Pro A.
10-12-2004, 03:33 AM
Well, after 34 years, his opus is finally completed. A story that drew inspiration from all walks of literature came to a close. The series was about a gunslinger named Roland who lived in a world that had moved on. He was after a man named Walter that held information about the Dark Tower, which is the center of all existence. From there, the story became a bizarre odyssey that used multiple realities and different ages. Many of King's characters from previous books like Randall Flagg (The Stand), Father Callahan (Salem's Lot) and Patrick Danville (Insomnia) would become part of this little story. Here are my opinions on the seven books:
Book One: The Gunslinger
Good start. A little lumpy for fifty pages but then finds its stride. The last fifth of the book is very creepy and very dark. Not his best, but a satisfying start to the series. Grade: B
Book Two: The Drawing of the Three
A much better book that uses a stronger narrative and is exciting from start to finish. The first half beats the second half of the book by quite a bit, but the whole book has a very strong quality and the pieces start to come together for the protagonist. Grade: A-
Book Three: The Waste Lands
A very tricky book that is really divided into two parts. The first part involves bringing a dead character back to life from another world and the other is through a world that reeks of death. Besides a very cheap cliffhanger that kept everyone hanging for six years, not too many complaints. Grade: A-
Book Four: Wizard and Glass
The best of the series. The story resolves Book Three's conflict and then does a flashback to fill in the backstory. The Romeo and Juliet-plot works superbly and it is very evoactive. Last hundred pages bring the story full circle and it sets up the last half of the book without any gasps or fits. Grade: A
Book Five: Wolves of the Calla
A very different turn that uses mythology very strongly. The crew meets a new friend and they learn that their plans to reach the Dark Tower are in danger from a double threat. One in their world and the other in the 1970's. The plan is hatched at breakneck speed. The book loses momentum about midway but comes back fast enough to where you won't gripe too much. Grade: A-
Book Six: Song of Susannah
The weakest of the series, but not by much. It serves as the exposition to the final part, which usually happens. For what it is worth, it has plenty of action and suspense but it is over so fast you might be in a blur. The last book's cliffhangers lead to even bigger cliffhangers and it does leave us on the edge of our seats. Grade: B-
Book Seven: The Dark Tower
The resolution finally ties everything together. Each chapter is very intense, save for the middle one, which is more of the final plot-filling appartus, and even that is pretty good. The story goes through an almost Greek-tragedy esque line and it is very interesting to watch the last hundred pages. The book has one too many endings, but thats ok. The right one is at the very end, which is what we want. Grade: B+
Discuss if you enjoyed the series as much as me.
Book One: The Gunslinger
Good start. A little lumpy for fifty pages but then finds its stride. The last fifth of the book is very creepy and very dark. Not his best, but a satisfying start to the series. Grade: B
Book Two: The Drawing of the Three
A much better book that uses a stronger narrative and is exciting from start to finish. The first half beats the second half of the book by quite a bit, but the whole book has a very strong quality and the pieces start to come together for the protagonist. Grade: A-
Book Three: The Waste Lands
A very tricky book that is really divided into two parts. The first part involves bringing a dead character back to life from another world and the other is through a world that reeks of death. Besides a very cheap cliffhanger that kept everyone hanging for six years, not too many complaints. Grade: A-
Book Four: Wizard and Glass
The best of the series. The story resolves Book Three's conflict and then does a flashback to fill in the backstory. The Romeo and Juliet-plot works superbly and it is very evoactive. Last hundred pages bring the story full circle and it sets up the last half of the book without any gasps or fits. Grade: A
Book Five: Wolves of the Calla
A very different turn that uses mythology very strongly. The crew meets a new friend and they learn that their plans to reach the Dark Tower are in danger from a double threat. One in their world and the other in the 1970's. The plan is hatched at breakneck speed. The book loses momentum about midway but comes back fast enough to where you won't gripe too much. Grade: A-
Book Six: Song of Susannah
The weakest of the series, but not by much. It serves as the exposition to the final part, which usually happens. For what it is worth, it has plenty of action and suspense but it is over so fast you might be in a blur. The last book's cliffhangers lead to even bigger cliffhangers and it does leave us on the edge of our seats. Grade: B-
Book Seven: The Dark Tower
The resolution finally ties everything together. Each chapter is very intense, save for the middle one, which is more of the final plot-filling appartus, and even that is pretty good. The story goes through an almost Greek-tragedy esque line and it is very interesting to watch the last hundred pages. The book has one too many endings, but thats ok. The right one is at the very end, which is what we want. Grade: B+
Discuss if you enjoyed the series as much as me.