Bracket #8: The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997)

[Jean]

The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass, 1997
http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/510/medium/W_G_trade_face.jpg

Please vote for The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Tower_IV:_Wizard_and_Glass) using the following scale:

5: I loved it
4: It was good
3: Average
2: Only so-so
1: I didn't like it

If you haven't read this book yet, please vote Never Read. Feel free to discuss your votes in this thread.

[Garrell]

5, one of the strongest in series")

[mae]

Deliberated between two and three, decided two would be too harsh. But this was the worst of the series.

[blavigne]

5, not the best of the series but still good and almost a stand alone story

[mystima]

3-Would have been better if Susan wasn't so whiny...scurries out of thread giggling

[Jean]

Deliberated between two and three, decided two would be too harsh. But this was the worst of the series.Ditto

[Shannon]

5. Loved it.

[frik]

5

The best of the series!

sk

[greatcthulhu]

3. Average King; (worst of the series)

W&G is the least successful of the seires for a number of reasons:

1. While the references to The Wizard of Oz work within the parameters of the DT series, it displays a lack of imagination on King's part.

2. The transitions from journey to tale and journey again is awkward; the narrative voice does not change. It is quite jarring in fact and makes for an uncomfortable reading experience.

3. Roland, in the end, is a very unreliable narrator. When Eddie asks Roland how he can know the four corners of the story he is telling, Roland replies, "Is that really what you want to ask, Eddie?" While Eddie says "No," the reader is screaming "Yes! Yes! Yes!" While it is explained later that Maerlyn's Grapefuit showed him the things that he couldn't possibly have known otherwise, Roland admits that he had to guess at some of it. Also, the Grapefruit was shown to have lied to him before. The unreliable narrator is not in itself a bad thing in literature, but given the totality of the W&G reading expereince, it works against the novel.

While W&G is the least successful of the series, it is not one King's worst books. But it is pretty average King (which is still pretty good.) So I gave it a 3.

[frik]

Greatcthulhu, I feel we've met before.....Nah, I'm postive our paths have crossed.

And you're forgiven! :emot-cthulhu:

sk

[dubrosa22]

The best? Or nearly at least!
Amazing book. I literally get shivers every time I think of certain events/moments from it.

[alkanto]

Gave this a 4. It's my second-to-last favorite of the series, but I don't hate it by any means. And I didn at least start to enjoy parts on my 3rd time through.

[pathoftheturtle]

Well, I guess that SK just gambled that if you can learn to appreciate Eddie's sense of humor, you can learn to appreciate anything.

[alkanto]

It's funny you say that...the parts with Eddie were pretty much the only parts I fully enjoyed/looked forward to.

[pathoftheturtle]

The author apparently has some things in common with some of his characters. But in-depth TDT discussion can fill whole forums, and it won't do to try to put it all onto this one thread. Suffice it to say that this volume stands alone. Not my personal favorite one, but I think it is the most distinct.

[Dan]

This was my favorite so far (only have finished first four). I absolutely loved the story of Susan.

[Jean]

Well, I guess that SK just gambled that if you can learn to appreciate Eddie's sense of humor, you can learn to appreciate anything. he failed with bears, both the antecedent and, logically, the consequent.

[Patrick]

At the time I read it, I loved it. So I gave it a 5.

[DoctorDodge]

4 - the love story was pretty basic, and Susan wasn't a particularly strong character to me, but I still found it very readable.

Also, while the references aren't exactly as subtle as one of my other favourite stories of all time (note that, like Jean, I still prefer to think of TDT as one story rather than 7, despite voting for W&G on its own merits only), I still appreciated the Wizard of Oz references.

[Robert Fulman]

I give it a 3. Easily my least favorite of the DT books. I like anything and everything having to do with Blaine. I also really like the Oz stuff, because it establishes exactly how Roland's world is related to our own. However, I could do without the 500 pages of Roland's life in Hambry. Specifically, I think that Roland is a putz. I enjoyed reading about Cuthbert and Alain, but I wasn't terribly excited about reading about the counting of horses/nets/etc. I admit that the book was better the second time around, so maybe I'll do another reading this summer and we'll see how it goes.

