n  Halloween Bingo 2022n

Finally, cullies, I have seen the Black Tower. It has been a long journey and I'm as tired of it as Roland seems to be, may it do ya. It is typical King, being longer than I feel it needed to be and filled with references to his other works. It also includes a number of scenes which convinced me early on that there would be no snacking during this reading—he managed to gross me out on a number of occasions.

But it was not without its charms. I was especially fond of the very meta sections, where the author inserts himself into the action, requiring his characters to rescue him from otherwise certain death, the real-life accident that laid him low in 1999. Roland and his ka-tet realize they must keep their author alive if they want to finish their quest. These folk dodge from one reality to another to achieve their goals and the fate of all worlds hangs in the balance.

The ending may not appeal to everyone, but it made sense to me. It echoed the King Arthur mythos as I'm certain it was meant to. For me, the quest is over, but I understand those that choose to repeat the cycle. The ending almost demands it. Just like LOTR, there is a scattering of the Fellowship, a melancholy feeling.

I was fortunate to be able to double-dip with this novel, reading it for the Dark Fantasy square of my Bingo card and as part of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project. If it didn't do double duty, I'm not sure I could have afforded to tackle a book of over 800 pages just for Bingo, where one needs to read fast and change focus nimbly!

Book number 473 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

I started my journey with the Dark Tower series on the 26th of July 2017, and now the journey is over.

I am both glad and sad that I am done with the series. Glad, because the journey was too long and I needed to see the end of it. Sad, because I will miss everyone.


The Dark Tower series is an epic tale of chivalry, friendship, adventure, love, and obsession. The tale grows in a very organic way with each book, and with it we see and feel the remarkable change and development of each character.

In The Gunslinger, we meet Roland this unlikable man, who has been traveling on the road for years, and years, and years, seeking the Dark Tower. Roland in this volume is dry man with an empty heart. He has been journeying for a long, with nothing but his father's guns. His doesn't give a shit about anyone or anything beside the Tower.

However, as the series advances, and Roland meets new people (his Ka-Tet), his life is changed forever: He becomes a man of great empathy, with a wonderful heart, and someone who could love and be loved. His character arc is without any reasonable doubt one of King's best accomplishments.

And now we come to Roland's Ka-Tet (his companions on his journey to the Tower): Eddy, Susannah, Jake, and the billy-bumbler Oy. Let me tell you at once: These characters has become a family of mine on the pages and in my mind. Think about it, you spend more than a year reading and following these characters' footsteps as they face the unfathomable. As they fall in love. As they learn how to survive in this alien place. And eventually, as face their fates.

Regarding the Dark Tower's world-building, this I consider is Stephen King's best accomplishment in his entire writing career. You got to go to so many great places, crafted in the most imaginative and sophisticated manner only Stephen King can achieve.

Now that I spoke about the whole series, let me tell you about my thoughts about this last volume, for I have a few that I need to highlight.

This book is a roller-coaster of ups and downs, though more ups than downs. The Dark Tower, though it was great, wasn't the strongest in the series--which for me that would always be The Waste Lands, book 3.

It suffers from a disorientation in pacing; just when I feel like flying through, there would come a large part where the pacing would drastically suffer and slow . . . and then the fast-pacing would come back again. For example, throughout the last 100 pages, I came to a point where I just want to finish from the whole thing because I just can't take it anymore. The last 100 pages were a pain in the back since nothing epic happened . . . but that's okay, because the very, very finality of Roland's journey would make you disregard that bad part and focus on this wonderful and epic END to the series.

Though many would say it wasn't that great of an ending, I would tell them FU, because it was . . . and the only Ending it would fit.

Mordred and the Crimson King's parts were sadly anti-climatic . . . even Randall Flagg's. This book itself was a lonnnng journey, but that made it more epic, because we needed to feel the suffering and anticipation of our main characters on their last journey to the Tower.

