The Dark Tower: The Dark Tower VII

General Zombie

Great ending to a fine series

"Once again I seem to be in the minority, as I, as of this moment, consider The Dark Tower to be the best of the series, and probably the only one I'd give 5 stars.(all the rest would likely get 4) Hell, I tend to think the oft-maligned final three books in the series are superior to the first 4, so ya know that I'm not on the same page as most readers.(Though this is doubtless related to the fact that I first started reading this series just under 3 weeks ago rather than 20 years and haven't been forced to wait and wait) Furthermore, I even like the ending, more or less. I'm not gonna say that it's utterly satisfying, but it makes a good, if not terribly profound point. It's quite a sad ending really, but appropriate and with an obvious glimmer of hope. And, frankly, I find it hard to imagine that there could've been a completely satisfying ending, anyway. I find the people complaining about the ending amusing: most of them have obviously missed the point entirely. To suggest that the ending is 'not an ending' is ludicrous, and those who say that King's aside urging us to not to read the final few pages is him admitting that the ending is bad are, flatly, idiots.(POTENTIAL MAJOR SPOILER: I can't imagine anything someone could say that would be more of an admission that they don't get the point than that) Not that this makes much of a difference; those who hate the ending w/o understanding it would almost certainly hate it as much, if not more, if they did. Sadly, my conscience refuses to allow me to go into specifics, as it is impossible to do so w/o explicitly giving away what happens at the very end. If anyone out there really cares what I think(unlikely) or is angry or thinks I'm covering my lack of understanding by being vague(more likely) feel free to email me. The ending aside, I just found this to be the most enjoyable novel of the series. Many people hate King's bringing himself into the series, and the referential nature of the latter novels, but I think's it's fun and, cleverly done too. It's hard for me to get too specific really, it's just fast-paced and highly readable, and the characters are as interesting and likable as ever. And though he doesn't do all that much, I find Mordred to be quite an interesting and disturbing character. (Certainly fairly pitiable as well) Many people have complained about the use seeming deus ex machina to help the ka-tet through there struggles, but I don't mind. The fact is, by this point it has been well established that ka(fate, more or less) controls the universe(s), and thus it would be almost inappropriate for fortune not to shine on them. Certainly, you are allowed not to like this notion, but it is a part of the series, so ought to expect it by now. And frankly, this just isn't as big as a part of this novel as people would have you believe. There's perhaps only one significant deus ex machina in the novel, but it's used to reinforce the theme of arts relationship to life and vice versa.( MAJOR SPOILER ALERT: Furthermore it's quite apparent that Patrick's arrival intended almost exclusively for thematic purposes: It's quite clear that the Crimson King, while powerful, is still essentially human, and King coulda just had Roland blow his head off. Of course, than people would complain that it was too easy-- ya can't please everyone. Nevertheless, this is a deus ex machine of theme, not plot) Beyond all this, I think this is the evocative and chilling of the series. I particularly like the arrival at the Crimson King's abandoned castle, Flagg/Walter's confrontation with Mordred and their nightmare flight from the enormous, tentacled and many-eyed beast. It's just a pleasure to read, as simple as that. On a final, not very important note, the illustrations in this novel tend to be a bit of a mixed bag, as is true of the series in general. However, I think the picture of the Crimson King atop his throne of skulls is absolutely great. Even if you aren't interested in the book you should open it up and take a look at it.(it's on page 622, I believe.) But really, reviewing this book is essentially pointless, from a practical standpoint. If you've read the first 6 you're almost certainly going to want to read this one, and if you don't you must be sufficiently disillusioned with the series that little anyway could say would change your mind. But I like it a lot. ["

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November 13, 2004 Verified Purchase

Solipso

Epic fantasy, blending horror, the supernatural, and adventure.

