The Dark Tower

[Isamu Atreides 86]

Well. I just Finished the Song of Susannah. two words: Holy crap.

SPOILERS!!!

Cry Pardon.......

This one takes place almost entirely in our World, the real world, or as Eddie says, Anti-Todash. this world is for keeps. Susannah, since the end of WOTC, has been taken over by Mia, Daughter of none, Mother of One, and she is in 1999 NYC to turn herself over to the Low Men and Vampires (and i guess Mutants) of the Crimson King. needless to say, the Ka-Tet of 19 trys to stop her, but somehow theres a mistake and Eddie and Roland go to 1977 Maine to get Cal Tower to sign off the rose lot in NYC, which is the link to the tower, and Jake and Callahan go to 1999 to find Susannah. Zaniness ensues. this was a pretty good book, although i liked WOTC better. we finally find out who and what Mia is and what and who is the Father of Mia's chap....for anyone who read it, i think its pretty shocking. we also get a beter glimpse into what happened to the End-World before the world moved on. I have to admit, i was a bit pissed at the way King wrote himself into the end of WOTC, but i think he redeemed himself, and its pretty clever....is he God? maybe...or maybe, i think hes like Alain and Jake, strong in the touch and sees the other side of the doors. now,for the big one....Mia's chap is born! Mordred! what a great name for and Evil ass kid!! But i have a question....is Susannah dead at the end? it sure seems like it. there was also some pretty heavy foreshadowing Eddie and Dinh Roland early on. All in all a great book. i can't wait until Sept 21, for book 7, Say Thankya. the Clearing at the end of the Path is near!!!

[Isamu Atreides 86]

The Clearing is upon us!!!

Dark Tower VII comes out next week. buy it and read it, or have ye forgotten the faces of your fathers, damn your eyes?!!

looking forward to this one big time. this is it. the last one.

Did anyone else ever read the Song of Susannah??

[lt.actionjackson]

Hile Gunslinger! I read the book Song of Susannah, say thank-ya. It wasn't bad but it definitely wasn't my favorite; that's still Wizard and Glass. I do have to say that thing with Eddie and Roland was very close to being very dumb but King managed to save it. I'm still not sure how, but he did. Other than that, it definitely spoiled my mental image of the Roland since I always thought he was supposed to look like Clint Eastwood circa The Good the Bad and the Ugly. But I'm definitely getting the last one the day it comes out.

[bsu legato]

I remember the face of my father! I will be 1st in line for The Dark Tower next week. I'll see you all at the clearing at the end of the path.

[Blaine23]

I can't wait... but at the same time I'm a bit nervous too. I usually get this way when something ending and I'm wondering if the ending will satisfy me or leave me wishing that King was still taking 7 years between volumes.

SoS was a good read, Calla was better... I'm just hoping that the final volume manages to capture some of that vibe that was there in the very beginning when it was just Roland chasing a man in black across the desert. I want it to have some closure, not just end.

Either way, I've been reading these book since the first time I saw Whelan's cover art on The Gunslinger when Drawing of the Three had just been released. I think I was about 14.

I'll be stopping by CostCo to pick it up the morning it comes out. I don't think I could imagine Roland finally reaching that damned Tower and me not being there to read about it.

[lt.actionjackson]

Hile gunslingers, the clearing is before me say thankya, I was just wondering if we were ready to palaver over the ending of the tale or if should I keep the spoilers to myself?

[Isamu Atreides 86]

Hile gunslingers, the clearing is before me say thankya, I was just wondering if we were ready to palaver over the ending of the tale or if should I keep the spoilers to myself?

Hile, sons and daughters of Gilead!!!

Spoilers, big time baby....

So, this is the clearing at the end of the path?? wow. i have to say i enjoyed this book, but it was by far one of the saddest books i have ever read. first eddie, then jake, and lastly Oy. damn, all three were stabs in the heart. plus, the scene where Roland bids Susannah goodbye was absolutely tragic. One can only wonder where this story would have gone had King not been hit by that van. i didn't so much mind his part in this book after all. it seems like it belonged. what i want to know is how did Roland escape Jericho Hill? It only seems right that Roland keep wandering, and also that Susannah finds Jake and Eddie waiting for her through the artist's door. it made me happy for her, but you have to wonder, who will Roland find when he next comes upon the doors? i doubt it will be those three again. i guess they have reached the end of their paths. its pretty sad to think it will be a long time before Roland sees them again in the clearing. Overall, I enjoyed this book, even though it was a truly heart wrenching experience. even after Susannah finds Eddie and Jake again, i still felt for Oy, and hoped he finds them too. Its been a great ride, I love these books and the Ka-tet of 19.

Besides, maybe if he does it enough, Roland can find happiness. maybe Gilead remade, maybe Susan unburned?? As sad as the ending is, there is still hope for Roland, i think.

Long Days and Pleasant nights!!! Say Thankya!!!

[lt.actionjackson]

Some of the people I've spoken to about the book thought it was a terrible ending, that basically King wrote himself into a corner and just wasn't sure how to end the series. Of my informal poll I'm pretty much in the minority in saying that it did me fine. I still don't agree that writing himself into the Tower books was a good idea and it did seem a bit much that the Tower and all the worlds and Roland and his ka-tet hinged on King's accident.

Some spoilers.....

But, overall, the end was the only ending that could have been. I was too shocked to be saddened by Eddie's death and when Jake died I was angry. Then Oy....I lost it when Oy died. That pretty much broke my back and I didn't want to continue reading; but I had to. I thought the battle with the King could have been a little bit more exciting than an eraser, do you ken? Anyway, having finished the last book finally after all this time, I feel like I want to start over again.

