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Thread: My least favorite book of the series

  1. #51
    Servant of Gan Brainslinger will become famous soon enough Brainslinger will become famous soon enough Brainslinger's Avatar

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    I agree that they didn't have the father-son relationship in the Gunslinger that they had later, but I think there was a love and respect that grew between them. And then of course he dropped Jake. He might have done it quickly without much thought, but he was guilt stricken afterwards.

    When you take into account that guilt, the love between them, and that awful paradoxical mind splitting they both experienced (which is one of the major reasons for Roland's angst, rather than just pining for the Lost Boy- he was gradually going crazy) the emotional impact when they reunited is understandable.

  2. #52
    John F. Kennedy ConstanToweReader is on a distinguished road

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    I liked The Wastelands, but I hated the LONG wait til the next.

  3. #53
    Gunslinger Apprentice Delah is on a distinguished road Delah's Avatar

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    Does Roland love and respect Jake in the Gunslinger?

    Yes. He admits that he loves Jake from the moment that he meets him ... even if only to himself. And he constantly appreciates Jake's strength, using words like 'amazing' and 'tough' and 'brave' to describe Jake in his mind. He also believes Jake has the ability to become a gunslinger in his own right. I think its pretty obvious Roland loves and respects Jake in this book.

    Does he drop him without a second thought?

    No. He worries about it after the Oracle, after his first meeting with Walter, after the Slow Mutants, after he actually does it. He dreams of Jake on the beach of the Western Sea. He screams Jake's name for Eddie and Susannah to hear. I think its pretty obvious Roland gives it more than a second thought. As well he should.

    Does he appreciate Jake more when he gets him back in the Wastelands?

    Yes. Of course, I think a big part of it is that Roland knows now that Jake's a part of his ka-tet. And appreciating what he had lost. But Jake continues to grow in Roland's esteem and affections. It's a different respect that between Roland and Eddie, because Eddie's a grown man and Jake is a child, but its there.

  4. #54
    Along the Path of the Beam Doe is on a distinguished road Doe's Avatar

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    I loved the Waste Lands because in this book Roland, Jake, Eddie and Susannah were together at last.
    This!

  5. #55
    Citizen of Gilead haunted.lunchbox is on a distinguished road haunted.lunchbox's Avatar

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    I didn't like Wizards and Glass. The whole thing was tragic it seemed.

  6. #56
    Citizen of Gilead Roland of Gilead 33 will become famous soon enough Roland of Gilead 33's Avatar

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    oh i love the wastelands. i've read it quite a few times. the ONLY thing that pissed me off with it is that when i 1st read it i was in high school i believe. & when i got to that damn cliff-hanger MAN was i pissed! cause "Wizard & Glass" hadn't come out yet. it didn't come out for like i think another 2 years! but great book.

  7. #57
    Along the Path of the Beam The Gasherman is on a distinguished road

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    Definitely my favorite! The awe and wonder unleashed in this book to me are second to none. So says yer old pal The Gasherman, so he does.

  8. #58
    Gunslinger Apprentice Lord_Vertigo has a spectacular aura about Lord_Vertigo has a spectacular aura about

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    I actually didn't like this one as much. The first book was bizarre, even for King, but creative and philosophical. Just not what I expected from King. The second book, I'm sorry, was just too long-winded ... except that awesome scene of Eddie fighting Balazar's men in his birthday suit. Even Roland was impressed. This third one was getting better, there was a lot more going on. It just didn't grab anywhere near as much as the last four. The fourth book is the one that really hooked me on the series, otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered completing it. As it is, I'm now a "Tower junkie" and on my third complete read-through of the series.

  9. #59
    Traveler cupofcoffee is on a distinguished road cupofcoffee's Avatar

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    I totally love The Waste Lands. Even, and maybe especially, the "old people of River Crossing" scene. To me, Blaine is the entire point of the book. He's by far my favorite villain (and favorite overall concept, I think) from the series, and the slow buildup to his reveal is handled extremely well. I loved how it starts with Jake and Eddie having vaguely sinister dreams about a monorail train, Jake finding the Charlie the Choo-Choo book, the ka-tet hearing rumors about the sonic boom in River Crossing, and then there's the God Drums, the crazies in Lud talking about Blaine "speaking in his many voices and laughing," and finally Eddie and Susannah reaching the abandoned Cradle. And then, after all that, when they finally meet him, Blaine is totally laugh-out-loud ridiculous.

