The Dark Tower.

Ness

Ness

SHAZAM
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One of my roommates has always babbled on about these "Dark Tower" books, and I usually dismissed him. :wacky:

A few days ago, he had the AUDACITY to toss the first book in the Dark Tower series onto my desk and INSTRUCT me to read it. I was appalled by his behavior...but intrigued about what sort of book would cause him to act so boldly. So I opened it, expecting something mediocre.

And I'm a shameless addict now. -_-

I'm about halfway through the 2nd book, only because I started less than a week ago and that was right in the middle of my finals week. Now that I've got some time, I'll be crushing the remaining six books in record time, with any luck.

Did anyone else read these books (Stephen King btw)? Oh, and if you have, try not to spoil too much for me. :wacky:
 
I'm a fan. I have been kinda sporadically working my way through the series for a couple of years now, but as soon as I'm done with my current reading, I'll read the 2 last ones (Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower). From what I've read so far though, the best is yet to come for you. Wizard and Glass is probably my favourite of the series followed by either The Waste Lands or Wolves of the Calla.

There's also a series of comic books, by Marvel in cooperation with Stephen King, that deals with the events leading up to the first book. I haven't read any of them, but I flicked through one at Borders a while ago and it looked quite impressive. Wizard and Glass also deals mostly with Roland's youth, so I'll probably check out the comic books sooner or later.

Oh and apparently JJ Abrams is working on a film adaption.
 
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I've just started on the fourth book. So far I think the third is the best one, I think the part where
Jake leaves school at walks New York
is the most gripping literature I've ever read. And it ends in such an annoyingly tantalising way too. D:
 
I just finished Wolves of the Calla (number Five).

I definitely agree, that book and especially Wizard and Glass (number Four) are definitely the best ones. I've enjoyed the story up to this point, and they've done a good job of answering some questions while posing new ones. They're keeping me interested, that's for sure. :wacky:

I'm off today to find Song of Susannah so I can finish up as soon as possible (what kind of person is missing ONE book out of a series like this, stupid roommate -_-).
 
I keep trying to get into the series...I just haven't been successful.
I do read the comics though! They are awesome. I'll see the movie when it comes out in a couple years too.
 
I've (literally) just finished Wizard and Glass and for me the series has been getting better and better. The insight into Roland's past was really interesting, although I thought
there was too much of his love affair with Susan for my liking.
I now have to wait a few days before Wolves of the Calla arrives from Amazon and I'm going to be incredibly bored. D:

And on the note of a film adaptation, I really hope John Cusack plays the role of Eddie. When I was watching 1408 all I kept thinking was "it's Eddie Dean!"
 
Picked up the first book and tried to read it again.
I'm actually into it this time. I'm half-way through the book,
and it's awesome.
 
Jack's Smirking Revenge said:
And on the note of a film adaptation, I really hope John Cusack plays the role of Eddie. When I was watching 1408 all I kept thinking was "it's Eddie Dean!"
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Eddie Dean is 23 years old when he encounters Roland. John Cusack is old enough to be his dad :P Some younger talent would be more appropriate I reckon. Justin Chatwin would make a decent Eddie Dean. As would Anton Yelchin, though he probably has too much going on for him to commit himself to such a (potenially) long string of movies.

As far as Roland goes, there are a few actors that I think would fit the part nicely. It's a pity that Clint Eastwood is too old though, that man IS Roland. I could see Viggo Mortensen or Stephen Moyer play the part, but I don't really like Jim Caviziel or Christian Bale whom a lot of people have suggested. Neither are rugged or scary enough in my opinion, and Bale is everywhere these days, so I don't really need to see him in another movie series.

I don't really know about Jake and Susannah. With Jake they'll probably cast an unknown, and any current child actors I can suggest will probably be too old once they start filming.
 
The comics deal more with the events of the flashback portion of Roland's past seen in Wizard & Glass, really, along with shedding light on what happens directly afterward. Anyways, its a fantastic series and I love how so many of Kings other books tie into the DT series in various ways (some connections are small, while others are very direct and even go so far as to mention the last surviving gunslinger)...He's woven a really great world for us to enjoy and I hope we continue to get peeks & glimpses into it now that its finished...
 
