I finished book 1 of The Dark Tower series today and picked up book 2 at the library. I feel like I can’t fully review the book because I haven’t fully read the series. It’s much like watching the The Fellowship of the Ring without knowing how the rest of the trilogy plays out. While I can’t fully appreciate the entire series, or the clarity that future books in the series will bring to this first book, I can give my impressions fo far.
The book is only 200-250 pages and a pretty quick read. I found myself confused for much of the book, but in a good way. The reader is left in the dark about both time and place. Very little is told of the main character’s life and where he came from. While quite a bit happens in the book, the reader has very little context to place anything. At first it was frustrating, but it eventually became intriguing. I’ve never read a Stephen King book, so getting used to his style took a little time. I remember at the beginning I felt like he was personifying everything. "Outside the wind was blowing….like it was in a hurry." I don’t know if he ever said that or actually used personification at all, but that’s how I remember it anyways. About halfway through the book though I was in a groove and caught up in the story. This is one of the first things King ever wrote, so I’m curious to see how his writing has improved over the years.
I’m now onto book 2. I’m checking these out from the local library because buying the series would be a big investment ($150 for all the hardbacks). If I really love the series then I would definitly consider adding them to our slowly growing library.
