My least favorite book of the series

[TerribleT]

I start re-reading the series a while back. I sat and read The Gunslinger in pretty much a single sitting in one day. It didn't take me a lot longer to finish The Drawing of the Three. I've currently been reading The Wastlands for 2-3 weeks, and I've only finished to the part where they have held palaver with Aunt Talitha, and are heading to Lud. I HATE this book, it's always a difficult read for me. I despise the whole ride on Blaine, it's tedious and monotonous, the trip through Lud bores me to tears, I just generally don't enjoy this book. The only two parts of this book I like a lot are the encounter with Shardik, and when they draw Jake through the door. The part where they are actually drawing him, Jake is in the house, Susannah has the Demon, and Eddie is trying to make the key work. I realize this book is a necessary part of the series, and it contains vast amounts of information that is important to the series, but it's a boring tedious read for me.

[Jean]

now I understand what DT1 and DT4 lovers feel when I explain how much I dislike those two volumes

and, dear friends, please do not mark DT1 through 3 spoilers in this thread, we are in a spoiler forum.

[jayson]

The only thing I didn't like about The Waste Lands was that when I finished it the first time there were still years to wait before Wizard & Glass was published. Lud I found very exciting, particularly Roland and Oy's mad dash through the city in search of "Ake." Though I mentioned in other threads about Roland and Jake that I think Roland went a long way towards making up for dropping him in DT-2 when he didn't push him in front of the car, it is his rescue of Jake from Tick-Tock that wipes that slate all the way clean for me. One sacrifice, one rescue.

[Jean]

Though I mentioned in other threads about Roland and Jake that I think Roland went a long way towards making up for dropping him in DT-2 when he didn't push him in front of the car, it is his rescue of Jake from Tick-Tock that wipes that slate all the way clean for me. One sacrifice, one rescue.

This I am not sure of. Now Roland was convinced that the whole present ka-tet was what it took to get to the Tower; what would he have done if he had believed, just as he had done under the mountains, that dropping Jake was the only way to get there?

"I'm here, Jake," Roland said. He got to his feet, drunk-walked over to Jake, and hunkered beside him. He touched the boy's smooth cheek almost unbelievingly.
"You won't let me drop this time?"
"No," Roland said. "Not this time, not ever again." But in the deep*est darkness of his heart, he thought of the Tower and wondered.
(...)
"I'll never leave you again," Roland said, and now his own tears came. "I swear to you on the names of all my fathers: I'll never leave you again."
Yet his heart, that silent, watchful, lifelong prisoner of ka, received the words of this promise not just with wonder but with doubt.

That was before Lud. We may say that after Lud these wonders and doubts should be dissipated. But the circumstances were all different from what it would take to turn the situation into real touchstone.

Sorry TerribleT, it was off-topic; R_of_G, we might go on with that elsewhere.

[jayson]

I'm not sure I understand your question Jean. Can you clarify it a bit? You can move it to another thread if you'd like, just let me know where it went.

[Jean]

which question?

(Now we are making a vaudeville act of two deaf'uns)

my previous post consisted of two parts: in the first I disagreed with your previous statement about Roland saving Jake in Lud making up for letting him drop; the second hinted at the irrelevance of that question to the topic of the thread

::huggling bear::
(shit! will photobucket ever emerge from under their so-called "maintenance"?::

[TerribleT]

which question?

(Now we are making a vaudeville act of two deaf'uns)

my previous post consisted of two parts: in the first I disagreed with your previous statement about Roland saving Jake in Lud making up for letting him drop; the second hinted at the irrelevance of that question to the topic of the thread

::huggling bear::
(shit! will photobucket ever emerge from under their so-called "maintenance"?::

But the quote you used there was from The Wastelands, it come right after Roland pulls Jake from the door.

[jayson]

...in the first I disagreed with your previous statement about Roland saving Jake in Lud making up for letting him drop;

Ok, what I meant was it made up for it to me, not necessarily to any other reader, and especially not necessarily to Jake. Personally, I see the score as even there, one drop, one save. I don't know that I didn't expect Roland to "betray" him or someone else again before the end, but I forgave the drop after the rescue. Make sense?

the second hinted at the irrelevance of that question to the topic of the thread

Agreed.

[Jean]

Ok, what I meant was it made up for it to me, not necessarily to any other reader, and especially not necessarily to Jake. Personally, I see the score as even there, one drop, one save. I don't know that I didn't expect Roland to "betray" him or someone else again before the end, but I forgave the drop after the rescue. Make sense?

it does. Though, come to think of it, on emotional level I though he would never drop him again immediately after that first time; all other instances only helped the feeling grow.

[jayson]

it does. Though, come to think of it, on emotional level I though he would never drop him again immediately after that first time; all other instances only helped the feeling grow.

i agree again Jean.

