I honestly love this book more and more each time I read it. When I started my Dark Tower journey for the first time as a teen, I was constantly wondering through books 1-3 what had happened to Susan and Alain and Cuthbert and so when this book came along, I was provided with such a feeling of satisfaction. I know we don't get the full story on all three characters yet, but Susan was always the one I was most curious about as she's still so present in Roland's life many years later. And since it's been so long since I first read the series, reading this book was like discovering Susan's story for the first time and it was just as heartbreaking. It's really a treat to get a glimpse into the past that has shaped Roland into the man he is today. Without it, he really wouldn't be the Roland we've all come to grown and love so much and this series would be nowhere near as good. I firmly believe the flashback portion of this story is what makes this book so great, but that doesn't diminish the greatness of the other parts of the story!. Because those were freaking fabulous as well and had me sitting on the edge of my seat, unable to read through the pages fast enough!

Blaine the mono-rail races on beneath the demon moon, hurtling toward certain destruction with Roland and his ka-tet onboard.  Still with an unbridled yen for riddling, still brooking no silliness.  We know that the world has moved on, and that time is different now, it tends to slip.  We are introduced to the witch, Rhea of the Coos, and a vile nasty old soul is she.  She sees things that no one should know, and it would be best if nothing is done to call her attention or incur her wrath.  Bonfires, stuffy-guys, big coffin hunters, and the Charyou tree all have their parts to play.

This is the volume that deals primarily with Roland's past, how he grew into the man that he is.  His training to become a gunslinger, and his true love, Susan.  And how a decision made way back then turns into a relentless obsession with finding the Dark Tower.

This is my fourth or fifth read of volume 4 in the series.  It is with some sadness that I lower my rating from 5 stars to 4, but I did not enjoy it as much, too much time spent on the romance, I suppose.  But as I gaze into the Wizard's glass, I see that the Wolves of the Calla comes next, and I am ready to return to the path of the Beam.  Long days, and pleasant nights.

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve read the first three books in The Dark Tower series, I’ve got a real urge to finish them this year.
Even though this was an enjoyable entry in the series - the middle overlong story within the story of a young 14 year old Roland dragged slightly.

If I’d had waited the 6 years for the resolution from the previous book (like those in the ‘90’s) I would have been more disappointed with this volume.
I really like Roland and his current Ka-tet and would have felt slightly cheated if I’d waited that long to rejoin the quest.

Even though the middle section was long and a little slow, I found reading just a couple of chapters a night helped to keep me engaged with the series.
The Dark Tower does feel very episodic right??

I do think the series was due some much needed backstory though and I get the impression that King now knows where he want to take the gang.
This felt like a mini-reboot and the fact that the last 3 volumes were published in quick succession feels like we’re getting to the good stuff...

В тази четвърта част на Кинговия магнум опус е време да се потопим в събитията от младостта на Роланд и да разберем, откъде идва абсолютната му необходимост да намери Тъмната кула.

Изпратен с двамата си приятели Кътбърт и Алан на сигурно място в едно от външните баронства на Средния свят - Меджис, той ще срещне там първата си любов, ще се сблъска с предателство и с черната магия на ужасната Рия от Кьос. Научава още и как добрите хора се превръщат в чудовища. И че това не е процес, който се случва за една нощ.

Супер интригуваща история, която няма как да ви остави равнодушни. Фактът, че той успява да я сподели със своя ка-тет ги сплотява и издига на едно ново ниво!

Препратките към приказката "Магьосникът от Оз" и антиутопята "Сблъсък" добавят още цвят към историята и ни карат да жадуваме за все повече от нея!

Category: A book with more than 500 pages


3 Stars

Unfortunately Kat could not join me on this journey, but keep heart…. Jeff, Stepheny, Dan 2.0 and Delee all ventured along.

King’s Wizard and Glass is a great example of when a story within a story gets really carried away with itself. About 500 of the 718 pages are Roland’s backstory rather than present day story of the search for the elusive ‘dark tower’. This is the story of Susan…. And Cuthbert… and Alain. This is the story of how Roland became the jaded gunslinger we first discovered in The Gunslinger. And the writing is full of wonderful quotable moments.

True love, like any other strong and addicting drug, is boring — once the tale of encounter and discovery is told, kisses quickly grow stale and caresses tiresome… except, of course, to those who share the kisses, who give and take the caresses while every sound and color of the world seems to deepen and brighten around them.



Oh King, why oh why didn’t you listen to your own damn self and cut the length of the ‘love story’ by half?!

This is Roland’s history, and as we would expect it is full with pain and anguish and hard choices. However, behind these choices can be found youthful stupidity and love also, which I found refreshing in a character who has generally come off as very one-dimensional.

I admit that I really enjoyed getting insight into Roland; and learning more about these people who have cropped up in the story in vague and undefined ways BUT it was too long. The flashback was just too damn long!

Oh, and also I guess I'm psychic or something... Because I threw a Wizard of Oz gif into the end of my review for Waste Lands and low and behold there is a lot of parallels to that book (and movie) to be found towards the end of this book.


----------Pre-Review----------

Karly & Kat buddy-reads strike again ;)

Coming to a Goodreads near you.... in June.

This time we will be teaming up with Jeff, Dan (version 2.0), and The Queen of the Eddie fan club, Stepheny. I will be sleeping with one eye open....

Fantastic! Fascinating to finally get some backstory for Roland and what a story! Loved it. I would say it's my favourite so far, but I also thought the Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three were 5 stars!

The Dark Tower continues to be incredibly intriguing and unique. I've liked books 2-4 roughly the same amount and can always expect a super weird and fun read with these books.

Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake live to fight another day. After out-dueling wits with Blaine the Mono, our quartet finds themselves in a warped version of Topeka, KS. What a long, strange trip this has been. But the trip isn’t over. While making camp outside of town, near the warbling thinny (where the fabric of multiple worlds are almost completely worn through), Roland finally tells his story he’s been keeping secret all this time. A story of his childhood companions, Cuthbert and Alain, and how they were sent to the outlier Mid-World town of Hambry, on a semi-reconnaissance mission. What was supposed to be a form of punishment from their parents, ends up being a war waged against the crooked town elders.

At the heart of Wizard and Glass is the love story between Roland and Susan. While I’m not usually one to enjoy romance stories, King weaves his magical story of his wandering ka-tet, and this reader is helpless in being taken away on the wonderful ride. Fantasy, western, horror, and yes, romance are all represented here in an intoxicating mix. It’s impossible to put down. I’m so invested in these characters that I simply can’t stop until the last page has turned.

4.5 Firecrackers out of 5

GdL serie Torre Nera - Edicola & Libreria
Ho iniziato questo viaggio insieme alle mie avventurose compagne di lettura ed ero incerta e titubante. Ora mi rendo conto che ognuno di noi percorre questo viaggio verso la Torre Nera attingendo alle proprie forze ed al proprio vissuto, ognuno in modo diverso e secondo la propria disponibilità a calarsi nei meandri psicologici che la scrittura di King riesce ad evocare e mettere a nudo.
Dietro le avventure di Roland e del suo ka-tet c'è un mondo meraviglioso descritto magistralmente.

2.65 stars

Crikey, this was a bloody long book. And this series is such an odd mishmash of genres: western, fantasy, horror lite, romance.

I made it about halfway through, really rolling along, and then it was just like I hit a road block and I had to go read other things for a while. Makes sense, I guess, if you were to divide this one huge book into two reasonable sized ones. But my Dad always taught me to get back on the horse that threw me, so I saddled up and resumed my journey. I “remembered the face of my father,” even if I had forgotten gobs of the back story from previous volumes.

Why is it that prolific authors at some point in their later careers start trying to jam all of their creations into some kind of closer relationship? Randall Flagg shows up yet again, along with references to the flu epidemic from The Stand. There's even a moment when Roland's ka-tet considers going to see Abigail from that other novel, and Roland tells the group that “that's another story.” And what's with all the Wizard of Oz stuff? Another example of the “everything but the kitchen sink" approach to writing this novel that King employed.

I'm glad to have finished this kitten squisher and be able to move on to other worlds than these! I guess I'm somewhat glad to have read it, but I know that many people adore this series. There's a lid for every pot—no doubt those folks would hate some of my favourites. What a good thing that we have so many reading options available to us!

Book number 373 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

Cross posted at my blog:

https://wanda-thenextfifty.blogspot.c...

Re-read 09/17

I certainly have a greater appreciation for this story, having read the entire series. This interlude that explores Roland's past is not just a side story, not a diversion; it's vital to our understanding of who Roland is and why he's on his quest for the Dark Tower.

It's not exactly a small interlude, either. I remember, when I read it the first time, wondering how long this little blast from the past was going to take. I was eager to get back to Kansas, where Eddie and co. were still reeling from their brush with Blaine the (Pain) Mono. I remember being frustrated at how long it was taking, and I think that led to a disappointment with it that has now been abolished. I actually love this chapter because I enjoy seeing Young Roland, and his two best mates. (I have a soft spot for Cuthbert, particularly because of his kindness to Sheemie.) You kind of just have to accept outright that you're really not going to go much further on the path of the beam. Once you relax into the history lesson, it's impossible to not get caught up in this story with its deplorable characters.

Susan I was never really a fan of which was kind of a blessing, when bonfire night came around but Sheemie was a true hero, and I loved the way our friends interacted with him. The scene in the bar where they earn his undying loyalty is probably my favourite of the entire book There's a lot more vulgarity and gruesomeness in this novel than in the three that came before, but it seems fitting because this is certainly the darkest so far on the quest for the Dark Tower. Here we finally begin to learn that there is a lot more darkness than we realised, and Roland's quest is more complicated than it seems. There's also some great references to King's other work, sewn into the story rather than just sprinkled in for colour. It certainly feels like the coming of a fierce storm.

It's quite satisfying to finally learn a little more about Roland's past, but even still it just feels like not enough. There's still so much about him that we'll never know, and stories that may never be told. I get the feeling King could easily live off Roland's past, if he chose to revisit it. In lieu of that, all we have is our imagination.

Another fantastic, heart-stopping book in the series. Be prepared for a wander off the path of the beam, and you'll enjoy this story a lot more. Let ka take you where it will.

The first 100 pages were brilliant, the last 100 had some good moments as well. But good lord, the 500 page flashback in the middle was a dreadfully dull slog to get through. The horror, mystery and suspense that's kept me interested in this series was thrown out the window in exchange for a cheesy teenage romance plot with elements of a western lifetime movie to go along with it. I'm not saying the flashback was terrible, it's just not what I signed up for at all. It was especially difficult to get through since we were pretty much told exactly how the flashback would end long before it even started.

Outside of the corny stuff I already mentioned that I didn't like about the book, I didn't care for Rhea the witch or the awkward Wizard of Oz parody sequence either. It felt so out of place with the grim atmosphere and tense mystery that first drew me into the series. Honestly, I feel impressed with myself just for being able to get through this book without giving up. I feel satisfied, but I think I need to take a long break from this series before I decide to continue. This book drained the life out of me.