The Dark Tower by Stephen King - It's Beautifully Weird!
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- I want to help you find your next favourite book.
This is an introduction to The Dark Tower, one of the greatest dark-fantasy series out there. It's spoiler-free and unbiased to help you decide if this is the right series for you to read.
We discussed the unique worldbuilding of the Stephen King Universe, the amazing characters of the Ka-tet, and all the very, very weird stuff that goes on in Mid-World.
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As a kid, I remember my father on Friday and Saturday evenings sitting on the patio with his smokes and beer reading King. I'd always ask what the books were about, and he'd say I wouldn't understand. He got me The eyes of the dragon when I was 13 and I treasured it. A few years later I started the Dark Tower and I liked it, but it didn't grab me like some other stories. I stopped at Wolves of the Calla. My father would always ask if I decided to try it again and I finally did a few years later. I appreciated it so much more on the re-read. Wizard and Glass has turned into my favorite book I've ever read. When my father got sick, he asked if I could bring him the series so he could pass the days in the hospital. He didn't have time to finish it, but he managed to get to Wizard and Glass. I know he appreciated losing himself in the story for a last time! Great video ❤
Wizard and Glass…you say true, I say thankya! The love story of Roland and Susan is one of my favorites in all of contemporary literature! After my second time through the series, W&G became my favorite as well!
God bless you, and God bless your father! He will meet you in the clearing at the end of the path one day! Long days and pleasant nights, sai!
you remember his face very well. I’m glad he got to go to the clearing at the end of the path with the stories.
Wizard is my favorite book. Im on a second pass doing wolves right now. Appreciating it much more this go around. It's a wonderful story to get lost in.
I've read a lot of King but none of The Dark Tower. The funny thing is, when you talk about the series flaws and its finer points, it's crazy ideas and its bizarre fumbles, you could be talking about any and all King works. Dude writes a lot and doesn't stop to think. It's why we love him, probably.
That family guy episode was spot on…
Whatcha got for me Stephen?
Uh…a scary story about…uhh….this possessed lamp!! OOOOOHHHH!!
…..really?
OOOOOHHHHHH!!!!
Alright, when can I expect it?
The DarkTower is the BusTerminal and all the stops are his other books. Lol
I remember telling my mother that the third book ended on an annoying cliffhanger where the protagonists enter a depressed train and have to win a riddle battle for it not to crush them on its suicide attempt, she was so weirded out.
The plates did not decapitate the wolves, they destroyed the antennas on their heads under the hoods. The same antennas that they shot off of the robots at the portal of the bear. The “thinking caps”.
I recommend reading The Stand before starting the Dark Tower. I did that by happenstance but it made me love the series more with all the connections and easter eggs I found. Another is Insomnia. I read that after the series, then realized how strongly connected it was to Dark Tower. If I were to read the series again I’ll read insomnia after book 5 or 6.
The Stand was really great but also at the same time it has like 1/4 of the book, that I just couldn't read (too religious for me).
@@MajklAstarin Yes I agree about the religion. God was almost like an active character and the ending was over the top dumb lol. So looking back it left a bad aftertaste but I still recommend it.
@@dkropelnicki9819 IMO the first half of the book was one of the best post-apocalyptic worlds I've read. So scary.
He mentions the tower in a lot of his other works
The Talisman is also another connected novel that's worth reading
You’ve genuinely became my favourite book reviewer.
Excellent overview of the Dark Tower series! Not only did King push the boundaries in every direction, but he brought the series to fruition! As divisive as that ending is, there’s something to be said about the fact he finished this bizzare, genre-defying, multiple-world story. Wizard and Glass is my personal favorite, and I will never watch those movies you mentioned. 😂
Yea, the movie was literally just wolves of the calla with absolutely no introduction. Watch it to support Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, not anything else lol
Roland's journey continues with every Readers Read through. Lol
The movie was atrocious. doesn’t deserve to be called the dark tower. Roland should be white. He just needs to be in this particular story. I love it in the second book when detta walker is constantly accusing roland of being a racist. lol. And roland just calmly puts up with her lol.
