What to do if someone spoils the entire book for you. *spoilers*

[Disincarnate]

So, my boyfriend just finished The Gunslinger and was really, really into the book. He mentioned that he had read the first book to someone at work, and they replied with the following statement:

"Isn't it weird how it ended exactly how it began?"

This basically shattered his motivation to continue this 7,000 page journey. He's convinced this will be on his mind the whole time and that there's no point in finishing the series since he knows this plot point.


What do you guys think? Do you have any advice that will make him feel better about it and restore his motivation to finish the series?

[Letti]

First of all shoot the guy who has told him this.
Secondly,
I knew the end when I was in WoC. No one told me but on another website a guy had a very interesting avatar. It was the movie, the Groundhog day but Roland was in the picture and not the original main character (it was a damn great av anyway). And my mind kept working on it and yeah.. I found it out.

Tell him that the fact he knows the end doesn't matter. The information is nothing. The way it ends.. the way Roland feels.. the way it happens.. that's the most important. Yeah, I didn't meet the spoiler at the very begging but still much before the end and I must admit it didn't bother me at all and when I got to the end I realised it didn't matter at all.

The journey. That's the point. The end is just a piece of information.

[Disincarnate]

Thanks, Letti. I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that he's not the only one who had this happen to him.

I told him that each book has it's own storyline and that all the details he doesn't know will still affect him the same way they would anyone else. The book is about experiencing the journey itself.

[Tvmorbid]

I agree with Letti - shoot that damned guy! I mean really, why would you do something like that? It's obvious that if someone says "I've just finished The Gunslinger" that they've got a whole 6 books to go yet! What an utter git!

[ola]

Ugh, what a jerk.

But you would still want to read the series, of course. Even if only to get to know the amazing characters.

This is in hindsight of course.

[Lucifer's_Call]

Hey, everyone. I'm the aforementioned boyfriend/shattered soul. To put this in context: the girl had not even READ the book. She learned of the ending through Disincarnate. Not only did she blatantly declare the ending (despite my previous mentioning of still being in the process of reading), but she seemed to do so with no intent. Even if I had read the whole book, where could this conversation go? She has no knowledge of the book other than that. That would had been the end of the conversation anyway - a pointless statement serving no other purpose than being inconsequential sound. "I like spoilers", she gleefully says, "they're like gossip". As if knowing that will make things better. I almost cried.

Seriously, though. I feel like until that very last sentence I'll be haunted with this knowledge. It's like the number 19 and how it so tormented Allie. I want to open that last page and just read it, but I know it would only be salt to the wound. I know that it's about the journey, not the destination, but still - this sucks. The only comfort I gain is from the fact that her words lack context, and there's much, much more to experience on the way there.

[Rjeso]

Kick her ass, seabass.

Anyway, my real point: Even if you know how it ends, it is still worth it. There is too much that happens along the way to forgo the entire series. I know it'll gnaw at the back of your mind as you read on, since I've had something similar happen to me before, but you can still find yourself lost in the evolving storyline before your eyes. After all, would a sucky series garner this much fandom?

I hope you love the books as much as the rest of us do. Happy reading!

[ManOfWesternesse]

This so called 'spoiler' will affect you a lot less than you think it will. The quality of this work will suck you in and keep you in right to the last page. ...the only way it'll really spoil your journey is if you allow it to, just forget about it and read on.

[Matt]

The only comfort I gain is from the fact that her words lack context, and there's much, much more to experience on the way there.

This is a very important thing to remember I think. Sure, you know what happens but you don't know why or how and that stuff is the coolest part of the whole book!

Welcome to the site btw, it is great to have you.

[Mad Man]

Ehhh there's no way to actually ease the suffering you'll go through IF you'll read it to the end yourself.

I also went through something like that... I think I was finishing up WoC when I saw something on this site (I can't remember how did I get to that information but I didn't want to see it )

Well it was somthing like:

Spoiler:

Why did roland cry out Hax the cook at the Dark Tower.

^ that 1 small thing dragged me one step closer to insanity.

