August 29, 2015
I definitely intended to have this book finished sooner, though it is over 1,000 pages in the edition I read. But life happens. I had a family reunion in Colorado, and the very day after I got home, I was back to work. So I didn't quite accomplish my goal of finishing the series over summer break, but I came very close.
A lot happens in this last volume. The baby is born, and proceeds to eat Mia. It can change forms between a giant spider and a human, and this horrific distraction allows Susannah to get her hands on the gun and kill the low men and their associates...but Mordred gets away. It's not long before the ka-tet is reunited, and they have a couple of important things to do before heading on to the Dark Tower itself.
This could have easily been two books, so it's interesting that King, after taking his sweet time, blasted through to the end. This is actually built in as part of the narrative, as Jake sacrifices himself to save fictional Stephen King from being killed by the van. In return, this King stops hesitating and finishes the story for them, you assume.
I don't want to say too much (Jake's third death was foreshadowed so that shouldn't be a shock), but the ending devastated me. Ka is a wheel...Roland instilled this belief in his ka-tet, but he didn't see the truth. I'm left with so many questions about why he's doomed to his fate. Damn, poor Roland.
Though the ending makes me sad, I'm not dissatisfied. It's rather fitting, if unfair. Life and fate are so often unfair, so there it is. I absolutely loved this series. If this is what Stephen King considers to be his masterpiece, then I say he did a damn good job. And as to the rest of the beloved ka-tet, he's much kinder to them than any earlier comments of mine may have suggested, which softens the blow of Roland's reality a little bit but does raise further questions.
I bet there are websites out there dedicated to theories and speculations about The Dark Tower series. I don't know that I'd delve into all that, though. I'm always about seeking a new reading experience...the world (in my mind) is moving on.
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