Roland says something along the lines, that battle is mostly waiting, followed by voilence that is quickly over. That's the way it's written so seems real to me.
Just finished the series in audiobook form. I love how it warns you before telling the ending.
I think it's King's out of left field creativity that makes it worth reading. That and his ability to tell a compelling story. Having finished the series a couple of months ago, it definitely left with me with some complaints, but the journey itself made me understand why King continues to be so endearing to the public.
Oi! Book Guy! What about the greatest member of the Ka-Tet…Oy! Disgraceful omission, I can see that you’re a cat-man. I love the Dark Tower and I loved the ending. Very uneven series but has some of the greatest fantasy fiction moments I’ve ever read. Love your content, keep it up 😁👍
This video did much better job at convincing me to read this series than any other of the thousands of 'why you should read _Dark Tower'_ videos I have seen. I'll put that series on the list.
(Btw, same thing happened with Malazan. I guess I must watch the _First Law_ video too, because I quit that series a couple of years ago after the first book.)
I completely agree that technically The Dark Tower isn’t perfect but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s my favorite series of all time. I just can’t help it.
I'm an older goat and read the Gunslinger in the mid-80s and have read everything, including the fantastic Robin Further and Jae Lee prequel comics, EXCEPT the final book.
I didn't realize that the Gunslinger had been revised, so thanks for that and thanks for rekindling my resolve to finish the work!
I read the first 2 books back in the '80s. It was wonderfully weird at the time. Then a few months ago, I saw there were so many more. Thanks for making some sense of the series. It's on my TBR.
Wow that must have been amazing to find out the Story finished. I read King talking about receiving so many letters from people wanting to know the end because they weren't long for this world. But he didn't know at the time.
Found your channel yesterday and I'm enjoying all your videos! Just had to chime in and say that the ending of this series, for me, was one of THE best I've ever read, hands down. I remember being blown away at the time and just thinking wow, *chef's kiss* perfect.
I am so glad you reviewed it! I have been thinking about reading it, but then I saw the size and the fact that no one talked about it and decided to read the first law series instead… for now
Hey, the first law is good too! Both are dark and twisted. 😉
Yeah Dark Tower does not get enough credit.
Loved your review of the Dark Tower books. I started reading the entire series plus other King books with close connections to the Dark Tower universe. Most of these extra books I’m reading for the second time. It’s been fascinating so far. There are thousands of pages to go yet I’m very excited and enthusiastic. Again, great review. Thx!
I just start the expanded Dark Tower reading list. It includes my of his other novels and short stories that are connected to Midworld. It’s a project and it’s going to take awhile to finish. I loved this video and you did a great job of keeping me interested in doing it. Thanks again.
King has written at least one other series. The Bill Hodges Trilogy consisting of Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keeepers, and End of watch. But that being said, it's a much more grounded series focusing on a crime and eventually supernatural story in our world and isn't nearly as expansive as the Dark Tower. But the point still stands in over 40 years of writing he's only done two series with 3 books or more. He very much prefers to write stand-alone stories.
To be fair the Oriza plates are weighted metal plates with a razor sharp edge, that can be thrown discus like.
It's on my TBR... 😂
Which is never-ending and ever-expanding.
SAME!!!
Awesome! Thanks a lot. You're actually the first person telling me enough to inspire me to read it. Most people keep to saying things like, Kings biggest work, kinda weird, not for everyone but really worth it. That is just a bit too little to get motivated. This was just perfect!
lol, you may want to read book 5 again.
King lays out a whole mythology regarding the plates, how and why they are a thing, how they are made, the fact that they are sharpened to a knife edge. It is an odd element, but King makes sure to justify the whole thing to a greater degree than many of the other strange elements.
Great video! This is still my favorite series. But you needed to mention the wonderful animal companion! Best boy
I just finished the Dark Tower series and searched reviews and found you. Immediately subscribed after that intro. Incredible!
New subscriber here and I must say you are quickly becoming one of my favorite BookTubers!!!!
