U odnosu na prve dve, treći deo priče je za klasu bolji. Iako je Mračna kula još uvek daleko, desilo se nekoliko bitnih stvari koje su ubrzale put ka njoj i koje su skupa ostavile daleko jači utisak nego dešavanja u prethodnim delovima.

Roland više ne nosi titulu poslednjeg revolveraša i svojim saputnicima konačno daje konkretne informacije o Kuli (iako je i to "na kašičicu") i saznajemo malo više o njemu samom. Osim što je družina konačno na pravom putu ka Kuli, ona postaje brojnija za još dvoje - jednog člana koga su mnogi zavoleli ranije, dok je jedno stvorenje odlučilo da pokloni svoje poverenje najmlađem članu. Nešto više saznajemo i o Rolandovom svetu, svedočeći u šta se on polako pretvara i kako polako odumire.

Način na koji se prepliću java i san, kao i dva sveta koja se dodiruju sa različitim protocima vremena je odlično osmišljen i definitivno jedna od zabavnijih stvari koje mogu izazvati ili potpunu zainteresovanost ili vas može odbiti od čitanja zbog trenutne konfuzije. Odličan je i momenat koji opisuje žitelje Luda koji su postali sopstveni zatočenici. Ima puno detalja koji su mi se svideli, no držim se obećanja datog samoj sebi da neću da spojlujem.

Priča se, za mene makar, pomalo neočekivano završava, što je opomena da ne vredi imati očekivanja kada je King u pitanju. U ovom trenutku mogu samo da nastavim da čitam dalje, potpuno navučena.

Ο Ρόλαντ της Γαλαάδ, από το πρώτο βιβλίο της σειράς μας έμαθε ότι για να φτάσει στον προορισμό του μπορεί να κάνει τα πάντα, να υπομείνει τα πάντα να θυσιάσει τα πάντα… ακόμη και όσα αγαπά.
Να όμως που στο βιβλίο «Οι ρημαγμένοι τόποι» τα πάντα σε αυτό το ταξίδι ανατρέπονται, ο Ρόλαντ εκτός από αγάπη (την οποία μπορεί να θυσιάσει), νιώθει ότι έχει και ένα χρέος… και έτσι δίνει μία υπόσχεση, μια υπόσχεση που γνωρίζει ότι είναι αμφίβολο ότι μπορεί να την κρατήσει. Πλέον όμως δεν είναι μόνος του, η ομάδα των τεσσάρων, αυτή η ενωμένη «κα- τετ» ομάδα, του αποδεικνύει για ακόμη μια φορά πως σημασία δεν έχει μόνο ο προορισμός.
Το τρίτο βιβλίο του Μαύρου Πύργου είναι ευφάνταστο, ευφυέστατο και εντελώς εξωφρενικό! Δεν θα μπορούσε να μου αρέσει περισσότερο.
Υ.Γ. θέλω και εγώ ένα τραυλιστή!

Even though I'm not crazy about this narrator, Frank Muller, I ended up giving my audio re-read of this book an extra star.

All my old friends are together again: Roland, Susannah, Eddie, Jack and even Oy. (I forgot how much I loved Oy and his golden eyes!) Even some of my old enemies are here, Gasher and Blane the Mono.

It's nice re-reading these via audio, even if I have to wait a few weeks in between books while waiting for the next audio book to come in to the library. This time I don't have to wait years in between books which keeps everything fresh in my mind.

I have to respect a mind that is so wildly imaginative that it can put together a story of this scope. It blows me away. I guess that's why Stephen is the King. At least in my book.

3.5 ⭐

n  ”Talk about Zip! Talk about Zowie! Golly gee, gosh, and Wowie!”n If you didn’t already think King was absolutely bonkers, you will after reading this! An entertaining third instalment in ‘The Dark Tower’ series with typically great character work and seamless changes in tone throughout; unfortunately, for me, it’s also a little more transparently fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants than previous books and I couldn’t buy into some of the quirkier “horror” elements this time around.




***SPOILERS AHEAD***


A little bit of the shine rubbed off on this one for me. The sweet, charming unpredictability of the series has just soured ever so slightly as it becomes more and more evident (and King has openly admitted) that he was making it up book by book; who knows? Maybe page by page. Because of this, there is a few too many “just ‘cos” reasonings for events which tend to avoid questioning by invoking ‘ka’. Everything’s just a little too clouded in the mysticism of ‘The Tower’ and lacking in anything concrete.