Lucifer's_Call... sorry if you're even a bit like me then you're screwed

EDIT: Yeh i'm not too good when it comes down to patting on someones shoulder.

+ yeh shoot that bastard

[ola]

As a related side note - A thing that drove me a little crazy as I finished the last book: the thread title "Roland at the McDonald's - worst ending ever"...sometimes I would think, WTF?!? and worry that the ending would be something really, really horrible.

I felt pretty silly once I actually read the thread, after.

[Brice]

Lucifer's Call, you really should continue reading. There is so much more than just the end. I do however suggest that before you do resume reading that you do not shoot her...as much as you might wish to do so. I highly recommend emptying the gun and pistol whipping her.

[flaggwalkstheline]

Lucifer's Call, you really should continue reading. There is so much more than just the end. I do however suggest that before you do resume reading that you do not shoot her...as much as you might wish to do so. I highly recommend emptying the gun and pistol whipping her.

get a buncha tower junkies together n we can stone the hated spoiler, roman style

kidding
I'm actually a pacifist
but seriously
Next time u or ur boyfriend become aware that this person is going to see a movie that u have already seen or going to read a book uv read, spoil it for them
do this repeatedly to punish them

pacifists can be evil 2

[Jean]

I have always believed that, as Nikolett put it, information is nothing. Everybody knew how Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet ended long before they actually read it, so what? Also, if there's a movie made after a book, whichever you do first, read or watch, the other is spoiled; so what? A book isn't about "how it all ended", unless it is a very poor book indeed. After all, everybody knows what human life ends with, but it is still worth living.

[Kidd Ikarus]

As a related side note - A thing that drove me a little crazy as I finished the last book: the thread title "Roland at the McDonald's - worst ending ever"...sometimes I would think, WTF?!? and worry that the ending would be something really, really horrible.

I felt pretty silly once I actually read the thread, after.

I went through the same exact thing. Pretty much word for word. Haha. In hindsight however, I think it made the ending even better for me, because I was preparing for the worst.

[Letti]

Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet ended long before they actually read it, so what?

Very very good point.

[Melike]

And, do you really think that you know the ending?
Think about it again.
For example:
Do you now what happens to the man in black?

There are many endings, and more beginnings.

[Jean]

True.

Come to think of it, do you really knows what happens to Roland?

[flaggwalkstheline]

The fact that it ends the way it does completely changes perception of the entire story, its like being told beforehand that the flashbacks in lost season 3 are actually

Spoiler:

flashforwards

or that in fight club

Spoiler:

the 2 dudes are the same person

its a mindfuck that should only be discovered in the last pages

[Jean]

or that in fight club

Spoiler:

the 2 dudes are the same person

its a mindfuck that should only be discovered in the last pages

or come on. I guessed right away

Spoiler:

because they were never seen together, and also because the first dude thought so highly of the second and so lowly of himself. It had been used in literature before.

Also, if a "mindfuck" were the only thing a book was good for, what's the use of the book? I mean, a book isn't just a puzzle or a riddle; and if it is, it is not worth rereading.

Thus, here's another important point: a good book is a book we reread; but when we do, it's spoiled all over. It makes the fear of spoilers rather groundless, to bears' mind.

[candy]

Hey, everyone. I'm the aforementioned boyfriend/shattered soul. To put this in context: the girl had not even READ the book. She learned of the ending through Disincarnate. Not only did she blatantly declare the ending (despite my previous mentioning of still being in the process of reading), but she seemed to do so with no intent. Even if I had read the whole book, where could this conversation go? She has no knowledge of the book other than that. That would had been the end of the conversation anyway - a pointless statement serving no other purpose than being inconsequential sound. "I like spoilers", she gleefully says, "they're like gossip". As if knowing that will make things better. I almost cried.

Seriously, though. I feel like until that very last sentence I'll be haunted with this knowledge. It's like the number 19 and how it so tormented Allie. I want to open that last page and just read it, but I know it would only be salt to the wound. I know that it's about the journey, not the destination, but still - this sucks. The only comfort I gain is from the fact that her words lack context, and there's much, much more to experience on the way there.

