The Dark Tower

The 2011 re-read
The quest for the Dark Tower comes to a brutal conclusion. Can Roland and his friends stop the Breakers of Algul Siento, safeguard the Beam, protect the Rose, stop Stephen King from being run down and killed, and reach the Dark Tower?

This is the end of my favorite epic of all time. I'm just going to mark the rest of the review as spoilers. Read at your own risk.


Here we are again. Has it really been seven years since the last time I read this?

When the last Dark Tower book was finally published in 2004, I took a Friday off work to make sure I'd have plenty of time to read that first weekend. I don't remember how many days it took to read through the 800+ pages but I know I tore through it. The re-read has almost been like a completely new book. Except...

...Well, there's no real way to sugar coat this. The first time through, I shed silent man tears at the deaths of Eddie, Jake, and even Oy the billy-bumbler. Since I knew what was coming, you'd think I'd be able to brace myself during the re-read. Nope. There were silent man tears shed once again. I think it was actually worse this time since I knew what was going to happen.

So much has changed since 2004 when I last finished this book. People have passed through my life and some have passed on altogether. To the clearing at the end of the path, as Roland would say. A lot happens in seven years. When Roland calls out the names of his ka-tet and the others outside the tower, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought of doing something similar.

There's a feeling of suspense throughout most of the 800 pages, from the battle at Algul Siento to the saving of Stephen King to the final fight at the end. Roland's feeling of loss was a very real thing. I know because I felt it too. I think it was actually Roland's feeling of loss that pushed my buttons rather than the actual deaths and the breaking of the ka-tet. When the toughest son of a bitch in all the worlds cries, it's some serious shit. By the time this book rolls around, Roland is a vastly different person from the ruthless Man with No Name he was in The Gunslinger.

Even before the Dark Tower was completed, it was one of the books against which I measured all others. Since re-reading the entire saga a second time, I'm happy to say that it still is.

That's not to say I don't have any complaints about the saga. For one thing, I felt like Eddie and Walter both went out like chumps. Walter's portrayed as a big bad throughout the series and didn't really do much. It made Mordred seem like a capable threat but I would have preferred Walter dying by Roland's hand. Speaking of Mordred, his storyline almost felt tacked on and I felt the whole Susannah-Mia thing was overly complex. The Crimson King was a little bit of a letdown as well. The final battle felt like something out of a video game and I couldn't help but picture The Crimson King looking like Dr. Robotnik from Sonic the Hedgehog.

The ending seems to be a big problem for a lot of people. I didn't have a problem with the ending during the first read, nor do I have a problem with it now. The underlying theme of the series is that Ka is a wheel. Roland going back to the beginning reinforces that fact. King also let himself an opportunity to redo the series if he is so inclined in Roland having the Horn of Eld in his possession at the resumption of his quest.



I don't really have much else to say. It was my favorite epic when I was 19 and will probably be my favorite epic when I'm 99. It's not for everyone but few really good books are. I'll be reading it again in the future. Hopefully sooner than another seven years.

The 2019 re-read
Well, it took eight years, not seven, and a baby on the way to get me to re-read The Dark Tower. Since the last time, I've gotten married and both my grandmother and my dog went to the Clearing at the end of the Path.

I still love the Dark Tower as a whole but some of the shine has worn off this penny in the last eight years. Part of the difference is that I was gung ho to read it the last two times. This time felt more like an obligation to get to the Tower before my son was born so I put a more critical eye to it.

Stephen King never met a long ass sentence he didn't like. There is so much rambling and unnecessary stuff in this. For a book when the universe could be destroyed at any moment, there's a lot of sitting around and talking in it. Too many things hinge on coincidences. Some things happening because of fate is cool. Too many and it just feels lazy.


It still bugs me that Walter, Eddie, and Mordred all go out like chumps. The final fight with the Crimson King is almost embarrassing after all the hell we went through to get there.

All that aside, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Jake's death got to me even on the third read.

The entire saga could be read as a metaphor for the cost of addiction and/or obsession. Is Roland Captain Ahab and the Dark Tower his Moby Dick? Yes, yes it is. Or if the Dark Tower is God, is Roland Job?