[Letti]

Of course I love them all but if we are talking about least favourite I must say mine is Song of Suannah... however I enjoyed that book too.
I am in love with The Waste Lands.

[TerribleT]

Of course I love them all but if we are talking about least favourite I must say Song of Suannah.

That runs a CLOSE second for me.

[Brice]

I refuse to pick. It is one book.

[Mike Beck]

I refuse to pick. It is one book.

bah, taking the easy way out, eh?


If I had to pick one volume that I like the least, I would say it's Wolves of the Calla. I liked a lot of the things that were introduced in it, though (i.e. Todash, Dogans, etc.). Some of it moved slowly and (I felt) dragged on a bit. But it was all worth it for Callahan's stories. This book should have been called, "Pere Callahan's Excellent Adventure."

[Wuducynn]

I am in love with all of the books. There isn't one I hate. To me they are all integral and important to the saga.

[jayson]

I am in love with all of the books. There isn't one I hate. To me they are all integral and important to the saga.

very diplomatic. balk balk balk!!!

[Brice]

I refuse to pick. It is one book.

bah, taking the easy way out, eh?

If you like you can call it that. I really think of them that way though. However even if I were to seperate them I'd agree with this entirely.

I am in love with all of the books. There isn't one I hate. To me they are all integral and important to the saga.

[Mike Beck]

I am in love with all of the books. There isn't one I hate. To me they are all integral and important to the saga.

Hey, me too, bro. I cut holes in each of my books so that I can love them even more. However, the title of this thread is "least favorite" not "worst." So, come on. There's gotta be one of them that falls at the bottom of the list, no?

Brice, I hear ya. So let's say that it's one book. Which part of that one book doesn't shine as much as the rest? If (for some bizarre and unexplained reason) one of the Dark Tower volumes had to vanish from existence, which one would you rather have it be?

[Wuducynn]

Hey, me too, bro. I cut holes in each of my books so that I can love them even more. However, the title of this thread is "least favorite" not "worst." So, come on. There's gotta be one of them that falls at the bottom of the list, no?

Brice, I hear ya. So let's say that it's one book. Which part of that one book doesn't shine as much as the rest? If (for some bizarre and unexplained reason) one of the Dark Tower volumes had to vanish from existence, which one would you rather have it be?

Well, TT was meaning The Wastelands is his least favorite and that he "HATES this book". Thats what I was responding to. I really don't have one that I like less than the others although I do have a number 1 and 2.

[Brice]

I am in love with all of the books. There isn't one I hate. To me they are all integral and important to the saga.

Hey, me too, bro. I cut holes in each of my books so that I can love them even more. However, the title of this thread is "least favorite" not "worst." So, come on. There's gotta be one of them that falls at the bottom of the list, no?

Brice, I hear ya. So let's say that it's one book. Which part of that one book doesn't shine as much as the rest? If (for some bizarre and unexplained reason) one of the Dark Tower volumes had to vanish from existence, which one would you rather have it be?

Jesus, man! Why don't you just tear my still beating heart out of my chest?

[Wuducynn]

Jesus, man! Why don't you just tear my still beating heart out of my chest?

Does this offer extend to me too???

[Brice]

Jesus, man! Why don't you just tear my still beating heart out of my chest?

Does this offer extend to me too???

Sure, why the hell not?

[Dud-a-chum?]

I am in love with all of the books. There isn't one I hate. To me they are all integral and important to the saga.

Hey, me too, bro. I cut holes in each of my books so that I can love them even more. However, the title of this thread is "least favorite" not "worst." So, come on. There's gotta be one of them that falls at the bottom of the list, no?

Sorry, you're not gonna get All_Hail to say what his least favorite is; I think his life depends upon pretending to like every single book equally. If he dares stray from that notion, who knows what maight happen . . . *gasp!*

That being said, I am not life-dependant on anything, so I can easily say what my least favorite of the series is, and it sure as hell is NOT Wastelands. In fact, I think TT ight be the first person here I have ever read type that they hate this book. Very interesting. Hey, at least it's an original thought 'round these parts. Pretty refreshing, really, because I remember at least back in the .net days that the opinions were either "I love the last three books" or "I hate the last three books."

[Wuducynn]

Sorry, you're not gonna get All_Hail to say what his least favorite is; I think his life depends upon pretending to like every single book equally. If he dares stray from that notion, who knows what maight happen . . . *gasp!*

How did I miss this post?
I don't think Dud-a-chum even posts on this board anymore but just in case he does and reads this someday ------------------------------------------------------------
---- -- ---- --------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------- and may you have nightmares that drive you slowly mad over the rest of your life.

[Spencer]

one of the Dark Tower volumes had to vanish from existence, which one would you rather have it be?

This one.