vraiblonde said:
I can't get into fantasy fiction like that. I tried to read the first one and got about halfway through before I ditched it.
The first one is brutal. It's confusing, boring, slow... It's probably my least favorite Stephen King book, (except for Rose Madder which could very well be the worst book ever written). The only purpose which I can see that it serves is that it introduces you to Roland and Jake, and foreshadows various things. If I ever decided to re-read the series, I'm likely to start on the second book. I almost pitched it when I read it. But I decided to plod on through because it was Stephen King, and I was in a big SK phase, and read everything of his.
The second one was MUCH better, exciting, active, suspenseful. The third one was better yet.
The fourth one kind of reverted back to the style of the original, with too many flashbacks - in fact, if I remember, the vast majority of the story is a giant flashback (which I don't like because it didn't advance the plot one iota) - and introducing concepts that come swooping out of left field, like these
skinnies, or whatever they were called.
I wasn't too big on the fourth one - although, it's head and shoulders above the first. I hope the Wolves of The Calla is an improvement.