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Author: Stephen King
Category Fiction – Fantasy

The book with the least exciting name and the least promising premise (a prequel to the story we have followed so far) turned out to be nothing like I expected and might very well be my favorite book in the series. This might be due to the fact that it is essentially a story within a story, perfectly contained and deliciously written.

Here, we catch up with Roland’s Ka-tet, who face off with Blaine and prevail, only to begin noticing the strangeness of the world they have landed in. The thinnies (wrinkles in reality) make things difficult to decipher, but things are very wrong. There are vehicles called Takuro Spirit in the deserted streets of Topeka and the drink of choice is not Coke or Pepsi but something called Nozz-a-la. Those of you that read Stephen King’s The Stand get a huge little treat here as we embark on a new journey across Mid-World chasing after the Dark Tower and learning that the villain they are after goes by the name of The Crimson King (many other King books referenced here). While their journey is filled with perils and strange links to popular fiction, the bulk of this story is not that story, but rather the story Roland tells of his childhood.

In a beautiful and tragic tale, Roland tells of his childhood in Gilead. He tells of Walter, the man in black; Steven Deschain, his father; Gabrielle Deschain, his mother and of cunning and betrayal. He speaks of an effort on the part of the gunslingers to protect the next generation of knights, which ends up sending Roland Deschain, Cuthbert Allgood and Alain Johns to Mejis (or the Mexico of that world, if you rather) to be kept safe and ironically tossed into the middle of a storm. Originally their assignment is to kill off time and to do little more than counting and keeping one’s ears open. But as they reach the edge of civilization, in a place called Hambry, a Barony of Mejis, Roland and the other young gunslingers are tested in unexpected ways and are robbed of their rest of their childhood as they are suddenly cast into Farson’s plans (another name for a well known villain).

Packed with awesome characters such as Susan Delgado and Sheemie as well as a load of cunning villains such as Rhea of the Coos, Eldred Jonas and the coffin hunters, this story is like a wonderfully told western with a unique fantasy flair. It wraps into an intricate package and explains the birth of the gunslinger we know today, the reason for much of his behavior and fully paints him as more than a hardened knight. It gives him a heart and gives him a sweet heart before it all inevitably comes undone. Skills are tested, love is tested, friendships are tested and in the end Wizard and Glass as one of the most amazing stories ever told, guaranteed to keep you turning pages at a maniacal pace.

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Comments: Much of the background of the gunslinger’s story is told here as well as an explanation of the Dark Tower quest and its origins.