I do feel at home in fantasy literature(not harry potter as an exception) but my own reaction was that only the first book , Gunslinger, was a success... and he really had nowhere to go and nothing to say about the human condition and the universe and for that matter the dark tower after that...I did not read every word of every volume especially after the first three but I read enough of each to follow what he was dong.
so I guess my reaction joins yours as to recommending Gunslinger but not as to necessarily going any further. to me everything he had to offer was in that, with Roland at the end at the edge of a sea...
BUT someone may enjoy the journay, you did to a point...well I followed it for a while so I dont mean to put off someone else but I guess,to prospective readers, dont look for the answer to the mystery of life or something... :)
i am pretty sure i read on out of the same compulsion and dogged hope that characterizes Roland's unanswerable quest ~ maybe that's why i identify with him ~ ha!
Dark Tower
anonymous
January 26 2011, 21:53:09 UTC
just my opinion as a constant King reader since 1982....I have never, well almost never, been happy with his endings! so I can understand any ones frustration on that point and as I am not a writer myself I have nothing to say on the writing quality itself. that being said however I feel that it is virtually impossible to fully understand, comprehend or appreciate the series without a prior investment in many, many other volumes of the mans work. this really, to me at least is not a stand alone series as it compiles almost all of his previous rantings. it can be taken on its own merit as a good read but.....
Re: Dark TowerlookinglandJanuary 26 2011, 22:24:48 UTC
hello random anonymous person!
i would consider myself an "inconstant" reader at best when it comes to King. there are many books referenced in the Dark Tower series with which i only have a nodding acquaintance and i have to say the only time i really felt left out was just briefly in book vii because of the Brautigan references.
i think reading a synopsis of the referenced works: The Stand, Hearts in Atlantis, and 'Salem's Lot would suffice, but isn't even necessary. The references to Insomnia are particularly ignorable ~ and, really, the books gain and/or lose nothing if you're totally ignorant ~ no more than if you know nothing about the Wizard of Oz, King Arthur, Oedipus, Hamlet, The Magnificent Seven and however many other throwaway references are peppered throughout these books.
you're not alone in your complaint, however. it seems like many readers feel similarly cheated of some bigger understanding. i can reassure you, however, that there's nothing to miss.
Re: Dark Towerryan_howseJanuary 26 2011, 23:30:08 UTC
I read Salem's Lot because of The Dark Tower, but I certainly didn't gain much deeper meaning out of it. You don't really need to know The Stand either. (It's better if you don't, because man was that one bad.) The bit about Brautigan was about the only time where I did think I was missing something, and even then I just sorta shrugged and moved on and I was fine.
I guess Insomnia might help in that it feels less like Patrick Danville comes out of nowhere at the end.
Re: Dark TowerlookinglandJanuary 26 2011, 23:37:20 UTC
good point about Patrick Danville ~ though even having read Insomnia he still felt like a black bean in the Dark Tower soup; curious, but utterly dismissible. it could also be that i sort of emotionally gave up midway through the final book and let just things ride.
for the record, i've never understood the hype about The Stand. it never did anything for me either.
Comments 12
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: D
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as an exception) but
my own reaction was that only the first book , Gunslinger,
was a success... and he really had nowhere to go and nothing
to say about the human condition and the universe and for
that matter the dark tower after that...I did not read every
word of every volume especially after the first three but
I read enough of each to follow what he was dong.
so I guess my reaction joins yours as to recommending Gunslinger
but not as to necessarily going any further. to me everything
he had to offer was in that, with Roland at the end at the
edge of a sea...
Reply
: D
Reply
to a point...well I followed it for a while
so I dont mean to put off someone else
but I guess,to prospective readers,
dont look for the answer to the
mystery of life or something... :)
Reply
Reply
Reply
i would consider myself an "inconstant" reader at best when it comes to King. there are many books referenced in the Dark Tower series with which i only have a nodding acquaintance and i have to say the only time i really felt left out was just briefly in book vii because of the Brautigan references.
i think reading a synopsis of the referenced works: The Stand, Hearts in Atlantis, and 'Salem's Lot would suffice, but isn't even necessary. The references to Insomnia are particularly ignorable ~ and, really, the books gain and/or lose nothing if you're totally ignorant ~ no more than if you know nothing about the Wizard of Oz, King Arthur, Oedipus, Hamlet, The Magnificent Seven and however many other throwaway references are peppered throughout these books.
you're not alone in your complaint, however. it seems like many readers feel similarly cheated of some bigger understanding. i can reassure you, however, that there's nothing to miss.
: D
Reply
I guess Insomnia might help in that it feels less like Patrick Danville comes out of nowhere at the end.
Reply
for the record, i've never understood the hype about The Stand. it never did anything for me either.
: o p
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