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jorgem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
elleeseho's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
4.5
sarahrheawerner's review against another edition
3.0
Weirdly put together; each book in this series has had a very different feel. The first book was sort of Ye Olde Western; the second was POV-hopping between characters with a focus on the doors; this third one was an exploration of Mid-World and its current inhabitants and crises. I really loved the exploration of [redacted]'s character -- of the mystery he found within his own city and his experiences at school. Anyway, interested to see what the next installment will bring.
samcurler13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
beethatasitmay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.75
thiefofmemory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
rwatkins's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked it. Overall: 3.5/5 (17.5/25)
This installment in the series is leaving many of the western feels behind for a more urban fantasy, with both cyberpunk and steampunk elements dripped about. If you like animal companions (Oy!), Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train", DC's The Riddler, the "Terminator" movies, the "war" between Boomers and Millennials, or just miss Jake (Ake!) from the first two Gunslinger books, then this may be a good read for you.
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 2/5
We first follow our trio of gunslingers, our ka-tet, as they travel to where they will meet up with Jake. Then we follow Jake as he gets to where he needs to meet the trio. Once they all come together, the second half picks up speed as they follow the yellow brick road, or in this case The Beam. There is a quick jaunt through a crumbling rural hamlet, then a chase through the streets of a big city, and a search for a demonic train that loves riddles. They hope it will chug them closer to The Dark Tower, if it doesn't kill them first.
The first half was veeerrryyy slow. The second half felt rushed. The novel just ends in an awkward place, not quite a cliffhanger, but in the middle of an interaction and that feels kinda unfulfilling.
A plot device overused in this book is characters will just know what to do to solve problems, through dreams, sudden premonitions or instinct. For anyone whose ever had to use Google or study for a test, this book asks why, when you could just follow the ka? Ka seems to solve everything.
There is still plenty of things going on to like, with some highlights being the introduction of Oy, a maniacal metal af train, and a complicated restart for Jake and Roland.
Setting: 4/5
The early chapters, involving a robot bear and some mini-robots helps foreshadow more urban, cybernetic aspects to come later. Mid-World is finally getting explored in some depth and we get a few answers as to what is happening with Roland's world. Attention is paid to the more modern/futuristic parts, so don't expect Roland's backstory yet, no matter how many times Eddie and Susannah ask about it. The elderly hamlet was nice and had all the feels of visiting grandma's hospice. The city, with underground sewer bunkers, murderous music time, dilapidated infrastructure and lunatic residents was also interesting. I really liked the new setting developments we got.
Characters: 4/5
The gunslinger trio haven't changed. Each new addition gets a chance to show their shooting skills, but otherwise don't expect any growth for them. The characters that shine here are Jake, Oy, Blaine and background characters/minor baddies.
Jake is sort of a younger Holden from "Catcher In the Rye". He's a tad cynical, a bit rebellious, and thinks he's losing his mind. He seems a little too quick to trust Roland again and we'll see how that turns out as the series continues. Great character with some pre-teen angst.
Oy is an adorable fluffy addition loyal to Jake. Called a billy-bumbler, he is Jake's animal companion with sharp claws and teeth, solid counting skills and the verbal parroting ability of a kenku. Adorable.
Blaine the train is straight out of a heavy metal drug trip. Demonic, dangerous and suicidal, but loves a good riddle.
From the townsfolk to the city nuts, the elderly residents were the most fun to read. Aunt Talitha and even Gasher had only a little time in the spotlight but still showed dimension.
King is great at character work and a solid job overall in this book.
Style: 3.5/5
I love King's writing style. His authorial voice is distinct and honed to perfection.
However, for this book, there is a lot of withholding information through Roland with no obvious point to it. Maybe King will cleverly explain why in a future book, but in this one it's just annoying. Too much exposition is bad, but so is too little, especially if you include multiple campfire scenes where characters are asking for info only to be told no without sound reason.
I loved the inclusion of cyberpunk and steampunk dressings as we move into the big city and away from the western frontier. Blending these genre staples with the shifting environments and themes is maybe just meta-candy for aspiring authors studying writing craft, but I am eating it up and taking notes.
The pacing is off as mentioned, with half of the novel too slow, the other half rushed and a somewhat abrupt ending in an odd place.
There is a lot more head-swapping in this novel than any of the previous ones, which left me disoriented, needing to backtrack at times, and a little confused. These switches can happen randomly from paragraph to paragraph, among up to four characters, and are not signposted at the very beginning of swaps.
I really want to give a higher rating for the masterclass genre switching tied to the setting and themes. This could easily be a novel studied in college lit courses for how it's done. But the negatives are there too and I can't ignore them.