You sold me on both The Dark Tower and The Expanse, man. I just watched the two videos back to back. Other booktubers are like this one is great, and trying to avoid ANY spoilers. But I like that you are willing to give certain amounts of spoilers because that is really what I need - what is it really about, to lure me in the reading.
I literally just finished the series yesterday for the first time and I loved it.
I would´ve wished for another ending, too, but I think King subconsciously already had something like this in mind when he wrote The Gunslinger because there´s a mountain of foreshadowing in the conversation
between Roland and Walter at the end, so I guess it makes a llot of sense.
Sold! I'm going to read it! It's in my tbr now!
I really love the style of your content!
because I am such a huge fan of the Dark Tower, my best friends though it would be hilarious to make me sit through a showing of the movie. They told me after; that watching me fuming at the film was the most fun they had had in a long while. Such good friends...
The best friends....not gonna lie though. I would have done the same as them. :P
It was the ending that caused me the most pain. The gunslinger shoots one bullet, then shoots a second bullet that CATCHES UP to the first, hits it side on, and redirects it to hit the man in black. Utterly ludicrous.
As bad as it was, I don’t think it was as bad as the latest version of The Stand. That was simply awful. I am a huge fan of The Stand and it drives me nuts to this day. As much as I dislike Ben Affleck, it might have been better had he produced it
This is the only series I recall reading… unless you count children’s novels. 😂 I love King’s writing, and love this story. It does get slow at times, but I always found the climax worth the build up. Let the man cook! And this was a wonderful but fair introduction. I hope you’ve encouraged some new readers. It makes me was to the-read as I finished the series slightly after the 7th book was released. I say that… I had a hard time with the 8th book and never saw it through.
The tie-ins to other King novels are a potentially big part of this IF you want. It’s not necessary to read other books, but will add a lot of payoff. I only read a couple of related works, but MAN am I glad I read Insomnia before the final book. Not only Insomnia one of my favorite books, but it paid off massively in Book 7.
Great video for an incredible series - thank you!
I had started this series twice before but finally finished it! Thanks for reminding me!
Weren't the decapitating plates they used in the battle razor edged metal discs?
My father was a big fan of Stephen King. I remember buying him one of the Dark Tower books for his birthday in the early 2000s (I don't remember which one now 😅). I read a couple of King's books, but they were never my cup of tea. I have to admit I never gave The Dark Tower a chance, but many people praise these books. Maybe I should give it a try.
I avoided the Dark Tower for years despite being a huge King fan. Because, well, honestly it sounds silly doesn't it? A fantasy series about a cowboy? With a train as a villain? Really?
I should have known better. When you say it it sounds stupid, when King writes it it just comes out...stupidly good.
Also the plates were razor sharp, specifically designed for decapitation in honour of the story which inspires them.
The first three Dark Tower books were my first fantasy books which sort of shaped my image of fantasy. The clear western tone and the wild creature along with the clear horror elements just hits the sweat spot. I do have to admit I never got around to reading the last two books but maybe this summer I will finally do a reread and finish it since I am trying to get into fantasy.
It's not "that horrorish." And yes - the ending was fantastic. I can't imagine how it could otherwise have ended and still qualify as the sort of "epic myth" that King sought to write.
Here's what King was trying to say when he said "we don't have to read the ending." Roland didn't HAVE TO climb the Tower. He had already saved the Beams - that was the "must check" box. From there, he could have simply walked away and sought peace. A character even points this out to him. But no. In his obsession, he just "had to know." And because of that, he was sent back to do it all again.
I used to think there were "acts along the way" that Roland had to correct in order to eventually find peace. But I don't think that anymore. I think he just has to (eventually) turn away from his obsession. Save the Beams and then just go and live in peace. Anytime he's ready. But so long as he can't give up that climb up the tower, he will suffer on. Once he's up there at the top, there will never be mercy.