All these battles, deaths, murders, love, friendships, revenge, and betrayals . . . It is all for the Dark Tower (I know, I stole this line from the Game of Thrones promo for season 8 . . . but in its own way, it fits for the Dark Tower; ha-ha!).

I say thank ya for reading this review. Long days and pleasant nights.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Fantasy

Roland Deschain's quest to reach the namesake Dark Tower is detailed in a lengthy and intricate narrative, and this moment marks the climactic and epic conclusion of the story. Roland Deschain and his ka-tet, which consists of Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean, and Jake Chambers, are still making their way towards the Dark Tower in this final installment. As they get closer to their final destination, the party is confronted with an increasing number of obstacles and conflicts.

In this final chapter, the party will have to face off against the infamous Crimson King. This evil force is both powerful and mad and is working toward the goal of destroying the Dark Tower and unraveling the very fabric of reality. The ka-tet's loyalty and resolve are put to the ultimate test as they face off against the enormous challenges posed by the agents and monster creatures of the Crimson King.

As the protagonists move closer to the Dark Tower, their individual stories and destinies become more prominent, and the narrative delves further into concepts such as self-sacrifice, predetermined outcomes, and the repetitive nature of time. As they approach the pinnacle of their voyage, Roland and his traveling companions are forced to face their respective histories, shortcomings, and regrets.

The series concludes with this book, which delves more deeply into each of the various characters. However, some issues need to be addressed, and as a result, I cannot give this book five stars. The pace of the book felt extremely slow at times, and the tale appeared to be going nowhere, yet at other times things progressed very quickly. Therefore, the pacing in this case is most certainly an issue. It would be dishonest of me to suggest that I enjoy the open-ended conclusion very much. Although I enjoy novels that are left open-ended, I was hoping for a better and more satisfying conclusion to this seven-book core series that also includes several side books. I'm happy that I decided to read and complete the series. The first four books will always be my favorites. I suppose it is time to start watching the TV show now.

This was my 2nd trip to the tower but first on audio and man it was so fun!
Even though I knew what to expect it didn't really help. I didn't cry as much as I did the first time but tears still came none the less.

Oy is and forever will be my most favorite character of all time. May we all have a furry friend in our lives as amazing and loyal as he is.

As for the end, the more I think about it the more I love it. It's quite brilliant in the most infuriating way possible.

Just one question.... now what am I supposed to do with my life??

It's not just the non-ending. Its the way he spends two books essentially stripping the series of everything good about it and replacing it with trite, poorly done, nudge nudge wink wink garbage.

I waited years to find out how this would all end and to get a hastily done, sloppily written, poorly thought out book, capped with a lecture on how endings suck, swiftly followed by a non-ending is in a lot of ways insulting. I understand King didn't have a lot of desire to finish the series and was tired of people bugging him about it. But this book and the previous one feel very much like King giving his readership the old one finger salute.

Thirty-four years in the writing, personally taking me over twenty years to finish (twice), and what have I learnt? Though I consider myself a Constant Reader, I've got used to the idea that Sai King is not that good at ending his longer-form stories (his short story and novella writing are great). For a story that winds its away across so much of the King Multiverse, passing by Spaghetti Westerns, Hogwarts, Oz, the Seven Samurai and so much more, a story so huge, so immense, and at times so brilliant, I was never going to be truly satisfied with how it ended; but on this second reading of the entire series, I feel like I have better understanding of how I feel.

The Dark Tower is all about the journey, and I feel that the way this book ends supplements that idea; the idea that The Dark Tower is always about the journey; about friendship, and what happens when it's broken. About destiny and drive. About training and vigilance. About fighting the good fight for yourselves and others. And also ultimately about sacrifice.

It feels like (to me), that the final book in this amazing series was rushed - sorry, but that's how it feels. It's nothing like the huge calamity of the final season of HBO's Game of Thrones, but still feels like a disservice to Constant Readers - on the other hand, at the time it felt like King was looking to get the series finished for the Constant readers - so I suppose we can't have it both ways?

