General Thoughts (*SPOILERS*)

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TrueGeneration

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Jun 15, 2014
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I woke up early on this lovely morning to finish this book...and it was well worth it!

This book currently ranks #3 on my DT order. I just fell in love with it; everything meshed really well for me.

For me, I:
  • Felt this book was, how to put it, had the most "Western" feel to it (with The Gunslinger right along). I felt like I was watching a Western; and this is definitely due to part of King's vivid descriptions, especially describing the people and the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis (with authors who overly describe, I tend to skim these parts. This is not the case with King, as I read DT, he does this so very well!)
  • Loved Calla Bryn Sturgis; I liked how King really dug deep into the town and people. I felt like as the reader, I knew everyone in the town, felt like I was a part of it, or in the eyes of our ka-tet, really sympathized with their situation and wanted their town and children to be saved just as much as our ka-tet wanted to help them.
  • Loved all the stories; Telling Tales was my favorite part. I especially liked hearing Donald Callahan's story, and I think he's a great addition to the story. (Guess who's reading Salem's Lot after DT? ;)
  • Thought Todash was great; I immensely enjoy when the characters cross their (and different ) worlds/whens. It was great seeing our characters return to (a?) New York. Even seeing Father Callahan return was fun to read. One of my favorite parts was when Eddie saved Calvin Tower; that scene was so intense, Eddie was such a bad*** dude in that scene!
  • Seeing Calvin Tower. Was not expecting him to return, so I liked that surprise!
  • Although, a little short, the Wolves against the gunslingers. Just again with King describing the action.
  • Most loved about this book: the growing and shifting relationship between our ka-tet. For me, this book really showed how they worked together as gunslingers; for doing their duty and service. It showed Eddie, Susannah, and Jake's capabilities as gunslingers and seeing what they bring to the ka-tet. This book also tested their honesty and what they would/wouldn't do for one another (The scene between Jake and Roland talking about Susannah broke my heart; Roland apologizing for taking away Jake's childhood).
Also worth mentioning:
  • Harry Potter reference!
  • Stephen King WITHIN his own book!
One part I DIDN'T much care for was Mia; I really didn't want to deal with another split personality of Susannah. Hopefully this is resolved in the next book!

And leaving this with my favorite Eddie joke in Wolves:
"Whenever you show emotion like that, Roland, I get all warm and squashy inside."

Thankya big-big for reading this long post! :D
 

TrueGeneration

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Jun 15, 2014
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NY
Pretty much agree with everything. The few exceptions being that I have it at number 2 in my dt list, and having never read salem's lot, Callahan was a new character completely to me.

I was a bit weary of mia, thinking the same as you, but it is much more refined this time. Mia is a better "character" than detta.

I agree with you that Mia is a better "character" than Detta. Detta can be too much for me sometimes with all her screaming, haha. As I finished Song of Susannah, I reflected that the story gave us a better understanding of Mia and her backstory, so I was pleased with that!

Pere Callahan was new to me, too: Not to have read Salem's Lot yet, I still enjoyed hearing his story and really liked the part he played in DT, overall! :)

First trip to the tower. I envy you. One word of warning. Buckle UP! it's going to be a bumpy ride. :D

I'm rereading this book, but I've put it on hold while I read Mr. Mercedes.

Also, I highly recommend Salem's Lot. It definitely rates as one of my favourite King books.

Haha, thanks for the warning :) I'm currently reading DT #7. Not even 20 pages, and Mr. King has made me an emotional mess. Not even going to imagine how I'm going to fare for the rest of the book :unconscious:

I definitely will! :D I recently bought Salem's Lot on Amazon. After I read DT #7, I plan on reading it!
 

The Nameless

M-O-O-N - That spells Nameless
Jul 10, 2011
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I agree with you that Mia is a better "character" than Detta. Detta can be too much for me sometimes with all her screaming, haha. As I finished Song of Susannah, I reflected that the story gave us a better understanding of Mia and her backstory, so I was pleased with that!

Pere Callahan was new to me, too: Not to have read Salem's Lot yet, I still enjoyed hearing his story and really liked the part he played in DT, overall! :)
I must admit, my reservations about reading salems lot have diminished a bitsince reading the dark towers. I have just never been into the whole vampire thing. II'll be honest, the only reason I ever watched Buffy was because I was a teenage boy, and it had pretty girls doing action stuff. But reading Callahan's back story, it is clear that sk's vamps are different to the usual cliches. Plus it's king, it's going to have the usual character building and interactions that set him apart as one of the best right?

Anyway, now it has gone from a book I never thought I'd get round to reading, to one I look at when I start a new book and think "hmm, maybe".
 

TrueGeneration

Well-Known Member
Jun 15, 2014
6,354
22,711
NY
I must admit, my reservations about reading salems lot have diminished a bitsince reading the dark towers. I have just never been into the whole vampire thing. II'll be honest, the only reason I ever watched Buffy was because I was a teenage boy, and it had pretty girls doing action stuff. But reading Callahan's back story, it is clear that sk's vamps are different to the usual cliches. Plus it's king, it's going to have the usual character building and interactions that set him apart as one of the best right?

Anyway, now it has gone from a book I never thought I'd get round to reading, to one I look at when I start a new book and think "hmm, maybe".

That's funny that you say that about the subject of vampires in general--I wouldn't say I'm head over heels about the subject of vampires--but I watch all these shows ABOUT vampires. I've read a couple of books about vampires, which were numerous YA novels. I honestly must say, I am really only familiar with the romanticized interpretation of vampires (and I blame one certain terrible book that vampires have been portrayed this way for a couple of years). I really have not read anything about vampires without all those usual clichés, as you said. I guess the only book I could think of is Dracula that's kinda scary? But I agree with you, from when reading DT, the vampires described were scary.

I feel like if I picked up Salem's Lot, I would say, "Now, THAT is a vampire book!"
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
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The Manni, on a different level of the tower, are known as the Peddi.
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