I'm an Aussie who loves music, surfing and writing I suppose!
I'm an Aussie who loves music, surfing and writing I suppose!
Member since:05.06.2001
Reviews:10
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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 litter the landscape, and other times when a futuristic element shines through. 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 introduces us to Roland, the last of a dying breed of semi-knight semi-cowboy protectors called Gunslingers. He ventures in pursuit of a place called the Dark Tower which holds the stability to all of time - he also pursues a shady character known as the Man In Black. On his way he meets a young boy named Jake from our world and has an encounter with a saloon lady named Alice. The Gunslinger is like a prologue - it builds up the startling imagery and character complexity of the hero.
The second novel, The Drawing Of The Three, follows Roland as he is pulled between our world and his own in an effort to draw three followers. These three are Eddie, Susanna (you need to really experience her character) and the boy, Jake. In pursuit of the dark tower together this novel leads into the third in the series, 'The Wasteland'. More journeying in this and I found it to be less interesting - it is not unitl the end when the four board Blaine, the psychotic and out of control processor of a bullet train which threatens to take them to their doom.
The installment picks up from here with Wizard and Glass - this is a step back in time. After surviving Blaine, Roland tells of his past, his first true love and his first encounter with the man in black. This novel is utterly brilliant. It can be read without reading the other three (I read it first myself) and portrays an intoxicatingly intricate and reminiscent world. The old-west is combined with camelot to create a dream-like fantasy laced with realism and complex yet enjoyable characters (Bert is one to look out for). Not only this, but the novel provokes intense emotions, ecstatic excitement, empty loss and more.
Compared to his other work, this series outdoes King's horror attempts. I believe this is a long running project of his so look out for a new novel in the Dark Tower series soon!
Please enjoy and take the time to read these novels.
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I'm reading the wastelands now, and am totally hooked after reading the first two. It's a great series. Lynne x
Excelle 17.06.2001 13:07
This sounds pretty cool, and right up my street! Luckily for me, my girlfriend has them stashed away somewhere - she is the opposite of you, she likes the horror novels but not these, so I'll definately take a gander at them at some point! Cheers!
The final volume sees gunslinger Roland on a roller-coaster mix of exhilarating triumph ... more
and aching loss in his unrelenting quest to reach the dark tower. Roland's band of pilgrims remains united though scattered. Susannah-Mia has been carried off t...
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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
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
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