“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed…”
It was with mixed feelings that I finished The Dark Tower VII
Yeah it was nice to see Roland Deschain finally reach the Dark Tower and conclude the many started mysteries. It was also a bit sad to say a definitive farewell to the characters that I had followed for nearly 10 years.
A true Stephen King fan will appreciate the Dark Tower series due to its many connections with King’s other work. Characters and themes from other books are craftfully fused into the Dark Tower story.
Salems Lot, The Stand, It, The Talisman, Hearts of Atlantis and Insomnia being some of the more important ones. Favourite characters like Father Callahan, Ted Brautigan and several others get a second life and their stories continue within the Dark Tower.
The Dark Tower VII is in my opinion the best out of the whole series which consists of Gunslinger, Drawing of the Three, The Wastelands, Wizard and Glass, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, The Dark Tower.
“Go then, there are other worlds then these.”
The other highlight in the series was the Drawing of the Three which may be the most suspense book I have ever read (yes, it easily beats The Da Vinci Code).
Wizard and Glass on the other hand felt long winded, misplaced and was tedious to get through. I know it was supposed to elaborate on Roland’s background and childhood but that did not help the feeling of it being a series filler.
The ending of this series is very creative. It is grand, very fitting but also sad.
Many readers will likely complain about it not being fair or being a disappointment after all these years and books. I however bow to King’s imagination.
“Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it…”
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Just finished the seventh book and I too feel bittersweet about the whole thing. I happened to like the ending, this was not the series where a “happily ever after” ending would’ve been appropriate. I could have done without Susannah meeting Jake and Eddie in Central Park, I would’ve like her ending to be a mystery, it seemed corny to me.
Things I HATED about the series:
1. Stephen King writing himself into the books, I read the explanation, but still to me this was almost jump the shark territory. It nearly ruined the entire series for me.
2. Mordred, for everything that Mordred was supposed to be, he turned out to be little more dangerous to Roland than a Taheen guard or mechanical wolf that raided the Calla. For all the attention he received old Mordred was essentially a pointless character.
3. Susannah having no legs, this just irked me the entire time. Carrying her around, the stupid carts, would it have been that difficult to write the character with some legs? Maybe Jack Mort (I think that’s it) raped her, or killed her sister or something instead.
4. Jake was a gunslinger and a complete p*ss*…
Things I loved:
1. Wizard and Glass, any portion of any book in the series that speaks of Roland’s days in Gilead or Mejis. King could write another ten books on that, just a really gripping concept.
2. Roland, by far the best character in an epic series I’ve ever read about.
3. Tying a lot of books together, believe it or not for awhile there I felt like the only one figuring this mystery out.
4. Action scenes, at times few and far between but when they went down they were great.
Overall I am glad the series is done, but also pissed I have no more books to look forward to. Maybe Steven King will write more on Roland who knows.