Just Finished Dark Tower 7 Want Opnions (TOTAL SPOILERS)

[nakia]

The Crimson King? Boo! I get what the author was trying to say, but it just didn't work. IMO, John Farson (who was a servant of the Crimson King, and caused the fall of Gilead) was a cooler villain than the Crimson King, and we never even saw him.

And the part where Patrick the Artist has to "erase" the Crimson King? Again, good in theory, not so much in practice. I think bringing in a character that late in the final boko and having him play a pivotal role was a bit of a let-down (and maybe a cop-out.) That, and that is how also similar to how he ended the "Kingdom Hospital" series, which was a mediocre end to a decent TV series.

I could be wrong, but I though Farson was Flagg. Didn't Farson get mentioned as another one of Flagg's names?

King has some issues ending his stories. I thought the ending to The Stand was a little weak after a great book overall, the same with IT. It seems difficult to end such things satisfactorily after so much build up.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

I could be wrong, but I though Farson was Flagg. Didn't Farson get mentioned as another one of Flagg's names?

Hmmm.
Maybe.
CRAP! Now I have to go find the reference.

 

[Dark Jezter]

First of all, this thread was a real pain to find due to the Community Supporter accounts currently AWOL. So I hope you don't mind some more thread necromany.

Well, after two months, I've finally read the complete Dark Tower series from start to finish. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and found it to be a nice change of pace from the typical medieval Europe-style settings of most fantasy series. Plus, Roland has managed to become one of my favorite fantasy heroes ever; it's hard not to like a gunslinging knight modeled after Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name.

Now, because this thread is about the final book in the series, I'll post my opinions here:

What I liked: The majority of this book was as exciting as anything Stephen King was written. The book is a great mix of fantasy, science fiction, western, and horror. The book gets off a very intense start and dosen't let up until the end. There are battles, a frightening chase scene through a darkened maze, and several unexpected twists.

As a general rule, I don't usually get upset when characters die in books, but this book actually managed to provoke emotional reactions from me. I thought Father Callahan's death near the start of the book was handled very well; he managed to save Jake's life and redeem himself for his failure back in Salem's Lot.

Eddie's death hit me pretty hard, although it wasn't entirely unexpected considering that it had been foreshadowed in previous chapters. Still, I felt genuinely sad at the loss of a character whom I'd grown attached to over the course of the series. And when Jake died just a few chapters later, I had to put the book down for a bit because it made feel so depressed. Not many books can make me respond in such a way. I even felt a pang of sorrow when Oy died, although I could see his death coming when he refused to go along with Susannah.

This story also had some really good character development for Roland and Susannah. The scenes where Roland's tough outer shell finally cracked (Jake's funeral, Susannah's departure) were done very well.

And, I know that this is a real big point of contention among the fans, but I actually liked (not loved) the ending. I can understand why some people would feel cheated; even I initially felt a little let down that the story didn't have a more conventional ending. Upon further contemplation, however, I decided that the "Wheel of Ka" ending was very fitting given how big a role Ka played in the series. I wonder if the upcoming Marvel comics Dark Tower series will finally feature Roland making the right choices so that he can finally end his eternal quest?

What I didn't like: As many people have already noted, the villains in this book could have been handled a lot better.

First of all, we have Walter O'Dim/Randall Flagg. Since the early 1980s, this guy has pretty much been Stephen King's "supervillain." He was the main villain in the Stand and Eyes of the Dragon, he was referenced in Hearts in Atlantis, and throughout the Dark Tower series he's been a thorn in the side of Roland and his friends. Since starting the series back in early March, I'd been eagerly awaiting a final confrontation between Roland and Flagg. Instead, Flagg is killed off in a very casual manner to show the reader just how dangerous Mordred is supposed to be. Still, I will admit that was very fitting that Flagg's own arrogance resulted in his downfall, so his death wasn't a complete disappointment.

Next, we have Mordred. After his disturbing birth scene and the his killing of Flagg using his deadly telepathic powers, this creature had the potential to be a very frightening villain. This potential is wasted as Mordred becomes nothing more than a were-spider that stalks Roland waiting for his opportunity to strike. When the battle finally comes, Mordred's telepathic powers are nowhere to be found; instead he charges in, gets in a melee with Oy, and then gets shot by Roland.

The worst offender, however, was the Crimson King. Throughout the series, he'd been built up as the epitome of evil in the multiverse. When the final confrontation finally happened, however, this "ultimate evil" turned out to be a crazy old man tossing explosives from a balcony and shouting lame insults. :\

I also didn't like the character of Patrick Danville, the "deus ex machina" of the story.

Finally, I didn't really care for the epilogue with Susannah in an alternate-reality New York. It felt unnecessary and tacked-on.

Overall: Overall, Book 7 was a good (but not great) ending to a fantastic book series. I would have preferred some things handled differently, but overall I was happy with the book.

 

[RolandOfGilead]

Allow me to add my humble opinion on the end of the series:

As to the end of Walter: I read it this way, remember first back to The Stand: Randall Flagg was a man; he later became invested with the power of the "ageless stranger" after it being absent for a time. So I believe that all of his psuedonyms are different incarnations of the ageless stranger; and that while each is powerful in their own right, they are not "the ageless stranger" unless he is inhabiting that body. The ageless stranger had an appointment with a man in a dry place, so he could not inhabit the body of walter as he died - if that makes sense.

The Crimson King: His weakness is foreshadowed in many of the books, starting with Insomnia, of course. Come on if you thought he was all high and mighty, his KA would certainly have been greater than Ralph's. and if it wasnt greater than Ralph's, you think it was greater than Rolands? Or Travelling jack from the talisman? He lost some of his power in blackhouse, insomnia, September 11th, and even DT7. I'm not saying it would not have been more interesting had he been a different threat, but I am saying you can see the foreshadowing and could have guessed that his Ka was nothing compared to the gunslingers.

Mordred: I think king wanted to go one way with this character at the beginning of the book, and ended up writing himself into a corner. Dandelo being another spider being didnt help...

Jake: Tears.
Eddie: Quivered.
Oye: More tears.

Roland in the Mohaine: Did you expect any different? Hell is repitition.That word you can only say in french. THIS IS 19! All your friends are dead! TAK!

 

[KaosDevice]

I was so disappointed in this book I threw it to the ground when I finished it. I'd been reading the series since the mid-80's and was very frustrated by the ending. In my opinion things really started to go to hell when Stephen King wrote himself into the series as a character. It seemed pointless and indulgent to me. There were parts of the last three books I enjoyed though, the shoot out scene at the bar. The base for the breakers, a few others. But mostly the series finale just seemed scattered and rushed to me and ultimately left me feeling really let down.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I didn't mind the ending showing the Wheel of Ka keeps turning and Roland has to restart the journey, and get it "right". No problems. I thought the death of Eddie was good, Jakes less so. Suzannah just bailing out like that was weak, I pretty much lost the respect I had for the character at that point. She is within range of the Tower and instead of going on and seeing thier quest through, if only to honor the sacrifices of Eddie & Jake, she bails out due to a dream. Then the fantasy world she goes into was a lame cop out. The Crimson King was a joke. Walter/Flagg/Farson/Marten dies like a punk. Overall I was happy until the last 200 pages or so. Patrick was a cheap plot device becuase I don't think King had any real idea on how to end the series, I think he just wanted to end it regardless of his lack of a good ending. So he threw some crap together and called it a series. Books 1-6 were amazing, Book 7 started strong then totally fell apart. I still love the series, but the ending leaves a taint.