Or how to review a really long book series in a really short blog post.
I picked up the original paperback release of the first Dark Tower novel, The Gunslinger, way back in 1982. I generally stay away from book series, especially unfinished book series, so I didn’t read it. In 2003 a revised paperback edition came out with a much spiffier cover. Unlike most King revised editions, this only added 35 or so pages instead of 3,000.
I still didn’t read it.
Finally last year I decided to get the ebook version of the revised edition, read it and enjoyed it. I read two other books before tackling The Drawing of the Three, read one other book after and at that point read the last five of the seven book series back to back. In all I compressed a series that stretched out over 20 years to about two months.
Here are my ultra-brief takes on each book. Overall I found the series quite enjoyable, but with inevitable flaws and writer decisions that almost derailed the whole thing for me.
- The Gunslinger. Tight, excellent portrait of Roland as a man obsessed. His journey across the desert is filled with searing and bleak imagery. 9/10
- The Drawing of the Three. An excellent continuation, bringing in the new players and giving Roland some good foils. 9/10
- The Waste Lands. This book probably best captures the epic journey as just that–an epic journey. It also introduces Blaine, a lovably insane monorail that threatens to kill everyone on board if they can’t answer his riddles. 9/10
- Wizard and Glass. This is effectively a standalone novel where Roland recounts the time spent as a teen in the Mexico-styled town of Mejis. Certain key events and items tie into the larger story. I enjoyed it as a change of pace but was anxious to get back to the main thread. 7/10
- Wolves of the Calla. This is another story that is effectively standalone as the group defends the citizens of Calla Bryn Sturgis against the “wolves”. Enjoyable but ultimately seems kind of unnecessary. This may have worked better as a book published after the series concluded. 6/10
- Song of Susannah. A worthy continuation, with action taking place in our world and Roland’s. Lots of King the character here. I rolled my eyes at first then just rolled with it. Still not a huge fan of him inserting himself in his own story. 8/10
- The Dark Tower. A gloomy, somewhat sour book to end the series, though most characters sort of get a happy ending. King ends with a nice bit of symmetry and the spider is an effective monster here, unlike the lame one in IT. 8/10