Stephen King's "The Dark Tower"

[n107]

Coming from the thread about "Cell" down in Z-Literature, I wanted to make a place to discuss this ever-so-lengthy story.

First of all, let me be clear that there will be spoilers.

And please feel free to add any thoughts of your own. This isn't just a place to read my ramblings and speculations. If you have something to say, please say it. I'd love to get other readers' perspectives on this series.

Continuing the earlier discussion, the final volume was a complete let down. First of all, the death of the Man in Black was completely unexciting and seems entirely out of character for him to be taken out so easily. Even worse, it was done by the worst "villain" King created in the series. We didn't even get to see a showdown between him and Roland that we were waiting for since the first sentence of the first book. Then said villain, Mordred, is also defeated quite handily after serving his purpose of killing off Oy (for no good reason). And lastly, the big scary Crimson King is defeated with nary a fight, taken out by a brand new character thrust into the story just to be a deus ex machina. When the three main bad guys of your story are defeated so effortlessly and in pointless ways, it makes one wonder if King ever had any idea how he was going to end the tale.

Someone mentioned that they hated the ending, but I did like it. I thought it was the only part that kept in theme with the rest of the series. For seven books, Roland keeps going on and on about Ka being a wheel. Things keep repeating. Well, it was literally the case. And it was fitting that all he had sacrificed selfishly over the years in search of the Tower had been wasted. It was his own private hell fueled by his obsession. Though why and how he had the horn on the last time he went through, I still don't understand. Does anyone know what changed things for the next time through?

[Old Dwarf]

Frankly DT pissed me off so much I rather forgot
most of it,except for the cop out ending.I haven't
read anything by King since:P.

I agree the ending might be about the KA bit but I
still think it was more like King just running out of steam.
I remember getting to Roland going up the stairs in
the Tower & thinking how in the hell can King pull
this ending off & tie everything up & then just feeling
I've been had!

All those years & books all those plots & characters
basically just finished off like 3 day old fish...just get it out.
King even wrote a kind of apology for the ending which
rather tells you he knew he sold us & himself out.

I guess whats really gets me about the ending goes back to
the fact it's a steal from another book.It makes sense in a way
but the series promised so much more.

OD

[n107]

Well the whole book was evidence that he ran out of steam. But I had to finish it. I can too far for too long to just give up. With the end finally in sight, I think I understood how Roland must've felt throughout the story. Actually, in the one scene where they're in that boy's house (the artist) had a very emotional effect on me. When Roland saw the Polaroid of the Tower pinned to the wall, I felt a surge of adrenaline as if I was the one who discovered it. I felt like the Tower was finally in reach and I'd get to see what is at top at last. I wish more stories had such an impact and I really wish that book would have been better to make the situation more worthwhile. Still I have to say the ending was the only part that fit the story. I mean, I really can't think of any other way that could have concluded something like the Dark Tower. The resolution with Eddie, Susan and Jake was crap, but Roland's part was the only thing that could have happened to him that wouldn't have been contrived or cheesy (like much of the rest of the novel).

I never heard of King's apology. I'd like to read it if you could provide me with a link.

Moving on (no pun intended), which book in the series was your favorite? I actually liked the Wolves of the Calla the best, even though it was a mostly independent story. I actually hated Wizard and Glass for the longest time. It took me almost two years to finish the book because I simply did not want to read it. I was furious that they interrupted the main story for a 600 page flashback. But after it was over, I realized just how important the story was and how good it was. I just didn't enjoy it at the time.

[Old Dwarf]

Damn n(I trust I may call you "n"with my 1 finger typing
every savings helps;)this week-end so far I've had to have
1 of my house furnances repaired(this old pile has 2)then
1 of my hot water heaters died & empted a lot of its contents
in to the celler its located in :rolleyes: & its still only
half way through Sunday!!!!!!

Them I'm on an endless project to actually paint all my
Battle Lore figs & work out a minatures ACW Game.

And you want to discuss a 5 year old book So I had to find
my copy of DT,no easy task..it wasn't in the Library nor
my secret Library (in my Game Room mostly devoted
to Lovecraft Mythos stuff).I finally tracked it to my den
with the Wolves of Calla & Song of Suasnnah-god knows where the others are?.

Anyway the what I called a kind of an apology is the
Author' Note p.843-845 at the end of DT just after
Robert Browings actual "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came". King tells us if we don't like the ending don't write him

It seem ages ago (well it was) but the first 3 Books were
IMO the strongest.I'm trying to remember specifics but
I can't quite make it "the actual recruiment,Blaine The Train,
the exploration of that City.

In any case I have another date with my wet Vac in the basement. I'll try to focus more as I suck

OD

[n107]

I do vaguely remember King's statement at the end of the final book. I didn't take it much as an apology, but more as preparation for the inevitable disappoint bound to be felt by many people who had expectations of the end. After so many years and such a long story, there was bound to be a LOT of people who wanted something specific at the top of the Tower and they weren't going to get it. So King gave the option to end the reading at that point and leave what lies beyond the door a mystery, or go forward and see exactly what's there, whether you like it or not. Of course, after coming all that way, I doubt any reader would opt to NOT know what was in the Tower. I breezed through his warning and charged headfirst into the Tower, almost knocking Roland out of the way. I HAD to know.

I did love the first three books, also. They were exciting and had me hooked every step of the way. That's why I despised Wizard and Glass so much. It interrupted that story that I was craving to read. As I said, I nearly quit reading multiple times over about two years. I just didn't want to deal with a flashback of all new characters in a new setting. Admittedly, I was selfish and Wizard and Glass is probably the finest story out of the series, but it's still not my favorite. I do love Wolves of the Calla. I thought I was going to hate that as well, but it was as complex as it was simple and it gave the characters time to show their personalities again after such a long break in the fourth book. Song of Susannah started to go downhill with the lyrical nature and time hopping. Plus it led to Mordred, the worst thing that happened to the series. The final book continued the downward slide until the story finally dragged its bloated body across the finish line.

Still, the part after King's warning was the only thing I cared for. I wasn't disappointed and, as I said, I think it was the only possible way to end Roland's journey without killing him.