Long Days and Pleasant Nights: My Thoughts and Thanks to The Dark Tower Series

[truegeneration]

On May 6th, 2014, I flipped the first page of Stephen King’s The Gunslinger, and read the first line that still haunts, but intrigues me:“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”  I knew right then and there that I was in. I was in for the long haul. The journey started here. There was no going back. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. And as an avid reader and firm believer, that was one of best decisions of my life.

Now on April 27th, 2015-almost a year later-I have finished The Dark Tower, book seven of this quite incredible series. My journey is done. I’m in awe; speechless, really. I’m sad. Sad that it’s over, but happy that I have come across these books. Happy that they exist.

The first time reading this series is quite amazing and daunting. If only I can take that experience back; if only there were really magic doors, like in The Dark Tower, that can bring us back in time. But, this is real life. Such things don’t exist here. I can’t take that first experience back, but I can always revisit Mid-World. A trip I will soon return to.

Here, I’m not going to review all the books. But share my thoughts on this wonderful series as a whole. This post is spoiler-free, so people who read this, and haven’t read the books, can still enjoy it. If you have readThe Dark Tower series, please feel free to comment. I would love to hear (and actually talk to someone who has read these books, haha) your thoughts.

To start, these books are an experience. I really can’t stress enough that these books are a journey. You’re not just a reader, but you’re a character, too, while reading these books. You’re just looking outside. But, you’re taking this journey with the characters: Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy, as well. You’re part of the ka-tet (group, family, friend, etc.), too. You’re walking besides them. You’re traveling along. You’re in Mid-World. You’re in Lud. You’re in Calla Bryn Sturgis. And that’s what I mean by experience-it’s like a magic door suddenly appeared right before your eyes, and you turn the knob, then BAM! You’re transported into the story.

There are seven novels in this series. I also feel like reading these books-it’s rather like reading ONE LONG book. I think I felt this way because I read each book back-to-back after I finished one (except the last book, I took a couple of months break on that one). So, I would recommend enjoying this long ride and roller coaster as long as you can. Because once you finish the series, that’s it. You want more. And then you’ll find yourself going back to re-reading the whole series again. You find yourself turning to page 1 of The Gunslinger. You are going back.

This series is unlike anything I’ve ever read. Meaning that you have to have an open mind. Also meaning, there are a bunch of genres and categories jumbled into these books. Which is a darn good thing, I think. In these books you have: fantasy, science-fiction (very time-travel heavy), adventure, westerns, romance, and with some comedy mixed in there. It’s a lot-these books are packed with so much categories. They have so much to offer, and they offer a lot to readers who like different tastes and genres.

Not only does the plot and story pull you in, it’s the characters. That was definitely the main reason for me. The characters. They stick with ya, I say true.I guess it depends what kind of reader you are. I do get attached to the characters and story. If it’s really good book. And this happened here. I cared about the characters: their feelings, their actions, their thoughts. They do become a part of you in this story. And, that’s thanks to the glorious and intelligent writing that belongs to no other, than to Mr. Stephen King. If you’ve read any other of King’s novels, you can see that he’s a master of character development. If you love great and superb character development, you’re going to find it here. Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and even Oy (who is a billy-bumbler, a cross between a raccoon and a dog) change, grow and develop in some capacity.

These books will change you. They will make you think. Most importantly, I hope you take something out of these books. For me, I got the theme of redemption, of hope. The idea of a second chance. The idea of being a part of something; of changing your life. Second chances seldom come by in life, I think. There are people in life who can sneak by in our lives and give that second chance to you. With that second chance, it’s up to you do something with it, to change your life. To make your life meaningful. To find meaning, hope, belief, faith, and maybe even love. That’s what I took out of these books. Also, the idea of friends and family. These people who are part of your second chance-they can become the most important people in your life. They’re not related to you by blood-but, they are your family because you know that they will be by your side. They have your back. You have that unspoken friendship, bond, and love between them. And this is what Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy become to one another. This may sound corny, but it’s a beautiful thing to see-to read-in these books. I loved reading the growing relationship between these characters. It was quite wonderful to read (another reason why these books are an experience).

Now, the seven books are:

1. The Gunslinger
2. The Drawing of the Three
3. The Waste Lands
4. Wizard and Glass
5. Wolves of the Calla
6. Song of Susannah
7. The Dark Tower

There’s also The Wind Through The Keyhole, which is actually a prequel to the series. Stephen King published this last (most recently, actually). Our ka-tet is featured here, but this book is legit a story within a story within a story. Yup, there are three stories in this book. You can read this book after you finish the entire series, or if you a stickler for chronological order, this book starts after the events of Wizard and Glass(so chronologically, it’s 4.5). So you can also read it after book 4.

Now, I will present my ranking and LITTLE plot tidbits of each book

My ranking is: Drawing of the Three(2)>The Waste Lands(3)>The Wolves of the Calla(5)>The Dark Tower(7)>Wizard and Glass(4)>The Gunslinger(1)>Song of Susannah(6)

Here’s my little (Spoiler-free) tidbits of each novel:

1. The Gunslinger-I call this book the ‘introductory’ novel. Where we first meet our hero, Roland. Where we meet Jake. Where the journey begins. I think of this book rather as a ‘long poem’ than a novel. Slow-moving at first, but just stick with it. It gets good. And it’s worth it. Probably will appreciate it more and like it better after a second re-read.
2. The Drawing of the Three-My absolute favorite novel of the series. This books moves the plot forward by A LOT. Where we meet Eddie and Susannah for the first time. For me, the journey begins HERE. The magic starts here. It all changed for me in this book. It was just awesome. This book also features the best gun showdown scene that I’ve ever read in my life.
3. The Waste Lands-Plot advances, characters meet and reunite. Ka-tet officially forms in this book.
4. Wizard and Glass-This one is the ‘flashback’ book. This book covers Roland’s young life as a gunslinger, his friends, family, and first love. This book is a fan-favorite by a lot of Dark Tower/Constant Reader fans. I liked it, but wasn’t much big of a fan of this one. Really enjoyed seeing a different side to Roland, a younger side. But I thought there were a lot of unnecessary scenes in this book that just kind of dragged the story.
5. Wolves of the Calla-This moves the plot into a whole other direction. I honestly liked it more than other fans. Has a very ‘Western’ feel to it which I enjoyed very much. We actually see our ka-tet as true gunslingers here.
6. Song of Susannah-My least favorite novel of the series. Ok, this is the ‘filter’ book of the series. Not much happens. Plot doesn’t advance much. Gets quite confusing.
7. The Dark Tower-The journey ends here. Of course, we finally get to the big thing itself, the Dark Tower. Confusing and jumbled at times, but full of heart…and also very sad. Make sure you have your Kleenex with you.

With these books, you absolutely have to keep your emotions in-check, haha.

Now, I’m going to end this post right here. I will end by saying:

Thankya Stephen King for creating probably one of the best, unique, creative, wild, and fascinating series I’ve ever read. You gave us a true literary gift, I say true.

Thankya Roland Deschain of Gilead.

Thankya Eddie Dean, of New York.

Thankya Susannah Dean, of New York,

Thankya Jake Chambers, of New York.

Thankya Oy, of Mid-World

Long days and pleasant nights. I think we are all very well met.



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Now, I urge you to read these books. You may like them, or you may not. Of course, I certainly did, or else I wouldn’t have written this long post. Just please take a chance and join this journey. It’s a ride you don’t want to miss.

I say true and I say thankya.