Read all of King. The Dark Tower is FAR AND AWAY my favorite series ever. (Wheel of Time, Red Rising, The Expanse, Ringwood, etc.). It's worth mentioning that TDT ties into almost every other King classic: The Shining, Cujo, Jerusalem's Lot, Needful Things, It, Hearts in Atlantis, and more. He has said that this series is his opus.
I finished the first 4 books and you're telling me that at 5 it gets super weird? 😂 oh dear this series may end up as one of my favourites.
How did you like 5!?? My favorite. ❤
I'd love to hear your take on what you believe would be the best reading order of the Dark Tower Series with the additional stand-alone Stephen King novels(and characters) that are tied in. Seems like the expanded series reading order is a whole debate in and of itself among many readers and UA-camrs! I'm three books in so far and I'm really loving how the series is set up but I decided to read the other stand alone books that most readers agree should be included (The Stand, Salem's Lot, and Insomnia)
Just found your channel. I love your intro and I love this series!
The lines about Susannah resting on her knees or leaping to her feet are when Mia is inhabiting her body. It's not always explained well but she sometimes has legs depending on how powerful Mia is at that moment. Obviously she's only possessed by Mia at one point in the story.
I think there should be a bigger disclaimer on the Detta character and racial slurs lol. That also goes into a discussion about his black characters, in general. There is a video essay called Stephen King's Magical Negros on the Streetlight Guild's channel that does a really good deep dive by a longtime black King reader.
Great video by the way.
Is mr mercedes not a trilogy?
I mean, yeah King rarely does series, but Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch were a trilogy
The plates were deliberately sharpened - their purpose was to be a form of weapon.
Not that bad in singing! 🤟 just a side note: the new adaptation is coming after strike of Dark Tower. Fantastic introduction to the series. Covers everything that can be without spoilers. Well done! 👏👏
Problem with the DARK TOWER series is that it's pretty obvious that King never wrote any kind of "bible" or coherent world mythology for it. He pretty much made it up as he went along, wether it made sense or fit thematically or not, because he was caught up in the whole metafictional concept of it being a "nexus" and a treatise on the meaning of storytelling. Some of it is great, some of it is embarrassingly bad, some of it should have never made it past a editor.
Thrilled to see the enjoyment vs quality discussion, sometimes I feel like I'm going mad putting 2-star books among my favourites.
I love the Dark Tower Series so much. It's by far my favorite. It's so unique and full of great characteres etc. And I just love how it kinda takes stuff out of all my favorite gengres Dark Fantasy, Wild West, Horror and even a little sprinkle of Sci-Fi. I love rereading those books evry now and then. ^^
The Dark Tower is definitely on my list, have you ever tried reading "The Passage," by Justin Cronin?
the thing that annoys me is the hammer handed foreshadowing, little does he know he will never visit this store again, this will be the last time he uses those fingers etc etc.. it gets really annoying and takes me out of it instantly.
I really need to go back and read this series. I read the gunslinger multiple times as a teenager and have read the first couple of books but somehow never read the rest of the books.
It is a pretty big journey. But I hope you get the chance to continue all the way through! ❤
🎶When you Reach the End do it over again...Do the Velcro Fly...
15:03 Excuse me, what about trilogy about Mr Mercedes?
The algorithm sent me. AND I LOVE IT
I'm a long time fan of King's books, I got Carrie from my local library on the first day it was shelved and I loved it. I love The Dark Tower series and I think the ending is brilliant.That's all folks.
Just a note but some.would say Pale Rider is the 4th man with no name movie
Can't wait to see Mike Flanagan's upcoming adaption!!
You forgot Oy. Oy is a key member of the Ka-Tet.
I applaud your review on the great SK's writing style. It's dead on. He is very controversial in upper echelons of writers and academics. That's why archeologists are going to find his works in the strata😂
This series stole my heart when I read it a few years back! So happy to see you do a video on this!!
Twice you mentioned how much you enjoy the series, warts and all. Was this a reference to WoW: Classic? That immediately sprang to mind each time you said it.
This was a good series even with all the random tangents and side quests. I dunno if I’d consider it genre defining, but that’s one opinion of vast ocean that says otherwise 🤷🏼♂️
Blaine wasn't sentient. He was an AI.
