The Dark Tower VII (King, Stephen) [ハードカバー]

It looks like most reviewers have this pretty well covered, but I'd like to throw in my 2 cents, mostly because I've spent so much time reading these books and it just plain feels right.

I'll start by saying that this book is not perfect, and there were times when I was convinced that the story would end horribly. So why do I give it 5 stars? I feel that what was good or great about the book is enough for me to dismiss what annoyed me about it. As with most reviews, there will be many SPOILERS ahead, so go read the book first if you haven't.

I can cover what truly bothered me pretty quickly; King's importance in the plot and Flagg's death. Not that I need a 150 page battle between Roland and Flagg, but to be so easily dispatched by a child who would later prove to be absolutely no threat to Roland seems wrong. Was this really the best that Roland's lifelong enemy could do? I don't know, it just doesn't add up. As for King, I didn't like his part in the plot during Song of Susannah (narcissistic) and was hoping it would not dominate the final volume, which it doesn't. I will admit that it didn't turn out as bad as I feared (I half expected Stephen King to be in the top room of the Tower), and I do appreciate that it ties the story to reality through something other than the fictional Tet Corporation in NY. While this is nice, I could have done without King ever having been in the story.

Others were bothered by the quick deaths of Mordred and the Crimson King. I wasn't. Mordred may have been powerful, but he was still a child; and a sick, dying child at that. He had to make an ill-advised move out of desperation, and I think it was wonderful that Oy was able to die defending Roland. As for the Crimson King, while the battle may have been brief, it was still exciting and not without great word play between Roland and the CK.

Ok, so most of us want opinions and theories on the end, right? I will admit that I very much liked the ending from the get-go, but I have had to digest it for a few days before really knowing what to make of it. I suggest anyone else that has recently finished the book do the same. In doing so, I have realized that this ending has evoked a lot more emotion and thought from me than I expected, and clearly almost everyone else who has read this book has had the same experience, for better or worse. In my opinion, this alone is proof that the ending is very powerful.

So, let's just say it, we find out that Roland has been repeating his journey from the Mohaine Desert, where we first meet him in book I. Why is this a good ending? It puts the entire story in perspective. Roland, while heroic, has been cold hearted throughout the saga. He seems to be learning to love, particularly in the case of his adopted son Jake, as well as the rest of his ka-tet. Would we have ever guessed from the pages of "The Gunslinger" or even "The Drawing of the Three" that Roland would have such an emotional reaction to Susannah finally leaving him at the end of the story? Probably not. The world had moved on, a world that had been "full of love and light", and the gunslinger that we meet in book I is a hero, but can't be described as "full of love".

During this journey, Roland has accomplished his purpose according to prophecy, which is to save the Tower. I personally believe that he has probably accomplished this in the past journeys, but it doesn't really matter. The Tower, it seems, is more than just an anchor for existence; it is holy, and will judge those who enter it. When Roland arrives in the Mohaine once again, he is given the Horn of Eld. This can signify many things, but I believe that it signifies that he has pleased the Tower and this will be his final journey. King appends Browning's poem, which has Roland blowing the "slug horn" at the end of his journey. It could be that Browning's poem actually IS the final journey, meaning that the end of Roland's quest is actually right there for you to read about, or it could just be a vision of what his final journey will be like. I think it can go either way, the point is that we know that Roland will have peace, and soon.

Need proof? Let's look back to Jake's final death, a sad scene that will bring even the most cynical reader to tears in light of life's harsh truths. In this scene, Roland promises that he will sacrifice himself to save Stephen King rather than Jake, and his decision is made when he jumps from a moving vehicle to do just that. We all know how it turns out, but the point is that the gunslinger has changed since first letting Jake drop into the abyss in book I. I believe this, along with the care he gave to the rest of his ka-tet toward the end of the journey is what finally pleased the Tower, which awards him with the Horn of Eld. When Roland arrives at the Tower in Browning's poem, the spectators (roses in King's story) in the final stanza are "met to view the last of [him]". I think that King interprets the last of Roland as in the last time that he will arrive at the Tower. After all, King does state earlier in the book that there is "only one place for the poem", which is at the end, as the poem reveals Roland's final journey.

