About this title: In this, the fifth volume in King's Dark Tower series, Roland and company find themselves involved in some odd goings-on in and around the town of Call Bryn Sturgis. Tracing a 20-year sacrifice cycle in the town, they uncover a connection to the Dark Tower that is less than savory.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Donald M. Grant Publishers
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781880418567ISBN:1880418568
Description: Wrightson, Bernie. Very good in very good dust jacket. VG+ with very light wear; binding intact; text clean. VG, lightlly rubbed, dust jacket; no chipping. Hardbound in black cloth. 736 p. Contains: Illustrations. Dark Tower #5. Fiction. read more
Edition: First edition. Illustrated.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780743251624ISBN:0743251628
Description: Wrightson, Bernie. Good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 736 p. Contains: Illustrations. Dark Tower (Paperback), 5. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Very Good. 1880418568 page edges show some wear and smudging/ light shelf wear / edge wear cover / pages very good condition//"Buy with Confidence-Satisfaction Guaranteed! Customer Service Makes All the Difference. " read more
Description: Wrightson, Bernie. Good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 736 p. Contains: Illustrations. Dark Tower (Paperback), 5. read more
Description: Good. B000EHTAUA Unabridged Ex-library book on tape with stickers and stampings. Tapes are untested but should play fine. Case should be expected to show some wear on corners and edges. Most items ship within 24 hours. read more
Description: Good. [ No Hassle 30 Day Returns ] [ Underlining/Highlighting: NONE ] [ Writing: NONE ] [ Torn pages: NO ] [ Broken Seams: NO ] Publisher: Donald M. Grant/Scribner Pub Date: 11/1/2003 Binding: Hardcover Pages: 736. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780743251624ISBN:0743251628
Description: Very Good. First printing 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2. Slight cover wear with minor scuffing to edges. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Donald M. Grant/Scribner
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781880418567ISBN:1880418568
Description: Good. Stated first trade edition, first printing. Good with good d/j. Faint spots and light edge wear on cover, clean pages, tight spine. D/J has some rubbing and edge wear, mild crease on back. read more
Edition: First edition. First Trade Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Donald M. Grant/Scribner
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781880418567ISBN:1880418568
Description: Wrightson, Bernie. Fine in fine dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 736 p. Contains: Illustrations. Dark Tower (Hardcover), 5. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Pocket Star, Bristol, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9781416516934ISBN:141651693X
Description: Good. No Jacket. Ex-Library EXLIBRARY MARKINGS---Cover has creases, chipping, bumping, marks---light water damage to front edge of book, marks on edge of book. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780743251624ISBN:0743251628
Description: Good. Size: 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall; Good Plus Softcover w/light shelfwear, light shelf smudging. Light edge/spine wear/chips. Text free of notes, binding good. Spine rolled. Prior owner heated with woodstove. Book has faint aroma of woodsmoke, but has mostly aired out & has been cleaned. It is NOT like cigarette smoke, but campfire/woodstove aroma & faint. Confirmation on all Domestic Orders! read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780743251624ISBN:0743251628
Description: Good. Size: 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall; Good Plus Softcover w/light shelfwear, light shelf smudging. Light edge/spine wear/chips. Text free of notes, binding good. Spine rolled a bit. Confirmation on all Domestic Orders! read more
Description: Excellent condition, new paperback. Very slight wear along cover edges, gentle creases on a few pages. Clean and crisp. 0743251628. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780743251624ISBN:0743251628
Description: Wrightson, Bernie. Fine. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Very lightly used clean copy, softcover in excellent condition, no marks or writing, binding tight, spine perfect, covers bright and glossy. read more
So if you've kept up with the series, you know that our characters are now battle tested warriors, and a closer group than ever. Roland's past has been firmly laid out, as well as his warning to his friends: people who follow him normally don't make it out the other side. Yet, here they are, out of the Waste Lands and into the small town of Calla Bryn Sturgis. Our characters are well on their way to the Dark Tower itself, but they have a commitment to the world as gunslingers that help those in need, and trust me, the people of Calla Bryn Sturgis need it.
However, I would like to note before I get in depth about the happenings of this novel, that Stephen King really seems to almost try to hard on this one. Maybe there was a lot of pressure at the time to follow up something like Wizard and Glass, where there is no actual progress made, with something where progress is made in leaps and bounds, and to be quite honest, he almost fails in this regard. Yes, I enjoyed the tale, but compared to the other books in the series? I think this volume is the biggest letdown. The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three were setting the premise for the adventures found in The Waste Lands and Wizard and Glass, and this is the book that is supposed to take all the promise that King had built up and just keep the same structure and amaze.
So why does everything seem forced? Why does it seem like ever page I'm honestly saying, "C'mon lets get this thing going..." King had set up a seriously awesome setting with an astounding cast of characters to ride out the fantasy idea that is the Dark Tower, that is the villainous Crimson King. Instead, our characters are held up for a new introduction, and an obligation to fight crime.
Characters: Why Fix What Isn't Broke?