Themes: 4/5
Roland goes after Jake twice, showing some growth since he tossed the kid aside in the first book. They're developing into a strong Found-Family and Roland's learning No Soldier Left behind. Madness is another big theme, with both Roland and Jake having to navigate the Hypocrisy of some things being both true and false at the same time. The real theme work comes in the latter parts of the book. There's some exploration of the fears of Aging, having less importance in the world as we become more out of touch with it. The dangers of Technology and AI are introduced through Blaine as the steampunk and cyberpunk elements sink in. Themes were varied and poignant.
This installment in the series is leaving many of the western feels behind for a more urban fantasy, with both cyberpunk and steampunk elements dripped about. If you like animal companions (Oy!), Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train", DC's The Riddler, the "Terminator" movies, the "war" between Boomers and Millennials, or just miss Jake (Ake!) from the first two Gunslinger books, then this may be a good read for you.
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 2/5
We first follow our trio of gunslingers, our ka-tet, as they travel to where they will meet up with Jake. Then we follow Jake as he gets to where he needs to meet the trio. Once they all come together, the second half picks up speed as they follow the yellow brick road, or in this case The Beam. There is a quick jaunt through a crumbling rural hamlet, then a chase through the streets of a big city, and a search for a demonic train that loves riddles. They hope it will chug them closer to The Dark Tower, if it doesn't kill them first.
The first half was veeerrryyy slow. The second half felt rushed. The novel just ends in an awkward place, not quite a cliffhanger, but in the middle of an interaction and that feels kinda unfulfilling.
A plot device overused in this book is characters will just know what to do to solve problems, through dreams, sudden premonitions or instinct. For anyone whose ever had to use Google or study for a test, this book asks why, when you could just follow the ka? Ka seems to solve everything.
There is still plenty of things going on to like, with some highlights being the introduction of Oy, a maniacal metal af train, and a complicated restart for Jake and Roland.
Setting: 4/5
The early chapters, involving a robot bear and some mini-robots helps foreshadow more urban, cybernetic aspects to come later. Mid-World is finally getting explored in some depth and we get a few answers as to what is happening with Roland's world. Attention is paid to the more modern/futuristic parts, so don't expect Roland's backstory yet, no matter how many times Eddie and Susannah ask about it. The elderly hamlet was nice and had all the feels of visiting grandma's hospice. The city, with underground sewer bunkers, murderous music time, dilapidated infrastructure and lunatic residents was also interesting. I really liked the new setting developments we got.
Characters: 4/5
The gunslinger trio haven't changed. Each new addition gets a chance to show their shooting skills, but otherwise don't expect any growth for them. The characters that shine here are Jake, Oy, Blaine and background characters/minor baddies.
Jake is sort of a younger Holden from "Catcher In the Rye". He's a tad cynical, a bit rebellious, and thinks he's losing his mind. He seems a little too quick to trust Roland again and we'll see how that turns out as the series continues. Great character with some pre-teen angst.
Oy is an adorable fluffy addition loyal to Jake. Called a billy-bumbler, he is Jake's animal companion with sharp claws and teeth, solid counting skills and the verbal parroting ability of a kenku. Adorable.
Blaine the train is straight out of a heavy metal drug trip. Demonic, dangerous and suicidal, but loves a good riddle.
From the townsfolk to the city nuts, the elderly residents were the most fun to read. Aunt Talitha and even Gasher had only a little time in the spotlight but still showed dimension.
King is great at character work and a solid job overall in this book.
Style: 3.5/5
I love King's writing style. His authorial voice is distinct and honed to perfection.
However, for this book, there is a lot of withholding information through Roland with no obvious point to it. Maybe King will cleverly explain why in a future book, but in this one it's just annoying. Too much exposition is bad, but so is too little, especially if you include multiple campfire scenes where characters are asking for info only to be told no without sound reason.
I loved the inclusion of cyberpunk and steampunk dressings as we move into the big city and away from the western frontier. Blending these genre staples with the shifting environments and themes is maybe just meta-candy for aspiring authors studying writing craft, but I am eating it up and taking notes.
The pacing is off as mentioned, with half of the novel too slow, the other half rushed and a somewhat abrupt ending in an odd place.
There is a lot more head-swapping in this novel than any of the previous ones, which left me disoriented, needing to backtrack at times, and a little confused. These switches can happen randomly from paragraph to paragraph, among up to four characters, and are not signposted at the very beginning of swaps.
I really want to give a higher rating for the masterclass genre switching tied to the setting and themes. This could easily be a novel studied in college lit courses for how it's done. But the negatives are there too and I can't ignore them.
Themes: 4/5
Roland goes after Jake twice, showing some growth since he tossed the kid aside in the first book. They're developing into a strong Found-Family and Roland's learning No Soldier Left behind. Madness is another big theme, with both Roland and Jake having to navigate the Hypocrisy of some things being both true and false at the same time. The real theme work comes in the latter parts of the book. There's some exploration of the fears of Aging, having less importance in the world as we become more out of touch with it. The dangers of Technology and AI are introduced through Blaine as the steampunk and cyberpunk elements sink in. Themes were varied and poignant.
skylights's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
allyfroe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? No
5.0