"I have just completed Stephen King's series The Dark Tower. This is not a review for volume seven, THE DARK TOWER, alone. It is for all seven volumes of The Dark Tower series, which should be read as one story. The Dark Tower, SK's magnum opus, is based on two fictional concepts: 1) Robert Browning's long poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" (provided in full in the Appendix of the seventh volume, THE DARK TOWER) and 2) Sergio Leone's series of movies starring Clint Eastwood as a gunslinging drifter. Is The Dark Tower worth reading? If you appreciate epic fantasy, yes. If you can tolerate occasional gaffs in writing style and convention, yes. If you despise horror, the supernatural, adventure, and action, and if you think such literature must be trashy pulp, no. THE GUNSLINGER introduces you to Browning and Leone's dual concept and to Jake. THE DRAWING OF THE THREE sets the mode: that of contemporary fantasy with portals to parallel worlds. And it introduces Roland's partners. THE WASTE LANDS is a good adventure in a parallel world. WIZARD AND GLASS for the most part digresses into Roland's past, but it is a superb story of romantic adventure. WOLVES OF CALLA stops along the way to the Dark Tower as Roland and his partners rescue villagers and display their gunslinging. SONG OF SUSANNAH is a story of unusual pregnancy, blending action and horror in a setting of modern America. THE DARK TOWER brings the long quest to a conclusion, with tragedy but also with ample good cheer. (Do read THE DARK TOWER'S Coda.) Though SK is one of contemporary humanity's more prolific, famous, and wealthy writers, do not confuse ability to sell with ability to write. I quail from the idea of every aspiring author trying to emulate him. For example he has a certain habit with concrete imagery. Stylists encourage concrete imagery, but SK gets carried away, at times making his prose feel phony and cheap. Mostly apparent in his descriptions of sex and violence, this habit pops up in other regards, as when he describes disease and excretion. In Writing Tools, Roy Peter Clark says, "Know when to back off and when to show off." With universally familiar phenomena like sex and excretion, we do not need detailed concrete images. Those are times to back off. Also, SK likes to show off his skill with offbeat jargon in dialog and character viewpoints. But this makes too many of his characters appear alike, and unconvincing. And SK can be a bit verbose. Especially in the later volumes of this series, he seems to follow Strunk & White's admonition "Delete unnecessary words" less than he follows the apocrypha "The thicker the book, the more impressive it is." Though I consider SK an occasional, worthy digression, I prefer standard prose, polished by authors (and editors) who pay close attention to Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. I award The Dark Tower five stars because I do not consider flawless prose a requirement and because The Dark Tower is a good story. Be it ever so, and I thankya. ["

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June 30, 2011 Verified Purchase

raesdays

the dark tower, finally

"Just like a good horror movie blends a terrifying ghost with the every day creaks and groans of an old house, the Dark Tower series blends fiction and reality. Ka is a wheel and it echoes, and when I read The Dark Tower I saw those echoes everywhere. And when I was reading late at night I could just see the real-life King waking up in the middle of the night with a strange nursery rhyme in his and head and wonder where it came from. (And for the record, I liked that King put himself in the book, and this is one reason why.) And I loved that this series was completely ludicrous. Have you ever tried to tell someone the plot? You sound insane. "Well there's this talking dog thing that really love this kid, and this kid died before but then came back and went into a new world through an old demon house in Brooklyn. At one point, they ride a suicidal train that likes to tell jokes. And another time these characters actually meet the author that wrote them. Also doors open from nothing into alternate universes and they swing by the Emerald City on their way across Kansas. And there's a pretty important weapon named after the snitch in Harry Potter." And that's, like, minor plot points. But I had so much fun when I read it. And I think King had fun with it, too. And I love Oy, Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and, yes, even Roland. Although it took me a while to love Roland. He is cold and unforgiving and focused and heartless. Or is he? He grows to love, and he begins to realize that some people and some loves are worth his life. He even tries to sacrifice himself for Jake. But ultimately, he chooses the Tower. He always chooses the Tower. Books 1 through 4 are the best, and if you are one of those people on comment threads I have been reading who say they don't get book 4 and it's a waste of time and a weird flashback, I do not and probably will never understand you as a person. Wizard and Glass is a beautiful story and is beautifully written and gives life and love to Roland. And even if you never read another book in the series, Wizard and Glass could stand on its own and break my heart every time (in a good way). I loved the first three books as well. They are so fun and each is so different from the other and they were exciting to read. Lobstrocities! Billybumblers! Doors that went from a beach to the inside of a drug addict's head on an airplane ride to drug deal in Miami! Each new book was like a whole new story, a new style, and an entire new experience. And that was wonderfully exciting to read. [SPOILERS BEGIN HERE] I think Roland's downfall is that he chooses the Tower over everything. How many loved ones and strangers has he killed or let die to get closer to it? He knows their names, he knows his price, but he never stopped. Even when he and Jake both knew that one of them would die as they continued on their quest, they both continued. But Roland did it for the Tower, and Jake kept going because of his love for Roland. It's this difference that Roland doesn't learn until it is too late. Roland saves not just one world but all of the worlds, and even that is just a byproduct of getting him closer to the Tower. Just like leaving the horn on Jericho Hill. Because at that moment, after Cuthbert died, Roland couldn't even take 15 seconds to stop and pick up the item that came from his ancestors and meant something to him, and to his now dead friend. Because it would have taken too long, and he had to get on his way. [EVEN MORE SERIOUS SPOILERS. IF YOU READ AHEAD, HERE IS ANOTHER CHANCE TO STOP.] And on his way to what? In this book, death. We lost Eddie first. I cried, obviously. The love and respect between the ka-tet was uplifting to be a part of. And when it broke, it was devastating. But we saw it coming, didn't we? Ka is a wheel, and Eddie was so like Cuthbert. At the battle where we lost Eddie, we gained the beams, and theoretically the well-being of the universe. As Roland's ka mates freed the Breakers from their work of destroying the beams that hold the universe together, we met a few more characters from King's other books. I love these details, it makes me feel like King and his books are operating in a different place altogether (and all together). Like it's their world and we're just living in it. And to see Sheemie again. His devotion to Roland was so sweet, and I'm so glad he got to find some peace after their previous meeting in Mejis, where so much went wrong. From the prison where Eddie (and Sheemie) died, we went with the ka-tet back to Americaside to save the selfish, lazy Stephen King. Again, I liked that Stephen King was in these books. It's fun you guys! Don't you know fun? Not everything has so be so serious traditional literature, and I think once we passed a robot bear semi god, a woman who has split personalities but was only pregnant in one of them, and a demon spider baby, we have gone way past reality and way past the traditional rules. Also, I like Stephen King. He seems like a fun guy and he has some crazy things in his head. I'd like to grab dinner with him, maybe sit and chat over a strong tea. I also liked the parts where Roland went to the Tet Corporation and met those who did so much to help his cause. Though now that I think about it now, that does seem like a side road we might not have needed to go down. (I bet Pere Callahan thought that about a few of his roads, too.) But it was a nice conclusion to the Tet Corp., and if nothing else, this was a story of conclusions. Walter's life concluded in a most ugly fashion. And to all you haters, I agree that it was anticlimactic. But I think that makes it perfect. For a supervilliansemiimmortal to get trapped and killed without anyone-even him at first-knowing? I don't think Walter deserves to go out with a bang. Oy's life ended here, too. After Mordred finished off Walter he headed unknowingly into Oy's path, who died to protect Roland from his werespider son. My heart hurt for Oy, who I love so much for his love of his ka mates. He and Jake were so perfect together and Oy showed his love and his courage over and over. Oy reminds me of my pet cat, which is partly why I love him so much. His chatty, loyal personality could be my cat to a T. He even battles the occasional spider he finds in my apartment. And you know we have to talk about it. The Ending, with a capital E [THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. DO NOT KEEP READING UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE ENTIRE SERIES, I BEG OF YOU] It's horrible. I was sick to my stomach. We just went through all of that fun, all of that pain, all of that story just to do it all over again? It's horrifying, but it's perfect. How many times did he tell us Ka is a wheel? How many times did he tell us it all comes back around? And until Roland learns that love and people should be his motivations and not the Tower itself, he will continue on his heartbreaking quest eternally. Or maybe not. He learned enough this time around (the 19th time around?) to remember to stop and pick up the horn and Jericho Hill on his next journey. He learned this time to love and to be willing to sacrifice himself for this love, but I believe he learned it too late. And did he really learn? He learned to love, but when the world was saved, and the beams held up, he didn't go with Susannah, his ka mate. He went on, alone, to the Tower. ["

