I think The Dark Tower had the perfect ending. After all the twists, the laughter, and the sadness, it wrapped up the journey and left me with plenty to think about.
The Gunslinger got me interested in Roland, and The Drawing of the Three showed me how wild this story could get. By the final book, King had taken these characters through so much that I wanted to see where it all led.
The group begins this installment scattered across different places and times. Susannah’s situation is still unfolding, Jake and Father Callahan are facing danger at the Dixie Pig, and Roland and Eddie have their own problems. Their paths lead toward the forces threatening the Tower, with everything they’ve been through behind them.
Roland’s determination was one of the first things I liked about him. He has somewhere to go, and getting in his way is a dangerous decision. He’s a badass. By this point, though, we also know about his younger years, his old friendships, and the people who’ve become important to him along the road. That history gives his choices more weight.
The whole group matters here. Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy have their own personalities and their own place in the story. Their conversations and disagreements bring humor into a journey that can get pretty damn ugly.
Then King turns around and makes it sad as hell.
Those emotional moments work because we’ve spent so much time with these characters. We’ve watched them struggle, learn to trust each other, and survive things they could never have imagined when they first met Roland. There’s a lot behind what happens in this book.
I also liked King continuing to involve himself in the story. I thought that was a unique direction in Song of Susannah, and seeing the connection between the writer and his characters become more involved here added to the things I found interesting.
The ending is something I’d want every reader to experience for themselves. For me, it fit the journey and gave me a reason to look back over all of it: Roland’s focus, his decisions, and what reaching the Tower meant to him.
I finished the book still wondering about those things. Having questions afterward was part of what made the ending stay with me. There’s a lot to ponder once you’ve followed this gunslinger all the way.
Who I’d recommend it to: Readers who have followed Roland through the first six books. If these characters and their relationships have kept you reading, seeing the journey through carries a lot of weight.
Caution: Read the previous six main novels first. Expect graphic violence, disturbing imagery, strong language, and emotionally difficult material. The ending is best experienced with as little advance knowledge as possible.
Discussion question: Without revealing what happens, did you think The Dark Tower had the right ending? What feeling did it leave you with?
— Cory Lane