Here the ka-tet faces three challenges; keep the chap from the Crimson King, save Susannah, and get Tower to sell the vacant lot to them. Eddie and Roland head to Maine to find Tower, and Jake, Pere, and Oy pursue Susannah to NYC.
I enjoyed reading this book in spite of thinking I shouldn't. I really enjoyed the song aspect of the book with each chapter ending with a stanza of the commala song, and I also enjoyed the development of Susannah's character, something I've been waiting for ever since she was introduced in the second book. The action sequences were also tightly written and give just the right amount of chills.
On the other hand, I knew I shouldn't like the book because of the whole part where King writes himself in as a character, and not just any character, the Crimson King's polar opposite. Everything he writes is vitally important to the quest!! How egotistical is that?! Also it made it much more difficult to suspend my disbelief and believe these worlds actually exist. It's one thing to let yourself get lost in the idea of parallel worlds; it's another to believe, even for a moment, that some writer in Maine who you *know* is a real person is important to the activity in them. What possessed King to do that?
Still, I scampered over the bits with King in them quite quickly and got back to the beloved ka-tet. I think I've grown so attached to them that that attachment gets me through the rough patches of the books.
In the end, I think it's a worthy entrance in the series that moves the characters forward and moves us ever closer to the Dark Tower. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the King parts.
Check out my full review
I enjoyed reading this book in spite of thinking I shouldn't. I really enjoyed the song aspect of the book with each chapter ending with a stanza of the commala song, and I also enjoyed the development of Susannah's character, something I've been waiting for ever since she was introduced in the second book. The action sequences were also tightly written and give just the right amount of chills.
On the other hand, I knew I shouldn't like the book because of the whole part where King writes himself in as a character, and not just any character, the Crimson King's polar opposite. Everything he writes is vitally important to the quest!! How egotistical is that?! Also it made it much more difficult to suspend my disbelief and believe these worlds actually exist. It's one thing to let yourself get lost in the idea of parallel worlds; it's another to believe, even for a moment, that some writer in Maine who you *know* is a real person is important to the activity in them. What possessed King to do that?
Still, I scampered over the bits with King in them quite quickly and got back to the beloved ka-tet. I think I've grown so attached to them that that attachment gets me through the rough patches of the books.
In the end, I think it's a worthy entrance in the series that moves the characters forward and moves us ever closer to the Dark Tower. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the King parts.
Check out my full review
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