The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, Book 7)
by Stephen King
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Book Summary Information
Author: Stephen KingEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-08-22
ISBN: 1416524525
Number of pages: 1072
Publisher: Pocket Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9781416524526
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, Book 7)
Book Review: The pros much outweigh the cons
Summary: 5 Stars
It looks like most reviewers have this pretty well covered, but I'd like to throw in my 2 cents, mostly because I've spent so much time reading these books and it just plain feels right.
I'll start by saying that this book is not perfect, and there were times when I was convinced that the story would end horribly. So why do I give it 5 stars? I feel that what was good or great about the book is enough for me to dismiss what annoyed me about it. As with most reviews, there will be many SPOILERS ahead, so go read the book first if you haven't.
I can cover what truly bothered me pretty quickly; King's importance in the plot and Flagg's death. Not that I need a 150 page battle between Roland and Flagg, but to be so easily dispatched by a child who would later prove to be absolutely no threat to Roland seems wrong. Was this really the best that Roland's lifelong enemy could do? I don't know, it just doesn't add up. As for King, I didn't like his part in the plot during Song of Susannah (narcissistic) and was hoping it would not dominate the final volume, which it doesn't. I will admit that it didn't turn out as bad as I feared (I half expected Stephen King to be in the top room of the Tower), and I do appreciate that it ties the story to reality through something other than the fictional Tet Corporation in NY. While this is nice, I could have done without King ever having been in the story.
Others were bothered by the quick deaths of Mordred and the Crimson King. I wasn't. Mordred may have been powerful, but he was still a child; and a sick, dying child at that. He had to make an ill-advised move out of desperation, and I think it was wonderful that Oy was able to die defending Roland. As for the Crimson King, while the battle may have been brief, it was still exciting and not without great word play between Roland and the CK.
Ok, so most of us want opinions and theories on the end, right? I will admit that I very much liked the ending from the get-go, but I have had to digest it for a few days before really knowing what to make of it. I suggest anyone else that has recently finished the book do the same. In doing so, I have realized that this ending has evoked a lot more emotion and thought from me than I expected, and clearly almost everyone else who has read this book has had the same experience, for better or worse. In my opinion, this alone is proof that the ending is very powerful.
So, let's just say it, we find out that Roland has been repeating his journey from the Mohaine Desert, where we first meet him in book I. Why is this a good ending? It puts the entire story in perspective. Roland, while heroic, has been cold hearted throughout the saga. He seems to be learning to love, particularly in the case of his adopted son Jake, as well as the rest of his ka-tet. Would we have ever guessed from the pages of "The Gunslinger" or even "The Drawing of the Three" that Roland would have such an emotional reaction to Susannah finally leaving him at the end of the story? Probably not. The world had moved on, a world that had been "full of love and light", and the gunslinger that we meet in book I is a hero, but can't be described as "full of love".
During this journey, Roland has accomplished his purpose according to prophecy, which is to save the Tower. I personally believe that he has probably accomplished this in the past journeys, but it doesn't really matter. The Tower, it seems, is more than just an anchor for existence; it is holy, and will judge those who enter it. When Roland arrives in the Mohaine once again, he is given the Horn of Eld. This can signify many things, but I believe that it signifies that he has pleased the Tower and this will be his final journey. King appends Browning's poem, which has Roland blowing the "slug horn" at the end of his journey. It could be that Browning's poem actually IS the final journey, meaning that the end of Roland's quest is actually right there for you to read about, or it could just be a vision of what his final journey will be like. I think it can go either way, the point is that we know that Roland will have peace, and soon.
