WOW, wow and er . . . okay then!
In this, the fourth part of
Roland's quest for the dark tower, we are treated to possibly the longest
flashback in any book I've ever read, and it is here that the wows are
aimed. The rest of the book doesn't really move the story on that much hence
the er, but it does deal with Blane the Mono from book three - rather poorly
in my opinion - as if the author ran out of really tough riddles to fool
the Mono and had to result to stupidity. Then there's the Wizard of Oz
style ending where our quintet tackle the Emerald City and get back on the beam,
but you can ignore all that really because the bones of this book are in the
six hundred plus pages of flashback, in Mejis, when Roland was a child and fell
in love and . . .
There are gun-toting cowboys
guarding oil derricks and tankers full of the black stuff hauled by oxen.
There is the witch, Rhea of the Coos, who is bewitched by the wizard's glass
and sees all. There is Roland and his ka-tet, Cuthbert, and Alain, who have
been sent to the outer reaches of Mid-World on the pretence of counting
anything that can be counted, when really they have been sent away to protect
them from trouble back home. Then there is Susan Delgado, the most beautiful maiden
in all of Mid-World and it doesn't take long for her and Roland to become
entwined in a love affair, an affair that will bring death and dishonour to
many and haunt Roland for the rest of his days.
As Blood Moon gives way to the
Kissing Moon and the world spins, Roland and his ka-tet begin counting, but it
isn't long before the suspicions of the sheriff and his lawmen are raised.
There is a standoff, which goes in the ka-tet's favour, Rhea sees Susan losing
something that had been promised to the Mayor, and there is a suspicious amount
of activity in the woods where the crude oil still flows.
Asides from the beginning,
where Eddie beats Blane with a riddle that isn't a riddle, you just fall into
the narrative and can't wait to get to the Reaping fair. There are a lot of
characters in this book but they all differ in ways that keeps the reader
entertained and never confused. There is death, dishonour, love, fear, and pain, but the writing is some of the author’s very best so as you speed through
the near nine hundred pages, you too fall in love with Susan, fear for Roland,
wonder at Alain and Cuthbert's abilities, all whilst wondering how they will
ever get the better of the sheriff and his men and survive.
If a book can have you on the
edge of your seat, this one can. If a book can have you gasping, biting your
nails in anticipation and leave you feeling completely empty, this one can and if it wasn't for the lacklustre beginning and okay ending, it would have been
another five star Stephen King classic, as it is though I'll give this one four and a
half stars.
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