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Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4) Review

The fourth book in King's Dark Tower series is a slight departure from his previous entries. It picks up where the third novel left off but soon uses a flashback to whisk the reader away to Roland's past where the majority of the book takes place. Part love story, part action-adventure, the flashback is so interesting and involving that you forget about the current story for awhile.

At the start of the book, our intrepid ka-tet composed of Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy must survive their trip on the insane train Blaine. Using a slight twist on the riddling begun in the previous book, they manage to make it to Topeka in one piece and find a variation on Kansas which is both familiar and foreign to them at the same time. Their trip has taken them away from the path of the Beam however, and they must find their way back via a highway. Nearby is a thinny, a disruption in reality that makes a noise which gets into your head.

Along the way, the group stops and Roland tells a long tale from his past which gives the others insight into how he began his quest for the Dark Tower. The reader also gets a lot of insight into Roland's character from this flashback. Roland, with his best friends Alaine and Cuthbert, his original ka-tet, are sent away from Gilead after Roland earns his guns in order to keep them away from danger. A war with the "Good Man" Farson is seemingly about to spread to the region, but the distant small town of Hambry is thought to be safe. Soon after arrival, Roland meets Susan, a young woman promised to the town's mayor as his consort. Roland and Susan quickly fall in love. Although they try to fight it, fate - ka in this world - brings them together and they do their best to keep their relationship secret. Susan becomes an important part of Roland's ka-tet and aids them in their plans.

Meanwhile, the three boys discover there's some sort of plot related to Farson going on in the town. Not long after arriving they make enemies of a trio who call themselves the Big Coffin Hunters and are friends of the mayor. They are lead by Eldred Jonas who failed his gunslinger test years ago in Gilead. The two opposing ka-tets try to outmaneuver each other, hoping the other will expose their real plans. Roland and his ka-tet find supplies which are part of Farson's plan; however, the most crucial piece is safely hidden away. The Coffin Hunters have temporarily given a local witch named Rhea a crystal ball to keep safe. This ball can show people terrible things, which often have terrible consequences both intended and unintended. In the end, there must be a showdown between Roland's ka-tet and Jonas's ka-tet.

Finally, the story returns to the present day where Roland, Eddie, and the others make their way to an emerald glass building. It becomes clear the group is off to see the Wizard and before long they aren't in Kansas anymore. This portion is much shorter compared to the flashback.

Overall, the book is very engaging, especially the flashback. You learn a lot about what made Roland the way he is today and you can sympathize with him more. Returning to the present day is a bit jarring and this portion pales in comparison to Roland's tale. Despite that, I'm looking forward to reading the next book and seeing where Roland and friends go from here.

Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4) Overview

Stephen King invites listeners back into the world of Roland the Gunslinger in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in his epic "Dark Tower" series. Roland and his companions escape from one world and slip into the next, where Roland tells his story, one that details his discovery of something even more elusive than the Dark Tower--love. Simultaneous trade paper release from Plume. 12 cassettes. The first three volumes of this series have been repackaged and are listed below this annotation.

Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4) Specifications

Frank Muller, the recognized virtuoso of audiobook narration (The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption), takes on Stephen King's Goliath tale of sorcerers, time travelers, and sci-fi love. Totaling more than 27 hours and spanning 18 cassettes, Wizard and Glass requires the listener to love Muller's Hannibal Lecter-like voice--either that or suffer in audio hell for the equivalent of three full working days. While some might find his breathy staccatos irritating at best, others will find his voice the perfect accompaniment to King's creepy characters and nightmarish plots. (Running time: 27 hours, 18 cassettes)

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Customer Reviews

Good, but a little too lengthy for the tail it contains - Brandon Boller -
While I did enjoy this novel, it has been my least favorite in the Dark Tower series thus far (I have just finished book 5). At the beginning of the story, Roland and his band are doing riddle battle with Blaine the mono, and find themselves in a alt-Topeka. This part of the story, as well as the ending, were great. The middle of the novel, however, was a little less compelling to me. I thought that when we finally got Roland's back-story, I would be pleased beyond belief to learn what made him who he is and what compels him to hunt for the tower. Instead, I got a love story that, while informing Roland's personality, doesn't do much else for me. It is by all means greatly written, and there were some great characters and situations, but I felt that this story could have easily been chopped in half and it would have been better for it. It was just too long and at many points uninteresting. The mystery surrounding oil tankers and Conoco signs in a seemingly technology devoid Mexican/western village loses it's luster after a while. The end, after Roland's tragic love story has been told, is so wacky and great that I found myself wondering why there wasn't more of this and less of the back-story. It was an enjoyable story, if not a little too lengthy and slow at points. It helped flesh out who Roland is, and I guess that was the point.

Excellent - Barbara J. Gross - Texas
Received the book in just a few days in good condition. Greatly appreciate such great service!

Wizards and Glass Book - John Buchanan - Baltimore, Maryland USA
I was very pleased with the item I had purchased. It was just as advertised and shiping was super quick. I collect Stephen King novels in hardback and always read the paperback version and this was perfect for that.

5 stars to this vendor. I would use them again.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 31, 2010 02:38:05

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Tuesday, August 31, 2010