    I wasn't a huge fan of the Tick-Tock man's somewhat abortive story arc, or of the whole Doorkeeper thing, but Blaine makes the whole book worthwhile. To me, anyway. A gunslinger story needs a train, and a post-apocalyptic blend of Lord of the Rings and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly needs a futuristic 800-mile-per-hour monorail doing a John Wayne impression. Stephen King did just right with The Waste Lands.

  10. #60
    Gunslinger Apprentice BigSchu22 is on a distinguished road BigSchu22's Avatar

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    Cupofcoffee, I completely agree with your assessment. One of my original posts in another thread was also about my annoyance with the lack of story for Tick-Tock as well. Tick-Tock has an elaborate entrance and exit, then vanishes in one note in the next book. I wonder if King originally had grander plans for him?
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  11. #61
    Traveler cupofcoffee is on a distinguished road cupofcoffee's Avatar

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    Yeah, I wondered about that! I get the feeling he did—at least when he was finishing up book three. By the time Wizard and Glass finally came out, I'm sure the story he wanted to tell had evolved again and there wasn't as much room for Tick-Tock as he'd originally thought. Putting him in the throne room of the Emerald Palace was probably the best King could do at that point, but I guess it wasn't really a big deal. I admit I had completely forgotten about him by then anyway.

  12. #62
    The Tenant Jean has a brilliant future Jean has a brilliant future Jean has a brilliant future Jean has a brilliant future Jean has a brilliant future Jean has a brilliant future Jean has a brilliant future Jean has a brilliant future Jean has a brilliant future Jean has a brilliant future Jean has a brilliant future Jean's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by cupofcoffee View Post
    I totally love The Waste Lands. Even, and maybe especially, the "old people of River Crossing" scene. To me, Blaine is the entire point of the book. He's by far my favorite villain <...>
    I wasn't a huge fan of the Tick-Tock man's somewhat abortive story arc, or of the whole Doorkeeper thing<...>.
    completely agree

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    bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  13. #63
    Gunslinger Apprentice BigSchu22 is on a distinguished road BigSchu22's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by cupofcoffee View Post
    Yeah, I wondered about that! I get the feeling he did—at least when he was finishing up book three. By the time Wizard and Glass finally came out, I'm sure the story he wanted to tell had evolved again and there wasn't as much room for Tick-Tock as he'd originally thought. Putting him in the throne room of the Emerald Palace was probably the best King could do at that point, but I guess it wasn't really a big deal. I admit I had completely forgotten about him by then anyway.
    He completely set him up as another Trashcan Man. Oh well. Actually, I'm re-reading The Wastelands right now. They just left River Crossing and I can't wait for them to get back to Blaine!
    Scorpius: Kill her. Then we'll have pizza and margarita shooters. Go on, John. Kill her. Do it. Do it.
    John Crichton: [aims gun at Scorpius instead] Nobody has margaritas with pizza.





  14. #64
    Traveler j-buck is on a distinguished road

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    This is my least favorite book in the series (I haven't finished the last book yet, but I already much prefer it to this one). It's simply very unmemorable to me. There seemed to be a lot of unnecessary filler, which can be fine in some cases, and works quite well in some books in the series, but it didn't in this; I kept finding myself wanting it to move along already. And the entire Tick-Tock Man plot seemed kind of pointless after all was said and done; it's like it just...ended and didn't really have any effect on the rest of the story. I did like the ending with the riddles, though; that was definitely my favorite part of the book. And I didn't mind the cliffhanger ending since I was reading it on iBooks and purchased Wizard and Glass immediately after I finished this one!

  15. #65
    Gunslinger Apprentice Xerrand will become famous soon enough Xerrand's Avatar

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    Like lot of other people here said, I love the Wastelands, it's probably my second favourite. It's difficult t choose the "worst" one of them really, there is none that I didn't enjoy. If pressed, then the Gunslinger would probably be my least favourite one I think - although there are a tone of cool things about this book as well.

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