We have come adjusted to a formula that is comprised of Roland, Jake, Eddie, and Susannah. We have a deep understanding, especially of Roland's, of their past and where their priorities lie. This makes for a plot that does not involve much explanation, but instead logical responses and actions from characters already well defined, right? Well, instead, King decides to add one more to the group, in Callahan, yes, the same guy from Salem's Lot. He is a vampire killing priest who's previous actions are briefly reviewed in the book, as well as what happened after the conclusion of Salem's Lot. This, I might add, is quite interesting to me, but the problem is that it really doesn't seem relevant to the story at hand. Why did we need a vampire slaying priest? Of course, King alters the future to make for his experience very useful to the group, but that is besides the point.
So to stop beating the dead horse, Callahan joins the group, and he is actually a charismatic guy, with a history with the people of Calla. He enters the world the same way Jake does in The Gunslinger, by death in the real world.
Plot: Are We There Yet?
The answer is no. Yeah, we can see the Dark Tower in the distance, especially in the artwork of the books, but we are not there yet. And while the problem isn't actually being there or not, the problem is that as a reader, I honestly didn't care what happened in Calla in the end. If they were all to die, I wouldn't care a bit, in fact, if the characters were to leave them all behind and pursue the Dark Tower without a care in the world about what they were leaving behind, that would be just fine in my book.
Yet, King decides to have an entire book on helping the people of Calla Bryn Sturgis from mysterious wolves that come from the mountains and take one child of every twin, which happens most the time in this land. King does admit to quite a few influences in this story, but I would say this story is easiest related to The Village, or The 13th Warrior. King also gets extremely corny when the wolves use a weapon called "Sneeches" with the brand "Harry Potter Series." If King wants to get witty with his fantasy series, this is not the time for it. Maybe the dark tower lies just on the other side of Moridor too? Maybe Roland will ask for the help of Merlin and use Excalibur to slay the Crimson King? Please, spare me the humor and just give me a good fantasy tale.
In my opinion, if the main objective of your story is one that the reader would rather do without, then the novel is a failure in a series.
Recommended For:
If you've gotten this far into the series, I don't think that this story is bad enough to turn you away. You will still see the ultimate goal with all the promise that it has, and that should be enough to force you through the pages that make up this novel to get you to the last two of the series, where honestly, King does redeem himself. I've been raving in all of my reviews so far of this series about how it is one of my favorites, so obviously the one black sheep of the bunch couldn't have been that bad. I do enjoy King's recycling of old characters from other books, and I do think that it adds quite a bit of depth to Flagg, because Flagg is not always present, in fact he makes only minor appearances throughout, so his prior engagements in The Stand help flesh out a character that is mainly referred to in fear, without needing to waste time in explaining why we fear him.
Callahan isn't annoying in the future books, or in this one either, I was just personally torn at the idea of adding one to a group that in my opinion was already full. That, and the fact that the story of Calla wasn't exactly exploding with originality. This book stands at 709 pages, so King does finally get back to his wordy ways that he is known for, and this is the first book in the series that it is clearly evident.
If you are a fan of the series, please don't let this review turn you away, because the best is yet to come. This is just a speed bump on the way there."
"Potentially my favorite book of the series so far. There were many times when I wished the characters would just get on with their quest instead of spending an entire book on just one episode of their journey, but the novel turned out to be a slow-burner that was well worth the wait.
Things I didn't like: - **SPOILER ALERT - skip to next bullet point to avoid** Once the main characters figured out that the wolves were robots, the reader should have been told. We were in their point of view, for heaven's sake! Instead, King decides to indulge himself in the amateur writer's cheat of witholding known information from the reader just to create a fake sense of drama at "the reveal." It's a childish novice technique, and I thought King was above that. - The townspeople are all stock characters, completely indistiguishable from one another. There are the decent average folks, the mean richer folks, the slightly weird religious folks, and the kids. I was never able to tell them apart.
All in all, though, a very decent novel. It really left you wondering what would happen next in the story - especially after the ending. This was the "Empire Strikes Back" of the series."
"This book was awesome!! It tied a lot of the first four books together and it was so interesting and entertaining the way Stephen King mentioned Harry Potter and Star Wars. He even found a way to tie in the Dark Tower series to his other novel "Salem's Lot", which I thought was nothing short of genius. LOL at the way he incorporated himself to the story as well. This book kept the momentum of the series and had a great cliffhanger at the end that made me wish I could go check out the "Song of Suzehanna" asap. Unfortunatley I have to start classes in a couple of days, but as soon as i'm done, i'm getting back to this series. It's a true classic."
"Yet another excellent addition to the Dark Tower series. Before I address the book, I want to say that, as a man, I love Stephen King. In the afterward, when he says he will be donating the profits of the audio book to Frank Muller's family, and explains why...I know King is wealthy, and can certainly afford the gesture, but how many people in a position to help others actually DO it?
This may be my favorite installment yet. It kept the Western Fairytale feel of W&G which I loved so much. The folken are familiar, but not quite what our old Westerners were. I like that familiarity, because it makes it so much easier to just lose myself in their world. I can believe they really exist somewhere.
Only King could write himself into his own book without seeming egotistical. It's all a big circle with intertwining spokes. It makes sense that everything that's come before has bearing on the quest. EVERYTHING is important. EVERYTHING is relevant. He's brilliant, because as I read, I want to go back and read all that's come before. I want to be certain I haven't missed any references or resemblances that will have bearing on what's to come. I don't think a reader starting out with the DT series as their first King has a snowball's chance in hell of resisting the temptation of reading his other work. He knows how to grab a reader. Grab, and hold on tight!"
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