Advantages: A synopsis of the greatest series of books I have ever read! Disadvantages: The longest review of all time.
...must be. These books are the pride and joy of my collection so I feel an urge to share my ramblings with you.
So, Stephen King eh. "I won't read anything by him because he only writes dodgy horror novels."
A common misconception is that King is a horror writer. However, those who know anything about him know the man is capable of writing in a variety of fields. Although, predominantly known for books such as "The Shining" and "Carrie" due to the ... ...Tower series myself included. The Dark Tower series consists of seven books all of varying lengths and scope. King got the idea to write this series of novels from a poem by Robert Browning called "Childe Roland to The Dark Tower Came". I will let those of you with the patience read it in its entirety at the end of this review as it is a truly wonderful piece; but for some idea on the inspiration behind the books here is an excerpt which sums up ...
dididave 25.05.2004 (28.09.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Dark Tower Collection - Stephen King
Advantages: Takes you right through the whole journey Disadvantages: Starts turning into some weird ego trip
When I first picked up the box set of the first 4 of this series I had no way of knowing how long it would take me to get to the end. I have always been a Stephen King fan, and a fantasy fan, so imagine my delight in finding the two combined :o)
This is his attempt to do his own Lord of the Rings (he says as much in the preamble bit of the four paperbacks) only with a cowboy twist and a bit of King Arthur thrown in for good measure. King Arthur, ... ...it did get weird towards the end.
It also has been influenced by the Robert Browing poem Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came, but as I was unaware of this poem before starting the books, it doesn't have much meaning to me, but will to plenty of others I am sure.
King first had a short story from the first book published in 1978, so he has spent most of his writing life on this story (in more ways than one, but see later in this opinion for that) ...
SarahP 27.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Dark Tower Collection - Stephen King
Advantages: Great books, very enthralling Disadvantages: Too much time between publications
...out there still wondering what the craic is with Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' series. This is going to be pretty long, but I think it has to be in order to explain everything I can. This is not an opinion on it as such, but an explanation for those wishing to read it in the future, hope it helps...Phoenix. ----------------- Roland’s World. ----------------- Described by King himself as being 'related to ours in some fundamental way' Roland’s ... ...burning', but some remnants of the past still remain. Items such as light bulbs, motorbikes, machine guns and oil tankers seem to us as fairly un-modern, but Roland lives in a world much like that of the west - meaning the American wild west. Many of the old items are useless, but some still are in operation - the light bulbs in Gilead’s great hall, for example. Another thing is that this War that presumably has occurred was one of a nuclear ...
phoenixcage 16.04.2002
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Advantages: The surrealist setting Disadvantages: The third novel and the mutants (you'll have to read)
The Dark Tower series was my first foray into Stephen King's work (I later found his horror to be a little trashy) and I was by no means disappointed. The series is best described as colourful, detailed and mildly disturbing as Roland the Gunslinger journeys through MidWorld, a place with parallels to many of the eras of our own race. There are times when this setting is explored as a post-apocalyptic wasteland, remnants of unknown machines and buildings ... ...My best guess as to the origins of Midworld is that it is the survivor of a Second Coming, a scarred skeleton of a former world which is uncannily like the one in which we now live.
The story is loosely based around a poem named 'Childe Rowland To The Darke Tower Came' - there are mentions of this in Shakespeares 'King Lear' and so by my prediction it is a good 500 years old. The plot across the four novels is as follows. The first novel, The Gunslinger ...
Moograa 17.06.2001
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Advantages: An epic landscape that doesn't need lots of characters or dialogue as it paints the sotryline for itself Disadvantages: Such a change from his normal style can either be a good or bad thing for readers
This should be in the FANTASY section!!! I refused to read this series at first, being a die-hard King fan I was extremely taken aback at his movement into what at fist glance is a completely different genre. Then, as any King reader will know, most of his works do have an alarming amount of BIG imagination and fantasy mixed up with all that horror.
