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52 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
OUTSTANDING!!! King's Best Novel!!, December 28, 2004
"Wizard and Glass," Volume IV of Stephen King's fantasy/western "Dark Tower" series is even better than the three books which preceded it. I didn't think it would be possible to top "The Wastelands," Book III, but King has accomplished the task with great elan. The author's tremendous talents and consistency as a writer are evident here. I can only advise the reader not to begin this novel during a busy period in your life, as it will cause you to miss all sorts of deadlines. I really found it difficult to put this page-turner down.
The novel opens with a wrap-up of the cliffhanger which began in Book Three, where bizarre Blaine, the psychotic, riddle-loving monorail tries to take the stoic Gunslinger and his companions on a suicide trip to a terminal destination. Given the dark humor, it's a really fun ride. The band of four...and a half, the Gunslinger, Eddie, Susannah, Jake and their talking dog-like pet, Oy the Bumbler, disengage from the wreckage of Blaine, and continue along the path of the Beam toward the Dark Tower. They finally take a rest, around a campfire, while Roland narrates the details of his quest, the whys and wherefores behind his decision to take this particular course. He tells the tragic tale of his lost love, Susan, and his beloved friends and companions Cuthbert and Alain, who all formed a magnificent Ka-tet, (King's word for a group of people drawn together by fate). These characters have been brought up in prior novels and all played a formidable role in Roland's past life...one which will haunt him to the ends of the changing world. "Wizard and Glass" is more a traditional fantasy novel than the other, more darkly fantastic books in the series. The forces of magic aren't often on the side of Roland and his friends, so they must rely on their wits or their weapons instead.
Roland's father, the best Gunslinger who ever lived, sent him away from the Inner Baronies and looming danger, with his closest friends Cuthbert and Alain. All were disguised and took aliases. They arrived at their destination, the small seaside town of Hambry, in Mejis, on the outskirts of Mid-World, ostensibly to count the taxable goods for the Affiliation. The trio discovered that there was trouble brewing here also, worse than that in Gilead. They were in much more danger in the Barony of Mejis than they would have been staying at home. The town's officials had secretly defected to the side of John Farson, "The Good Man," whose armed revolution was gradually destroying the world. Farson's group planned to use oil wells and refineries, built during the long-ago Age of the Old Ones, to create gasoline to power weapons of war. These relics of the past, and other resources, lay right outside Hambry. Cut off from communications and support, Roland, Cuthbert and Alain were up against powerful adversaries, men of evil and ill will, as they attempted to foil the plot.
On their first night in Hambry, Roland met beautiful Susan Delgado, just sixteen, a year or so older than he. The two fall deeply in love. Unfortunately she had been coerced into giving her promise to the lecherous, aging Mayor to be his future lover, (and future mother of his child - he hoped). His wife had been unable to bear him children after 40 years of marriage. Susan was unable to break the contract without staining her family's honor. The young lovers entered into an illicit affair - one which endangered the lives of them all.
It is difficult to summarize the richly detailed and intricate plot of "Wizard and Glass" and do it justice. The characters, major and minor, are outstanding - they just come to life on the page. There's the ancient witch who becomes addicted to Farson's pink crystal ball, and whose hatred for Susan will prove to be disastrous for the Ka-tet; Jonas the failed gunslinger, banished to the West long ago, and his two cronies - all in Mejis to do Farson's work; Cordelia, Susan's deranged aunt who is eaten up by jealousy, guilt and her own pettiness; Sheemie, who is devoted to Cuthbert for saving his life, and proves to be loyal and courageous - an honorary member of the Ka-tet. And, of course there's young Roland, the newly made Gunslinger, who longs to lead his friends with honor and be worthy of his father's name; Alain, serious, noble and gifted with the Sight; Cuthbert the cutup, who is so like Eddie; Susan, a strong young woman, with her dream of first love finally realized, and so much to lose. King demonstrates a huge talent for creating a wide variety of characters and weaving them into a credible community. His narrative is rich in vivid detail and the pace is fast-going enough that I had a problem deciding where to pause. Ultimately, the reader is given an understanding of why Roland is the man he is. And this is a good place to acquire it. Roland, while never unsympathetic, has always seemed a bit too stoic - a hard, ruthless, unsentimental man who will kill for his cause.
I think this is Stephen King's best book ever, and certainly one of the best novels I have read in a long time. One of the high points, for me, is the way the author brings in characters and themes from his other books, pointing out to the reader that the figures of evil in all his work are the same throughout - no matter what their names. Whatever the storyline, the purpose of total destruction remains consistent. It may have taken the author a long time to get this book out, but it is sure worth it. "The Dark Tower" is really Stephen King at his best and most ambitious. He examines here, in this extraordinary epic, the importance of mythology, and of the quest, in man's life! Very highly recommended!
