Ending of the Dark Tower Series

[Ginger_Smurf]

Finally got round to finishing the series the other day, i thought the ending was great but understand how some people could be disappointed.

If i have any issues with the series at all they are only minor things like -

1. I would have liked Roland & the man in black to have had a final showdown

2. More story on Cuthbert, Alain & the whole battle at jericho hill and the fall of Gilead.

3. It would have been nice to read about Roland taking revenge on Rhea of the Coos.

Just think they could have been another book in the series touching on points 2 & 3.

All in all tho its was one of the most enjoyable things i've ever read and im gutted now i've finished it.

Anybody advise on another good series to start on next?..........

[Existor]

Originally Posted by Ostrich_lover

Here is the thing that bothered me about the ending that no one seems to have brought up anywhere on the internet that I can find:

How can Roland possibly repeat his quest? It makes no sense, because in order to do so he must visit the Keystone World several times, in which time only runs one way, thus it would be impossible to repeat the quest.

Secondly, and on the same note, how do you explain the fact that Suzy can go to 1999 in Keystone World, yet Eddie and Roland can then go to 1978? They are constanly concerned with how much time has passed in the "real world" during all of Book 5, and then they jump to 1978. If they could do that, why does it matter what time has passed in the Keystone World in the year of 99???

I really like these books, and I defended the books for years, but on my third read through of book 5 and second read through of 6 and 7, I gotta say these two time travel related paradoxs really bother me. Perhaps someone has an explanation.

I have read this series a few times but mainly have focused on the first 5 books, I have probably read the Gunslinger about 15-19 times to be honest. If anyone has an interest in trying to understand why Roland is repeating his quest over and over and over again....read the gunslinger over and over again. Every time I read it there was something new that caught my attention. For instance in the gunslinger SK talks about pretty much all the books in the 1st book, sounds crazy huh?

He talks about the manni folk, the bird (taheen) from algo siento, Sheb the piano player from Mejis, and of course Susannah. There are other references and foreshadows that SK talks about in the first book I won't list them all but the main things I have wanted to talk about was in the beginning and towards the end of the Gunslinger. Towards the beginning SK writes "Why should that dizziness remind him of his friends from long ago?" I thought this was quite a trip when I went back and read the first book after having read the last. Stephen King knew all along since 1979 how Roland's quest was going to end...... If you read carefully in the Gunslinger when Roland has palaver with Walter O'Dim, Roland says that he doesn't understand something Walter says. Walter responds by saying "No, you never did....you never will..........." EVEN WALTER KNOWS THAT ROLAND HAS BEEN REPEATING THIS QUEST!!!! Does anyone else get this? How does Walter know that he is repeating his quest??

Also, one last thought because I could write a 100 pages about my different theories about Roland. Walter may have died by Mordrid but there are many versions of Walter...just as there are many versions of Roland. You guys want to know why? perhaps you need to read "The Talisman" to really understand. The talisman is essentially the whole dark tower series in one book LOL. I know it sounds crazy but I think it's true. Anyway, I digress. In the talisman SK talks about "twinners" as being another version of yourself just in the "world next door." Roland could be doing the quest over and over again as a different version of himself. Of course this is just one of my theories.

[Existor]

Yes SK has made himself a sort of creator of worlds in this series, in book 6. Eddie and Roland understand after meeting "The Writer" that they are only there because SK had written a story about them!! I found this at first to be the most absurd thing I've ever read, because Stephen King had the nerve to put himself in the story and to make the whole story hinge upon his completion of the other dark tower books that he had yet to write. Guys.........I could really talk about the Dark Tower all day long to be honest. I want to have a discussion about this series so badly with people that have read it many times.

[cort]

I agree with those who say SK should not have made himself a character in the book, particularly as some sort of God who decides the fate of worlds with his typewriter. And I felt several pages detailing how he got run over by a Plymouth where absolutely out of place and cheapened the book.
If he needed to vent that badly it should have gone in the forward.