I don't want to make light of the sadness that comes with this ending, because it is certainly sad. The hope combined with sadness and the endless possibilities are what makes this ending so brilliant. I think I've covered the main point, but perhaps Roland has still more to learn and atone for on his final journey, and there are other things to consider. Did time rewind (which his watch rewinding as he approaches the tower and the re-installment of the Man in Black would suggest) or was he simply placed back in the desert? Will he meet Jake again on this journey? Has he learned enough to save Jake rather than palaver with Walter? Are Roland's enemies (Flagg, the CK, etc) so desperate to kill him because they are caught in his loop and aware of it? Could the Horn of Eld symbolize the line of Eld, meaning that Roland is to save Jake thereby restoring "love and light" into his world (and also ensuring that his son will continue in the line of Eld) before the Tower will let him rest? I could go on and on with these, and some of them may be reaching, but I think that if you believe that the Tower has finally begun to award his progress during his damnation then you can believe that he will be able to right all wrongs.

I will miss reading these books, I hope the rest of you take as much from it as I did. Long days and pleasant nights.

I wish I could say I expected better, but after Wolves and Song, I was prepared for the worst. It wasn't the worst. But it wasn't the best, either.

Most of what needs to be said about this book has already been said. It's sloppy and bloated. It reads like a first draft (albeit a good first draft). It wanders off on long tangents that contribute nothing to the overall story. Parts of it are quite good, but overall, I was left with the impression that King just wanted to finish the book and get it out of the way.

SPOILERS AHEAD

King has stated that he never plans his stories. While that approach can lead to some wonderful spontaneity, it has its drawbacks, most of which are showcased in this volume. Mordred got a whole BOOK leading up to his birth. After all that fanfare, what did he ultimately contribute to the story? Nothing. He kills Flagg, but that's about ALL he does, and since he basically replaces Flagg as Roland's arch-nemesis, what was the point? And wasn't Flagg supposed to be immortal, anyway? Or at least quasi-immortal?

And then there's the ending.

At beginning of the Coda, King the Narrator first advises his readers to stop reading before the end (huh?) and then scolds the ones who are still there: "You are the grim, goal-oriented ones who will not believe the joy is the journey rather than the destination...who still get the lovemaking confused with the paltry squirt that comes to end the lovemaking." I have never had an author first wag his finger at me for NOT putting down his book before the end, and then insult my sex life on top of it. Though it's kind of a confusing insult.

Really, though, I think it says more about him than the readers. Basically he's failed to bring his story (and readers) to climax. And he anticipates our disappointment, so he's grumping at us. How dare we expect him to constantly perform! He's not a machine! He's tired! Why won't we just leave him alone?

And after this cranky little speech, he shows us the Tower, and what lies at the top...which, as it turns out, is a door back to the beginning of Roland's quest. Back in the desert, chasing that guy again...and who knows how many times this has already happened? Sigh.

I guess it's not the worst ending he could have written. I understand what he was going for themeatically (ka's a wheel and all). The problem is it makes no sense. What, exactly, has happened? Has time literally reversed itself? Is everyone else in Roland's world now condemned to relive that portion of their lives as well, simply because Roland made some boo-boos on his journey? Why is Everything About Roland? What happened to the rule that time couldn't go backwards in this world? Is the Tower (and all existence) now in danger again? Seems kind of stupid for it to do that to itself...unless Roland is fated to save it every time. In which case it was never in any danger, which makes the whole series seem kind of pointless. I guess saving the multiverse isn't that big a deal after all.

Or is Roland just caught in a private psychological loop which has no impact on the "real" world? In which case, did the events in these books actually happen?

