Re-Reading The Dark Tower Series Book by Book - Wizard and Glass
When I first read through the Dark Tower series this particular book took me longer to finish than any of the others. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the book, I thought the story was fantastic. But it felt as though the story, which moved quickly forward from one even to the next in the previous two books, slowed down after the first part of the book. I loved the back story that King creates for Roland, it helped explain his character better and the similarities between young Rolands ka-tet and the older Roland’s new ka-tet are numerous and fun to look for, but the flashback story took some wind out of the sails for me the first time through. This time through however, was exactly the opposite. I knew the flashback was coming and was looking forward to the back story to get filled in a little bit.
The beginning of The Wizard and Glass is a direct continuation of the events in Blaine the Mono at the end of The Wastelands. People I know who are new to the series plow right into Wizard and Glass after finishing The Wastelands because of the cliffhanger ending of book three. After Eddie figures out how to defeat the intelligent imputed on-board the train, the group steps off into a world that is reminiscent of the world that appears in anther King book, The Stand. When I first read this, prior to the advent of the internet and information being readily available, my mind was blown when I found out The Dark Tower was connected with The Stand. I stopped reading the books and picked up my copy of The Stand, contemplating reading the 1000+ page tome again to locate possible Dark Tower references I didn’t know to look for the first time through.
I didn’t, and instead made sure to carefully read and look for other connections to King books in this book and the rest of the series. While this book took me longer to get through than the others, Roland’s back story pulled me through and made me want to stay within that world longer and I didn’t mind reading it a bit slower and savoring every word and page in the book.
The story of Roland, Alain, Cuthbert and Susan Delgado in Mejis would make a great story in and of itself even without its connection to the larger Dark Tower story. The fact that it fits so seamlessly within the world of the Dark Tower makes it even more important in the overall King bibliography.
As with the previous volume, the direction of the series continues to become more clear. King again begins to draw lines between previous events and ones that are yet to come. The most interesting piece of the story however was the correlation between Roland’s precious Ka-tet when he was younger and his new ka-tet. Both groups have members that are somewhat similar in personality. While Roland plays the same role In both groups, Eddie, Jake and Susannah can easily be switched out for Cuthbert, Alain and Susan. Rhea of the Coos and the Big Coffin Hunters are as good a set of villains as there are in any King book. Of any of the Dark Tower books, this one (with the exception of the first part) could easily stand alone and make sense as a novel separate from the Dark Tower series.
The feeling I got coming out of this book and looking forward was that the series was entering a new and different part of its existence. As readers, following this book we understand more clearly the quote from Jake when he tells Roland, “there are other worlds than these.” He was not talking simply of the worlds that he, Eddie and Susannah came from, but instead about the worlds that they would visit together. Another quote that will pop up a few times throughout the rest of the series makes its first appearance in this book. “Ka like the wheel,” has multiple meanings. While in this book we can take that quote to mean the similarities of Roland’s ka-tet’s at different points in his life. He sees versions of the same people in different settings. But in the series as a whole, reading this and knowing the end of Roland’s journey is also the beginning of it, the quote takes on multiple meanings.
If there was one novel in the series that grew on me the most during this reread, this one was it. I was younger the first time I read this and only wanted the story to move forward. So, while I enjoyed the flashback, I also struggled with the lack of forward momentum. This time I knew the extended flashback was coming, but I was also in a different place as a reader and was able to enjoy the story more as the backstory that we needed for Roland’s character.
Until next time, long days and Pleasant nights.
You can find the rest of the book series reviews HERE
Don’t want to miss anything on the site? Sign up for our newsletter HERE
Want more Stephen King content? Just search below:
