Book Review - The Dark Tower

The Dark Tower

(The Dark Tower VII)

Stephen King

9 Stars
1050 Pages
Western / Mystery / Thriller / Epic Saga / High Fantasy

We finally come to the epic conclusion of the masterpiece that is the Dark Tower series. I am not putting down a summary because anything would give way too many spoilers away.

This is the best ending I have read in so long, maybe ever! I was worried that it would be disappointing after all that has happened but that was a waste of time. King has just given readers or at least this reader the ultimate finale, SO satisfying. It was closed and yet open all at once, a perfect balance it was an unexpected twist as well (just when I thought I had it all figured out) and it is never really the end because King is still building more books into his universe.  I am dreading the movie now, or is it a TV show? because even in 2017 with the best actors ever there is no way to recreate it all to satisfy me.

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Book Review - Wolves of the Calla

Wolves of the Calla

(Dark Tower V)

Stephen King

8.5 Stars
931 Pages
Western / Mystery / Thriller / Epic Saga / High Fantasy

And so the Gunslingers and us the reader learn of the Calla, Callahan (of Salem's Lot) and the wolves. I was caught up in the story from page one.
In the Calla almost all people are born twins, and once a generation (every 25 years or so) the wolves come, grey men on grey horses. Stealing one child from each pair of twins who between the ages of 2 - 15. The stolen twin will be returned within months, their minds broken and ruined, they will grow to be toddlers as big as giants and they will die young of a terrible wasting disease. It has been so for more than 100 years. But this time it isn't just the wolves who are coming to the Calla. Roland, Susannah, Jake, Oi and Eddie will be there too. That is not the only problem for our gunslingers, they must also fight the battle of the rose in New York, convincing Calvin Tower and holding at bay the thugs from Eddies past. Susannah is keeping a secret from everyone including herself and while the gunslingers fight this noble fight time is passing... and the beams that hold the tower have very little time left.

The farther into these stories I get the more I love them. The more I reflect on them the more enchanted they seem. The whole world is just so perfect. I would recommend reading It, Salem's Lot, Hearts in Atlantis, The Dead Zone and a handful of other random King novels of your choice before reading this series because it will add so much to the experience.

With the movies coming out everyone should read these.
Everyone should read these anyways!

Book Review - Wizard and Glass

Wizard and Glass
(Dark Tower IV)
Stephen King

8.5 Stars
Pages
Fiction / High Fantasy / Saga/ Series / Thriller / Western / Mystery

This novel starts at the cliffhanger Wastelands ended on. Roland, Eddie, Jake and Suz are aboard the suicidal monorail named Blaine, they have a bet with the super computer. If they ask him a riddle he cannot solve then he will let them live, if he can solve every riddle when he reaches the end of the line Blaine will continue at his 800+ mph and kill them all.
We also go back in this novel to the beginning of Roland Deschain's day's as a gunslinger, as a boy of 14 in the land of Gilead; before the world truly moved on.  We meet the enchanting Susan his one true love, Bert and Alain his best friends and what befell them in that time and place so long ago now.

This was the best novel so far (I honestly can't decide between 1,2&4 but whatever) I have been wondering about Roland since the first novel and finally we got some answers to all the hints! I was speed reading the last half or quarter of book 3 to get to this and it didn't disappoint. I loved it and was upset at ever having to put the book down to do anything else. Everything in this is so well rounded and fully written. Each place, person and thing doesn't just seem real but is real. King truely has brought this all together in a masterpiece! He is a genius and I can't wait to finish the remaining novels on my TBR and get to the Stephen King Universe book that illustrates how it has all been woven together.

Book Review - The Drawing of Three

The Drawing of Three

(The Dark Tower II)

Stephen King

8 Star
Pages
Fiction / Series / Thriller / Horror / Mystery / Adventure / Fantasy

I have become totally obsessed with this series! How did I not read it sooner!
Roland is the last Gunslinger and his destiny is to reach the Dark Tower. In the last book we were introduced to his world while questing after the Dark Man. In this novel Roland is completing the prophecy spoken by the oracle, that he would draw three people from our world into his own. These people will help him reach the tower.

I loved this book so much! I am normally a King fan and I  know that his style is not for everyone but this series is the exception to that rule. The set up is just as detailed but the novels flow at a faster pace, there is tons of action, it does not fall into the horror genera; any fan of epic fantasy would love it too. If you like Westerns I would recommend these as well. The characters are amazing,  it would give too much away to go into detail, but it is easy to picture them as real people. The world is relatable and logical, which isn't always important but I keep coming back to that fact and if alternate realities and everything did exist this is how I picture them.

I would love to hear what you think of The Dark Tower and/or Stephen King :)

Book Review - The Gunslinger

The Gunslinger 

(The Dark Tower I)

Stephen King

7 Stars
231 Pages
Fiction / Fantasy / Horror / Thriller / Mystery 

I have this series as an omnibus, which has been sitting on my TBR shelf being daunting and terrifying for at least a couple of years now. I was very pleasantly surprised at how fast I got through this first book. It was the perfect size to introduce me to this amazing but vast world. We meet Roland - who I have read about in quite a few other King novels, including The Talisman, The Black House and Little Sisters of Eluria - he is our main character and I love him. Roland is a Gunslinger, and he is chasing the "Man in Black". Jumping between the past and the present we learn about the land, the world, the people and its customs. I don't want to go into detail because I would be giving too much away but it is action packed and beautiful.
Any lover of epic fantasy - The Songs of Ice and Fire aka Game of Thrones, Redwall, or The Books of Pellinor - will love these novels. A totally different breed of King novel, that still holds onto the essence of King.