Despite the superb metafiction around the issue of deus ex machina, it felt like the overlying theme of the whole book was... oops sticky situation, let's just throw this in to solve it. Compared to the superb plotting of The Drawing of the Three and Wizard and Glass it felt like a different series. It was still a wondrous journey, but at times I was just simply bored. I can see why I wasn't happy with my first reading of this. But as I said, I was never expecting a satisfying ending ; the story held and made sense, and the series overall is great. 7 out of 12.

2020 read; 2007 read

Classic tale! You simply have to read the whole series. It's a must read. One of the best book series I've ever come across. Fully understand why there are many fangroups for that series. It fully deserves all the praise it gets.

PFFFTT... What?!? Perfect ending, perfect series (although wizard and glass was a bit of a snooze).

One of those endings where you need to go back and read the whole thing all over again.

Long days and pleasant nights

“If at his counsel I should turn aside
Into that ominous tract which, all agree,
Hides the Dark Tower. Yet acquiescingly
I did turn as he pointed: neither pride
Nor hope rekindling at the end descried,
So much as gladness that some end might be.”
t
-tRobert Browning

And so we come to the clearing at the end of the path.

Stephen King’s epic poetic prose inspired by Browning’s poem is a unique and troubling masterpiece of fantasy.

Looking back over the seven principle books, from The Gunslinger first published in 1982 to this last, first published in 2004, (as well as The Wind Through the Keyhole addendum published in 2012) and comprising well over 4,000 pages. King has woven a tapestry of magical realism and fantasy that blends a lyric quest with modern American cultural references into a whole that stands alone in literature. I can only think of Jack Vance’s The Complete Lyonesse trilogy that comes close to this kind of world building and King far surpasses the Grandmaster in breadth and scope of vision.

In this final chapter King ties up the loose ends (for the most part) and draws the story to an end (sort of). Roland is a protagonist drawn from many sources and as a King protagonist he is iconic. No doubt this was an epochal book for Stephen King, who actually thought of writing it years before he actually began the writing process, and who included himself in the narrative as a pseudo deus ex machina writer. King’s description of this multiverse, especially how he has drawn connections with his own work was impressive. His extensive use of symbolism, metaphor and allegory were brilliant.

Contains spoilers:

Even though i did not expect this ending chapter of the journey to end the way it did,I can’t deny that over the years i have grown to love Roland and his crew like they are long time friends of mine, making their adventures so unique and i kept reminding myself that is not so much about the ending it’s also about the journey, and it has been a rollercoaster with it’s ups and downs and I’ll give it the five stars it deserves.

When I finished this book, I really appreciated the “epic-ness” of it. I felt satisfied at the end. Like every final volume in a series it had enough tragedy and triumph to have made it worth it even though at times it was lacking a good pace and made it look TOO long.

Also some of the characters felt like a missed opportunity as they could have ended up in better fate. (Walter/ Man in black, Mordred and eventually Crimson King)

But as for the Crimson King, who initially seemed as a cosmic menace, King previously commented in ‘Danse Macabre’ (a part i read) that unlike Lovecraft, he prefers to “show the monster” even if he fails to live up to readers’ expectations. So the Crimson King, at this very end, seems like a human. Even Roland has moved from the category of myth into humanity. I think there are layers to King’s writing that I didn’t totally appreciate before. That is really neat.

SOME MORE SPOILERY NOTES/THOUGHTS :

Some found Stephen King’s inclusion here annoying and repetitive, but for me though i though the parts that he was in were some of the best and entertaining aspects of this book (and previous ones). Especially the events leading to the accident.

