Reflections on the Dark Tower series (spoilers) (1/11/2019)
I've finally finished the series.
It's been a wild ride.
From the surreal first book to the twist at the end of the final book, it's been quite the journey. And it feels extensive too. The series took me around a year to finish, and it feels like the books have lasted forever.
The Dark Tower series acts as one long story split over the entire seven (technically 8, plus WTK). The characters also travel through expansive settings, going across worlds and dimensions, from a desert to a forest, across a radioactive wasteland, and ending finally at the Dark Tower.
If you want to read this, be prepared for a long ride. The Dark Tower series can be seen as a sort of hub for all of Stephen King's other works. For example, one of King's first novels, Salem's Lot, tells the story of a man named Callahan, a character who also appears in the Dark Tower series. The characters also travel through a part of the decimated world that is featured in King's novel The Stand. If you plan on reading Stephen King's books, the Dark Tower is a must read. You might find small references to other books in the Dark Tower series, and vice-versa.
I have to say, my favorite part of the books was probably the second, third, and fourth books. These books focused more on the fantasy element. The
The book that really started letting me enjoy the series was the second book. For me, the first book was a confusing, surreal mess that didn't really make any sense. Towards the second book, everything started to come together.
Although that's not really true. Instead of everything making sense, you start to accept the surrealism. Whats 19? What's a speaking ring? Why does Jake act so weirdly? How come Jake can die in our world and travel to Roland's world? Where did the doors in the Drawing of a Three come from? The answer to these questions is never really explained very well throughout the book. Yet, the books just move on and over time it doesn't really matter anymore. Some part of you just accepts the new, strange world with different rules and keeps going.
The only reason I really finished the first book was because I really wanted to finish a Stephen King book. I honestly really didn't enjoy it at much. It was just too strange for me. Nothing made sense.
In every way, All-World (what Roland's world is called) is a completely different dimension from us. And it makes sense. You can't expect another world to be like ours. Everything is different because we can't expect his world to be the same as our world. Roland's world has moved on, and it helps that the characters in the ka-tet seem just as confused as we are. And it's not just them too. The world is just a strange world.
One thing that the King does very well is that he inscribes the different dialects into our minds. There's the Low Speech, which is a different dialect of English with different words like "threaded stock" and "roont." There's the High Speech, a completely different language with words like "char (death)" or "ka (fate/destiny)."
Spoilers now:
And something genius and beautiful that King does is how he makes the world make sense to the reader the second time through. The first book didn't make sense to me when I was first reading it. But, after finishing the last book and realizing the story is cyclical, the first book makes a lot of sense to me. Finally reaching the Dark Tower was exhilarating and rewarding. Finding out the Crimson King actually exists and that he isn't some random symbol was great. The book makes different symbols very apparent, and it even has its own characters make fun of some of them, like the number 19. The idea of ka, while infuriating at first, eventually makes sense because the readers know they are in a book where they are at the whims of the author. Roland's much needed backstory is told in the fourth book, and while it doesn't answer all the questions, it answers a lot and it definitely feels satisfying.
You read so many books where everything is obscure and hard to find that you get confused when King shoves the symbols directly into your face. King does the opposite; he almost makes fun of other writing by making his own characters recognize the apparent symbols. King is saying that this story is his, and he can write whatever he wants.
It it shows. King puts himself as a character in his own book that Roland and the ka-tet has to save. He breaks the fourth wall multiple times, and he even tells you to not read the ending because you might hate it. The book has so many creative ideas that you won't really read anything else like it.
End Spoilers:
The series is also a source of inspiration for me. If King can write whatever the fuck he wants and materialize plot elements like the note warning about Dandelo and have readers still love the series, then maybe I can too. Don't write for other people, write what you want to write.
If you want to just read the books, I'll say that while it is confusing in the beginning, the journey through it all makes it worth it.
It's been a wild ride.
From the surreal first book to the twist at the end of the final book, it's been quite the journey. And it feels extensive too. The series took me around a year to finish, and it feels like the books have lasted forever.
The Dark Tower series acts as one long story split over the entire seven (technically 8, plus WTK). The characters also travel through expansive settings, going across worlds and dimensions, from a desert to a forest, across a radioactive wasteland, and ending finally at the Dark Tower.
If you want to read this, be prepared for a long ride. The Dark Tower series can be seen as a sort of hub for all of Stephen King's other works. For example, one of King's first novels, Salem's Lot, tells the story of a man named Callahan, a character who also appears in the Dark Tower series. The characters also travel through a part of the decimated world that is featured in King's novel The Stand. If you plan on reading Stephen King's books, the Dark Tower is a must read. You might find small references to other books in the Dark Tower series, and vice-versa.
I have to say, my favorite part of the books was probably the second, third, and fourth books. These books focused more on the fantasy element. The
The book that really started letting me enjoy the series was the second book. For me, the first book was a confusing, surreal mess that didn't really make any sense. Towards the second book, everything started to come together.
Although that's not really true. Instead of everything making sense, you start to accept the surrealism. Whats 19? What's a speaking ring? Why does Jake act so weirdly? How come Jake can die in our world and travel to Roland's world? Where did the doors in the Drawing of a Three come from? The answer to these questions is never really explained very well throughout the book. Yet, the books just move on and over time it doesn't really matter anymore. Some part of you just accepts the new, strange world with different rules and keeps going.
The only reason I really finished the first book was because I really wanted to finish a Stephen King book. I honestly really didn't enjoy it at much. It was just too strange for me. Nothing made sense.
In every way, All-World (what Roland's world is called) is a completely different dimension from us. And it makes sense. You can't expect another world to be like ours. Everything is different because we can't expect his world to be the same as our world. Roland's world has moved on, and it helps that the characters in the ka-tet seem just as confused as we are. And it's not just them too. The world is just a strange world.
One thing that the King does very well is that he inscribes the different dialects into our minds. There's the Low Speech, which is a different dialect of English with different words like "threaded stock" and "roont." There's the High Speech, a completely different language with words like "char (death)" or "ka (fate/destiny)."
Spoilers now:
And something genius and beautiful that King does is how he makes the world make sense to the reader the second time through. The first book didn't make sense to me when I was first reading it. But, after finishing the last book and realizing the story is cyclical, the first book makes a lot of sense to me. Finally reaching the Dark Tower was exhilarating and rewarding. Finding out the Crimson King actually exists and that he isn't some random symbol was great. The book makes different symbols very apparent, and it even has its own characters make fun of some of them, like the number 19. The idea of ka, while infuriating at first, eventually makes sense because the readers know they are in a book where they are at the whims of the author. Roland's much needed backstory is told in the fourth book, and while it doesn't answer all the questions, it answers a lot and it definitely feels satisfying.
You read so many books where everything is obscure and hard to find that you get confused when King shoves the symbols directly into your face. King does the opposite; he almost makes fun of other writing by making his own characters recognize the apparent symbols. King is saying that this story is his, and he can write whatever he wants.
It it shows. King puts himself as a character in his own book that Roland and the ka-tet has to save. He breaks the fourth wall multiple times, and he even tells you to not read the ending because you might hate it. The book has so many creative ideas that you won't really read anything else like it.
End Spoilers:
The series is also a source of inspiration for me. If King can write whatever the fuck he wants and materialize plot elements like the note warning about Dandelo and have readers still love the series, then maybe I can too. Don't write for other people, write what you want to write.
If you want to just read the books, I'll say that while it is confusing in the beginning, the journey through it all makes it worth it.
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