Dark Tower series (BIG spoilers)

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I just finished it last night and I have to talk about it. As in, I think I need to talk to a THERAPIST about it. AGH! That ending messed with me worse than the ending to "I am the Cheese." ((All hail Robert Cormier, king of the young adult mindf---.)) Now I'll feel guilty if I reread the series again, like I'm perpetuating that ending. AAGHHHH!! !! !! ((And I finished it right before going to sleep, too. It's a wonder I didn't have nightmares- I had fever dreams after reading I am the Cheese, but I was in fourth grade.))

Anyway, I kind of feel like King's self-insertion was kind of cringeworthy, and he didn't justify it as well as I'd hoped he would.

I also felt the ending for Susannah was kind of inadequate; I kind of think she died and went to some form of heaven, not actually wound up in an alternate reality. When you think about it, that ending is more satisfying, because then she would be with the actual souls of Jake and Eddie, as opposed to copies of them while some form of them was still dead and not with her. However King may have meant to have them kind of be twinners or something.

What did everyone else think? I'm still a huge King fan, and am glad I read the series, but I almost wish I'd stopped where he said "stop if you want a happy ending." ((Like anyone would! ))

Finally, someone who's slogged through the whole thing! It was killing me to not have anyone to discuss the series with.

OK, getting down to brass tacks. The ending sucked, full stop. King has always said that he doesn't create a story, he allows the story to "flow through" him. He only puts down what the story tells him to. That's a great way to write if you know how to keep it in check, and he does. But in this case, the story failed him. The fight at Blue Heaven was masterful, as most of his action scenes are, but the second half of the book is miserable and even -- dare I say it -- cliché?

Eddie's death was unexpected, emotional, and perfectly executed, as it should be. But that seemed to throw King into a bloodthirsty rampage resulting in every other main character's death or exile. Not only that, he tells us who's going to bite it, ruining any chance of surprise and making the reader not want to go any further. Who wants to read through 100 pages of Oy trudging along with Roland, with both of them knowing he will die? It's not even heartwrenching, only depressing. Characters are killed off not because the story demands it but because of some new rule that states only Roland can reach the Tower. What?

What's with building anticipation to the fight between Roland and Mordred for an entire book, only to have him killed off in two paragraphs? Why throw Roland back on the desert at the end of the book instead of, you know, ending it? To stick some English 101 circularity into it? Because he forgot his f*****g horn? Give me a break.

I thought King mentioning himself in at the end of Wolves of the Calla was clever and added a nice surreal touch, but I got increasingly worried the more he involved himself in the later books. By the time Roland, Eddie, and King are talking in King's kitchen, I was trying hard not to simply close the book. Bloated sense of self-importance or not, fiction is meant to immerse the reader in a story, and a move like that draws the reader out.

Wow, this is getting long and angry. There's more to cover, so maybe I'll post more later.

I read only book 4 - "wizard and glass". Should buy the rest? I may do tommorow! (I need something to take my mind off HP)

I finished the series about two months ago, and I have to admit the first three books were fantastic. Book four was kinda lame, when I read it back in 1997, but I from there on I pretty much figured the general direction that the series was headed.

It was an interesting read, but I felt that he could have done a better job of it overall. When I finished the book, I thought that the ending was a bit of a letdown, however, in retrospect, I don't think it could have ended any other way.

Also, I thought that the epilogue made up for the ending.

I was disappointed by the ending at first. i felt kind of cheated. but when i thought about it some more, i decided that i actually like it. it makes sense, and it is still a somewhat positive ending, even if it wasn't the 'happy ending' i was expecting. i would recommend these books to anyone who likes stephen king and/or large epic stories. i was in another world for every hour and day and month that I was reading them. also, i think roland is an aspie. i liked the fact that stephen king put himself into the story, but i agree that there was a lot of build up to the battle w/mordred, and it turned out kind of lame.