I would love to see a book set in the world of the"old people" the ones who built Blane and apparently combined machinery and the Prim. That would have endless possibility's and would be the perfect setting to explain the beams and the tower.

[Bango Skank]

Well... after almost 6 months, I read all of the books. I am so Bittersweet! The ending (though a major WTF moment) left room for a whole new set of books to be written however. (following Roland on his journey this time with the horn, and hopefully some residual Knowledge) Though I doubt this will happen, because as Roland is in the desert at the end (just as in the beginning) he thinks it is a fleeting dream or a trick of the desert heat, and the memory fades. I call ******** Mr. King. How can you forget something like that? Still the premise remains, that if he does things differently (this time) the ending may be different as well. It would be interesting to see a book #8 recounting these events, possibly with the entire Ka-tet making it to the tower and blowing the horn along with the roses, or something along those lines. I also hated how we fell in love with Eddie and Jake and Oy only to see them die (Jake twice!). I figured there would be some big revelation about "the clearing at the end of the path" and a big happy ending, with Roland meeting up with all of his friends at the top of the tower or something, but NO, all we got is the Nozz-a-la and Takuro Spirit world, where there existed twins of Eddie, Jake, and eventually Oy. That part felt really cheap. And I doubt, (if i had been Susannah) that i would've liked it one bit. Those werent her friends only copies. (Eddie wasnt Eddie he was some preppy knock off) I want to know what actually happened to OUR Eddie, Jake, and Oy. (and Susan Delgado, Alain, Cuthbert, and the Pere for that matter) I suppose the topic of what happens after death is too touchy even for King. But still..it was a great series and even though I'm disappointed I cant complain. I just want more books about the story (from King!) =(

Also Susannah leaving Roland and Oy to face Mordred and The Crimson King alone, and taking off to that "fake" world with copies of her friends, made me quite disgusted. You have forgotten the face of your father Susannah!!! Then again maybe that world IS the clearing? Bah ...still felt cheap.

Bango Skank was here (lol)

[Bango Skank]

Ok... Ok.... OK ...I think i get it now. It doesn't mean i have to like it. As he re-enters the desert, Roland Deschain and Roland Deschain alone has been granted access to re-enter a past connected to the key-stone world(s) where certain events have happened a particular way. We must realize that Roland and the dark tower are intrinsically linked and that Roland must...I don't know...get it right this time? Kind of like a ****** up Quantum Leap episode, except the repeat is stuck on Chapter 19.

At the thought of this, Bango wondered, almost amusingly, what kind of a job Scott Bakula would do playing Roland, and who else hollywood might have in mind, and when or if Steve King would ever get around to making the motion pictures or minseries or whatever they were doing. Haha, you see what I did there? I wrote myself into the story just like SK. =) say thank ya.

But I digress... a wordslinger's job is to sling words. I would like to hear Mr. King's thoughts on a book 8, because, say true "Oh No ... Not Again...Have Mercy..." (Rolands last words in the tower) definitely leaves room for more books. Say thank ya for that because we hate to think of poor Roland wondering for eternity. Because as Roland says himself to Susannah "that sort of thing may be good for a hundred years or so but what then?" obviously referring to the todash darkness, but still, the constant reader desires better for Roland of Gilead, and isnt that writer...the Wordslinger just the slightest bit more prepared to help the Ka-tet this time with the foreknowledge of book seven? And what has he better to do but listen to the song of the turtle?

[Bango Skank]

It is crazy how deep all of this goes. As I sit here and think of yet another alternative.

Because Roland chooses the tower, he becomes a liaison of sorts between the MANY different worlds and the tower. All needing the same re-alignment to the key-stone world. Roland does tend to be reliable, and baby...two out of three beams saved aint bad. Perhaps its time for another Stephen King in another world, or Claudia e Inez Bachman perhaps, to write of Roland. Perhaps just on the other side of the GWB.

[Boneman]

Yeah, but... if it's a karmic thing (and don't forget that Roland now has the horn with him this time), then things will turn out differently... It seems that there was progression already, from what Roland said in the Tower - I found it to be the most gobsmackingly perfect ending to the book ever! And although he'd never rewrite the whole series, it's kinda nice to think that this time, Jake won't die at all, and somehow Roland opens a doorway to rescue Susan Delgado - she didn't deserve that ending.

