Book Series Review-The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

 

I am rolling through the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I am currently on the 4th book (just started) and am loving it! I will do a combined review of the books that I've finished so far. This *may* contain spoilers but I'll try to avoid them as much as possible. 

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First impressions were a bit iffy. You basically get thrown into a world that makes no real sense when you crack open The Gunslinger. You're on a depressing journey with this guy that's looking for someone or something. He's Roland of Gilead. A Gunslinger, but you don't know exactly what that means. The story is disjointed and chaotic but something about it tickles your brain and keeps you reading. 

Roland eventually meets up with Jake, a boy who isn't from Roland's world or time line. Speaking of timelines...you aren't quite sure about that with Roland's world. When is it? Where is it? There's things that show you that they have technology, or had technology, but everything is crumbling and decrapitated. Roland's world has "moved on." This is a phrase that's said often, but explained very little. 

Roland is on a quest to catch up to The Man in Black, for some reason. It's vague. It's intriguing. It kept me reading and engaged. Things happen along the way. Action and adventure. Good stuff! 

The first line of the book sums it up perfectly. "The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." 

That's pretty much the story. 

The 2nd book in the series gets even more funkier with the timelines and the characters (sometimes one character has multiple personalities!) and is an even wilder ride that the first book! The writing is tighter, you get more character development. Roland gets fleshed out more. There's time travel-ish, with characters from the 60's, 70's and 80's. And then whatever time Roland is from. It can be a tad confusing before everything is pulled together but when it does it's glorious! We're introduced to Odetta/Detta and Eddie. His new companions.  More time travel shenanigans happen. Some personality shifting happens. And a lot of weirdness happens. The 2nd book was much better than the first, with better more cohesive story threads and fleshed out characters. 

Definitely a good start to a LOONG series. 

So the 3rd book takes the funky fun even further. The trio (Roland, Eddie and the newly Susannah..formerly Odetta/Detta) are on their journey to find the Dark Tower. On the way, they have to rescue and reunite with Jake...remember from the first book? Well he is pulled back into Mid-world and right smack into danger. So the gang has to get him out of said danger so all of them can get back to the tower plan. 

Again with the time travel-ish, and again with the shifting of realities. It should be getting old by now but it's not. King's writing continues to get better with each of these books. You can tell he's getting more and more comfortable with the characters and with the weirdness (I mean duh, it's Stephen King..right?) And you as the reader are also getting used to all the random crap that's being thrown your way. 

Oh oh oh and this book is where you are introduced to the bestest character ever! 

My dude Oy the billy bumbler. 

 Like for reals, once this handsome fella stepped on the scene, it became the Oy show. 

Roland who?

Also there's a talking insane train named Blaine. It's wild man, and I am on this ride til the end. 

I'll post another series review when I get through the next few! 

Have you read this series? What do you think? 

Reading Plans

 

I finished my first book of 2026! I am really liking the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. So I'm moving into the 4th book, Wizard and Glass. I'm also going to try to dive into the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward, so I'm going to read the first book in that main series. 

So these are what I'm going to try to get into this week. Wizard and Glass is freaking huge so I won't be done with it, but I do hope to at least get through half! 

What are you reading this week? 

Casual Readathon

 This is a casual lil shindig for me! Starting now (Thurs. 15th, @ 11am) and ending Saturday (not yet decided when yet) *maybe even rolling over to Sunday, I dunno* I will be reading any chance I get. Any time I can sit my ass on the sofa, reading. Anytime I have a free moment, reading. No pressure, no goals..though it would be lovely to finish a book..just reading. 

I have work, house chores, taking care of the Lady but in the in between times I have plenty of chances to read. 

This is also impromptu. 

First up:

I'm starting from page: 176 

I'll keep ya posted, probably daily, maybe more frequent. We shall see! 

December Doohickies Day 12

 

Today is my day off, but it's also the Lady's nurse check in day. She had a small procedure so I was busy this morning and into the afternoon. She's good and resting now so I'm chilling now. 

I have 3 books that I'm reading on and off today, A History of Women in America, Mistborn, and The Gunslinger (the dark tower book 1). 

That last one goes into what I've decided for one of my reading goals for 2026. I'm going to read a lot of Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Robin Hobb. 