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November 17, 2012 Verified Purchase

StephBia

Loved it, but had some issues...

"Finishing this last book in not entirely sure HOW I feel. Yes, all the books were filled with adventure and I loved the journey! Although I was kind of appalled at being chastised for actually wanting to know what happens when Roland reaches the tower. What reader wouldn't?! I thoroughly loved every book up until the end. I got the sense that the author believed he was writing a fantasy novel worthy of Tolkien's, and yes, it was a fantastic read but certainly not Tolkien- worthy. I loved these books so much that it hurts me to write anything negative but I have to be true to what I feel. I thought that King writing himself into the book was a bit narcissistic. I hate to admit that but it's true. It kind of took me OUT of this brilliant fantasy world, breaking down the "fourth wall" and nearly ruined the experience for me. And including all the diary entries at the end of the last book was ridiculous. Sometimes I would get frustrated because he (King) would go on these rantings that made very little sense to me as to why they were included. For example, if I read the words "Gawd-bomb" one more time I felt like I was gonna lose it. Aside from that, I am one of the CR's that still doesn't understand why Jake HAD to die. I kept waiting for some reason that would make me agree with his decision to write it that way and it never came. I could have done without the lecture about readers who WANTED a real ending (what happens when he finally gets to the tower). OF COURSE readers would want an ending. The last issue I had with the books in general is that King does a really good job of making you fear certain characters or events to come And then arnhem you get there it was a huge let down. For example, first there was the man in black, then the Crimson King. After all the hype about these characters, one Just had a nice prophetic palaver and the other one it turns out had gone mad and nauseous just ended up throwing a bunch of "sneeches" that the gunslinger obviously would be able to shoot down easily. That's all the bashing I will do. I just wanted to get those things off my chest. On the whole, I really really enjoyed these books and I definitely would recommend them to anyone. King is fantastic at creating real fear and anxiety. At times I found myself rushing through the words to find out what happened next. Oh, and if anyone wants to watch the movie version, DEFINITELY watch it BEFORE reading the book because it literally is about 20% true to the book. Just awful. ["

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November 15, 2024 Verified Purchase