Wizard and Glass

I've been reading a lot lately.  Well, listening a lot.  I just finished Swan Song -- and loved it.  And started a book called Lucifers Hammer.

Why I Gave Up The First Time

I also started reading the one Dark Tower book that so far I've avoided -- Wizard and Glass.  Why did I avoid it?  Because I'm lazy.  I heard that the entire book was a flash  back, and so I could easily skip from Wasteland to Wolves and not really miss anything.  Besides, King gives us an overview at the beginning of each book.  And, as I moved into the second half of the series, I never felt I'd missed anything by passing on Wizard and Glass.

I did read the first portion, which involves Blane the Mono.  It was both incredibly exciting, and enough to convince me I did not want to continue with the book.  I was blown away when the crew exited Blane (FINALLY)  and discovered  that Topeka had been ravaged by an evil plague -- Captain Trips.  Woha!  Seriously, I was blown away.  It was the first time I realized Stephen King's Dark Tower series was incorporating other books.

But there was a problem; I did not connect at all with the Blane the Mono scenes.  They went on forever, and it was all about a computer who loved riddles.  Of course, I knew they were going to beat the evil train, so there was little suspense.

So, I dropped out.

I'm back!

But I'm back with a problem.  As the novel moves to Roland's past, King drops into third person.  No problem there, right?   Wrong.  He doesn't just narrate what Roland experienced, but tells the story from the omniscient narrator vantage point.  But it's Roland telling the story.  Roland is not an omniscient narrator!  How does he know what the old witch is thinking?  How can he tell about scenes he's not in?

Now, I'm frustrated because I seem to be the only person noting this.  I asked my wife, "Did it bother you that the book, which Roland's story, is told in third person?  How does he know what other people are thinking?"  She shrugged, "Nope."  That was it.  Nope. So I've been driving and listening to Wizard and Glass, wound up about something my wife was able to shrug off and move on with the novel.

Prequels are hard on me.  I'm not sure I "get it."  Imagine me as the kid in class raising my hand after a forty five minute lecture.  "Yes?"  "I don't get it."  Sigh.

What I Love

Wizard and Glass does a very nice job giving the characters greater depth.  Insights into men, women, sex, and human nature are all discussed with a level of maturity King had not previously brought to the series.  Roland is no cardboard cut out; he's deeply emotional.  And we learn this through Suzannah.