[jonny_anonymous]

Any fans of Stephen King's Dark Tower series? I think after Malazan the Dark Tower is my favorite "epic fantasy" book series of all time with Lev Grossman's Magician books being the best low fantasy.

[Eddie Dean]

Oh yeah. Pretty much the first fantasy I ever tried and I was immediately hooked.

[End of Disc One]

Gave up after the fifth book. The series has its moments but they are too few and far between.

I did really enjoy most of The Wastelands and quite a bit of The Drawing of the Three, though.

[worry]

I enjoyed these books, some more than others. And by others I mean Song of Susannah.

[Puck]

worry, on 10 October 2013 - 04:08 AM, said:

I enjoyed these books, some more than others. And by others I mean Song of Susannah.

^This. It was important to the story, but aaargh.

Wizard and Glass would be my favourite among the other, though. Followed by The Waste Lands.

[Khellendros]

Yep, overall really enjoyed it. Loved the first 4 (The Waste Lands probably being my favourite), it did kinda lose it somewhat in the middle, but I thought the final book was great too. The man knows how to build atmosphere.

[Daeg]

This was a great set but there's something inhererently wrong with writing yourself into your own books. Stephen king is a great story teller but as a writer his skills are easily outmatched.

[Daeg]

Interesting....I never really looked for a cause and effect...incredible storyline ...incredible characters ...I was ready for the end though...

[Defiance]

It's one of my favorite series despite the flaws.

The first book is pretty good, and two through four are great. Five was alright (loved Pere Callahan). Six was...bleh. Even twelve-year-old me knew there was something very wrong when Stephen King showed up in his own books. It was jarring then, and it's still just as jarring now. I don't have a problem with meta when it's done effectively - Toll the Hounds is a great example. However, at least when it comes to books, all good meta is subtle meta. Sure, there was a bit of foreshadowing as far back as The Drawing of the Three. At some point Eddie mentions The Shining being in theaters. That didn't strike me as odd - I mean, The Dark Tower universe contains everything, so it's plausible that there's a Stephen King out there who is alive and kicking. But so directly involving himself in the story has and never will sit well with me.

The seventh book...well, I love it. I'm one of the people who couldn't be happier with the ending. That said, two things diminished my enjoyment:

1) Mordred. It's built up as a huge deal in book six. A lot of book seven is spent building up how dangerous he is. And it goes nowhere. Plus, he kills Flagg, which is bullshit. Flagg was an infinitely better character than the demonic bastard spider child.

2) The Crimson King. Even worse than Mordred. We've heard about him since book one, yet he turns out to be a complete nonentity. I'm okay with my expectations overturned, but him being a crazy Santa Claus wannabe who slings exploding Harry Potter balls was lame. Even worse was Patrick erasing him. God dammit, I know there's crossover stuff. That's great, I loved it in every other case but this. Here, it just felt like deus ex machina. Without Patrick, Roland would never have entered the tower. Patrick, who isn't introduced until the last 100 pages or so. Patrick, with the special ability that saves the day. Total crap.

But yeah, overall I love the series. I think this forum is the only place where I don't use "The Gunslinger" as my username (it was taken when I registered).

[HoosierDaddy]

Dat Coda.

[worry]

Detta and Mordred are my two big qualms with the series. Hate them both, in concept and in execution (and Flagg's end is rolled into that, but I think I've discussed that elsewhere already). The two Kings (Stephen and Crimson) are my two lesser qualms. Decent ideas with weak execution/payoff. In a series that is basically The Neverending Story for adults, SK appearing didn't surprise me or seem out of place any more than characters addressing Bastion; it just wasn't particularly well done (though I guess it exorcised some demons for him IRL?). So I feel the same way as Defiance about that. And as far as I remember there wasn't much else I disliked. That might seem weird since Song of Susannah is my least favorite and Detta and Mordred aren't directly huge features there, but that book still kinda feels like where both of them intersect there somehow.

This post has been edited by worry: 12 October 2013 - 07:17 AM

[lastname]

Interesting. I'm currently more than two thirds of the way through The Drawing of the Three and its been a mixed bag. It has had its moments but large chunks (many featuring Detta) have been a chore to read. I quite liked The Gunslinger but I'm not sure I'm going to get book 3.

[HoosierDaddy]

Patrick from Insomnia this time, perhaps the painter in Duma Key in another, or the author in Lisey's Story another. I don't mind thinking that they are all just another brick in the Tower's multiverse with different random tagalongs to Roland.

[worry]

lastname, on 12 October 2013 - 07:22 AM, said:

Interesting. I'm currently more than two thirds of the way through The Drawing of the Three and its been a mixed bag. It has had its moments but large chunks (many featuring Detta) have been a chore to read. I quite liked The Gunslinger but I'm not sure I'm going to get book 3.

If you're barely on book 2 then this is probably a rough thread to be in due to spoilers, but if you like The Wizard of Oz and The Hobbit you should probably power through to book 3 as it has some pretty entertaining riffs on both (as well as canny genre stuff reminiscent of like Mad Max, Escape From New York, The Warriors, stuff like that). And book 4 is truly fantastic: the best in the series, one of King's best period, and even a pretty awesome, original work in the realm of fantasy in general IMO.

[Puck]

I may be in the minority here, but I actually wasn't bothered by King appearing in his own book - I even almost liked that part. What pissed me off was the Patrick/Crimson King thing, as well as Mordred. Despite those I liked the last book. The DT is among my favourite series despite it's flaws. I see it more as something that evolved with time and a bit like King's personal account of.. everything, and as such I don't really rate it on the same scale than, mmh, a series that's been planned from its very beginning. Actually, I don't rate it on any scale, I just like it and am not too bothered by its flaws.

[Overactive Imagination]

Book 3 was my favourite. loved the second half of that book

wind through the keyhole was also really good i thought!

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

I love this series, it's king's masterpiece. I think the ending is brilliant. I need to read the additional book he wrote for the series.

[Usher]

I've read a lot of Steven King during teenage years, I've got a box full of his books stacked away somewhere, but I just couldn't finish the Dark Tower. I'm stuck somewhere in book V, Wolves of the Calla, for over two years now and I just don't have the urge to pick the book up again. For me, the series lacks something, but I'd be hard pressed to explain exactly what. I do love "Hearts in Atlantis", it actually one of my favorite Stephen King novels, a book that's connected to the Dark Tower series. Still, I'd like to think that I'll finish the DT someday.

[king in chains]

i found the fate oy the bumbler so emotional

[Puck]

Dr. Usher, on 02 November 2013 - 09:44 PM, said:

I've read a lot of Steven King during teenage years, I've got a box full of his books stacked away somewhere, but I just couldn't finish the Dark Tower. I'm stuck somewhere in book V, Wolves of the Calla, for over two years now and I just don't have the urge to pick the book up again. For me, the series lacks something, but I'd be hard pressed to explain exactly what. I do love "Hearts in Atlantis", it actually one of my favorite Stephen King novels, a book that's connected to the Dark Tower series. Still, I'd like to think that I'll finish the DT someday.

'Hearts in Atlantis' is my favourite Stephen King novel that is not directly part of the Dark Tower series - I know it's connected to it, but you don't have to know the DT to understand HiA.

This post has been edited by Puck: 03 November 2013 - 06:20 PM