The Dark Tower

I'm now just about a hundred pages past the halfway point... What a ride, man. JK Rowling should have looked at this book as a reference point while writing her 7th. I HATED Deathly Hallows because it considered nothing else but tying up loose ends, however badly they were tied up. This book considers EVERYTHING perfectly.
 
Still have to pick up Songs of Susannah and The Dark Tower. Got Everything's Eventual short story collecion and read Little Sisters of Elluria short story, which I enjoyed.

Goody or Shaggy, you been checking out the Dark Tower comics?
 
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I've finished the series! I've gotta say that the Dark Tower trumps the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and any other kind of fictitious saga there is. Like i said, there are so many details to the journey Roland is a part of until eventually he reaches an end. What kind of end? I won't say... But I think it was entirely fitting and it definitely made me envious of King for coming up with something so extraordinary.

And DiB, I haven't had a chance to look at the comics. What are they like? I know that some of them make up the Wizard and Glass, but don't they continue young Roland's adventures?
 
Goodwill said:
I've finished the series! I've gotta say that the Dark Tower trumps the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and any other kind of fictitious saga there is. Like i said, there are so many details to the journey Roland is a part of until eventually he reaches an end. What kind of end? I won't say... But I think it was entirely fitting and it definitely made me envious of King for coming up with something so extraordinary.
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Fair assessment. But read Frank Herbert's Dune series (his original six, don't worry about the prequels/sequels by his son and Kevin J. Anderson). Dark Tower is amazing, but it hasn't compared to the ideas presented in the Dune books. For me, anyway.

And DiB, I haven't had a chance to look at the comics. What are they like? I know that some of them make up the Wizard and Glass, but don't they continue young Roland's adventures?
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Yes.

The first series, The Gunslinger Born, was a seven issue series that basically adapts the flashback story of Wizard and Glass. Nothing really new story-wise, but the artwork alone is worth buying the TPB or even single issues. I haven't checked out the TPB/HC yet, but I know the single issues also features supplementary short prose stories which expand on the history and mythos of the Dark Tower world. I don't know if they're collected or not, and if not recommend you pick up the single issues if you're interested in checking them out.

The second series, The Long Road Home, is five issues (issue 4 is coming out today actually) and picks up directly from the ending of the Wizard and Glass/The Gunslinger Born series. Its a completely new story, detailing Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain's dangerous journey home, with Roland's mind locked inside the grapefruit sphere. Oh, and there's an interesting development with Sheemie (the retarded kid from W&G) involving him gaining some extraordinary powers. Once again, the artwork is amazing and fits the tone of the Dark Tower world to a "T". This series also continues the short prose stories, this time delving into a story about Arthur Eld. Awesome read every month, guaranteed.

The plans are to continue the series of mini-series through five mini-series total that lead up to the Battle of Jericho Hill, the fall of Gilead, and the deaths of Roland's first ka-tet. We're on the second one already--I think there's going to be a total of 30 issues altogether broken up among the mini-series: 7, 5, 6, 6, 6. Peter David &Robin Furth are doing an excellent job of adapting the Dark Tower world and characters to the comic page, and Lee and Isanove's art is just plain amazing every page. I can't recommend it enough if you enjoyed the novels.
 
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The Dark Tower - The Gunslinger Born #1-7 (Comic Series)
The Dark Tower - The Long Road Home #1-5 (Comic Series)
The Dark Tower - The Little Sisters of Eluria (Short Story)
The Dark Tower I - The Gunslinger (Novel)
The Dark Tower II - The Drawing of the Three (Novel)
The Dark Tower III - The Waste Lands (Novel)
The Dark Tower IV - Wizard and Glass (Novel)
The Dark Tower V - Wolves of the Calla (Novel)
The Dark Tower VI - Song of Susannah (Novel)
The Dark Tower VII - The Dark Tower (Novel)



Just a quick chronology of the Dark Tower tales. No point in making a timeline for it, since time itself is wonky at best in the Dark Tower reality. But, a simple chronology of stories in the order they take place still works. And there you go. Keep in mind there will be three more comic mini series after The Long Road Home and before The Little Sisters of Eluria.
 
Yeah, I've now moved on to the Stand (Which I'm going to open a thread for), but now that you mention it, I want to get into those comics. I think that'd be cool to follow the first tet.
 
So now that more people have finished the series, what do you think of the ending?

Keep it in spoiler-tabs.
 