Looking back, I think the tonal shifts bothered me the most. The Crimson King killed himself by swallowing a spoon and now he can't die. What kind of horseshit is that? Same with the Wizard of Oz junk in Wizard and Glass.


I have arrived at the Dark Tower once again and now it will remain closed for the foreseeable future. I'll read it again once my son is Jake's age.

My journey to the Dark Tower has ended yet again. And I’m feeling quite conflicted by it because I love being immersed in this world that King has created and I’m sad that my journey has ended once again. Despite knowing the ending and being disappointed by it yet again, I still think this book is a masterpiece and that King is right. It’s not an ending I love but it’s the RIGHT ending that this book needed. Anything else would have felt forced and not quite right. This is not a happy book/series and that’s part of why I love it. Life isn’t always happy and this book definitely showcases that quite brutally. There’s so much loss and grief that at times I found myself overwhelmed and had to put the book down to compose myself. That’s the mark of a truly great story to me. I love this series with all of my heart and it’s a huge part of who I am. You know those books that just become a part of you forever once you read them? That’s what this series is to me.

This being my fourth read through I will try my hardest to give this review the due that it’s worth without spoiling it for future readers. If I inadvertently do so I cry your pardon. So with a twirling gesture of the right hand observed I’ll get on with it..

I found the book to be equal parts Western, high fantasy, horror and science fiction all rolled into one. It contains many chapters of emotion and imagination to keep me engaged. The story picks up with Roland and his ka-tet facing their ultimate challenge as they encounter familiar foes and allies along the way who each play a pivotal role in Roland’s quest. The pacing of this epic finale is steady, gradually building tension towards the end of the book in detailed stages which I really loved.

” I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye.”
“I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind.”
“I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart.” - Stephen King

One of the best features of this book is the way it ties together threads from earlier ones in the series sympathetically. The character development is still strong and each gets their moment in the spotlight. The supporting cast are also significant in their own stories and face trials of their own. The world building as always is vivid and richly imagined which I've come to admire about these books. From eerie landscapes, decaying cities to parallel worlds, each location feels unique (and sometimes familiar) contributing to the overall atmosphere of the story.

”Endings are heartless. Ending is just another word for goodbye.” - Stephen King

King's storytelling remains engaging and very emotive throughout providing a rollercoaster of emotions all the way through, I'd almost forgotten how emotional this was for me; almost. Just a note on the ending; while some may find it divisive, it offered me some element of closure (really don’t like using that word) and a sense of fulfilment to Roland's journey. The Dark Tower series isn't just a book series; it's an experience. I’m really going to miss this series (again). Long days and pleasant nights to you all..

Every morning I wake up at 4am and read for 1-2 hours. I then either go on a run or lift weights so that this subcutaneous fat doesn’t continue growing unchecked. I shower and get dressed, styling what remains of my hair, and spray myself with three spritzes of cologne so that I can sit in my home office, alone, but smelling great. I work for 8 straight hours, usually without breaking for lunch, completing dazzling feats of cognitive acuity defining roadmaps for moderately trafficked websites. When I get off work, either my taxi services begin for my children or I cook dinner. After sitting next to my wife for two hours on our couch, coexisting in a beautifully connected, but unstated manner, I drift off to sleep.

I wake up at 4am and read for 1-2 hours…

This is my version of the Tower, and this book hit me hard. Dare I say it’s my favorite out of the seven books? The resonance of pursuing the ever-elusive, seeking desperately for something of meaning, being pulled to a magnetic approximation of joy and fulfillment, only to realize that this journey begins anew every day. This is my existence. I am Roland.

n  Character I Loved & Hatedn

I am Roland. Roland is me, and I relate to him in all of his Don Draper-esque, brooding and misguided interactions with love.

Patrick Danville is a strange character, and I didn’t love that he played such a significant role after only being (re)introduced with less than 200 pages remaining. It felt off kilter and incongruous.

n  Themesn

Pursuit of joy and meaning and the realization that you’ll probably never reach your imagined state of perfection. Enjoy what you have and savor the journey

n  One Thing I’ll walk away withn

I am Roland. Roland is me

It´s not just that one understands the whole inner logic much better after finishing this, it´s a feeling of having experienced something so unique in its special quality that I would call it incomparable to any other series so far. But make sure you reach the end in one piece,  as Mordred will be in stalking and backstabbing and keep looking out for not stereotypical, glittering vampires to enhance your chance of survival too.