[divemaster]

This was my favorite of the series and one of my favorite books, period. Loved the backstory. Tales of star-crossed lovers really hit me in a special way and this one did the trick. Easy 5.

[Robert Fulman]

Also, it has the second-worst art.

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

5. My favorite of the series. Everyone seems to either love or hate this book. Not sure why, I am in the "loved it" camp.

[Jean]

Everyone seems to either love or hate this book. No. Bears don't the hate it. They love some parts (preciously few), and are annoyed and/or bored by the rest.

[pathoftheturtle]

Everyone seems to either love or hate this book. No. Bears don't the hate it. They love some parts (preciously few), and are annoyed and/or bored by the rest.That's how I felt the first time, and for a while after. At this point, I'm used to the annoyances and more entertained by it in general; still don't love the whole, but only hate a few parts.

[Jean]

yes, it does gett better on re-reads. The only parts that remain totally soporific for me are whenever Rhea appears.

[Robert Fulman]

As long as Musty is around, I'm okay with Rhea.

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

I liked Rhea, cliched as she was, I still found her to be an interesting character. However, I am usually intrigued by characters that speak in the vernacular, so her deep accent could have had something to do with my interest in her. Plus, she is simply vile...the type of character that you love to hate.

[Jean]

last chance to vote! the poll is closing!

[mae]

The poll has closed. Wizard and Glass has earned a FAS (final average score) of 4.222222222 or 84.44%, placing 1st (winner) in this bracket. It will be moving on to Round 2.

[Heather19]

How on earth did this book place first when it's in a bracket with books like Bag of Bones and Desperation? :(

[pathoftheturtle]

It's always been popular. IDK

[Heather19]

But the other two are so far superior (in my mind at least). They don't even come close. In fact I'd rank every book in this bracket over this one :lol:

[divemaster]

How on earth did this book place first when it's in a bracket with books like Bag of Bones and Desperation? :(

I don't give out 5's like candy but I easily gave out 5's to all three books. But if push came to shove it would be Wizard and Glass = 6; Desperation = 5.8, and Bag of Bones = 5.0.

[mae]

This is really surprising. A very average novel, and it's the bracket winner. Surprising because unlike, for instance DT2, where there is clear consensus it's one of King's best books, this one and Song of Susannah both get very divided votes.

[noal]

Haven't read the other two yet but then I would still be an official Wizard and Glass flag bearer; and proud of it.

Yes, not everybody agrees, and if i'm honest it would be pretty boring if we all liked the same things. I suppose different people take out different things and i'm glad because then we can all meet on the internet and talk/discuss/argue about it.

Although Wizard and Glass seems to divide people(and bears!) more than most!:lol:

[Jean]

it's all right, noal -divided we'll stand

pablo: how did it go last year? was it :W&G and Bag of Bones?

[noal]

it's all right, noal -divided we'll stand



A truce it is then!:beat:

[mae]

pablo: how did it go last year? was it :W&G and Bag of Bones?

Not exactly, because of a bit of the bracket restructuring we did this year. It was The Green Mile and DT4 then. Desperation and Bag of Bones placed 3rd and 4th, respectively, in 2010. In 2009, Bag of Bones made it as a wildcard, though.

[pathoftheturtle]

This is really surprising. A very average novel, and it's the bracket winner. Surprising because unlike, for instance DT2, where there is clear consensus it's one of King's best books, this one and Song of Susannah both get very divided votes.Well, that might be laying it on a little thick, but there are few people who actively DISlike DT2.
On the other hand, while I have seen real DT4 haters, many do lurve, lurve it for whatever reason. I guess we all forgot the old 1 - 2 punch. See what happens when you let things slide?