Customer Reviews

Dark Tower 4-book Boxed Set

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

With two recent Dark Tower releases and a forthcoming grand finale, fans of Stephen King's dark fantasy series may want to brush up on the first four volumes of the series. "The Gunslinger," "the Drawing of the Three," "The Waste Lands" and "Wizard's Glass" all have their individual flaws, but the overall effect is excellent.

"The Gunslinger" introduces us to Roland Deschain of Gilead, the last gunslinger of a long-dead land. The hardened cowboy/knight wanders through a wasted world, tracking a "man in black" who can help him find (cue ominous music) the Dark Tower. Along the way he finds Jake, a young boy who was killed in a car accident in our world. But in the name of his quest, Roland may be called on to sacrifice what he loves...

"The Drawing of the Three" kicks off mere hours after "Gunslinger" ends. Roland is sick, and being pursued by carnivorous "lobstrosities." But then he ends up transporting his mind into our world -- specifically, into the minds of junkie smuggler Eddie Dean, and legless civil rights activist Odetta Holmes (and her evil alter ego, Detta). Roland "draws" these two into his own world, but Eddie's withdrawal and Detta's malevolence might kill his quest before it even starts.

"The Waste Lands" begins with Roland tutoring Susannah (formerly Odetta/Detta) and Eddie in how to be gunslingers. But while the newlyweds are rapidly getting the hang of it, Roland is not doing well. Because of a paradox he created when he saved the boy Jake, his mind is starting to deteriorate. In Manhattan, Jake is suffering from the same thing. To save them both from madness, the gang draws Jake away from our world. But no sooner has he joined them than they come to a ruined city, with an insane mono train and a sinister figure following them...

"Wizard's Glass" opens with the gang (or ka-tet) riddling desperately against an insane train, which is on a suicide run. Eddie barely manages to defeat it with a bunch of stupid jokes, and the ka-tet continues their journey. Along the way, Roland tells them the story of his first love Susan Delgado, a beautiful girl who was promised to a dirty old man, and how he lost her when he was only fourteen. And the story is linked to what is ahead -- a person from Roland's past awaits them, along with the hard-won Wizard's Glass that destroyed Roland's family.

Stephen King is best known for being a horror writer, covering everything from evil cars to telekinetic high-schoolers. But "The Dark Tower" is a gritty fantasy with a few horror elements in it, and though it has some grotesque images, it's more fantastical than icky. Not to mention that it has homages sprinkled through it to "Lord of the Rings," the "Childe Roland" story, "The Wizard of Oz," and even King's own books.

King's writing is full of slam-bang action, even if it doesn't excel in the technical sense. And the gunslinger is an excellent lead character, a mixture of rock-hard determination and affection for his friends. Eddie comes across as rather annoying at times, but he's evidently supposed to; on the other hand, Susannah is remarkably complex with her double personality. And Jake serves as a surrogate son for Roland, while displaying his own brand of eleven-year-old toughness.

As the release date for "The Dark Tower" approaches, fans may want to brush up on this epic series, and newbies may want to find out more about it. Highly recommended.

I only recently decided to enter the world of Stephen King's Dark Tower. This boxed set provided me with an excellent chance to do so.

The Dark Tower series is King's ultimate opus. It's a saga that entertains and constantly evolves with each book. In my opinion the series is a must read.

The set itself is a great introduction to the Dark Tower world. The first book is newly revised and exapanded. All these revisions make sense in the larger context of the series. All four of these books contain new introductions by Stephen King himself. Here he does a great job on introducing us to this wonderfully imaginative saga.

At a very affordable price, this box set is a must have. Each book has its own unique voice, and these four set up a strong foundation for the seven part saga. The overall presentation of the books is done well. A great pruchase for those looking to delve into the Dark Tower universe.

Roland is the last living member of a knightly order known as gunslingers. The world he lives in is quite different from our own, yet it bears striking similarities to it. Politically organized along the lines of a feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West, as well as bearing magical powers and the relics of a highly advanced, but long vanished, society. Roland's quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to either be, or be located at, the nexus of all universes. Roland's world is said to have "moved on," and indeed it appears to be coming apart at the seams -- mighty nations are being torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish from the face of the earth without a trace, time does not flow in an orderly fashion; even the sun sometimes rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland's motives, goals, and even his age are unclear, though later installments shed light on these mysteries.

This series was mostly inspired by the epic poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning, the full text of which was included in an appendix to the final volume. In the preface to the revised 2003 edition of The Gunslinger, King also identifies The Lord of the Rings, the Arthurian Legend, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as inspirations. He identifies Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" character as one of the major inspirations for Roland. King's style of location names in the series, such as Mid-World, and his development of a unique language abstract to our own, are also influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien's work.

