The Dark Tower Books 3 & 4
Rating: 9/10
Author: Stephen King
Release Date: 1997
Cover Price: $12.99 CAD
TL;DR: The next two books in King’s Dark Tower series is where the action really starts to pick up. The stories cover Roland’s ka-tet as they journey through the wastelands along the path of the beam. Book three introduces us to the wastelands and the evil character Baine. Book four takes a dive into Roland’s past, which takes up almost the entire novel. I found the these two novels hard to put down as I read them, and found them to be a great representation of Stephen King’s amazing imagination at work.
Unlike the first two books of the series, I think book three is when the story really begins to develop and move forward. The first two books can be thought of as a set-up, where Roland is introduced to the readers and how he assembles his group of companions for the journey ahead. I found that once the setup was complete, the journey was absolutely fascinating, especially the story-arc of Roland’s past in book four. This story-arc takes up almost the entirety of book four but I found it to be well worth it, as it explains a lot of why Roland’s character is the way he is.
The novels really make you think why anybody would’ve thought that the Dark Tower series could’ve ever been made into a single movie, there was just too much story and detail in the novels that it was a no wonder the movie sucked. Stephen King has a way of painting such a vivid picture in his stories that it truly feels as if you were taking part in them. No movie could do this masterpiece justice.
I now think that this story is something every King fan should read, and maybe read first because in book four is when you really start to appreciate the way that King’s stories all fit in together. I would definitely recommend reading the Dark Tower before reading The Stand, as I now understand how the two stories tie in together. King says that the Dark Tower is his greatest creation, and I am only now starting to appreciate it. I know this is a story I am going to really miss when it is over.