Ah Mordred, what a cool little fellow, he shows Kings´ talent for introspections, thoughts, monologues, and dialogues, something I can´t get enough of. Dialogues and these inner voices in cursive or something are extremely tricky to write, because of the inherent danger of losing the attention and grip around the readers' mind, but this can´t happen with the King. No matter how evil, sick, and demented the mentality of whatever beast may be, one can understand her/his/its/altogether mixed up motivations. You will always remember him when you wake up from the noise of your panicky screams. Runnin gag pun intended.

Many criticized King for, against his habit of writing like haunted by the demons he creates, needing decades for finishing his series, but I think that constructing something interconnected with his other works, himself, and many symbols and hidden treasures, just takes its time. It´s instead pure luck for all readers that it took him so long, that he invested the time, and that we are privileged to see how he grew and changed as a writer, evolving newer and different Kings than the one that wrote the first novel.

King could instead be criticized for producing some of his other, loveless, one could even say unmotivated novels written without lifeblood, but certainly not for the work he himself things is crucial and of the highest priority to himself. Imagine how it must be to construct a fantasy world over the course of adult life, reminiscing about yourself, integrating parts of yourself and your other works, reflecting what you´ve done, just watching it grow. Something like this, on top of that by one of the greatest writers of all time, is much more precious than a disposable fantasy-, horror-, or sci-fi series without any unique characteristics. It may be well written, but just a clone among many.

I am so looking forward to rereading the whole series after hopefully forgetting all I´ve remembered while writing this reviews that hooked me on, I should probably get wasted to delete my memory, but I don´t like brain damage so much. Hm, memory deleting tech is still not there yet and I don´t really trust the pharmaceutical option or self psychotherapy and hypnosis because of the monsters hiding in my mind, so I fear I will have to read it with all the foreknowledge.

And it will be great, bombastic, epic, so much to rediscover, the only disadvantage is that I fear that I could enter a both wonderful and horrible rereading phase of many of my favorite authors, leading to a stagnation in exploring new genres and authors, but heck, that´s totally worth it and at least better as degeneration.

Someone is getting reincarnated, you may, of course, guess who.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

Comentaba en la reseña del primer libro: "Novela introductoria hacia algo que promete ser tan grande y épico que me da miedo seguir por que no cumpla las expectativas." Y termino el viaje de Roland a la Torre Oscura con la sensación de no ser lo que había esperado pero de no poder imaginarme un viaje mejor o distinto.

Cuando comienzas el primer volumen, escrito a finales de los 70, te encuentras con una mezcla de fantasía épica y western. Pero con el paso de las décadas King ha ido creando algo mucho más grande que transciende los géneros y entra de lleno en la meta-ficción. La propia realidad se cruza con los personajes y puedes ver cómo el autor aporta mucho de sí mismo en la historia. Creo que más que en ninguna otra obra de King.

Este séptimo libro está lejos de ser perfecto, pero una cosa que he aprendido con esta saga es que lo importante es el camino y no el destino por lo que cobra totalmente sentido ese final si lo lees desde esta óptica. Las 5 estrellas por lo tanto es una valoración general de la saga y del viaje que he compartido con esos personajes que me han parecido tan reales: Roland es el ejemplo perfecto de héroe trágico, lleno de defectos y que sacrifica todo por la causa. Susannah me parece el verdadero centro de la historia y sería muy distinto sin ella. Eddie es el contrapunto perfecto para el tono tan serio y épico de la obra. Y a Jake le quieres desde el primer momento y es al que más me ha costado despedir.

Después aparecen multitud de personajes de otras novelas que se mezclan en esta historia tejiendo una especie de multiverso de Stephen King donde el que es fan del autor lo va a disfrutar.

Y a la persona que todavía no ha empezado la saga solo me queda decir que no se obsesione por la Torre Oscura y disfrute del camino. El Ka es una rueda. Días largos y noches placenteras, amigos.

