The Dark Tower

[Avé]

Does it get better? I'm at Callahan's tale in Wolves of the Calla and I'm completely turned off by it. This is the first time in the series I've felt like I'd rather not be reading it. Of course I'll finish the series, I love Roland and the mythology, but this book just feels different.

Also, could I start reading the comics dealing with Roland's younger life, or should I finish the books first to avoid spoilers?

Please, keep spoilers in tags.

[Komm Suesser Tod]

The start of Wolves of the Calla is really slow, but the ending is so freaking awesome. Songs of Susannah, also slow, but short. However, with the possible exception of Wizard and Glass, The Dark Tower is my favorite book.

The comic books just pick up the story at the end of the flashback in Wizard in Glass, and although I've read the whole series, I don't believe that any of them have spoilers in them, they mostly instill a deeper knowledge of the said mythology and history, as well as the build up to the fall of Gilead.

[tyven]

wolves of the calla was book 5 right? i remember enjoying that one. its been a long time since i read the series but im pretty sure i enjoyed books 4 5 6 7 more than 1 2 3. not sure if this is any help.

[Blarg]

I miss Oy

[Fryte]

Last two books were my favorites by far. The comics are post-Wizard and Glass, but I'd save them for after you finish the series and are craving more. There are some spoilers in the comics, but they aren't huge gigantic series-ruining spoilers. Most I can think of is Sheemie's role in the books. I think the 3rd arc in the comics is still coming out? Gunslinger Born and Long Road Home are already done and Treachery still in progress.

[Acturus]

Don't forget to buy the comic books.

[Kytele]

It gets better after that. The ending is great imo. My favorite of the series has been 2, 3, and 7.

[Alina]

The Dark Tower was such a fantastic series. Honestly though, Wizard and Glass was my least favorite. I just didn't find Roland's backstory that interesting (compared to the main plot anyway). I remember buying book 7 on release day and going home and not stopping til I finished it.

Also, for those wanting more of Roland's story, you might want to check out King's collection of short stories, Everything's Eventual. Most of them are pretty good, but there's one called 'The Little Sisters of Eluria' which is another sub story of Roland's - I really enjoyed it.

[tyven]

i loved wizard and glass, easily my fav. i dont remember what book 2 was called but i hated that one.

[Correction]

i loved wizard and glass, easily my fav. i dont remember what book 2 was called but i hated that one.

Drawing of the Three is what got me into the series. I'm a little taken aback that someone hates it the worst. It's definitely superior to a number of the other books.

[tyven]

i hated susanna and eddie at first. made the book such a struggle to get through for me

[Hellfury]

it gets better, but #!"¤ I hated the end xD

[Plow]

I'm a huuuuuuuge fan of the whole series, but fucking the end of the whole series is such a damn cop out imo.


As far as the comic books, I'm not sure what there is in the actual comics, but the last 2 years I've gotten hardback "graphic novels" for Christmas that are, as far as I know, just all the comic books from each comic "series" or whatever put into a book.

The first one was the story of him fighting Cort and then the Roland/Susan story, the 2nd was basically the time in Wizard and Glass when they're moving home and the book kind of says "you wouldn't even want to know what happened now if I could tell you," but apparently the comic has no problem letting us know heh.

[LilysNightMare]

Glad I'm not the only one that loved Wizard and Glass. I hated Song of Susannah but I had issues with Susannah's character... aaaaanyways. Loved the series, I too, miss Oy... my favorite character next to Roland. And to echo earlier posts, YES read Everything's Eventual... You also meet Dinky in that book along with the Little Sisters story.

[Arrmani]

I really enjoyed the first 4 books when my dad got them for me. I never got around to reading 5 6 and 7 until it was finished, but I didn't enjoy the last ones as much. As for the comics, I'm pretty sure they're just the flash-back Roland had in Wizard and the Glass, so if you read that there's not really any spoilers.

[Howard Roark]

definitely surprised at tyven enjoying the last few books, feeling quite a slump at reading book 5 is pretty normal

sounds like you're like me in that you'll finish it regardless (unless it's the Hardy Boys of Fantasy: Goodkind's Seeker of Truth series -- "lordy lordy!! what ever will happen to Chet this time, I mean Kahlan")

the huge consensus among most fans is that the first 3(maybe 4) are the best, the last and ESPECIALLY the ending, were not worth thte 20 year wait (Robert Jordan, if you can hear me up there, please don't let something like this happen next year)

[tyven]

well to be fair i didnt start reading them till book 7 was already out, so there was no waiting for me. thinking back i dont even know wtf happened in books 3 or 6. i remember 3 involving a giant bear and maybe that was the one with the crazy monorail. book 6 i have no clue

[TheShadyMan]

Fuck you guys, I saw the thread title and I was sure it was a release date on the movie. GDI

[Howard Roark]

like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, I read the series when the first half of the books were out and no real end in sight (Books 1-6 for WoT and 1-3 in Dark Tower series)

Dark tower just had such a huge build up, he scenery and premise held so much dark promise, and similarly Jordan had set the stage for so many awesome confrontations, with over 30 characters apread across 13 countries or so

Each new book in both series was a good dose of "what-happens-next" but having read the end of the Dark Tower series, I found it to be a redefinition of "anticlimactic" -- seriously, I dare you to find a better case of anticlimax anywhere. My only thanks is for the fact that King didn't go blind or worse, die before the series ended like Jordan has, although thankfully he has left a somewhat fleshed out skeleton for his estate-chosen ghost-writer author to complete

[Plow]

Wizard and Glass is my favorite book, period, and it's kinda funny I actually read it first, then went back and read the rest. Worked out pretty decently really, since it doesn't really depend on you knowing the rest of the story all that much.

Wolves was actually my second favorite in the series, there's really not a book I don't love out of all of em.

Just... the ending... sigh.