/var/log/orava

At this point I have to say that the people who I’ve heard dissing this series are, well, wrong. It only seems to get better with each book; this fourth installment, Wizard and Glass, finds the story in full swing. It’s a prequel of sorts, telling the story of how young Roland came to be what he is. It’s a classic Western, with a town full of secrets, a band of gunslinger “good guys” riding in, and the obligatory gang of “bad guy” toughs. It’s also a love story between Roland and a girl named Susan Delgado (referenced in passing in earlier books). It’s also a lot of other things, building up structure for the “Mid-World” Roland comes from, with hostile magic, possible caches of high-tech weaponry, and otherdimensional horrors thrown into the mix.

I liked this installment a lot, it’s probably the best of the series so far – which is a bit odd, since often “prequel” books aren’t all that engaging since you know large parts of how things will turn out. Here that’s part of why it works, the feeling of doom over the happenings twists even some innocent “everyday” scenes into poignant moments. King remains a master storyteller when he hits his stride. And he’s hitting it here.

It’s not perfect. The “Wizard of Oz” bit near the end seems a bit superfluous, and ends the book on a perhaps too “open” note after the intense “campfile tale” that has just concluded… but that’s a fairly minor fault.

I’ve understood the final books of this series aren’t quite as good as these middle ones. That may be, but I’m still looking forward to reading them. I want to know how this ride ends, on what sort of clearing at the end of what sort of path.