Grading: DT7: The Dark Tower

[Aaron]

DT7: The Dark Tower

Donald M. Grant, 2004

Round 2, Group IV

Grading for this Book is Closed

Strength of Plot:
2.67032967 (Graded B+)

Character Development:
2.626373626 (Graded B+)

Quality of Ending:
2.582417582 (Graded B+)

Overall Average Grade:
2.626373626 (Graded B+)

Combined Round 1 & 2 scores:
7.293040293

[Jean]

B, A, A

[mae]

I'm going with BBB.

[Aaron]

C,B,C

I felt that there was not plot specific to this book, but rather that it was only the conclusion of the larger plot of the series. That isnt necessarily a bad thing, but I would have liked it if there was more of a central theme. There was some character development, but I couldnt give it an A since the villains were developed so little, when one would have thought they would have been developed much more. That was part of the draw for the last book, that it was going to finally shed light on the Crimson King, and I didnt feel that accomplished that at all. Took the easy road, IMHO. Eeeeeee!
The ending was predictable. The revised Gunslinger gave it away for me, and I would like to have been shocked and amazed. But I wasnt.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just fell short for me.

[Letti]

AAA
Am I the first one giving 3A?

[jayson]

I gave it 3 B's.

[obscurejude]

Still thinking about this one.

Aaron, did you think Mordred was developed well?

[Sam]

BBA for me. Not as weak as SoS but still not terribly strong for it to be the end. The plot was kinda weak, but it was wrapping up not building.

[Merlin1958]

You know, after reading this series for 30 years (yeah unfortunately I'm that old) and wondering if he was ever going to actually finish it, I initially was outraged at the ending. But over time and consideration I have come to accept that it was the best ending to this story and love the book. I still harbor resentment over the way the "connections" to other novels were summarily dismissed as well as certain characters receiving, shall I say, less than anticipated, demises but then again what was Roland, as a gunslinger, actually going to do to Flagg? He couldn't shoot his ass as we know from W&G. I, like I'm sure others, would have liked to see other characters from previous novels show up (namely Jack Sawyer and my own personal favorite Danny from Shining) but all in all I have to say that DTVII was a great read and I am currently re-reading it so I guess that says it all.

A great book and a great series!!

[obscurejude]

How did you grade it Merlin?

[obscurejude]

B, B, A.

[Merlin1958]

A - B - A I have to admit that while I accepted and acknowledged the ending, I couldn't get past certain characters not being included or dealt with better. IMHO

[Empath of the White]

A, A, A

After getting over the disappointment of

Spoiler:

Mordred killing Flagg, no Thomas Whitman or Jack and Speedy

, I began to enjoy the book a lot more. Finli and Pimli were very well developed for bit players.

[Daghain]

Straight A's. I loved, loved, loved this book. Rereads only elevate it for me.

[Melike]

A, A, A. It is all amazing. I really love that book and still remember my excitement when I bought it.

[Jon]

A,B,C

Spoiler:

Flagg's demise was horrid! I also felt the end was a bit too easy for King.

[ManOfWesternesse]

Straight A's (duh!)

[alinda]

AAA

[klio]

A and A and A.

[mae]

I'm honestly surprised by these triple As and high marks. I'm not being facetious, just surprised. I felt it was subpar, especially for the final volume of such a serious work. It had lots of great moments, but also some very weak ones.

[theyspunaweb]

BAA, I had to think about this for a little while...cause it's the one! It's the finale! I feel Like I should have re-read it for a real vote but I know the plot was weaker for me than an A. I liked the ending. I even liked

Crimson King Spoiler

the Eraser/Artist addition, but I felt like it was so easy at the same time. No battle with the Crimson King? Just so unexpected, with a new charecter and magical power. But what was important was the Tower, and I liked the ultimate ending.

[Matt of Gilead]

Grading the ending for this one is hard. I went with B. The actual ending is A, the epilogue is B, and the coda is A. However, there's also a C involved near the end.

Spoiler:

When the Crimson King is erased by Patrick Danville, I almost didn't finish the book. I hate that part so much.

So I think that averages out to a B for me.

[Aaron]

Still thinking about this one.

Aaron, did you think Mordred was developed well?

No. The only reason that I could see for his existence is that he

Spoiler:

killed Flagg. But then again, I still don't think that scene is what it appeared to be to the readers. So yeah...Mordred was undeveloped and worthless.

[jayson]

Aaron, I agree about Mordred.
Like I've said before, if King felt it absolutely necessary to have a Mordred, he'd have been better served...

Spoiler:

...skipping the Flagg eating and just having Mordred as a final adversary for Oy. I find very touching the scene of Oy standing up to the much larger and more powerful Mordred. It is Oy's equivalent of Jake taking on the entire Dixie Pig full of baddies.

I think it'd have been a better use of him. Maybe not.

[Patrick]

AAA.

I counted the ending as the place where SK said to stop reading.