Review "The Dark Tower" by Stephen King
"The Dark Tower" is the seventh and final book of King's 'Dark Tower' series.
This book serves as a fitting end to a long and enjoyable series. Roland and his companions finally near the Dark Tower. Through pain, death, suffering and horror they attempt to reach the final goal of Roland's quest. New and dangerous enemies emerge to block their path.
This was a thought provoking and enjoyable book (and series). I am not sure how much of a recommendation this book needs - if you read the first six books there will be no stopping you from reading this book. But I can honestly say this: I finished the book last night and I am still thinking about the ending...
Overall what are some of the things that I enjoyed about the series?
1) King's use of language: One of the things that make King a great writer is his ability to create new words and phrases and then work them into stories to give them real meaning. Many of the words in this book are not just throw-away jargon that the reader will forget five minutes after reading it. These words have been invested with true meaning after thousands of pages of clever usage. (Ka, ka-tet, Charyou tree,
2) The fun mix of fantasy, western, modern and sci-fi in the books. This just isn't something you see very much. Cowboys, wizards, telepaths, robots, radiated mutants, vampires, modern New York city (taxis, hotels, office buildings, etc.), post apocalyptic wastelands, rural New England towns, etc.
3) Great characters. Roland Deschain of Gilead is a truly memorable character. King does a great job creating this character - his drive to achieve the quest, his suffering, his personality flaws, how he changes and grows through the books. His companions - Eddie, Jake, Suzannah and Oy are all excellent characters as well.
4) Variety within the series. Rarely has a seven book series contained books that were so different. In all of the books Roland moves forward on his quest - but the settings and styles are different.
4) Great artwork that adds to the reading experience! If you do read this series then I recommend the hardback versions. The illustrations by Michael Whelan truly add to the series.
One note to people interested in this series: The first book is not a lot of fun to read. It has some good parts, but where many modern fantasy writers would immediately spoon-feed the read the entire back story of the major character, you learn very little about Roland in the first book. Do not judge the rest of the series by that book. I honestly view that book as the worst of the series and something to be endured to get to the third and fourth books where the series reaches greatness.
This book serves as a fitting end to a long and enjoyable series. Roland and his companions finally near the Dark Tower. Through pain, death, suffering and horror they attempt to reach the final goal of Roland's quest. New and dangerous enemies emerge to block their path.
This was a thought provoking and enjoyable book (and series). I am not sure how much of a recommendation this book needs - if you read the first six books there will be no stopping you from reading this book. But I can honestly say this: I finished the book last night and I am still thinking about the ending...
Overall what are some of the things that I enjoyed about the series?
1) King's use of language: One of the things that make King a great writer is his ability to create new words and phrases and then work them into stories to give them real meaning. Many of the words in this book are not just throw-away jargon that the reader will forget five minutes after reading it. These words have been invested with true meaning after thousands of pages of clever usage. (Ka, ka-tet, Charyou tree,
2) The fun mix of fantasy, western, modern and sci-fi in the books. This just isn't something you see very much. Cowboys, wizards, telepaths, robots, radiated mutants, vampires, modern New York city (taxis, hotels, office buildings, etc.), post apocalyptic wastelands, rural New England towns, etc.
3) Great characters. Roland Deschain of Gilead is a truly memorable character. King does a great job creating this character - his drive to achieve the quest, his suffering, his personality flaws, how he changes and grows through the books. His companions - Eddie, Jake, Suzannah and Oy are all excellent characters as well.
4) Variety within the series. Rarely has a seven book series contained books that were so different. In all of the books Roland moves forward on his quest - but the settings and styles are different.
4) Great artwork that adds to the reading experience! If you do read this series then I recommend the hardback versions. The illustrations by Michael Whelan truly add to the series.
One note to people interested in this series: The first book is not a lot of fun to read. It has some good parts, but where many modern fantasy writers would immediately spoon-feed the read the entire back story of the major character, you learn very little about Roland in the first book. Do not judge the rest of the series by that book. I honestly view that book as the worst of the series and something to be endured to get to the third and fourth books where the series reaches greatness.
posted by John Ringer at
10:54 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home