[Blaine23]

Spoilery McSpoilerness...

Well, I had 2 different theories about what would happen should Roland reach the top of his tower. One was a theory I'd heard that just sounded right. That he would wake up back in the desert following the man in black. Despite it's Twilight Zone-ness, that sorta sounded right to me. My other, more personal longshot theory was that Roland would find his mother, Gabrielle, and be welcomed into her embrace for eternity or something like that. It's obvious the guy had many, many mommy issues (don't we all? Okay, well, not as many as Roland) and I didn't think King would be able to resist the chance to write that scene, had it occurred to him. Roland always seemed at his most vulnerable, when remembering his mother.

Personally, I like the ending better than I thought. For a couple of reasons. The first was that I enjoyed that Roland had to re-experience his life as he climbed the Tower. Second, I like that Gan (or whomever) gave him the Horn - making it not necessarily an endless cycle. Some have seen this as Roland's "punishment" or "hell" - but it didn't come off that way to me. To me, Roland is simply doing what he was born to do. The journey is more important than the stopping, and thus, Roland continues his path - which gives him something to strive for.

As for the Drawing on his next trip around... I'd say he draws new companions. You could really make a case either way - but Susannah's choice to withdraw into the land of Tocuro Spirits really makes me think that she intentionally escaped being drawn into Roland's loop.

The only thing I wished I'd read was-

1. Roland not letting one of the guns from the line of Eld leave with Susannah. Not right.

2. Patrick should have re-drawn Roland's hand, enabling him to shoot like he was born to, with both guns blazing.

3. The Crimson King should have ultimately been taken down by one of Roland's bullets.

That's just personal opinion - I just think that Roland should've been given the chance to finish the job himself. In my head, the CK would have fought Roland's mind (not thrown Sneetches) and Roland should have prevailed using the skills drilled into him by Cort and Vanay. Roland deserved to kill his nemesis, as that is what he is best at.

Ka is a wheel and the wheel must turn. Mayhap next time Roland's ka-tet will be 20, instead of 19.

[lt.actionjackson]

The spoilers continue.....

2. Patrick should have re-drawn Roland's hand, enabling him to shoot like he was born to, with both guns blazing.

I had almost forgotten that and I agree completely. King missed a golden opportunity to make Roland whole again through one of Patricks drawings. I thought for sure that the climax was going to be Patrick restoring Rolands hand and Roland having a shootout of some kind with the CK. The ending to me was a redemption of sorts, as if Roland and his ka-tet of 19 were traveling through a purgatory if you will, and by Gan giving Roland the horn this last journey would be to his proper ending.

[Isamu Atreides 86]

I agree, except that the CK was not Roland's nemesis. Flagg was. And Mordred took care of him. Either way, Roland was cheated out of his revenge. As for the Gun leaving, doesn't Roland get both Guns when he reappears in the Desert? plus, he once again has all his fingers.

One thing that did disappoint me was that Jack Sawyer and his new wife did not factor into the end of this story. If Jack and the Bikers from Black House did not set the breakers free, who did they set free? i thought those kids were breakers. maybe Jack freed them from breaking another beam....

[Blaine23]

Eh, I was actually glad Jacky-boy didn't show up. Ted & Dinky made sense, but too many "guest stars" and you got cheeze-whiz.

As for the kids freed by Jack and the Thunder Five... my guess is also that they were Breakers from another beam. It would only make sense that Breakers would be located under whatever Beam they were destroying.

As for the guns and fingers - yeah, he's restored when he reappears in the desert - but I would have liked to see him use them one last time. 'Twould have made a more traditional climax. Ultimately, you are correct by saying that the CK wasn't his nemesis. Really, for that matter, neither was Walter.

Seems to me that Sai Roland's nemesis was himself. Time and Distance were his only true obstacles.

[bsu legato]

Hile Gunslingers!

Ok, better late then never, but after several late nights I finally finished The Dark Tower, do it please ya. Although I had some gripes with the book, it definitely ranks as one of my favorites of the series. Instead of gushing about all the cool stuff that I did like (and there was a lot of it) I'll just touch on the couple of things that didn't work for me.

1 - Mordred.

Aside from giving Flagg a fitting end, I'm not quite sure what his point was. Sure, he ties in with the Arthurian aspects of Rolands quest (like the name didn't give it away) but otherwise he had little impact on the story, aside from killing Oy.

2 - The Crimson King

I dunno...after first reading about him in Insomnia, I was expecting more. Then again, King seems to have directly told us to disregard Insomnia, so perhaps he's rethought the character somewhat. This is also the part where I sheepishly admit that I still haven't read The Black House, so I'm sure there's a piece of the puzzle I'm missing.

Otherwise I loved it, particularly the ending. Eddie, Jake and Susannah (and perhaps Oy) get a happy ending, or as King warns us, at least as happy an ending as any of us gets. Roland....well Roland also gets what he deserves after a fashion. It was great to see the bit with the Horn of Eld from the revised Gunslinger pay off. If you haven't read the Revised Edition, do so! I love how King gives us the chance to stop reading. We can "Cry off the tower" just as Roland should have. But of course, by that point, its too late for us and we read on. But the addition of the original poem at the end seals it for me. IMHO, Roland does meet an ending, if not this time through then one of the next. If anybody cries boo-hoo-hoo about the "Loop Ending" then they obviously skipped the "boring poem poo."

[Skull Leader]

BSU,

"Black House" really doesn't do much beyond tying "The Talisman" closer to the Dark Tower series. A very good and solid read, but don't look for revellations there.

But thanks to that book, I was able to add the adjective "bitchrod" to my vocabulary