Wizard & Glass was like, Hey, do you love the Dark Tower series but wish it was less good, less interesting, and less enjoyable to read? Well have we got the book for you!
@@Teatime1994 it's easily the best book in the series, and probably top 10 King books ever. Really inmersive storytelling and worldbuilding. I don't know what these people be smoking LOL
Hi E I'm currently halfway into my Dark Tower reread. Of all the books in the series, Wizard and Glass was my least favourite and the one I wasnt looking forward to reading again. Boy........ was I wrong. I absolutely loved it this time around. I hated it when I was 27 years old, but think it's a bit of a masterpiece now I'm 49. My only criticism is that it ruined the momentum that had been building with the first three books I very rarely disagree with your views and opinions on Stephen King books, but I feel this is one of his best written works. But hey, wouldn't it be so boring if we all agreed. Kind regards from across the pond Richard.
Wizard and glass might be my favorite Dark tower book. I do remember reading it and thinking that it felt pretty slow but the payoff at the end was so worth it. I can never decide which DT book is my favorite. I’m always switching in between Wastelands, Wizard or Wolves.
"Dreamcatcher" is the ultimate example of a book that falls apart as you read it. It starts out with a fine set up, a group of old friends going on a trip in the snow, than things get more and more disjointed, than the plot falls apart, than you start to notice Stephen King wrote this high on painkillers because he did when his leg was broken. The whole floating on a bed overlooking stuff sequences that come out of nowhere are so trippy Kurt Vonnegut would call it a bit much.
I don't know why people are bashing The Tommyknockers, I enjoyed that one pretty much, and since I still remember many details of the story after so many years since I read it, it must have left an impression on me.
I'm sure there's plenty of stuff I like that you don't like. It really is as simple as that. But if you want to go into specifics, not even King likes the novel. He calls it "a mess of a book" which it most certainly is in structure if in no other way. But if you liked it what does it matter, right? Even serial killers get fan mail 😉
Dude, you're killing me with Wizard and Glass. It's my favorite Dark Tower book. It's the center and root of Roland's whole thing. Putting this below The Colorado Kid is... odd. :)
Ah! Okay, I totally get that, even though for me it was the exact opposite - I felt it humanized him in a way that made total sense of the man he became, and the man he'd continue to evolve into as the rest of the saga played out. But sure, if you preferred the mystery, it was always gonna be a pain in the ass :) Did you get on with The wind Through The Keyhole?
i dissagree on you about Wizard and Glass, its my favorite King Novel ever, shortly followed by The Waste Lands. i agree though on Dreamcather. its the only book of King i DNF't. also, i loved Eyes of the Dragon also as well. its true that it realy doesnt feel like a king novel but it is realy good and kind of funny. the other ones i havent read so i dont know.
Everyone has their own likes and dislikes and with over fifty published books there is certainly grounds for disagreement. But I will say Wizard and Glass is my favorite Dark Tower book closely followed by The Waste Lands. I agree From a Buick 8 is bad and Dreamcatcher was so lousy I couldn't finish it.
defiantsisko No judgment from me. I am curious, though, did you read them back to back or when they came out? I know a lot of my hated stems from being burned after waiting so many years between books.
Edward Lorn I read the first three around the time The Waste Lands came out. And I loved that book so much and waiting until 1997 for Wizard and Glass was torture. I was so lucky to happen upon a copy of the 40,000 copy limited edition at a book store at the mall in August so I didn't have to wait until November to get it. Honestly the hardest thing other than waiting was remembering enough of the story to not feel lost at times when reading the next volume. I will also say that The Wind Through the Keyhole is not really a Dark Tower book, nearly all of it is about a tale that really has nothing to do with the overall narrative of Roland and his groups quest. Not in any way necessary to fully enjoy the completeness of the other seven volumes.
"I didn't give a shit the first time, I didn't give a shit the second time, and sure as hell didn't give a shit the third time." I felt that in my soul. I feel that Wizard and Glass is a stain on an otherwise incredible series. It's unfortunate that it proceeds my absolute favorite book in the series Wolves of the Calla.
I love reading Roland's backstory, so I really like Wizard & Glass. My least favourite Dark Tower book would be Song of Susanna, and my least favourite King overall would definitely be The Cell which I DNF'd (it felt like reading a screenplay and also -at the time- I wasn't really a fan of zombie stuff, so yeh it was just a bit of a fail for me). I am planning a chronological read through of all his books soon and I do intend to finish it this time (and also Lisey's Story which is currently unread despite being way in his back catalogue. I've picked it up a few times but I never get very far because I really don't like Lisey's narrative voice). Elevation was awful. Definitely agree with you on Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher, but I enjoyed From a Buick 8 and Eyes of the Dragon.
This video gets views cuz your passion really shines through. I'm getting a book review channel going myself and it's hard work. Good on you. Keep it up. Subscribed!!!
I'm with you on the first four books. But, man, I loved Wizard and Glass. On one hand, I totally AGREE that the huge novel-within-the-novel of backstory kind of jammed up the momentum of the series just as it was finding its legs. You're right about that. But I found Roland's backstory to be one of King's best standalone stories. It was emotional and gripping, but also full of adventure and intrigue. It felt for a time that I was reading The Stand again, in a weird way, which is interesting because those first and last chapters around the backstory novel also allude to The Stand, tying those worlds together. I found the next book, Wolves of the Calla, just "OKAY" so again, I think you made a valid point about the momentum from The Wastelands being squandered. But I happened to love Roland's backstory, and if they ever make a Dark Tower TV series (please please please!) I want Roland's backstory to be a part of it, but not sure how they'd work it in except maybe a series of flashbacks.
Loved The Tommyknockers, how King & Star Trek traded ideas throughout the book was great. E.o.t.D. & Buick 8... awesome. Shows how everyone is different.
Oh yeah, these books have their fans, for sure. One man's trash is another man's treasure. How else could James Patterson survived in the publishing word 😃😃😃
@@EdwardLorn - perfect E. Not hating on your opinion. I've heard people trash IT (blood boils when I hear "IT" & "Trash" in the same sentence). The Patterson slam is great. Hard to respect what he does.
Thanks so much for this vid! I'M not familiar with Kings books at all... I just picked up the Bill Hodges trilogy starting with Mr. Mercedes.. have you read it & what do you think?
I loved 11/22/63 and I thought Doctor Sleep was a worthy sequel for the shining. Still his older stuff were just masterpiece. It may also be that he is older and his classics are so hard to top.
Zach Walters I do t think it had much to do with his cocaine abuse. They were his early years, and most writers (in my opinion) tend to release there best work when they are first starting out because at that point in there careers they are overflowing with creativity and great ideas.
I read Dreamcatcher in high school. Loved it. And I read From a Buick 8 waiting for the big climax and it never came. Very disappointed in Dreamcatcher the movie.
Enjoyed your review! Wastelands is my top King book so far but I have a lot to go. I also have to agree about wizard and glass slamming down the breaks on the entire series. At first I hated it but by the time I finished reading it I was completely wrapped up in the romance/western tale. I just feel like he could have trimmed the book quite a bit and moved it around somewhere else in the series.
A year late: bottom five... * Insomnia: did the exact opposite to me... * The Tommyknockers: parts are cool, smaller parts are brilliant...but most of it feels confusing and chaotic ...then, a virtual tie... Dark Tower 5...6...and 7... By far all three feel forced and patched together. All three do not have that awesome, organic, anything can happen yet make sense feel the 1st four books have in spades. King often said the DT books were different: he would rarely if ever think about visiting Roland and his Ka Tet...they would suddenly sneak up on him and sort of take over...these 3, and the other two on this list, all read more like he did exactly what he said he was going to do shortly after the accident: just sit down and finish it..
I can respect this, because it's clear your opinions really are your own. I'm so suck of lazy reviewers calling The Tommyknockers King's worst because "even King said so."
I've always thought Tommyknockers was written at the rock bottom days of his drug use, but I may be wrong . I haven't tried it. My biggest disappointment with king is Under the dome. I had such high hopes for it, being essentially like an apocalypse for that town, but I just never cared for the characters some reason and big Jim's (or whatever his name was) form of cussing was just ridiculous. I never understood his angle with that
I loved the Tommyknockers and the Dome. Just hated the last quarter of the Dome. He could have left out the whole cause of the dome and been a hundred percent better. Edit: I also loved the Wizard and the Glass. Not so much a fan of book six and never read book seven.
I tried to read the shinning and I kinda felt like he went on and on. Idk I think he tends to get hung up on details. When I explain to other people why I can’t get into Stephen king to people, I tell them “I do t need to know where the damn curtains in the dining room where the weird creature was found, were manufactured ..,or what they looked like ten years ago at ten AM on October the 13th”. My mother didn’t like dream catcher either (she’s the huge Stephen king fan).
