly good.
Well not all books can be a winner, and I will be patiently waiting for the next book. It hopefully will come out soon!!
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: Stephen King keeps up his magic with this great page turner. but i have one question: WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE COMING OUT!!!
Rating: 
Summary: I decided to be generous
Review: I do know the face of my father, but I have a feeling even my father would have had a hard time staying awake for this one. Let me just say that the fist 100 pages dealing with Roland, Jake, Eddie and Blane are excellent after that the book hit the dirt--hard. It is important to learn about Roland's past but did they have to it in such a boring manner? I can't see how he feel in love with the women myself though she was beautiful and all that. The book redemmed itself at the end when Roland, Alan and Cuthburt went on the warpath. I can't wait to see how King wraps these books up. If you are just starting out with this serise start with the first in line(#1) and work your way up.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best series ever written - period.
Review: The dark Tower series is not just Stephen Kings best, but one of the best books ever written - so far, that is, since the series isnt finished yet. You have to wiev the entire series as one book in order to get the real experience. And if this is to be your first excursion into the weird world of Roland the Gunslinger, dont start with this book. Read the three others first. If you dont, this will still be a good reading experience, but you will miss out on a lot. The Dark Tower series is Stephen King in a way that you havent seen him before. The action is far out and difficult to describe - miles away from Maine or Salem. Are the books westerns, sci-fi, medieval, sword 'n sorcery or maybe psychological? It depends on how you perceive them yourself. But the story is immensely captivating and also very complex which is not typical King, since he often relies on complex characters in a simple setting. Regarding the characters, King has outdone himself here. The reader gets to truly know the people in the books and the result is, that we care about them like family. Feel with them. And not just the main characters - the supporting cast and various bad guys are just as much alive in the pages and not merely targets for the hero. And while we are at it, the hero is not all hero either. He has serious flaws and you clearly sense that he might die or never reach his goal or something. In one of his forewords King himself writes that the reader must be prepared for Roland to never reach his tower. The Dark Tower series will not add much to Kings financial empire. This is not the kind of novel an author gets rich on. This is not main stream King. It will never be made into a movie - that would be impossible (then again, I said that about Lord of The Rings too, so who knows :-) But in 200 years when books like Carrie and Pet Sematary has faded into history like decent thrillers without too much substance in them, the Dark Tower series will shine as a timeless pearl in Kings litterary heritage. These are not the books that made him rich, but the books that will make him immortal. Miss them at your own peril.
Rating:
Summary: wizard and glass
Review: The 4th book in the Dark Tower series takes quite a different turn from the previous 3, with this book concentrating more on Roland's past than on the current group.
Of course we have to deal with the cliffhanger ending of the 3rd book but then we sit down with Roland as he takes us on a trip through not only his past but also the pre-history of the strange world into which we have traveled. We also get to meet Cuthbert and Allan as well as Roland's 1st love.
This change of format makes for a very good stand-alone book by itself but fits in beautifully with the overall tale. I can't wait till book 5!
Rating:
Summary: Good on the first read, Spectacular on the second
Review: I read this book, originaly, about a day after it came out. This is the fourth book in a series and I was hoping it would follow in a certain direction. It didn't. Not being what I had expected, the book wasn't great the first time through. However, I reread it about 2 years later with an open mind and it was great. A good portion of the book can stand alone as a great piece of fiction but when combined with the previous three books it is just that much better. I highly reccomend the series if you haven't read it. I just can't wait for the next book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection
Review: This story rips at every emotion a man could ever have. Love, devotion to his friends, honoring ("remembering the face") of one's father, addiction, coming of age, etc. This story answered so many questions I've had ever since I picked up "The Gunslinger" on a whim. I've heard King called the equivalent of a "Big Mac" when it comes to literature, and almost believed it. After reading the first three books, I was doubtful of this label, after reading "Wizard and Glass", I'm sure it's a misnomer. This book is truly original, and reguardless of how many other people love or hate him, he ranks high in my estimation.
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).
|
