Alright... It's over. I hate finishing good series, if only because I love living along with the characters, and finishing means I can't be with them anymore (almost sounds insane, right?). My life, since spring break early this year, has been nearly dominated by Roland, Eddie, Jake, Susannah, and Oy. I'm honestly wondering what it'd be like not reading about their adventures- because they have been such a constant force in my life. Anyway, how do I begin reviewing this 1000+ page book?
Let's start with the positives. I could go on and on. The character growth among these five is stunningly amazing- even Oy, despite being a dog/raccoon- type creature (called a billy-bumbler). Of course, Eddie is my favorite character by far... His jokes were timely and awesome, and brought an element of hilarity to bad situations. The fulfillment of Roland's dream, laying his eyes on the Dark Tower, was great. Roland's being thrown back to the beginning of the series is a concept I find fascinating, and has me thinking. How many times has he been through the journey? After Susannah's, Eddie's, and Jake's reunion in New York, will they appear in Roland's next journey? Is the Crimson King still trapped as a set of eyes on a balcony of the Tower, or is he back in action? Have the Beams been permanently saved, or will Roland have to stop the Breakers again? Will Roland have to face off with Mordred again? The questions go on and on.
Here come a few things that set me off a bit. One, I feel like that with the amount of energy put into the fact that Mordred was this sort of evil guy that would help destroy the Tower (or Roland), his death seemed a bit quick and inconclusive to me. I almost felt a bit let down by the fact that he posed so much of a threat throughout this book, yet he didn't really hinder Roland and friends much at all (except for the huge sidequest he caused, in Song of Susannah, but that's another book). Two: I'm still not sure how I felt about the inclusion of lightsabers (Although those were in Wolves of the Calla), exploding snitches, and all the pop culture references that were put in to move the plot along. (Hey Jude is popular in both worlds?) I'm left wondering whether King had lost inspiration at these parts, or was trying to tie our world and Roland's together.
All in all, I loved the series. I have it up there with Lord of the Rings as a series (although there's no way King matched the extensive background that Tolkien put into Middle-Earth). Might I add how coincidental it is that I finished the series on the nineteenth of November? (The number nineteen is a big plot element throughout the series.)
Long days and pleasant nights,
Neal
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