I’ve gotta be honest, I’m not sold on the “scary train” business. And the whole train thing, from the ominous forebodings of Charlie the choo-choo, to the insidious and cruel nature of Blaine the Pain takes up a significant chunk of the book; so, if you aren’t hooked by this single aspect of the novel, you might feel similarly. There’s much more to Blaine than his cognitive infiltration of a train, of course, but at no stage did I ever find him, in the slightest bit, frightening. Disappointing considering how much he’s talked up throughout the novel…. I mean, he demands riddles?? Oooh, spooky! This had me thinking back to ‘The Shining’, in which King had the audacity, at one point, to expect his audience to be genuinely afraid of finely trimmed hedges; and at another, a fire hose! I applaud you for trying, big fella, but this isn’t a Goosebumps book; what’s next? Choose your own adventure?


Something else that should be applauded is King’s ability to maintain a natural equilibrium between a dark, chilling tone and light-heartedness. While this can diminish the horror element in some cases, like the train, in others such as the Drawing of Jake, Jake’s kidnapping, or the ritual lynching of the Pubes, it manages to add lightness (I don’t mean to say ‘make light of’) some otherwise grim material. The drawing of Jake, for example, is part demonic rape scene (though it’s debateable who was doing the raping) but this is made slightly more palatable “to read” by the manner in which it is written and the way that the characters involved are dealing with the situation. In most cases this can be attributed to Eddie’s joviality or the humorous relationship between the latest addition, Oy, to the rest of the Ka-tet (Jake in particular).


n  ”Will you drink to the earth, and to the days which have passed upon it?
Will you drink to the fullness which was, and to friends who have passed on?
Will you drink to good company, well met? Will these things set us on, Old Mother?n


What I’ve found to be the most consistently positive aspect of King’s novels is his outstanding character work and dialogue. All issues aside, these books are always quick and enjoyable due to the excellent characters and the banter between them. I really buy into the emotion they show for each other, despite perhaps the unrealistically short period of time in which such affection has developed. Jake and his new Studio-Ghibli-Type companion, Oy, have a wholesome little friendship while Susannah and Eddie have had a bit of time to add some believability to their dalliance turn insta-love. At the same time, Roland’s relationships with the rest of the Ka-tet has matured and there’s a greater degree of mutual respect since Eddie called him out for using them as pawns in his Quest to the Tower. No member of the Ka-tet would hesitate in making the greatest sacrifice for any of the others, as illustrated by Eddie overcoming his fears to save Jake from a fall from the bridge leading to the City of Lud:

’Eddie opened his legs and seat-dropped to a sitting position. His undefended balls smashed painfully up into his crotch, but for the moment even this exquisite pain was news from a distant country.”


It ends on a cliff-hanger, if ever I’ve seen one, and rather than tying off any plot points, some plot knots are loosened and poised to unravel in future books. I’m still pretty keen for the next book as I enjoyed the glimpses of Roland’s past in ‘The Gunslinger’ and am pretty sure ‘Wizard and Glass’ explores that further. Thankee-sai if you made it this far and remember… Never, and I mean NEVER forget the face of your Father!

n  ”I do not kill with my gun…. I kill with my heart, motherfucker”n

I had a rough start with this one when I began reading it in print, so I switched to the audio version. What a good decision that was! I ended up loving it. The narrator did a fantastic job.

The story is just so crazy and imaginative, defying any easy categorization into genre. The main characters are genuine and already fully developed, yet still manage to keep growing. All the wackadoo side characters that inevitably show up just makes this endlessly interesting story even more compelling.

I knew this book ended on a cliffhanger, so I came to the ending already prepared with the audio version of book 4, Wizard and Glass.

Nos vamos encarrilando a donde debemos llegar, aunque no me gustó tanto como el anterior si me deja con ganas de leer el siguiente. Un poco tedioso en ciertas partes y un poco lento, pero repito vamos por buen camino y debemos seguir.

7.5/10

Damn me and my hyperbole; predicting this to be the greatest novel I’ve ever read and take the series to a new level of awesomeness and sit atop the pedestal of unbeatable works of fiction. Damn me Richard!

Don’t get me wrong, this was a strong entry with plenty of positives, but after reading some really strong reviews and people stating this is where the series leaped to a new level and was a series favourite I built it up in my mind to be more than what I got.