I've loaded my kindle up with a lot of those writer's books. I have a boxed set of the Dark Tower series and a few other physical copies of other SK books.

I don't have anything planned today other than chilling and reading. I've caught up on Welcome to Derry, which is the only show I'm really addicted to nowadays, so I have nothing to watch. 

Anyone got any reading challenges for 2026 going on? What are your goals for next year? 

Audio Book Review: UR by Stephen King

Tapping into our primal fears of modern technology that made Cell a #1 bestseller, Stephen King sets his sights on the latest high-tech gadget in UR, in which a mysterious e-book reader opens a disturbing window into other worlds.

Reeling from a painful break-up, English instructor and avid book lover Wesley Smith is haunted by his ex-girlfriend's parting shot: "Why can't you just read off the computer like everyone else?" He buys an e-book reader out of spite, but soon finds he can use the device to glimpse realities he had never before imagined, discovering literary riches beyond his wildest dreams...and all-too-human tragedies that surpass his most terrible nightmares.

From vintage cars (Christine and From a Buick 8) to household appliances (Maximum Overdrive) to exercise equipment (Stationary Bike), Stephen King has mesmerized us with tales of apparently ordinary machines that take on lives of their own. UR gives this classic theme an up-to-the-minute spin, resulting in a horror masterpiece for our time and for the ages.



My Review:
In all my years as a reader, audio books have yet to hook me. I just recently (Gasp) got my library card and decided to check out their selection. I picked up this book. I saw the words, novella and Stephen King, and decided to give it a go. I figured a novella would be a good into to audio books and I do love me some Stephen King.  So to the check out desk I went!

This was a good story. The concept is pretty "Stephen King." Wesley gets a Kindle after a fight with his girlfriend over his reading habits. His new toy comes in speedy quick time and pink as a flamingo. He discovers as he explores the Kindle that it can give him views of alternate realities. Hokey sounding, but it was a good start. That is where the promise ends.

The start seems as if it's a mere ad for the Amazon Kindle. It's mentioned in great detail many many times, which made me really want to stop listening. I rolled my eyes and double checked to make sure that it was actually a Stephen King story.  The concept was great, and the ending was good too. I just couldn't get over the feeling it was just a clever infomercial for the Kindle.

Review: The Eyes of the Dragon

About the Book:
A kingdom is in turmoil as the old king dies and his successor must do battle for the throne. Pitted against an evil wizard and a would-be rival, Prince Peter makes a daring escape and rallies the forces of Good to fight for what is rightfully his. 

My Review:  

I like Stephen King. I like his horror novels very much! However hard I've tried to like some of his other forays into different genres, I did not. At least not until I read The Eyes of the Dragon (published originally in 1987)  This is an excellent and exciting romp into the fantasy genre for King.  I remarked MANY times to my husband that he should write more books like this one! I loved the way this book flowed. It felt like you were sitting down in front of a fire place and listening to your Grandpa read you a story. I have a sneaky feeling that the narrator was supposed to be Stephen King himself, or at least that is what we were supposed to believe. He's a tricky one that Stephen King.

Each character that graced the cast in this book was someone whom seemed very real. They came alive on the page and the world became solid. I felt for Peter and Thomas, brothers at odds with each other, both vying for the love of their father the King. Thomas being slow witted and trusting, and Peter being of strong mind and body, both are awesomely written and fleshed out! You want so much to give Thomas a big hug and help him overcome his insecurities just as much as you want Peter to succeed to the thrown and make the Kingdom great! 

Flagg of course we cannot forget about him. True to his usual business, it seems SK likes to recycle names a heck of a lot! I've seen the old stereotype of  wicked Wizard before, but somehow Flagg is much more. He's evil but not cartoonish, like in some stories. He's definitely someone that I wouldn't want to run into on the street. I felt sorry for the way he pulled the strings of the King and Thomas. He made them into his own little puppets plus many others. His evils weren't limited to just "recent" times, as he had been at his nasty work for many many years. 


I devoured this from front cover to end! I honestly loved it and think that if you are a Stephen King fan and/or a fan of the fantasy genre then give this a read! It'll be worth it!