Hi Edward. Good video, indeed! I agree with you with Tommyknockers, Dreamcatcher, The Eyes of the Dragon, Buick 8, but not with Wizard and Glass, which, from my point of view, is not the best in the DT series but not the worst of SK's books. I think Lisey's Story is just horrible and the only SK book I was about to quit, although I finally struggled to finish it over a couple of months. At a similar level I think you may have Rose Madder. Anyways, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one. Thanks for such enjoyable video!
Regarding Tommyknockers, I’m reading it nowadays and I also felt myself quite uninterested after “someone’s death” such a nice character I’d love still remained alive throughout the book
For me personally, I didn’t care about The Eyes of the Dragon that much either. Probably because I’m not a big fantasy fan, but I couldn’t really find anything wrong with it, I just didn’t love it. For Tommyknockers, I feel like it just drug on way longer than it should and had way too much. It started out fine and ended fine but the rest was just eh I really liked Dreamcatcher, I felt it was super terrifying and the characters were done great. The story felt neat to me too. I don’t see why people dislike it i really liked it And I haven’t read the other two you discussed so I can’t say anything about it
I think The Tommyknockers is a book you really have to dig deep to get down with. The book was absolutely amazing in the first 1-300 pages and although it starts dragging on a lot about Gard and his alcohol problem, it certainly gets better as it goes on.
I study King like some people study Dickens and Pynchon and other literary greats, so I'm not sure I could go any deeper than I already have, but if you'd like to explain what you mean by "dig deep" by all means, go ahead. For me, THE TOMMYKNOCKERS is all downhill after page 400, basically after the point where King went to rehab and then came back to finish the book sober. I've read the book three times and my milage has been about the same each time. But again, I'm open for discussion. That being said, you have to take into account that even King thinks this is one of his worst, that it is, in his words, "an unbalanced mess."
@@EdwardLorn This is my first time actually finishing the book, as the first time I only read to page 200 and left it there. I believe my love for Stephen Kings novels left me blinded by how bad the book truly is.
The Wizard and the Glass - you're killing me :( But I can appreciate a difference of opinion. I did read them back to back, so perhaps the flow of the story didn't feel as interrupted. Agreed on From a Buick 8
Top five worst for me, in no particular order: Buick 8, Insomnia, Rose Madder, The Regulators, Revival. I haven't read most of his stuff after Revival.
I've only read one Stephen King book, Salem's Lot, happy to see it didn't make your list. I would like to read more of his books. I currently have Lisey's Story and It sitting on my shelf. I'm more interested in the scary stuff. Great video.
So, I'm a King fanatic too. Wizard and Glass is amazing. Your list of his worst books include some of my favorites. Oh well. Thankee sai. We were well met.
I agree with your list except Book four of The Dark Tower...I waited so long for that book and was afraid he would never finish the series before dying off like Frank Herbert did with Dune and The wheel of Time books with Robert Jorden...You know the massive cliffhanger endings of The Waste Lands and the end of book 6 of Dune was a huge cliffhanger as well...But maybe the relief of getting Book 4 of TDT was enough for me to love it SOOO much...ya it drags a bit after Roland starts his tale but I liked the romance aspect to the story...Anyway good video.
+Blackjáck Music Different strokes for different folks. I've never been a romance guy but I especially hate it when King does it. Feels forced to me. Thanks for watching ☺️
Dude you fucking rock!!! Soo true about eyes of the dragon. Definitely had me in stitches over that Morgan Freeman comment. Agreed with all your points... keep doing you!
I simply can't understand all the hate for Tommyknockers. The story is great, there's comedy, the ending is perfect, probably it should have been 200 pages shorter but still...I love it as it is. I love King's stories where evil affects a whole community. Anyway my worst King books list : 5. Firestarter 4. Cujo 3. Gerald's Game 2. Dolores Claiborne 1. Cell
How don't you love wizard and glass. I always wanted to know what set him out on his quest for the tower and that whole book tells you. There's witches, crystal balls killing betrayal everything. My least favorite was song of sussanah
There are several of King's books that I haven't been able to finish -: Cell, Lisey's Story, Duma Key, Hearts In Atlantis, The Tommyknockers, Cell and Desperation.
I tried reading The Stand and Tommyknockers and compare them to his great novellas: he was in sore lack of a decent editor. I'm a writer myself, and this probably reinforces my pedantry. Great stories can be told in 300 pages.
