Lucy'sLilLibrary's Reviews > Wizard and Glass

Continuing my journey of reading all of Stephen King's books in order and my second way around The Dark Tower. Wizard and Glass isn't quite a five star read for me but it's still epic. I can't imagine having to wait six years after the Wastelands but the recap at the start of this book is so well done.

This book kicks off where The Wastelands comes to a close with Blaine the pain, who is one of the strangest villains in a horror book, but honestly one of the best. For such a dark journey the start of this book is crammed full on humour (Eddie being responsible for most).

This book is beautifully written too, although SK is known for horror the fantasy style of writing suits him so well. Each member of the Ka-Tet has their strength a reason for being and this book really show this off. Eddie is always underestimated yet plays such an important role, I love his character especially and his growth from the first book to the last is perfection.

Although this book gets going straight off the Wastelands the majority is set in Roland's past, 80% of this book is Roland telling his story of how he got the way he is and why The Dark Tower is so important. I think the similarities between Roland's old friends and his new Ka-Tet are beautiful Cuthbert and Eddie are especially similar, I think Roland needs someone like this to ground him and bring humour to his life.

We are introduced to a lot of important characters and leave things fundamental for the rest of the plot, everything is written so well it never gets muddled or confusing, even though there are some complexities to this series.

As the reader imagined Roland's life has been very hard, this book is all about loss, grief and determination. The romance in this book is pretty impressive considering it's a horror book at heart. This book feels very Western is has shoot out, horses and plenty of cowboys which was really good fun. In true King fashion you know no one is safe and the body horror is expertly done.

Knowing what we know of Roland going into this book and how he's spoken about his past gives the reader anxiety when delving into Roland's past you can't help wondering why certain people have never been mentioned and asking yourself, where are they now.

I can absolutely see why some people might see this as one of the weaker books because it steers the reader away from the plot, and I somewhat agree. Yet this is still as masterfully written book in the series and well worth the read, is it worth six years of waiting I'm not so sure. I am excited for Wolves of Calla because I remember being completely blown away by it.

For me The Dark Tower is one of my favourite series of all time. The depth and thought that went into these book is astonishing and these characters will forever live in my mind, Oy included!