So, at the airport, quite recently having been dissapointed to find that the book I truly wanted ... ...books in the series (I read far too much when I have time on my hands!). I began with complete mistrust and was, I reluctantly admit, a bit smug when I found that the book didn't grab me straight away - this was probably because unlike his other books King lets the landscape and what it is saying envelope the reader first, instead of just setting the background as a chracter introduction. But then I forgot my bias outlook and REALLY read it. When ...
marsden 24.07.2001
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Advantages: Wonderful characters, imaginative and involving! Disadvantages: It finished...or did it?
...review any particular installment of the 'Dark Tower' series in isolation would, I feel, be a pointless exercise. They are all essential cogs in the greater machine of the Dark Tower series in which we follow Roland's epic quest to find his personal grail: The Dark Tower. Unlike the horror stories, which make up the majority of King's work, this is a fantasy adventure of the highest order that plays with many contemporary reference points amidst ... ...The way King weaves a whole string of narratives together is incredible: a feat which is made more astounding by the fact that he has spanned this series over almost thirty years of writing on and off! Roland's backstory is compelling and King tantalises the reader by revealing it gradually throughout the seven books. Though Roland is undoubtedly the star of the show his supporting cast of fellow travellers, who he picks up on the way to the tower, ...
matt_1509 12.04.2007
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Advantages: Different style from King and an interesting storyline Disadvantages: Fantasy, even post-Lord of the Rings, is still not everyone's cup of tea
...being slightly reticent about reading the Dark Tower series. It was bought for me for Christmas by my old man (as they were buy 3 for the price of 2). So I am now over half way through the third book, The Waste Lands, and am convinced of it's excellence already! That is coming from someone who hasn't ever rated one of Stephen King's books that highly.
Starting with the foreward by King, the Dark Tower series was inspired by Lord of the Rings. King ... ...the same calibre, at least of the same style. So this is his fantasy epic. At first it seems remarkably similar to David Gemmell's Jerusalem Man series and I had to keep reminding myself that Dark Tower came first. But it becomes obvious where Gemmell got the idea for Jon Shannow. Both Shannow and Roland of Gilead are pistoleers of unerring quality, both on similar quests... Shannow for the fabled city of Jerusalem and Roland for his Dark Tower.
...
poodu 05.04.2004
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Advantages: Imaginative genius in a compelling and ingenius series Disadvantages: He's only written 4 out of (possibly) 7.
The Dark Tower series was started by Stephen King some twenty years ago, with the first book, The Gunslinger published in 1982. The most recent addition to the series, The Wizard and the Glass, which personally I think is one of the finest SK books ever written. Together the series is more epic than even The Stand and show a fine writer at his most creative, compelling and entertaining.
The story is based on a poem by Robert Browning entitled 'Childe ... ...the gunslinger, whom is the main character in this series. An incredibly simplified description of the plot is that Roland and subsequently his companions that he picks up on the way, are to follow some force called the Beam to the Dark Tower.
It would spoil one and/or more of the books to go into any more detail and I can't even begin to ruin the ending as even SK doesn't know what it is yet... However I can say that whilst the book is set in another ...
Mercury 14.11.2000 (09.01.2001)
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Advantages: Ease of getting to read this great book Disadvantages: CANNOT THINK OF ONE
...a car accident, however before the accident he had written the Dark Towers, back in the 70's. When he recovered from his accident, he set his goal on going back to the dark tower as there was some decrepencies. I am not a great reader, And I had'nt read a book for over 2 years, it was only when I was going on a long journey that i decided to pick up the first book of the Dark Towers, and I am glad I did.
The first open pages got me so hooked, the ... ...standing side by side with the gunslinger, images races through your mind. Stephen King is at his best with this book, and he felt the the awe he was going to give to his fans and new readers alike.
As soon as I had finished the first book i needed more, so the second one came into my possesion and I was off, the gripping intense action from this inspired me to read more, I was like an addict needing my fix, yet my fix was the dark tower. Following ...