1) The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon 2) Wolves of the Calla (5) 3) The Dark Tower (7) 4) Lisey’s Story 5) Cell Wizard and Glass (4) is my favorite King. And I’m not much for romance. 2) Pet Semetary 3) Night Shift
Not at all. "Gray Matter" in his first collection NIGHT SHIFT is about an alien, and THE TOMMYKNOCKERS has them too. They're all throughout his catalog.
I agree about Wizard in Glass. That book put the brakes on my Dark Tower journey. I tried... I really tried... Maybe Ill take your advice and read the last chapter
I totally agree with your assessment of The Tommyknockers. Great concept, great beginning, but it seemed to drag on and on, for example multiple attempts from people attempting to get into the town, and dying. It felt like he didn't have an overall outline. It felt like he made it up as he went along. I did love that these people affected from the gas from the ship, were inventing stuff that was sometimes way beyond what humans will ever achieve, by combing simple parts from the store, and lots and lots of batteries. I liked that the alcoholic was immune because of the levels of alcohol in his system, or maybe the damage to his brain. I read it because some reviewers said it was their favorite Stephen King book.
I'm planning on reading IT, The Shining, Carrie, and Pet Sematary, probably IT first though. I'm in middle school but I hate books for my age group because they always just seem dumbed down
IT is my personal favourite but I have reviews for all of the books you mentioned but I would start with Carrie and then The Shining, then the two hardcore King stuff!
The Colorado Kid was the worst for me. A book that goes from nowhere to nothing. I really tried twice with The Tommyknockers, but it’s the only one I’ve started without finishing. I disagree on Wizard and Glass, but we all have our controversial opinions. The King book I love less than most people seem to is Cujo.
I've not read a lot of King but I'm a big fan of him. Nothing I've read that I don't like but I was a little disappointed by Carrie. It was fine but I expected it to be better
Dude, I kinda agree with most of this list but I also haven't read anything Stephen King wrote after his accident. To me, once he stopped writing horror I kind of checked out. One book I could also never bring myself to finish just because I found it so damn dull was The Stand. It just wasn't my thing same as The Tommyknockers wasn't. My favorite King novel will always be Desperation though.
You've missed out on loads of good novels, but if you're someone who thinks King was better as a horror author, all I can say is I disagree completely, and there's nothing I can say to sway ya.
I’ve never started a king book that I never finished (can’t sat the same thing for his short stories) but I’ve sure wished I’d never started a bunch of them!
I adored Eyes of the Dragon back as a teen in the 90s when I first encountered King and read pretty much everything he'd written up till then. Of course, I haven't reread it since (though I remember Randal Flagg as the evil wizard fondly). As for Wizard and Glass; yeah I'm with you. I _hated_ that book and I remember feeling betrayed that the saga barely continued in it(if memory serves, all that happened besides backstory was the resolution of the Blaine the Mono cliffhanger and the ka-tet ran into Walter/Marten/Flagg in lime a scale model of the Emerald City from Oz.
Thanks for watching. And yeah you remember correctly. It was even worse when it first came out because we'd waited SO LONG to continue the story. Then we had to wait even longer for WOLVES OF THE CALLA.
I disagree with your inclusion of From a Buick 8 on this list, but I realize reading is subjective. I liked the car and how its' mystery represented the unknown in our lives. A King novel I found tedious was The Dark Half. I know there will be violence in his stories but I find it complete overkill to describe every cut of a blade used in a razor murder. You nailed it as far as Dreamcatcher is concerned. It's my least favorite King book. What a mess!
I agree with your selection . Nice catch on those books written after the accident . Although one of my all time fav was written (if not mistaken) around that time as well; In writing: memories of the craft. And then the beautiful Bag of bones. Kudos from Costa Rica (like it mattered to SK fans 😀, we are from another universe).
I haven't read enough King to have a real informed opinion, but I do partially agree on Wizard and Glass. My gut tells me that at least 50-75 pages could have been cut from it and the worst part is that it killed alot of the built up momentum of the Dark Tower saga up to that point.... Someone will disagree but that's okay. I can't say it's terrible but it could have been so much better IMO
I have a 500 plus Stephen King collection and there are five books that didn’t do it for me at all. 1. Lisey’s Story (terrible) 2. Sleeping Beauties (couldn’t finish) 3. Bag of Bones 4. Insomnia (too long) 5. The Tommyknockers
