After reading the Dark Tower series for many years, it was nice to finally reach the conclusion. The finale was a bit disappointing, though, after following Roland through many a dark night. However, you can't miss this one if you've read the others.

So reads the legend above the fireplace of that funny little club in King's other stories. I have read the other reviews decrying King's involvement of himself in the final volumes of the "Dark Tower" series. I have also read many reviews by those less than satisfied with the end. If I had to guess, I'd say you could add Stephen King to the list of those who hoped for more for Roland and his ka-tet at the end. But King did a difficult thing: he was an honest scribe and he let the story be told as it was meant to be written.

Anyone who has ever taken it upon themselves to write an essay, poem or story outside of a class, purely for the love of the art, knows that there is a certain mystery to the process. The ideas, the words, they are yours but still they seem to flow from somewhere. In my own experience, there are times I had a totally different idea of how events in a story should unfold or what the final outcome should be, but I could feel as I pondered my ideas that they were not honest, they were not true to the story as it was meant to be told.

I think Stephen King was true to the process. I don't think things were meant to end any other way. I admire King's willingness to let it be what it turned out to be, knowing his fans would be less than thrilled with Roland's fate. I was troubled by the ending but it felt true, it felt right.

I'm glad Stephen King had it in him to take us all on that journey and I was honored to be along for the ride.

I agree with many of the reviewers and I also think that this series was without a doubt, one of the best series put together (especially over such a time period and the so many stops and starts King took with his writing of it in the beginning). It was definitely "out of the box" thinking, and while I can't say I was in love with the ending of the series and did feel a slight letdown, I cannot say that the last 3 books were worthless, and I can't imagine reading them with any of the parts taken out (at least nothing I can think of right now). I didn't always enjoy some of the flashback parts, but I think everything was crucial to the whole story and plotline. Some parts were slightly more boring, did not interest me, and some other parts made me want to keep reading for hours on end.

To the person that compared the Dark Tower Series as being like an episode of Sliders (and a boring one at that), you were actually quite correct in my opinion (on the "Sliders" reference only), as basically, that was the basis of the series. If you think of not just time traveling and making changes to then affect other stuff in turn, but to remember that there is most likely - as you first guess then find out is true - many different "worlds" or "dimensions", multiple existances of the same thing at the same time, and even (in a way) in the same place, overlapping each other but yet also, totally different from what "we" know of in our current world and what it is like.

I think that the other reviewers that say of this series (or at least the last 3 books) as being farfetched and questioning so many things that happen or don't, as well as saying that it was too overdrawn and some parts just not plausible, are just not totally getting it...

One, anything is possible and plausible when writing in a science fiction/fantasy/horror/paranormal context, and when reading so many of the more negative reviews, you can find yourself answering their questions, and wondering how they just didn't manage to "get" and understand certain parts or even the series as a whole.

People that mention that Roland should "restart" each time as a baby again, or question the idea that everything could be fine or will make some small difference by having the horn this next time, and that it all was "solved" 2/3rds into the last book already and wondering why the rest was even written, obviously have not understood what was being shown to them and really need to go back and read it all again (or get a tutor or read a cliff notes version).

There are a few good Dark Tower related books out there, 3 which I have bought from Amazon even, and these could help anyone that still has some questions needing answering, or just wish to delve more into the whole Dark Tower phenomenon, to help find the way to enlightenment if you have not yet found the path on your own.

Heh. Can't wait for the 31 issue series of the Dark Tower comic book from Marvel (coming soon)...

My husband really enjoyed this book, it was one he had been missing from his collection of this series. It is a very enjoyable book and hard to put donw once you start reading it.

I LOVED the Dark Tower series in general (maybe Song of Susanah was a bit tedious, perhaps). My biggest complaint - The Ending where poor, long suffering Roland is tossed back into DO-OVER WORLD - it's just completely WRONG!!!!
I could take the death of the companions (though appropriately sad), but Roland deserved to go to his 'reward' at the clearing at the end of the path -- this breaks ALL the rules set up in the previous volumes ......... some worlds were NOT allowed to be changed or altered in any way -- therefore, Roland could NOT be tossed back into a simple rerun of his life, with a small detail change here or there. It was made clear in the early stuff - some things are permanent and some are alterable - this was a clear violation of the 'some things can't be changed' set-up. This explains the 'world has moved on', but doesn't jive in so many other ways. Its Fiction, but it should be coherent anyways........