2022 -

I listened to the final hour of this in the car. I'm glad I was alone because i was able to cry with no self-consciousness whatsoever. And cry I did. Almost the entire hour.

2016 -
I just finished my year-long quest to read everything Dark Tower and listen to everything DT I could find on audio. There is a very different feel to the tale when read to you by someone else. I loved it, but sadly, the final CD broke about halfway through. Weird, right? I think it may have been God's way of telling me to read the end, not listen. That brings up a very interesting thing that just occurred to me.

I don't want to spoil anything, but for those who have read it (and had their hearts broken) does our continuing to read past the warning cause a reset? Is it our, the readers, fault? If I stopped listening after the epilogue (coincidentally, when my CD broke!) would there have been success?

My head is spinning and I need to think about this more.

2009 -
I finally finished. Let me begin by saying that I think the readers who complain about the ending are...whining! It was perfect. I don't want to post spoilers, but personally, I believe that THIS TIME he will actually complete his quest. That one mistake was made, something left behind, he obviously has it this time around...task completed. It just took a few "drafts," if you will.

I realized in this book, that as much as I loved Roland's Ka-Tet, Susannah was important to me only because of her interaction with "the boys." I didn't like her as well without her love of Eddie and Jake to wriggle in my heart. The care she took of Patrick wasn't enough to keep my feelings for her strong. Having said that, I felt she left the tale with a whimper, as opposed to the BANG! I felt her contributions deserved. That's not a complaint, just an observation.

A friend has been in love with Eddie Dean since his first appearance. Although my love came late, I love Roland. In this installment especially, I fell head-over-heels in love. No, he isn't the most sensitive, sympathetic sweetheart, but if Roland Deschain loves you, although you may die a tragic death, your life will have been worth the living. He will NOT forget your love and your memory will live forever in the field of roses. Each time he said "My dear" my heart would melt a bit more than I felt was possible. There was never a more faithful, honest, protective man of his true friends. Yes, being important to him probably brings a sad end, but it's a sad end worth the trip.

I had no problem with King's insertion of himself into the story. As he explains, and I have always felt, fantasy is so much more believable with a realistic touchstone to anchor my belief. HE was my anchor here. I know he painted himself differently than he really appears, but wouldn't we all? It doesn't make his contribution to the story any less important or central. King IS Gan for Roland's world. He certainly wasn't going to come right out and SAY that, but we, the constant readers, know that. He SHOULD be there. How could the tale be spun without his presence?

When Roland speaks the names of his fallen comrades, and loves, at the end of his path, tears ran down my face. Hundreds more died on the journey to his quest, but THESE are the deaths he felt. The deaths that made him the man he has become. The man I have come to love more and more with each installment, but mostly with THIS one. In this one, the cost of that walk up the Tower steps was tangible to me, the reader, and I cried FOR him. Not just WITH him, but FOR him.

I am completely certain that this go-round, he succeeds, and that's exactly the ending I would choose. As King says, life never ends with a happily ever after, but give the hope of SOME happiness, and I can accept that. Roland deserves SOME happiness, or at least the feeling of a job well done. I think at the end of this round he will have it.

I've completed my second journey to the Dark Tower! I couldn't bring myself to write a review after the first time. I didn't believe in my ability to put how I felt into words at that time. I'm now going to attempt it, after this, my second journey.

I feel like I got so much more out of the series for my second time. Everything that happens in this book is so cool! We're some of the events that happened a little too convenient? Probably. Did that take away from any of the coolness? Absolutely not!

The imagery and world building are phenomenal! King's descriptions are so superior. I'm able to get a crystal clear picture in my mind of everything that happens. I'm able to feel what the characters are feeling.

This book has lots of action which is always really enjoyable to read. There's also quite a bit of heartache and regret. It's all necessary in the course of great storytelling. There's a lot of mixed feelings about the ending. I had no problems with how it ended and actually felt like it really couldn't have ended any other way.

The entire series is nothing short of a King masterpiece and this final volume brings much needed closure and satisfaction to anyone who has dared to begin the epic quest to reach the dark tower!