Need proof? Let's look back to Jake's final death, a sad scene that will bring even the most cynical reader to tears in light of life's harsh truths. In this scene, Roland promises that he will sacrifice himself to save Stephen King rather than Jake, and his decision is made when he jumps from a moving vehicle to do just that. We all know how it turns out, but the point is that the gunslinger has changed since first letting Jake drop into the abyss in book I. I believe this, along with the care he gave to the rest of his ka-tet toward the end of the journey is what finally pleased the Tower, which awards him with the Horn of Eld. When Roland arrives at the Tower in Browning's poem, the spectators (roses in King's story) in the final stanza are "met to view the last of [him]". I think that King interprets the last of Roland as in the last time that he will arrive at the Tower. After all, King does state earlier in the book that there is "only one place for the poem", which is at the end, as the poem reveals Roland's final journey.
I don't want to make light of the sadness that comes with this ending, because it is certainly sad. The hope combined with sadness and the endless possibilities are what makes this ending so brilliant. I think I've covered the main point, but perhaps Roland has still more to learn and atone for on his final journey, and there are other things to consider. Did time rewind (which his watch rewinding as he approaches the tower and the re-installment of the Man in Black would suggest) or was he simply placed back in the desert? Will he meet Jake again on this journey? Has he learned enough to save Jake rather than palaver with Walter? Are Roland's enemies (Flagg, the CK, etc) so desperate to kill him because they are caught in his loop and aware of it? Could the Horn of Eld symbolize the line of Eld, meaning that Roland is to save Jake thereby restoring "love and light" into his world (and also ensuring that his son will continue in the line of Eld) before the Tower will let him rest? I could go on and on with these, and some of them may be reaching, but I think that if you believe that the Tower has finally begun to award his progress during his damnation then you can believe that he will be able to right all wrongs.
I will miss reading these books, I hope the rest of you take as much from it as I did. Long days and pleasant nights.
Summary of The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, Book 7)
Creating "true narrative magic" (The Washington Post) at every revelatory turn, Stephen King surpasses all expectation in the stunning final volume of his seven-part epic masterwork. Entwining stories and worlds from a vast and complex canvas, here is the conclusion readers have long awaited -- breath-takingly imaginative, boldly visionary, and wholly entertaining.Roland Deschain and his ka-tet have journeyed together and apart, scattered far and wide across multilayered worlds of wheres and whens. The destinies of Roland, Susannah, Jake, Father Callahan, Oy, and Eddie are bound in the Dark Tower itself, which now pulls them ever closer to their own endings and beginnings . . . and into a maelstrom of emotion, violence, and discovery.
At one point in this final book of the Dark Tower series, the character Stephen King (added to the plot in Song of Susannah) looks back at the preceding pages and says "when this last book is published, the readers are going to be just wild." And he's not kidding.
After a journey through seven books and over 20 years, King's Constant Readers finally have the conclusion they've been both eagerly awaiting and silently dreading. The tension in the Dark Tower series has built steadily from the beginning and, like in the best of King's novels, explodes into a violent, heart-tugging climax as Roland and his ka-tet finally near their goal. The body count in The Dark Tower is high. The gunslingers come out shooting and face a host of enemies, including low men, mutants, vampires, Roland's hideous quasi-offspring Mordred, and the fearsome Crimson King himself. King pushes the gross-out factor at times--Roland's lesson on tanning (no, not sun tanning) is brutal--but the magic of the series remains strong and readers will feel the pull of the Tower as strongly as ever as the story draws to a close. During this sentimental journey, King ties up loose ends left hanging from the 15 non-series novels and stories that are deeply entwined in the fabric of Mid-World through characters like Randall Flagg (The Stand and others) or Father Callahan ('Salem's Lot). When it finally arrives, the long awaited conclusion will leave King's myriad fans satisfied but wishing there were still more to come.
In King's memoir On Writing, he tells of an old woman who wrote him after reading the early books in the Dark Tower series. She was dying, she said, and didn't expect to see the end of Roland's quest. Could King tell her? Does he reach the Tower? Does he save it? Sadly, King said he did not know himself, that the story was creating itself as it went along. Wherever that woman is now (the clearing at the end of the path, perhaps?), let's hope she has a copy of The Dark Tower. Surely she would agree it's been worth the wait. --Benjamin Reese
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