I've read them all, and I love them. The ending was enough to make any grown man break down. In my honest opinion, they are his best work.
 
I'd be interested to know how some of you guys who have just been getting into the series like the last three books. The first four were pretty much mind-bendingly awesome, but there was a huge gap between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla, IMO Sai King lost the feel somewhat. They still have some excellent moments, however, and are worth a read.

It was popular back in the day on some DT forums to bash Wizard and Glass. I quite liked it, and you guys seem to appreciate it also.
 
I'm very glad to have gotten into the series kind of late. By the time that I started to read them the series was finished. I don't think that I could have waited years to figure out what happened next.

The last three books are fucking godly. Sure, Wizard and Glass was kind of slow. However, it gave a lot of back story on Rolands character. Who was oddly the character that people seemed to know hardly anything about. It was an eye opener, and it was necessary for that book to be what it was.

I also really liked how the books got longer and longer over the years. It helped keep the reader on edge for the next book. In fact, I hope I can get the series again and start all over soon.
 
Ness said:
I just finished Wolves of the Calla (number Five).

I definitely agree, that book and especially Wizard and Glass (number Four) are definitely the best ones.
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I remember reading Wizard and Glass in about a day, I was so feverishly into it. Love love LOVE that book! Wolves of the Calla was pretty creepy from what I remember, it's been a while since I read any Dark Tower. I think I've just been inspired to get back into them ;)
 
I finished the final book today, and I'm still in the grips of post book depression. I can't be bothered doing anything else today, I am still digesting the story

As for the ending,
it was the only possible ending for the series. It fit so perfectly I think, it could not have been better. Giving Roland the horn made the saga a masterpiece
 
It is an amazing fantasy saga spanning across different times and universes incooperation western and folk fantasy along with the incooperation of many of King's favorite novels.

The series itself took the better part of thirty years to write as king began at age 19 and was was hit by a car after the creation of the fourth book. He contemplated not being able to finish the story but attributes his accident to one cause of inspiration, and finished in the early 2000's. This span in the story makes his depiction of time travel flawless and acurate.


I think these are not only his best works, but also my favorite series of all time. It is something you will not regret reading, and I think a lot of people don't read them simply because the 1st book is a little hard to follow and simply not quite an achievment as the rest.

Eddie Dean ftw. My user name is the protaganists name, and my sig is pics of him =P

P.S my favorite two storys are "the wizard in the glass", and "the drawing of the three".
 
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I've read the first one and got through half of the second one, but I was reading it during school and get easily distracted from books now, so I haven't touched the series in over a year. Oddly enough I have all but the first one and possibly the last one lying around my house. The Gunslinger was a tad confusing but I got through it in a few days as it wasn't too long. I'll have to go back and read it at some point.
 
The Gunslinger is possibly my least favourite book in the series, it's really just setting the scene for the rest of the series I think. He really finds the rhythm of the story in the second book and by the third it's an excellent narrative.
 
My Manic said:
The Gunslinger is possibly my least favourite book in the series, it's really just setting the scene for the rest of the series I think. He really finds the rhythm of the story in the second book and by the third it's an excellent narrative.
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Totally, I agree. He even admits in his intro that the gunslinger was his worst written volume, because it was hard to follow.

However I find that the variations of different writing styles to be one of the greastest aspects of this whole series. I mean it was spaced apart for the better part of 30 years. So I guess the gunslinger was hard to follow, but after you get going, you realize it was pretty awesome.

I also think Eddie Dean plays his role very well in this story. As far as jake goes, its going to be hard for them to find and actor to play Jake if they release a movie for each. You would need a new kid almost every time.
 
Well I only read the series this year, so I got the expanded version of Gunslinger, which probably made it easier to follow and understand. The massive time gap actually benefited him, with all the movement between times and whatnot. Though like I said I only read it this year, I know someone who was reading it from the 80s.

Eddie was a pretty good character, his ascent from addict was very well written. I enjoyed reading about how much Eddie and Susannah improve at shooting, then Roland shoots and they sit their looking useless. He says it best with

"Suze makes me look slow, and Roland makes her look like a turtle crawling uphill on glass"
 
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