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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is probably the most western of the Dark Tower novels, where the gunslingers are called upon to save the children of a community from unspeakable evil. The white hats ride into town and heroics ensue. This has the best pacing of the series so far - really enjoyable.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cannibalism, Abortion, Suicide attempt
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I will say, the 4th book, Wizard and Glass, left me bored. This book refuled my fire; this is exactly what I needed from this series. It confirmed suspicions I've had since book three, and I truly cannot wait to read the next book. If book 4 threw you off the series, read this one.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Sorry Bill!! i had to finish it! I finished New Spring and then there was this... :P
I'm going to talk about the plot purely for my own benefit so I can look back and remember the story just from this review. and it IS spoiler-heavy, so beware!! My overall thoughts on the novel are in the second section, "VERDICT".
REHASH:
This book takes us from the point after Roland has told the gang his story with Susan and Meijis, and after they've confronted the Tick Tock Man and the wizard guy in the "Emerald City". They're on the other side and back on the Path of the beam. but instead of heading straight for the Dark Tower, they've got another mission to pull them aside - facing "the Wolves" of the Calla.
The Wolves turn out to be robots in the end and they take one of each pair of twin children of Calla Bryn Sturgis in order to give them over to their own psychic people who need them for sustenance. The children are returned "roont", meaning they're little more than idiots who need constant care & supervision (some are less useless than others and can be put to work etc). They grow very tall and eventually (after a not very long time) die a painful death. It turns out the reason the kids are taken is that there are some psychics of some kind in Thunderclap/beyond that need parts of their brains to feed on - to feed their own psychic abilities. So the kids' brains are operated on and part of them removed.
The Wolves have only been coming for the last 150 years or so, and only one guy remembers them very well. He's how Roland and co. learn that the Wolves are in fact robots, and their "horses" are some kind of machine they can drive. Maybe a futuristic motorbike?
It's one of these motorbikes (I'll call 'em that) that proves to be the ka-tet's undoing in the end. Though they fight and win against the Wolves with little loss (Margaret Eisenhart and the kid who had become Jake's friend are the ones who died), Susannah has been struggling for most of the novel with a new personality who's emerged, known as Mia, daughter of none. She makes a deal with Mia before the battle with the Wolves, telling her she can do as she will just as long as she waits until after the battle. Mia agrees, and then in the aftermath Susannah/Mia sneak away.
The book ends with Roland and co. (including their new member, Pere Callahan, who is a character out of 'Salem's Lot and whose fascinating story of vampires etc. we hear in this novel too - I've never read 'Salem's Lot so it was interesting for me to hear this story :D) running after Susannah/Mia to the Door Cave, and finding her already gone. Callahan is also confused at this point because he sees that his story has been written in a novel, and starts to feel as if he's a fictional character.
VERDICT:
I read a few other reviews of this novel and one of them said that the book sucked because it was all about smoking cigarettes and waiting around, and Stephen King essentially being a wanker during this book (cheers Dan! :D). I can sort of see this point of view as I was slightly uneasy with King's use of his own self as a character (albeit extremely minor) in the book (as the writer of the novel featuring Callahan, and as one of the names appearing on the black board in the Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind). I'm not sure if he's going to appear again in the next two books, but it does seem just slightly self-indulgent of him.
But in spite of this, I really did like the book and found it to be a little more action-packed than Dan did. There was always something happening that interested me, even if it was just someone telling their story. I was impressed with Jake's bravery in heading to the spot where Ben Slightman and Andy had gone, and how he hid out and managed to evade them in the stronghold itself. I also thought it was interesting that Susannah kept her struggles hidden from the others, even though she WAS worried about them. She should've known from past experience that she couldn't win that battle! I'm intrigued about what's going to happen to Roland with his wasting arthritis...and I'm glad he got a little happiness with Rosalita.
So yeah, all in all this wasn't the most action-packed of the novels to date, in fact it could well have been the least so. But I still enjoyed it!
I'm going to talk about the plot purely for my own benefit so I can look back and remember the story just from this review. and it IS spoiler-heavy, so beware!! My overall thoughts on the novel are in the second section, "VERDICT".
REHASH:
This book takes us from the point after Roland has told the gang his story with Susan and Meijis, and after they've confronted the Tick Tock Man and the wizard guy in the "Emerald City". They're on the other side and back on the Path of the beam. but instead of heading straight for the Dark Tower, they've got another mission to pull them aside - facing "the Wolves" of the Calla.
The Wolves turn out to be robots in the end and they take one of each pair of twin children of Calla Bryn Sturgis in order to give them over to their own psychic people who need them for sustenance. The children are returned "roont", meaning they're little more than idiots who need constant care & supervision (some are less useless than others and can be put to work etc). They grow very tall and eventually (after a not very long time) die a painful death. It turns out the reason the kids are taken is that there are some psychics of some kind in Thunderclap/beyond that need parts of their brains to feed on - to feed their own psychic abilities. So the kids' brains are operated on and part of them removed.
The Wolves have only been coming for the last 150 years or so, and only one guy remembers them very well. He's how Roland and co. learn that the Wolves are in fact robots, and their "horses" are some kind of machine they can drive. Maybe a futuristic motorbike?
It's one of these motorbikes (I'll call 'em that) that proves to be the ka-tet's undoing in the end. Though they fight and win against the Wolves with little loss (Margaret Eisenhart and the kid who had become Jake's friend are the ones who died), Susannah has been struggling for most of the novel with a new personality who's emerged, known as Mia, daughter of none. She makes a deal with Mia before the battle with the Wolves, telling her she can do as she will just as long as she waits until after the battle. Mia agrees, and then in the aftermath Susannah/Mia sneak away.
The book ends with Roland and co. (including their new member, Pere Callahan, who is a character out of 'Salem's Lot and whose fascinating story of vampires etc. we hear in this novel too - I've never read 'Salem's Lot so it was interesting for me to hear this story :D) running after Susannah/Mia to the Door Cave, and finding her already gone. Callahan is also confused at this point because he sees that his story has been written in a novel, and starts to feel as if he's a fictional character.
VERDICT:
I read a few other reviews of this novel and one of them said that the book sucked because it was all about smoking cigarettes and waiting around, and Stephen King essentially being a wanker during this book (cheers Dan! :D). I can sort of see this point of view as I was slightly uneasy with King's use of his own self as a character (albeit extremely minor) in the book (as the writer of the novel featuring Callahan, and as one of the names appearing on the black board in the Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind). I'm not sure if he's going to appear again in the next two books, but it does seem just slightly self-indulgent of him.
But in spite of this, I really did like the book and found it to be a little more action-packed than Dan did. There was always something happening that interested me, even if it was just someone telling their story. I was impressed with Jake's bravery in heading to the spot where Ben Slightman and Andy had gone, and how he hid out and managed to evade them in the stronghold itself. I also thought it was interesting that Susannah kept her struggles hidden from the others, even though she WAS worried about them. She should've known from past experience that she couldn't win that battle! I'm intrigued about what's going to happen to Roland with his wasting arthritis...and I'm glad he got a little happiness with Rosalita.
So yeah, all in all this wasn't the most action-packed of the novels to date, in fact it could well have been the least so. But I still enjoyed it!
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
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:
Yes
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes