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rwatkins's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing. Overall: 4.5/5 (23/25)
This book was a major upgrade from Gunslinger. It maintains the distorted reality of the setting established in Gunslinger, but improves upon the plot, characters and themes in a major way. I can't wait to see where King takes this series next.
Spoilers Below.
Plot: 4.5/5
Divided into 3 parts with 3 new MC's plus Roland.
The first part follows Eddie, a heroin addict smuggling drugs into the country for a cartel/mobster type. He deals with Customs Agents and a paranoid drug dealer while experiencing withdrawl. This storyline was entertaining, energetic, suspenseful. It was was amazing. (5/5)
In the second part we get Detta and Odetta, dual personalities sharing a physical body. There isn't much plotline here until Roland brings them back to Mid-World. One personality is in denial but turns into being almost too chill with her new situation, while the other turns savage on her nappers, Eddie and Roland. There's a romantic Insta-Love B-plot that could have been scrapped. Overall, I found this section harder to follow and swallow. I still liked it. (3/5)
Last is Jack Mort, the guy who killed Jake. Roland has a conundrum to solve in this plotline, namely struggling with recruiting such a bad dude into his new gunslinger unit. The plot is resolved satisfyingly. Again, entertaining, energetic and suspenseful - hard to pull off with a shopping spree! It was amazing. (5/5)
If you dig the ending, this book will work for you. There are some racial slurs used frequently, mostly in Part 2, which might bother some Readers.
Setting: 3.5/5
This is a portal fantasy between Mid-World and New York City in three different timelines. The time changes are acknowledged and varied enough in description to be distinct. The scenes come alive and I can easily imagine the places being described. The airplane in the '80's, the department store in the 60's, and the gun/drug stores in the 70's all feel familiar without a need for excessive descriptions.
Most of the time spent in Mid-World is on a beach fighting or avoiding monstrous lobsters, and looking for the three doors/portals. We don't learn much more about Mid-World in this book.
I liked it, but to be amazing something more interesting needed to be revealed about Mid-World.
Characters: 5/5
Roland is still himself, with inner struggles over who to recruit and coping with his past actions. The new trio are all fantastic and unique. Eddie has to get sober and Odetta/Detta has to reconcile with her full self. Jack gives insight into the mind of Jake's killer and sets Roland's moral limits. This cast of characters were firing on all cylinders.
Style: 5/5
Pacing was great. Most of the action is in the front and back ends, travelogue in the middle. The setup and payoff in the conclusion were excellent.
It was easy to follow along, except a couple parts involving Odetta/Detta.
Each character's voice is made distinct through dialogue and inner thoughts. All of them are interesting and lively.
Style choices made were the right ones - King does some of his finest writing - It was amazing.
Themes: 5/5
Distorted Reality, questioning reality is the thematic glue connecting this series together. This novel hones in on Drugs and how they not just warp reality in your mind while on them, but also change your actual reality over time. King explores the ramifications of being an addict through Eddie, discussing how clouded his reality truly had become. There is a lot of depth here and King's writing what he knows is at it's best. Using Odetta/Detta to examine duality and Trauma, healthy and unhealthy coping with her most severe hurts, and touching on how the mind can force a false reality when poisoned by pain and hate. Jack is a testament to Evil existing, through selfishness and lack of empathy and compassion. The book made me think on some things and made it an amazing read.
This book was a major upgrade from Gunslinger. It maintains the distorted reality of the setting established in Gunslinger, but improves upon the plot, characters and themes in a major way. I can't wait to see where King takes this series next.
Spoilers Below.
Plot: 4.5/5
Divided into 3 parts with 3 new MC's plus Roland.
The first part follows Eddie, a heroin addict smuggling drugs into the country for a cartel/mobster type. He deals with Customs Agents and a paranoid drug dealer while experiencing withdrawl. This storyline was entertaining, energetic, suspenseful. It was was amazing. (5/5)
In the second part we get Detta and Odetta, dual personalities sharing a physical body. There isn't much plotline here until Roland brings them back to Mid-World. One personality is in denial but turns into being almost too chill with her new situation, while the other turns savage on her nappers, Eddie and Roland. There's a romantic Insta-Love B-plot that could have been scrapped. Overall, I found this section harder to follow and swallow. I still liked it. (3/5)
Last is Jack Mort, the guy who killed Jake. Roland has a conundrum to solve in this plotline, namely struggling with recruiting such a bad dude into his new gunslinger unit. The plot is resolved satisfyingly. Again, entertaining, energetic and suspenseful - hard to pull off with a shopping spree! It was amazing. (5/5)
If you dig the ending, this book will work for you. There are some racial slurs used frequently, mostly in Part 2, which might bother some Readers.
Setting: 3.5/5
This is a portal fantasy between Mid-World and New York City in three different timelines. The time changes are acknowledged and varied enough in description to be distinct. The scenes come alive and I can easily imagine the places being described. The airplane in the '80's, the department store in the 60's, and the gun/drug stores in the 70's all feel familiar without a need for excessive descriptions.
Most of the time spent in Mid-World is on a beach fighting or avoiding monstrous lobsters, and looking for the three doors/portals. We don't learn much more about Mid-World in this book.
I liked it, but to be amazing something more interesting needed to be revealed about Mid-World.
Characters: 5/5
Roland is still himself, with inner struggles over who to recruit and coping with his past actions. The new trio are all fantastic and unique. Eddie has to get sober and Odetta/Detta has to reconcile with her full self. Jack gives insight into the mind of Jake's killer and sets Roland's moral limits. This cast of characters were firing on all cylinders.
