poetic_power

I've never read Stephen King but I'm really curious about this series. I did some research and for the most part, people enjoyed it. I don't know much about the series but I like fantasy and science fiction books. So should I start the journey?

rocketsauce

You should. I recently started it a few months ago knowing absolutely nothing about it and I'm glad I did. I got the the first four books in a row but needed a little break, but plan on finishing the series soon. It takes a little bit to get going but stick with it.

poetic_power

Sweet! Sounds good. I'll take the plunge.

JAA

Enjoy the ride!

Lastblade

Read the first four books, and don't read the last 3. The latter ones can't compare the first 4.

Xander

Worst advice ever. Telling someone not to read the ending of a series? While the quality of the last three DOES suffer somewhat, I would never advise someone not to finish out the series. Some people actually LIKED the ending.

Rob V

Don't do this. Read them all. They all have their merits and low points but all in all it's an epic journey.

wmansir

I wouldn't recommend them to start King. I really liked the first one, in the original form, the rest ranged from good to pretty bad, in a generally declining progression. The last two in particular were a mess, full of self-referential material and tie ins with his other works. Maybe it would work better without knowing all the references, but I doubt it.

Lastblade

I don't mind the ending, it is the book(s) that suck. Thousands of pages of unenjoyable crap. I LOVED the first 4 books, but the last 3 just soured my opinion on the entire series. It is akin to watching The Matrix, and pretend the sequels do not exist

movie diva

Read them all, I am not a fan of the last 3 but I have read the entire series twice, so enjoy and have fun.

Xander

I am not going to argue the merits or quality of the books. That's totally subjective. I'm just saying telling someone not to read the ending of a story seems way harsh. Why get invested if you're not going to finish?

Michael Corvin

If you aren't going to read them all, don't bother. As mentioned they all have their ups and downs and the latter 3 have their detractors, but they are still very fun books.

Alyoshka

I'm reading The Stand right now. After I finish with it I intend to start with the Dark Towers Series. But now I'm confused, is it finished with 7 books? I thought he just announced he was writing another?

Philzilla

The ending is finished, the new book takes place between book 4 and 5

JAA

Interesting . . . I look forward to this then as book 4 was my favorite in the DT series.

silentbob007

Funny ... I was just re-reading these books and buying them for my Kindle. I made it through Wizard and Glass then stopped. I suppose I'll pick up the rest, though my desire definitely flags a bit.

Michael Corvin

I've read the first 4 probably three times each, up until the release of 5-7(read those once). Now I'm curious how flawed they actually are, or if it all comes down to initial disappointment.

Anyone read the last 3 more than once?

Xander

I've read them twice. I think Song of Susannah (book 6) is still probably my least favorite book, but I liked book 7 more than the first time I read it. I also liked Wolves of the Calla a lot more.

Rob V

To me, the 6th book was the worst as well. I think the 4th was my favorite -- I believe that was the one flashing back to a young Roland.

GoldenJCJ

I started my Dark Tower journey yesterday. I'm a little worried starting such a large endeavor knowing how Stephen King has a tendency to not know how to finish his stories but I figure I'll give it a shot anyway.

JAA

Don't worry too much about the destination. You'll probably enjoy the ride.

wmansir

Has anyone read The Wind Through the Keyhole? It totally slipped off my radar since I haven't enjoyed much of Kings latest works.

Philzilla

I own it, but haven't got around to it. I'm planning on doing a massive DT re-read so the plan is to get to it then.

Xander

You didn't enjoy Under the Dome or 11/22/63? I thought they were pretty solid.

That said, I thought WTTK was just okay. The "story within a story" thing didn't work for me that well. It does pretty much zero to advance the stories of any of the main characters. I didn't hate it, I guess, it just wasn't what I was expecting.

Mike86

I started reading this series a few months back. So far I've completed the first two and thought they were pretty good reads especially The Drawing of the Three. I have the third and fourth books as well as The Wind Through the Keyhole but haven't started them yet. I need to pick up the final three at some point but I'll probably wait until I've finished the others off.