should i read the dark tower series!?

[HoopyFrood]

I heartily recommend The Waste Lands. It's the best book of the entire series, in my opinion (well...the final book is darned good too, but that's because...well, it's the final book!) So I'm quite sure that if you enjoyed the first two books, you'll definitely enjoy the third one. I hope you do, anyway, it is a very good read. It starts off very dramatically and maintains the momentum throughout. Go for it, I says!

And I also certainly recommend reading some of King's other novels. For the something more eerie and unsettling you could try The Shining, IT, 'Salem's Lot, Pet Semetary... But often King's villains aren't of the supernatural variety, so if you're perhaps more interested in that you could perhaps try Misery, Rose Madder, Dolores Claiborne etc. I know there are some people who aren't so keen on his style (personally I really like it) but if there's one thing that people usually agree on, it's that King creates some brilliant stories.

[Patrick Mahon]

Thanks Hoopy - that's really helpful Looks like I've got some reading to do then!

[faerietalegoddess]

Originally Posted by Patrick Mahon

I'm interested that several people here felt that the first volume in the Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger, was the most difficult to enjoy. I really liked it, and it was my enjoyment of that book that led me to read the second volume, which I've just finished - and, again, really enjoyed.

Anyone got any views on the third volume - The Waste Lands? Having enjoyed the first two, am I likely to enjoy this one as much?

And, given that I don't generally read horror novels, should I take my enjoyment of The Dark Tower series to suggest that I should try some of Stephen King's more mainstream novels?

I definitely agree with Hoopy about The Waste Lands being the best of the bunch. I also greatly enjoyed Wizard and Glass, which is the fourth volume and, in my opinion, was almost as great as the third. I enjoyed reading it mostly because it gave us so much information as to what made Roland the man he was shown to be in the previous and later books.

If you enjoy The Dark Tower series of books and are looking to read more of Stephen King's works, I always suggest The Stand right off. I think it's his best piece of work, especially if you get the complete version. I personally also enjoyed Desperation, The Talisman, and Needful Things. He also has some great short stories in Nightmares and Dreamscapes (my favorite being "Dolan's Cadillac") and in Everything's Eventual. You might want to try the short stories first, as I think they stay pretty consistent to his writing style in the novels.

He also tells a couple of great tales writing as Richard Bachman...personally I adore The Long Walk and think it's a great character study. Either way, if you like The Dark Tower books, you'll more than likely enjoy his other works.