Style: 5/5
Pacing was great. Most of the action is in the front and back ends, travelogue in the middle. The setup and payoff in the conclusion were excellent.
It was easy to follow along, except a couple parts involving Odetta/Detta.
Each character's voice is made distinct through dialogue and inner thoughts. All of them are interesting and lively.
Style choices made were the right ones - King does some of his finest writing - It was amazing.
Themes: 5/5
Distorted Reality, questioning reality is the thematic glue connecting this series together. This novel hones in on Drugs and how they not just warp reality in your mind while on them, but also change your actual reality over time. King explores the ramifications of being an addict through Eddie, discussing how clouded his reality truly had become. There is a lot of depth here and King's writing what he knows is at it's best. Using Odetta/Detta to examine duality and Trauma, healthy and unhealthy coping with her most severe hurts, and touching on how the mind can force a false reality when poisoned by pain and hate. Jack is a testament to Evil existing, through selfishness and lack of empathy and compassion. The book made me think on some things and made it an amazing read.
debbiecollectsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book and can not wait to start the fourth in the series! I would definitely recommend this book to others. I do not think it is a book for first time readers of Stephen King, they should start with another book by Stephen King. Seasoned readers will love it!!!!
saritaroth's review against another edition
3.0
I would have given this book a 4-or even 5-star rating, except for one very specific thing that annoyed the hell out of me.
Before I say what irked me about this book, I would like to say that the writing was very well done. So far, this series encompasses my favorite Stephen King books. I am currently systematically reading through the whole of the Stephen King franchise, in chronological order, and I haven't been that impressed . . . until now. Maybe it is because it is a break from his usual fare, as he himself readily admits, but I am really enjoying this series.
That being said, the thing that annoyed me so much is his improper use of the word "schizophrenia." Now, in this, I can't tell if Stephen King doesn't know what being schizophrenic truly means or if he meant to imply that the characters are uninformed. When he is describing Odetta/Detta's symptoms, they do not sound like schizophrenia at all. For the most part, it sounds more like dissociative identity disorder (D.I.D.), considering the character has two distinct personalities within one mind, complete with two separate names. That is not schizophrenia; I know that D.I.D. is often mistaken for schizophrenia and has for decades. Schizophrenia is marked by delusions, such as a fear that someone is out to get you (paranoid schizophrenics often experience this) and hallucinations, whether it be auditory, visual, or even olfactory. Yet there are no symptoms of schizophrenia that include a "split personality." I believe people often get confused because "schizophrenia" literally means "split mind."
There are a couple of instances where it seems that Odetta/Detta is experiencing hallucinations, so it is almost as if the author were combining symptoms from two separate mental disorders. Granted, I could not figure out if the hallucinations she was experiencing were a dream and the character was asleep or if she was in fact awake at the time. It is one thing if Stephen King intended to show that the other characters were uninformed or misinformed; even then, his intended purpose is still problematic, because he never notes the errors of the characters. It might be one thing if he were to, at some point, explain how the characters are, in fact, wrong, thus raising awareness of how uneducated so many people are regarding these disorders. However, he doesn't do this. In addition, if this was not his intention, then King should have researched more thoroughly, even without the internet (as it was published in '87).
Before I say what irked me about this book, I would like to say that the writing was very well done. So far, this series encompasses my favorite Stephen King books. I am currently systematically reading through the whole of the Stephen King franchise, in chronological order, and I haven't been that impressed . . . until now. Maybe it is because it is a break from his usual fare, as he himself readily admits, but I am really enjoying this series.
That being said, the thing that annoyed me so much is his improper use of the word "schizophrenia." Now, in this, I can't tell if Stephen King doesn't know what being schizophrenic truly means or if he meant to imply that the characters are uninformed. When he is describing Odetta/Detta's symptoms, they do not sound like schizophrenia at all. For the most part, it sounds more like dissociative identity disorder (D.I.D.), considering the character has two distinct personalities within one mind, complete with two separate names. That is not schizophrenia; I know that D.I.D. is often mistaken for schizophrenia and has for decades. Schizophrenia is marked by delusions, such as a fear that someone is out to get you (paranoid schizophrenics often experience this) and hallucinations, whether it be auditory, visual, or even olfactory. Yet there are no symptoms of schizophrenia that include a "split personality." I believe people often get confused because "schizophrenia" literally means "split mind."
There are a couple of instances where it seems that Odetta/Detta is experiencing hallucinations, so it is almost as if the author were combining symptoms from two separate mental disorders. Granted, I could not figure out if the hallucinations she was experiencing were a dream and the character was asleep or if she was in fact awake at the time. It is one thing if Stephen King intended to show that the other characters were uninformed or misinformed; even then, his intended purpose is still problematic, because he never notes the errors of the characters. It might be one thing if he were to, at some point, explain how the characters are, in fact, wrong, thus raising awareness of how uneducated so many people are regarding these disorders. However, he doesn't do this. In addition, if this was not his intention, then King should have researched more thoroughly, even without the internet (as it was published in '87).
beangreen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
witpip's review against another edition
5.0
This book was fantastic!!! Well worth reading the first book to understand this one. I love it!! The best part is how The gunslinger isn’t familiar with earth English.
rowanlad's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
geohound's review against another edition
4.0
my favorite part of the series, has a little of everything. The entertaining character displacement drives the narrative forward in a way few books had for me. Roland in the gunshop will forever be a classic scene for me.