JANA
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stephen King: Master Storyteller, October 27, 1998
By A Customer
Wizard and Glass is mainline heroin for Dark Tower junkies. Be warned: do not undertake this novel during finals week or if you have housecleaning to do. By the time I was finished, my apartment resembled that of Tommy from "Trainspotting". If you happen to be a serious reader, the length of this novel is a boon. King writes with such fluidity, his characters' dialogue is so real, that the length is a necessity. If you're hungry, you eat a big plate of lasagne; you don't pick a French restaurant where they serve you a thin slice of pate garnished with a little radish rosette. King may not agree with the critics, but he's damn satisfying, and the Dark Tower series is his piece de resistance. Roland lives how we'd all like to live-- doing the right thing, no matter how difficult. He's a hero, but he's accessible. He's so good, he doesn't have to swagger. What's so real about him is that he doesn't have a grand plan; he lives each day as it comes and doesn't worry about ka. Wizard and Glass is not just a great book-- it stands as a fortress against the cynicism and apathy that pervades so much of modern literature. King has the gall to say that some things really matter, and for that his critics will crucify him.
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It Just Gets Better and Better, December 22, 2000
Wizard and Glass is not only the best book in the Dark Tower series, it may well be the best Stephen King book I've ever read. It is grand, operatic, vivid, a story worthy of Tolkien, throbbing with atmosphere, and aching with the shattered soul and broken heart of the story's principal character, Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger. This tale of first love, and that love's tragic loss, forms the centerpiece of the novel, which begins where The Waste Lands left off, with Roland and co. trapped on Blaine (the Pain), engaged in a riddling contest (shades of Bilbo and Gollum!) for their very lives. They defeat Blaine (how I won't say, but it's a moment that beats hell out of every time Captain Kirk ever overloaded a mad computer), and soon discover they've somehow jumped dimensions (another side effect of the Tower's failing), and have wound up in the world . of The Stand -- a moment so chilling I got goosepimples. Really! Of course, given that rambunctious Randy Flagg has now become the villain of this piece, this bit of dimension switching should hardly come as a surprise -- but it's nevertheless fascinating. Roland and co. travel on in this deserted world, finding evidence of both Mother Abigail and the Dark Man (as well as the Crimson King from Insomnia), and soon encounter a "thinny" -- a warp between dimensions that is like a mosquito with a thousand-watt amplifier buzzing in one's ear. This triggers in Roland a flashback -- and most of the next 550 pages are spent in the days of Roland's youth, just after he defeated Cort. He is sent by his father -- along with companions Cuthbert and Alain -- to the sleepy sea community of Mejis. Here they discover the conspiracies of John Farson (aka the Good Man, aka Marten Broadcloak, aka Richard Fannin, aka Randall Flagg) are hard at work, involving the theft of oil from a still (though barley) working refinery, which Farson intends to refine for use as gasoline, and, possibly, napalm. While evidence of this is slowly being uncovered, Roland meets Susan, the horse-drover's daughter alluded to in the first Dark Tower book, who is betrothed to the greedy mayor, Thorin (also the name of the greedy Dwarf in The Hobbit!). There begins between Susan and Roland a forbidden love. Much more happens, involving Farson's lackies, Susan's half-crazed aunt, and Rhea, the witch of the Coos, who holds in her hand an all-seeing crystal ball which is consuming her from the inside out...but it is the love between Susan and Roland which is the soul of this book. Every moment of it is sweetly, adoringly, even frighteningly realistic -- such as the moment when Roland kisses her with such force, her mouth bleeds, or Susan's mingled fear and excitement, even arousal, at being in such a precarious situation, or the jealousy and impatience of Cuthbert and Alain, who have Farson more on their minds (they think) than Roland does. I could go on -- about the marvelous depiction of Mejis, and its quaint (though dangerous) denizens, the evil Coffin Killers (I always picture Jason Robards as their leader for some reason), or the lyrical language King uses during this narrative -- a lyricism that is present, it seems, only in this series and early novels such as Salem's Lot and The Stand, although Rose Madder has a lot of it, too. I could speak of the richly-depicted characters, or the numerous Tolkien parallels -- I've mentioned two, and here's another: the Wizard's Grapefruit, which is in appearance and its effect on Rhea eerily like the Palantirs in the Rings saga. I could go on and on (if the good people at Amazon.com would allow me) -- but in the end, I'll mention this one thing, and leave it at that: Wizard and Glass is a work of boundless heart and imagination, chilling and warm all at once, a wholly-successful melding of the Wild West, the journey of the Ringbearer, and Arthurian myth that King hinted at in the previous three novels. There is not a moment when there is not something of interest going on, when you are not amused or unsettled or in love or in fear; King is a writer of immeasurable talent, and this novel proves it. As to the Wizard of Oz riff that provides much of the framing story -- it is, to quote King's description of the Marsten house in Salem's Lot, "a literary curlicue, there to provide mood...and not much else". Of course it also sets the stage for what is to come in the next three books -- the true quest for the Dark Tower (where Sauron lived in Tolkien's story!) which promises to be every bit as enthralling and entertaining as what has come before. Dorothy was on a quest, too; she wanted nothing more than to go home, much as each of our characters does (except possibly young Jake), the difference being that not only do our heroes know they can never go home again (as Thomas Wolfe would no doubt tell them), there is not even a guarantee they will reach their destination alive. Using the Oz parallel is simply King's way of reminding us (and possibly himself) that all roads have endings, and that all quests much sooner or later reach their fruition. If Wizard and Glass is any indication, I can't wait for what is at the end of Roland's long, hard-traveled road.
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