The Dark Tower is often described in the novels as a real structure, and also as a metaphor. Part of Roland's fictional quest lies in discovering the true nature of the Tower. The series incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy fiction, science fantasy, horror, and western elements. King has described the series as his magnum opus; beside the seven novels that comprise the series proper, many of his other books are related to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into play as the series progresses.

This series is the most amazing that stephen king has ever done. Its finally finished. Twenty years later. This box set is good for those that have read the series before but ten years ago and need a refresher for the final book. Each book has added content from the author that helps tie all the books together. The writing is intense and haunting, making you think of it and appreciate the characters. I have come to adore the characters, each of them represent a different part of life and experience. I love jake and oy the best. "est!"

the series starts off a little slow, the first book is rather confusing but from the last chapter onwards into the next books its addictive. great reads

I've been a fan of King since I was thirteen and hiding underneath the covers after reading Pet Cemetary. I'd read everything he's every written except Tower so.... I'm a late comer to The Dark Tower series. I would see them on the book stands and think....hummm not my thing. My sister got me the box set for Christmas of 06 and I thought well ok....I'll pick one up on a really boring day and just lob through it.

It was a fantastic surprise. I found hard to believe it was King at times writing this. Not that he is not a mastermind at fiction, but the depths of the characters and the story is just amazing. I found myself enthrawled to see where the story of Roland and his Ka-tet would unfold.

I am currently on book six and just can't wait to get to the last one. For anyone who is a King fan but doubting whether or not a 'fantasy' tale is one worth delving into.... I say please don't deprive yourself of this series a moment longer. I am a lifelong fan of the Tower without even reading the last installment :)

I read the hardcover version of the Gunslinger from the library, it got me into the story and has something all the books in this set don't, full color pictures and ilistrations. After reading the first book I decided to buy the others the set is cheap price wise and contains the same story but without the pictures. It comes down to if the margin of pictures to price matters to you, I personally would rather have the nice pictures.

I am rapt and trapped by the mind-bending landscapes, timescapes and mindscapes of The Dark Tower - and loving it! There are many twists and turns in the story that are hard to keep in mind for me on this first reading - but at the rate I am turning pages the re-reading may start as soon as I turn the last page of book seven.

I have just completed Stephen King's The Dark Tower. This is not a review for The Dark Tower Boxed Set alone. It is for all seven volumes of The Dark Tower series, which should be read as one story.

The Dark Tower, SK's magnum opus, is based on two fictional concepts: 1) Robert Browning's long poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" (provided in full in the Appendix of the seventh volume, THE DARK TOWER) and 2) Sergio Leone's series of movies starring Clint Eastwood as a gunslinging drifter.

Is The Dark Tower worth reading? If you appreciate epic fantasy, yes. If you can tolerate occasional gaffs in writing style and convention, yes. If you despise horror, the supernatural, adventure, and action, and if you think such literature must be trashy pulp, no.

THE GUNSLINGER introduces you to Browning and Leone's dual concept and to Jake. THE DRAWING OF THE THREE sets the mode: that of contemporary fantasy with portals to parallel worlds. And it introduces Roland's partners. THE WASTE LANDS is a good adventure in a parallel world. WIZARD AND GLASS for the most part digresses into Roland's past, but it is a superb story of romantic adventure. WOLVES OF CALLA stops along the way to the Dark Tower as Roland and his partners rescue villagers and display their gunslinging. SONG OF SUSANNAH is a story of unusual pregnancy, blending action and horror in a setting of modern America. THE DARK TOWER brings the long quest to a conclusion, with tragedy but also with ample good cheer. (Do read THE DARK TOWER'S Coda.)

Though SK is one of contemporary humanity's more prolific, famous, and wealthy writers, do not confuse ability to sell with ability to write. I quail from the idea of every aspiring author trying to emulate him. For example he has a certain habit with concrete imagery. Stylists encourage concrete imagery, but SK gets carried away, at times making his prose feel phony and cheap. Mostly apparent in his descriptions of sex and violence, this habit pops up in other regards, as when he describes disease and excretion. In Writing Tools, Roy Peter Clark says, "Know when to back off and when to show off." With universally familiar phenomena like sex and excretion, we do not need detailed concrete images. Those are times to back off.

Also, SK likes to show off his skill with offbeat jargon in dialog and character viewpoints. But this makes too many of his characters appear alike, and unconvincing.

And SK can be a bit verbose. Especially in the later volumes of this series, he seems to follow Strunk & White's admonition "Delete unnecessary words" less than he follows the apocrypha "The thicker the book, the more impressive it is."

Though I consider SK an occasional, worthy digression, I prefer standard prose, polished by authors (and editors) who pay close attention to Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. I award The Dark Tower five stars because I do not consider flawless prose a requirement and because The Dark Tower is a good story.

Be it ever so, and I thankya.

i sent tis book set to my son in iraq...just great that amazon ships directly to our guys in iraq via the AE or AP...thanks amazon