In either case, the reader is left with the impression that the events in the Dark Tower series--which, we were led to believe, were stunningly significant--really didn't matter all that much. It's just Gan's video game, and Roland is his hapless Super Mario. Sorry, Roland, our princess is in another castle...er, Tower. And hey, don't worry, if you screw up, you can push the reset button and start over.

As disappointing and confusing as the ultimate ending was, though, it didn't bother me as much as Susannah's ending. After risking her life countless times for Roland and the Tower, she GIVES UP when she is literally days away from their destination and flees into some fantasy version of New York to live with a fake Eddie and Jake--a couple of guys who share the appearances and first names of Susannah's comrades, but are otherwise nothing like them. Don't kid yourself, Susannah; you might be in New York (or some version of it) but that's not Eddie and Jake. Maybe this was supposed to be uplifting, but as much as I was hoping King wouldn't kill her, I would have preferred an honest death to a fake happy ending.

SPOILERS - Don't read this review if you give a damn:

Well, I finished the Dark Tower series. My prevailing emotion is deep regret for ever having spent a dime on it, or anything else the author wrote. I had myself half-convinced, trudging through the contrivance of the final hundred pages, that the ending was going to make up for it somehow. It had to. "Okay, the eerie and terrifying magician from The Stand got eaten by some lame spider thing taking all of two paragraphs, Mordred was a pointless subplot, and the much-hyped Crimson King turned out to be perhaps the shallowest villain in this author's output, contributing nothing to the tale. But surely there's some twist that will make up for it!"

Nope.

What a weak, cop-out ending to a once great epic. 3000 pages for a quaint little zen jest (or myth of Sisyphus as another reviewer noted). Zen is funny and poignant in the confines of a koan or short anecdote. But a portentous seven-book series in an imaginary universe fleshed out in Tolkineque detail? Okay that is kind of funny now that I think about it. But Gan help me, I was hoping for more than a chuckle. Was a satisfying and cathartic conclusion too much to ask for? (No, Susannah in Central Park was not that conclusion, it was a cardboard cut-out made by North Central Positronics with "Happy Ending No. 38798745" stamped on the bottom, say thankya.) I get the point, that all triumphs are transient and ka is a wheel, and so forth... but that doesn't mean it's the "right" ending. Silly me, I thought it was about more than just Roland's addiction. It needn't have been a happy ending but it would've been nice to have a worthwhile and thoughtful one.

King's once-fertile imagination has darkened like Thunderclap. He's obviously not eager to deal with the complex questions and concepts raised by earlier entries and has thus resorted to cheap gimmicks and a patchwork plot. You can almost see the stitches.

"You can have my empire of dirt" - quothes King in this dreary final novel's epigram. Clever. Problem is, it was a lot more than dirt to most of us, that's why we came as far as we did. I remember well the moment I fell in love with the Dark Tower epic. Near the end of the first book, it was starting to take on a vast scope, expressed in strong images and beautiful minimalist prose, culminating finally in a staggering cosmic vision suggesting mind-boggling adventures and twists ahead. This flash faded over time, much like an artificial influx of dimethyltryptamine fades from the brain, finally becoming nothing but a mocking counterpoint in book 7's anti-climax.

Not only does he publish this cheesy, barely-edited trainwreck of a story, hastily getting rid of long-loved characters and villains like he's bailing water out of a sinking ship, not only does he cheapen it by interweaving his mundane self and life into the plot, but he also feels it necessary to chastise fans for their inevitable disappointment in a pre-emptive attack following the "coda". He tries to explain why he turned the series into meta-fiction (although he doesn't really explain it), but he doesn't want anyone calling it meta-fiction, because that's "pretentious".

The attitude he takes in this closing "argument" is insufferably condescending, lecturing readers with a lot of triteness about the point being the journey as if we've never encountered this idea before, and warning us not to write angry letters or show up at his door.

Don't worry Mr. King, you're not worth stalking. I'm just glad I didn't lay down money for this last defamation. I guess I sensed the decline after book IV, even though I didn't want to admit it.

- Constant Reader no more (btw King, I never liked your "constant reader" tag, it always irritated me)