Some of the things which I really enjoyed were the opening with the Shardik the massive bear/cyborg guardian in Roland’s world where the tension is high, the action is thick and fast, and there is enough mystery to keep reading to try and learn as much information as possible about the world and what the heck Shardik is. Blaine was a great character too; the whole story surrounding Blaine was the standout moments in the book. His ominous presence, the climax of all the things coming to a head to try and get out of Lud, his arrogance to his passengers and their wellbeing. It just made for great reading and showcased King at his best ratcheting the tension up to 11.

There were a few points of the book which I found myself drifting which is why I rated this slightly lower overall. I could tell that this is one of those books where I will appreciate it more on a re-read in the future when I have the whole story and how things work out in my locker. For now I leave slightly disappointed but glad there is more to come.

Also, gutted for those who had to wait for the next instalment. I wouldn’t say that it was left on a cliffhanger but more stopped mid way through like King got bored and just walked away from the typewriter. Ouch, glad I have the series on the kindle ready to go when I want rather than when King wanted.

If you like this try: “Storm Front” by Jim Butcher

This book was so much fun from start to end. Literally, I never got bored, and I loved everything about it.

Each character was incredibly well-written, expertly-developed, and enjoyable to follow and learn more about.

My observation on Roland as a single-minded person has changed, and I now have a strong admiration for him, as his sets of moralities evolves into something much more humane.

The relationship that surrounded the characters, their friendship and sense of belonging-to-each-other have grown my affection for them.

As far as the writing-style goes, you can sense and feel how much fun King was having while he was writing The Waste Lands, and the atmosphere that gave life to the story added a very energetic and fast-pacing feels to it.

This is definitely my favorite book in the series so far, followed by The Gunslinger Book 1.

This was buddy-read with my Goodreads friend Timothy, with whom I will continue with the series.

The thing with this series is that it just gets better along the way.

This review might contain some spoilers? I'm not sure if some people would consider them as spoilers, so read at your own risk! You've been warned.

The most amazing thing about this book would be the fact that Jake fucking Chambers is back! If you've read my review of The Gunslinger (book 1) then you'd know how much I love that kid. We can be friends again King, that much I can say.
Fuck you, Roland. You let him go again. You promised you wouldn't. Even though you saved him in the end, you're still one mother fucking asshole who should burn in hell. I still like you as a character though, but fuck you nonetheless.

This novel revolved around the first half of Roland and his crew's quest for The Dark Tower. King delivered what he promised. It was an eventful and amazing first half. A lot of struggles along the way, and a lot of riddles too. And a huge amount of heart racing scenes. This is another great example of a page turner. Aside from the main quest though, the story ventured out into Jake's life in New York. It only took a few chapters of the whole book, but those few chapters were really great for me. Not only did King further developed Jake's character, but he also made him even more likable.

Aside from Jake though, the crew also developed quite well in this third installment. Eddie was his usual funny self, but Susannah was still a bit boring for me. I just don't see her as a character that I'd like a lot, but we'll see in the long run. Oy the dog was just as amazing as Jake, or so I believe he's a dog. I like animals in books, so Oy just made it to my favorites list.

King wrote one hell of a cliffhanger. Aside from the cliffhanger, I heard that the next book concentrates on something else. If he doesn't continue the story, I might be a little pissed off. I'm just glad that the series is complete already though, and I don't have to wait for the next ones to come out. I've read Kemper's review and yeah, I'm glad I can binge read this series.

5/5 stars. Can't wait to know what's going to happen next. This series is really starting to become my favorite series of all time.

“And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you
I will show you fear in a handful of dust”
― T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land

Review to come.

What a trip! Number #3 continues the bizarro world of Roland saving a boy called Jake in the 1970s which warps his memories and his associates even more... As if that's possible! Only King could be this twisted.

Another exceptionally well written book that continues on from the last. We follow Roland, the last gunslinger, and his ka-tet as they journey through a world that feels both familiar and strange. The book is a mix of action, mystery, deep questions, and strange worlds making it an exciting and emotional read. It’s is divided into two parts, each exploring different and important parts of each character’s journey.

”Ka was a wheel, it’s one purpose to turn, and in the end it always came back to the place where it had started.”

Once again King shows us how he excels at story telling and is a master of people’s thoughts and emotions. His exploration of themes such as the nature of reality, the importance of memory, friendship, and the struggle between good and evil, along with its complex characters and richly detailed world is a must for all fantasy fans. Again my fourth read through and more enjoyable and moving than I can describe.