Goodwill said:
Yeah, I've now moved on to the Stand (Which I'm going to open a thread for), but now that you mention it, I want to get into those comics. I think that'd be cool to follow the first tet.
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I SO recommend it. I really do. The story is well written and addicting (much like the novels themselves), but as I said, the artwork alone is worth the price. I can't say enough about Lee's pencils, and Isanove's colors on top of it just blow me away. I seriously go back through each comic after reading and just pore over the artwork.

Seriously Goody, check them out.

Dr. Strangefate said:
So now that more people have finished the series, what do you think of the ending?

Keep it in spoiler-tabs.
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I still haven't finished it, but know how it ends anyway. Still, need to get some discussion going in here on these books. Good stuff.
 
My in-depth opinion follows:

For the last book, I do believe that the Dark Tower ended necessarily, however, I think it could have had less of the irrelevant journey and more focused on the disbanding of the Ka-tet. Eddie dying inconsequentially at first pissed me off, although I believe King spent just the right amount of time with him afterward. He was my favorite character in the entire series, very easily so, and he went out like Sirius Black did. Weak. The fight's all well and done and one flaw leads to his demise. To me, that sort of end for a character never leaves anyone satisfied, nor does it really contribute to the story. Also, with Jack dying so soon afterward is another thing I have a problem with. However, I am not going to criticize it too much because I think it was necessary for them to exit stage left at some point. This was Roland's journey and I read the entire series with that in mind... It was clear that his tet was expendable. So, I thought that it was necessary for it to end the way it did, but I think there'll always be something in the back of my mind that would've wanted Roland to make a choice between his tet members, his friends, and the tower. That would have been more compelling. Still, though I don't mean to critisize... The ending was entirely fitting. There is no clearing for Roland. I think that's fitting for a character such as he, a Clint Eastwood type that enters and exits in the same show.
 
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Goodwill said:
My in-depth opinion follows:

For the last book, I do believe that the Dark Tower ended necessarily, however, I think it could have had less of the irrelevant journey and more focused on the disbanding of the Ka-tet. Eddie dying inconsequentially at first pissed me off, although I believe King spent just the right amount of time with him afterward. He was my favorite character in the entire series, very easily so, and he went out like Sirius Black did. Weak. The fight's all well and done and one flaw leads to his demise. To me, that sort of end for a character never leaves anyone satisfied, nor does it really contribute to the story. Also, with Jack dying so soon afterward is another thing I have a problem with. However, I am not going to criticize it too much because I think it was necessary for them to exit stage left at some point. This was Roland's journey and I read the entire series with that in mind... It was clear that his tet was expendable. So, I thought that it was necessary for it to end the way it did, but I think there'll always be something in the back of my mind that would've wanted Roland to make a choice between his tet members, his friends, and the tower. That would have been more compelling. Still, though I don't mean to critisize... The ending was entirely fitting. There is no clearing for Roland. I think that's fitting for a character such as he, a Clint Eastwood type that enters and exits in the same show.
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The Dark Tower ends just as it begins, right? With Roland chasing the Man in Black across the desert?
 
DIrishB said:
The Dark Tower ends just as it begins, right? With Roland chasing the Man in Black across the desert?
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Recall, though, that he is now carrying the horn of Eld- which will allow him to enter the tower with an object of peace as opposed to an object of war.

This, I hypothesize, means that the journey Roland begins in the end may well be his last loop.
 
Sacred&Profane said:
Recall, though, that he is now carrying the horn of Eld- which will allow him to enter the tower with an object of peace as opposed to an object of war.

This, I hypothesize, means that the journey Roland begins in the end may well be his last loop.
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Ah ok. Again, I still have to read Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower (Book 7), but I took a break to catch up on/finish about 20 other books I've been meaning to read/finish.
 
So the third part of the Dark Tower series of comic minis will be called "Treachery". It'll be six issues, and begin shipping in September. Here's a solicit:

The ka-tet of Roland, Alain and Cuthbert have returned safely to their home in Gilead. But all is not well. Roland has kept the evil Maerlyn's Grapefruit and has become obsessed with peering into its pinkish depths despite the deadly toll it's taken on his health. And what the young gunslinger sees brings him the darkest of nightmares. Meanwhile, Roland's father has led a posse in search of those who threatened his son's life in Hambry—John Farson and the Big Coffin Hunters. And in this encounter, Stephen Deschain's life may be forfeit.
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