StormyA1 09.03.2006
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Advantages: Amazingly well written, Great character build up, ingenious storyline Disadvantages: very long story! Shop around as buying each book could be costly
By far the best books I have ever read. Was a little overwhelmed by the volume of pages when you put all of the books together but please don't be put off. The storyline is very consistent, characters very beliveable, yet each book throws us deeper and deeper into the quest of the dark tower with a different approach which is powerfully gripping. Many people will be able to associate with one or more of the characters in various ways and this, i ... ...do.
How to explain the plots of seven books that span thousands of pages? I’ve tried explaining the books to my friends but like anything that has blown you away, you can't really convey it's brilliance. There is no way to just tell someone about the Dark Tower; the plot is too big, too grand, to sum it up in a few words. A lot of Kings earlier works are starting blocks for The Dark Tower, with some characters appearing in earlier works (such as ...
amygair 06.07.2007 (08.07.2007)
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The Dark Tower series by Stephen King is an unusal fantasy series with a very dark atmosphere; not a light read! It is about a gunslinger in world disturbingly, yet vaguely hinted at as Earth of the future (well that's what I think) who searches for a tower. He doesn't know how or why and that's what makes this series so absorbing. The first book is very vague and almost put me off reading the rest of the series, but it had a magnetism to it that ... ...the books are a surreal combination between modern earth and the Dark Tower Earth as the gunslinger travels between worlds to our own. This series is fascinating and hiddeously vivid, it is a superb blend of both horror and fantasy and it is a must for any fantasy/horror fan. I have read other Stephen King novels but this certainly is his best to date and contains hair-raising moments which are not paralleled. I recommend this to anyone who likes ...
mightythor 12.07.2000
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Advantages: Worth the money and is a good read. Disadvantages: Had no social life through this book.
The dark tower. The gunslinger.
The first part of the dark tower series is 'The gunslinger'. The story is set in a fantasy world about 'Roland of Gilead' the last of the gunslingers. The hero is on a quest to find the mysterious dark tower whilst also hunting 'The man in black', who you don't get introduced to until near the end. On his quest 'The gunslinger' meets other strange and wonderfull characters which make the book more readable, one of ... ...strange world. Although i thought the book was fantastic it seemed at times the story wasn't progressing, but towards the end it picked up again and i couldn't put it down. I was then just waiting to get my hands onto the second part.
I paid £7.99 from WHSmith but this was a couple of years ago and is probably alot cheaper now. Especially on the net or auction sites. ...
peteandcesca 02.09.2007
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Right from the outset this book (or books) is probably the best ever written. And he's not finished yet. I am referring to Stephen King's Dark Tower books. In this novel, right from the start things are not right. We follow one man through his travels as a guslinger, also travelling back in parts to his past. He meets fellow travellers on the way, in the most bizarre ways, all with the aim of reaching the Dark Tower. There are 3 books to date, and ...
Toria 30.07.2000
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This is the long awaited continuation to the Dark Tower series. The book continues along the vein of the previous four, combining fantasy, science fiction and horror in a manner to which no one could compare!
As happens in some of Kings works, there are numerous references to other Stephen King novels in particular Salems Lot. (Reading that first will help!)
This episode is a story of a small town that the four gunslingers happen across and the ... ...giving too much away the four must choose whether or not to help the townsfolk, and what impact helping or not will have upon them.
What follows next is an imaginitative rollercoaster ride further revealing more mysteries surrounding the dark tower.
The main draw back is the amount of time this took in coming, I would strongly recommend that readers reaccquaint themselves with the first four books if it's been a while since you read them.
Another ...
p1073 13.12.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of The Dark Tower Collection - Stephen King
Advantages: great reading-draws you in Disadvantages: NONE!
ACE!! this is by far the best fantasy/horror series i have evr read, it caught me by the shoulder in the first line, andwithin a week i had read the whole collection depriving myself of sleep to finish and find out what happens and if roland of gilead and his Ka-tet ever reach the dark tower and find the mysteries within.
This collection is well worth the read with complex twists and turns, highly detailed characters and an ending that is beyond ...
ferrit54 01.09.2007
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