Registered: Feb 2003
Location: Oceanside, CA
Posts: 5073

This was released today--the final volume in King's epic Dark Tower series. I have only read about 80 pages yet, but here's the specs on the book:

830 pages
Illustrations by Michael Whelan (who did the illustrations for the first one in the series)

No real impressions as yet, except that it's good so far. More as I read more.

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: MadCo
Posts: 1801

ho, fuck I knew I forgot something today.....

Damn, damn, damn....

Melesse

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Registered: Feb 2003
Location: Oceanside, CA
Posts: 5073

I finished it this afternoon.
I have a variety of emotions associated with this book, now. Sadness; it's the end of an epic series which I deeply enjoyed. It's hard for me to accept that there will be no more of these stories, they've been with me for a good portion of my life so far. Excitement: it's rollicking good Dark Tower stuff, plenty of chases, battle, and superhuman shooting action from our heroes, otherworldly villains and monsters, and the fate of the universe hanging by a thread. It's a kick to read.
There's something else, which I can't quite identify. It's associated with the ending of the book, which I have no doubt will be highly controversial among series fans. Not everyone is going to like this ending. (the following spoiler does not reveal the ending, but does disclose some of King's thoughts about is as given in the afterword)[spoiler] King himself says that he's not all that happy with it himself, but that it is the *right* ending. The more I think about it, the more I think he might be right. It is not what I expected, certainly, and I am still fairly uncertain what I think about it, but it does make sense.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely, but only if you've read the rest of the series. It is not by any means a stand-alone book.

Enough about the ending for now. This does wrap up a lot of story threads, most of them in highly satisfying ways. That's not to say that they're all happy endings, of course, but they are satisfying endings nonetheless. They feel right, even as part of you cries out that it's not right, it can't end like that.

The question that any fan of the series is probably asking is, of course,[spoiler] does Roland reach the Tower? I won't post the answer to that unless someone asks, and than as a spoiler.

Unsettling, satisfying and unsatisfying, sad to be done, glad to reach the journey's end, relieved, devastated. What do you expect from the end of an epic?

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: aggressivly happy
Posts: 9120

thoes damn flying goats

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Zion
Posts: 4444

I finished this a few days ago. Like you, I have some mixed emotions about the ending of the book. I think the way he let Susannah out of the story was a total chicken shit way. Eddie and Jake brothers??? Even with them traveling todash to all of the different places and times, the relativity of the characters never changed. Until the end.

Time to go re-read the Stand again to get my faith back in King.

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Registered: Feb 2003
Location: Oceanside, CA
Posts: 5073

My wife is of the opinion that, by passing through the door, Susannah has...er...[spoiler] died. She feels that the destruction of Roland's gun, and her easy acceptance of the fact, plus her running into both of these men in the city she loves, all suggest that this is her "clearing at the end of the path". I'm not convinced, myself, but it's an interesting idea.

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