The whole series has a feeling in it’s storytelling of endless possibilities, enigmas and almost every character and sub-plot can create it’s own world and expand it’s story. (Mordred and Dandelo for example)

4.5/5

This book, it broke me in places. Of course it did, I knew it would. I was so invested in this story, it's characters, their journey. I didn't want it to end...but, like them, I HAD to reach the tower. The highs and lows of this book were so close in proximity that I found myself having to put the book down to breathe. I read it at a breakneck speed for the most part, but sometimes I found myself closing it to have a good cry (and I don't cry, like at all). The ending...well I was so excited to get there and figure everything out. And now I know, I did not see it coming, and Stephen King is a bit of an asshole. But was it still perfection? It was, and I'd do it all over again. Bravo Mr. King, but also, bite me.

I am damn disappointed.


First off, I liked the final Coda chapter. A lot of readers are unhappy with the cyclical ending and the return to the desert, but that is the only thing I enjoyed about the The Dark Tower. It's a clever idea and I give King credit, but that is where my appreciation ends.

I genuinely do not understand how so many readers enjoyed this series. Many of the readers claim that The Gunslinger is the worst in the series, but that is the only book in the series that I actually enjoyed. The concepts that arise at the end of the first book seem so great, but as the series progresses it leads to disappointment after disappointment.

Stephen King had no idea what to do with The Dark Tower once he finished The Gunslinger. The plot, concepts, and characters are all over the place. Nothing is cohesive. There is so much deus ex machina and outright silliness that it becomes ridiculous. Characters randomly gain new powers, like telepathy in order to communicate between worlds, or characters appear in order to save other characters, e.g. Patrick at the very end of the very last book with his magic eraser. That is bad writing. And when King attempts to be meta and defends his use of deus ex machina within the book—thanks, but no.

The only character I care about is Oy and he gets the least airtime. The majority of the time it seems like King forgets Oy is even there until he becomes relevant. Jake and Eddie seem to be King's favorites, but I couldn't bring myself to care about them. I wanted Susannah to become my favorite, because I tend to root for the female underdogs, but her character is such a tool, and I mean that literally. Half the time she doesn't get to be herself. And the rest of the time she is pregnant and being chased around in order to move the plot. She never makes any of her own choices until the very end when she decides to leave Roland.

And that happy ending epilogue... Why kill everyone off, only to reunite them in another world? I think King wants to make the readers happy instead of telling a complete story.

There are so many holes and anti-climactic endings...

What was the point of Maerlyn's Rainbow, Black Thirteen, and Callahan? Black Thirteen was simply a plot device to move things along. In the end, Black Thirteen is left in the World Trade Center and King makes a reference that it is the possible cause for 9/11. That is an interesting idea, but what is the point of including it at all? It is brought in to move the plot and is then left behind. And the inclusion of Callahan is so silly and pointless. King needs a random character to fill a role for a minute and for whatever reason he chooses Callahan and his vampire enemies.

The death of Walter Padick/Randall Flagg/Whatever is beyond anti-climactic. Walter is supposed to be the big baddy of the series (and multiple other books) and is taken out nonchalantly by Mordred in the early chapters of the book without a single confrontation with Roland. What is the point of his character? He adds nothing to the story. Mordred barely even adds anything.

The Crimson King is supposed to be the true enemy of Roland, but nothing happens except a silly standoff with Harry Potter toys. And Patrick saves the day. The Crimson King is a weak enemy, which makes Roland appear as a weak hero.

The whole weird marketing strategy to include Harry Potter elements while that series was making it big at the time makes King seem like a sham. I hope his publisher made him do it. Including Harry Potter font is icing on the cake.

The reason I am giving the final book only two stars, while I have given all the other books three, is because ninety percent of this book reads like filler. King writes for word count and not for content.


I guess I have done enough complaining. I really wanted to enjoy this series, otherwise I wouldn't have read every single book. But it turned out to be a huge letdown. The concepts are great but it stops there. This should have been a trilogy at the most. The Dark Tower series is for hardcore King fans, not occasional King readers like myself.

I have concluded that I am not much of a Stephen King fan. He is a fine writer with interesting ideas, but his style drives me insane and he doesn't know when to stop. Goodbye for now, King. Long days and pleasant nights.