First of all welcome
as everyone here has said, you have only been told one sentence? (hopefully no more was said?) that one sentence without context does not really give you the ending. you may feel it does, but as everyone else has said there is so much more.

i also agree with the person (and i cant find the post again???) that you should spoil any and all films/books this degenerate is going to see, after all she does love those spoilers. IDIOT!!!!

As a related side note - A thing that drove me a little crazy as I finished the last book: the thread title "Roland at the McDonald's - worst ending ever"...sometimes I would think, WTF?!? and worry that the ending would be something really, really horrible.

I felt pretty silly once I actually read the thread, after.

I love you for this its so sweet

[Lucifer's_Call]

First of all, thanks to everyone for the welcomings. It's a far cry from any other message board I've ever been to (then again, seeing how Adult Swim was my most frequented, this isn't saying much). You seem like an awesome lot.

Second, I'm feeling way better today about the whole ordeal. My girlfriend bought me Drawing of the Three and totally got me motivated again. Plus hearing the consensus here kinda put me at ease.

The only thing is that I totally see all the things I wouldn't had I not known this. For example, at the end of The Gunslinger, the man in black states:

Spoiler:

"This isn't the beginning, but the beginning's end. You'd do well to remember that, but you never do."

To which Roland states,

Spoiler:

"I don't understand".

And the man in black replies,

Spoiler:

"No. You never did. You never will."

It makes perfect sense in the manner that things come together with retrospective context. Then again, it seems pretty obvious if you really read between the lines.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to continuing my journey with Roland and Co.!

PS: To those who want to take revenge out on her, don't worry. When I decide that I have absolutely nothing better to do, I'm going to make a PowerPoint presentation outlining whatever stupid scheme I'm going to pull out of my ass (pictures included).

[Twilights Fire]

All I can say is:

It's about the Journey, not the destination...

[DoctorDodge]

Well, to be honest, i was dumb enough to accidentally find out the ending of the Dark Tower before I had even finished the 3rd book. Specifically, it was reading the meaning of the word "Resumption" at the beginning of the Gunslinger on the old Tower wiki.

But I don't think it affected my enjoyment much. Sure, i missed out on the total shock most of you guys had, but at the same time, the story's too good to worry about an ending like that. And being a scifi fan, I'm pretty much used to discovering spoilers now. Not that I seek them out as such, I don't want the whole story ruined, but if i find out that so-and-so is going to return on this or that program, or this book ends on a HUGE ending, sometimes it makes me want to find out how the hell it's done or how it's gonna happen. And, at the end of the day, I only found out what happened to Roland. I had no idea what happened to everyone else. That was definitely a big incentive for me to keep reading!

Oh, and Lucifer's_Call, you'll probably feel differently once you've read the Drawing of the Three. The Gunslinger was good, but, in my own personal opinion, the Drawing of the Three was nothing short of being bloody spectacular!

[Brice]

First of all, thanks to everyone for the welcomings. It's a far cry from any other message board I've ever been to (then again, seeing how Adult Swim was my most frequented, this isn't saying much). You seem like an awesome lot.

Second, I'm feeling way better today about the whole ordeal. My girlfriend bought me Drawing of the Three and totally got me motivated again. Plus hearing the consensus here kinda put me at ease.

The only thing is that I totally see all the things I wouldn't had I not known this. For example, at the end of The Gunslinger, the man in black states:

Spoiler:

"This isn't the beginning, but the beginning's end. You'd do well to remember that, but you never do."

To which Roland states,

Spoiler:

"I don't understand".

And the man in black replies,

Spoiler:

"No. You never did. You never will."

It makes perfect sense in the manner that things come together with retrospective context. Then again, it seems pretty obvious if you really read between the lines.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to continuing my journey with Roland and Co.!

PS: To those who want to take revenge out on her, don't worry. When I decide that I have absolutely nothing better to do, I'm going to make a PowerPoint presentation outlining whatever stupid scheme I'm going to pull out of my ass (pictures included).

PowerPointed revenge! I think I like you already. Will there be graphs and charts involved?