
Publishing Information: 1991 (first publishing) 2003 (current edition)
Publisher: Signet, Mass-Market Paperback, 590 pgs
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-21086-9
Series: The Dark Tower, Book #3 (of 7)
Reviewer: Andy
Copy: Out of Pocket
Synopsis: (from inside cover): Roland, the last gunslinger, moves ever closer to the dark tower of his dreams and nightmares as he travels through city and country in Mid-World - a macabre world that is a twisted image of our own. With him are those he has drawn to this world: street smart Eddie and courageous wheelchair-bound Susannah. Ahead of him are mind-bending revelations about who and what is driving him. Against him is arrayed a swelling legion of foes-- both more and less than human.
There is something about The Dark Tower series that seems very piecemeal. Considering that there were long stretches between each book. this isn't surprising. The first installment, written by a young King still finding his inspiration in a fog of drugs and alcohol, was very vague and uncertain, and it was clear that King was still wrestling with an amorphous idea still nascent in his imagination. Despite its lack of shape. the mysteriousness of the book led to some genuinely eerie moments such as Roland's visit to Tull and his meeting with the barmaid Alice. King was adding a healthy dose of horror to his dark fantasy, and the result was an ominously disturbing novel. But, it was certainly unclear where exactly King was taking us in Roland's journey to the shadowy place known only as the Dark Tower.
In the second book, King's story began to take shape. Roland met some unlikely companions, and a link was established between our world and mysterious Mid-World, the home of the gunslingers. While giving his story some direction and being less obscure, King was able to maintain a bit of the dark tone of the first book, as the characters wrestled with addiction, mental illness, and the loss of bodily extremities. King demonstrated that he not only had a talent for creating a dark and disturbing world, but he could also construct a plot in that world, and this was indeed a recipe for success.King had admitted in the meantime that he didn't exactly know where this story was going as he was writing it, and he must follow his characters to see where they would lead him. In the early 90's, King entered Mid-World once again for the third installment of this series. The eerie style that characterized the first two books has been taken down a few notches. Instead of weed-chewing drug users and cannibalistic mutants, where have been introduced to a giant cyborg bear and a talking train. It felt as if King was trying to make his story less of a horror story and more of a fantasy adventure. The book suffers somewhat for it. At other times, I question King's understanding of human psychology and human relationships. One female character, after battling a mental illness where she continually put herself in dangerous sexual situations, agrees to regress to her old behavior. The result is a rape scene that demonstrates a very shallow understanding of the seriousness of rape. Other times, King's characters seem to develop their relationships and conduct themselves in unintuitive ways, leading to a generally unnatural feel. Its times like this where I find it difficult to suspend my disbelief.
Still, there is plenty to like here. The recipe of Western, high-fantasy, and post-apocalypse is somewhat unique and King balances the flavors nicely. King definitely has a handle on the Western, as fans of the genre will recognize many familiar conventions here. King is able to write plenty of quality action/adventure scenes, leading to a very Hollywood-ready feel. Despite King's apologies in the afterword for what might be interpreted as a cliffhanger ending, I found it to be a natural stopping point. But though the book wasn't a complete disappointment, it certainly did not live up to the standard set by its predecessor.
Plot……….8.5/10
Characters………6.5/10
Style……….6/10
Overall……….7/10
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