I'm not sure when I first became aware of the Dark Tower books. I have been reading SK since Carrie was first published, but there was little fanfare about the DT books (over in the UK, at least), and I suspect that the first 2 books were out before I spotted these unfamiliar paperbacks (I think it may even have been my friend Terry who introduced them to me around 1990-ish). And, of course, with the name "Stephen King" on them, I had to dive in.
And I found The Gunslinger a most peculiar animal, with its odd blend of western, mediaeval chivalry, parallel world, mutants and the like. I confess to being disappointed - it was probably the most difficult SK book to get into of everything I had read up to that point, so I apporached The Drawing Of The Three with trepidation.
Wow. Even though it was a direct chronological pickup from the previous book, it was so completely different, and it grabbed my imagination and raced away with it, introducing me to Eddie and Susannah, a wonderful pair of characters, on the way.
Given my jumping on point, I was lucky enough not to have to wait very long until book 3. Again, a completely different feel to the two previous books, and an expansive adventure
and a cliffhanger.
A 6 year cliffhanger! The frustration of having to wait 6 years for the resolution of the riddle contest with Blaine was - how can I put this - annoying. But
and here we were in the world of The Stand, another unexpected delight. For me, this was then followed by frustation as they sat round the fire for an entire book, and Roland told the story of his boyhood friends and
. I know many love this book, and I know it is necessary to understanding the flow of the story across all the books, but it is my least favourite element of the whole saga.
Followed by another 6 years of silence, during which Mr K was inconsiderate enough to get himself nearly killed. I know it is shallow of me, but one of my thoughts on reading that news was that it might mean The Dark Tower would never get finished. I apologise here and now for this selfish and inconsiderate thought.
The final 3 books, popping up at 6-monthly intervals, means that I got the end of the story over little more than a year.
I loved Wolves Of The Calla. It was everything that, for me, Wizard And Glass wasn't, and I was delighted at
popping up, and the way the interconnectedness with the Stephen King universe in general swung into view. I also loved
. Preposterous, but wonderful.
Song Of Susannah, a nasty little interlude, took me into the last book. I raced through both of them. I can't say that every development in the story pleased me and, as I've said elsewhere, I had to put the book down and go off and have a quiet moment when
, but I wasn't unhappy with the ending, and boy was it one heck of a journey.
I'm 62 this year and I've been reading voraciously since I was 5, and The Dark Tower is probably the best reading experience of my life.
And I found The Gunslinger a most peculiar animal, with its odd blend of western, mediaeval chivalry, parallel world, mutants and the like. I confess to being disappointed - it was probably the most difficult SK book to get into of everything I had read up to that point, so I apporached The Drawing Of The Three with trepidation.
Wow. Even though it was a direct chronological pickup from the previous book, it was so completely different, and it grabbed my imagination and raced away with it, introducing me to Eddie and Susannah, a wonderful pair of characters, on the way.
Given my jumping on point, I was lucky enough not to have to wait very long until book 3. Again, a completely different feel to the two previous books, and an expansive adventure
(with Randall Flagg! Wow!)
A 6 year cliffhanger! The frustration of having to wait 6 years for the resolution of the riddle contest with Blaine was - how can I put this - annoying. But
Blaine finally groaned to a halt,
his lost love
Followed by another 6 years of silence, during which Mr K was inconsiderate enough to get himself nearly killed. I know it is shallow of me, but one of my thoughts on reading that news was that it might mean The Dark Tower would never get finished. I apologise here and now for this selfish and inconsiderate thought.
The final 3 books, popping up at 6-monthly intervals, means that I got the end of the story over little more than a year.
I loved Wolves Of The Calla. It was everything that, for me, Wizard And Glass wasn't, and I was delighted at
Callaghan
the author bringing himself into the plot, and the time wrinkles meant that his accident hadn't happened yet but, when it did, it might mean that the rest of the story never got written
Song Of Susannah, a nasty little interlude, took me into the last book. I raced through both of them. I can't say that every development in the story pleased me and, as I've said elsewhere, I had to put the book down and go off and have a quiet moment when
King deliberately killed Jake to save his own darned life
I'm 62 this year and I've been reading voraciously since I was 5, and The Dark Tower is probably the best reading experience of my life.