After reading them all for the third time, I can safely say that a lot of it has been 'BORROWED' from other people's books
Great video about a great series!
Well done. I was a bit sceptical at the start but watched your entire presentation.
BUT
For me the final volume was an appalling travesty that would have been better left unwritten.
It made me regret the time I wasted slogging through the series.
I could not in good conscience recommend reading the series.
I really enjoy your videos.
However, the sound quality of this one is a bit lacking for some reason. It's like an almost constant hiss.
I hope you can correct it before Sci Fi September.
I’m with you the ending is great and this is 1 of my favs warts and all.
I too love King. But I've kinda never thought about reading this series. I don't know, but I don't like Wild West and I don't like fantasy with guns. So I'll probably just stick with King's other books. Right now, I'm thinking about Dreamcatcher.
I thought the same for years. Big mistake.
"Life for your Crop"
need to re read it
There is no "objective quality" re: art. Ultimately it is all about to what extent it's enjoyed - that's the only thing that matters. The closest you can come to making that "objective" is to poll some large number of people (the more the better) and get a "population enjoyment" estimate. That's the only way to say anything "globally objective" about a piece of art. And given that how you feel about a work of art today might not be how you feel about it tomorrow, you'd probably have to extend that poll over a long period of time, too - the longer the better. So, to be TOTALLY objective you'd need to poll all people continuously across their entire lives. Not something that's ever going to happen.
Off topic, but are we gonna get your take on Goodkind's "The Sword of Truth" series?
Ha! I have read the full series, but I strongly dislike it! I'm not sure I could make a video on it that matches the positive vibe I'm going for on this channel. 🤔Maybe one day?
@@cronkthebookguy most abducted protagonist ever, am I right lol
@@deanmorrison9184 and he has no control over his magic at all, until he does.
@@cronkthebookguy all just explained away as, "oh, war wizards are totally different," lol. I did enjoy the way Richard formed some of his relationships and dealt with hate and oppression. Representation was decent too imo. Philosophy was just a huge theme in the series, at least the way I read it, Ayn Rand and all that. Idk it's like a cautionary tale for aspiring fantasy writers, but it did have its moments. The chipmunks scene still moistens the eyes lol
Also, I just searched reviews of that series. It was like I opened Indie's ark of the covenant and got my face seared off lol. Wow, people really dislike those novels. It's like the liver and onions of fantasy apparently. A video on Dragonlance would be much safer lol
He wrote another trilogy (bill hodges).
Yes, yes, yes Red Rising. You might be kinda Meh on #1 but after that, buckle your seat belt. Absolutely fantastic.
Re: your jokes and "acceptance" of various sorts of people, it's so easy. If a person isn't hurting other people, then nothing about how they are living their lives is a negative. Full stop. Don't hurt people. Otherwise, live however makes you happy. And all of us should be just fine with anyone who's taking that approach to life. There are enough people out there who ARE hurting other people to keep us plenty busy. Just because our parents or grandparents thought something was wrong doesn't make it wrong - those people were humans and humans screw up. THINK - don't just blindly follow.
I am 18 and also 64.
Book 2 is the best.
😊😊😊
the small things are like having a piece of something in ones teeth
Speaking of The Room, did you know Tommy Wiseau made a "sitcom"? The Neighbors. It's painfully boring and incredibly unfunny.
Of course he did! 🤣🤣🤣
Great books. I read them twice. But the god awful movie that is so disrespectful to the book series should be banished from time. Roland has to be white, Detta walker has to be a black woman. their whole dynamic is what makes them great characters.
the movie was hot trash, had such potential but yea absolute failure
U look more like a gym guy.
The Dark Tower series is great, go get the first book and read it.
Yes
I just finished The Wind Through The Keyhole. So far I believe the series is incredibly overrated, especially Wizard and Glass
Idk, I started reading King around 85. Perhaps if I started them earlier, I would like them more. Ii am going to see things through though and finish the series