[Bango Skank]

Yes, you are correct sir. I would love to see a book eight based on that premise. If you remember Roland's flashback (or was it?) in the tower, where he remembers the 3 seconds it would have took him to pick up the horn from Jericho Hill as it fell from his friends hand. Alot of people in this book didn't deserve the endings they got. But that is the way of the gunslinger for you. I wonder if the Old SK checks these forums from time to time? lol

[DarkTree]

To those feeling cheated by the ending, I'd say that in fact Roland did not deserve his goal by the time he's gotten to it. Ka may have killed his friends, but he had that ka in his hands. Nearly all of his Ka-mates deaths could of been prevented had he taken action sooner. You can't win the Tower alone and it was his fault for not realizing that sooner.

[DarkTree]

Originally Posted by nixie

This was the only ending possible,Nothing would stand in Rolands way, his Ka-tet were second to his quest it didn't matter who died or survived as long as Roland reached the tower.The quest was a test for Roland something that will keep occurring until Roland discovers the true meaning of it.

YES. Keep this in mind fellows, or go back and re-read the books. The ending was EXACTLY how it should of been. Roland had to do this again, because he had again proved he was not fit to reach his goal. Though he was damn close. Which is why he has the horn when he's back in the desert. This is foreshadowing his final journey where he won't use his friends as means for an end.

[Bishizzop]

It sounds like a few people have the original Gunslinger and the revised edition confused. Personally, the revised edition seems more like book 8 than anything else. It helps me cope with the perplexing ending.

I think it is obvious what happened at the end of The Dark Tower. He is doomed to repeat his quest until (most likely) he can blow his horn at the foot of the tower. I agree with the general consensus of this forum that he obtained his horn by some act of redemption through this life.

I think a good way to look at this book is through the lens of Buddhism, although this is probably not the way King looked at it. In Buddhism, life is an endless cycle of suffering (known as Samsara). This suffering exists because the sufferer has desires. In Roland's case, his desire is the Dark Tower. In order to free oneself from this endless cycle and achieve Nirvana, one must live a life free from desires. If they live honorable lives, they are reborn with an opportunity to live in a state that is potentially closer to obtain Nirvana.

I believe such is the case with Roland. He has learned to love and feel compassion (although it is difficult to say how much love he learned from his previous reincarnations--King implies there are numerous ones). But we definitely see him grow from book 1 to 7. And we see that he is more compassionate about those left behind in book 8. After book 7, this might even be in 19th time to make this journey. That would make sense.

I think the question we should all be trying to answer here, is not what happened at the end of The Dark Tower, because that is obvious. But rather what is going to happen when he is able to blow his horn at the foot of the Tower. I would like to say that the Tower crumbles and every existence dies. It is a rather grim outlook, but it is consistent with what he says when he first sees in the Tower within the pink ball in Book 4. In reality, I think Roland would just drop dead, with a smile on his face. He learns love, learns compassion and is finally able to free himself from his endless life of suffering. Of course that is inconsistent with what I previously said, because his desire for the Tower is still there. Maybe with his next incarnation, he leaves with Oy through the door the Artist draws.

But, yes, I think King copped out on the ending. It's BS that he tells us to appreciate the journey more than the end, because when you make a book series that spans 34 years, all the while talking about what is at the top of the Tower, the constant readers will undoubtedly want to know what is at the top of the damn Tower. Plus, I'm not a writer. He is. I don't want to make up my own ending for someone else' work. That is just lazy writing.

edit: Apparently King goes into much detail about the Crimson King, young Roland and his intentions for the Dark Tower in the graphic novels he made. In case you don't know about them, they were written by King and created by Marvel Comics. They detail what happened after Mejis all the way up to the battle at Jericho Hill. I have not read them yet, a coworker did, but I wouldn't let him tell me anything about them.

[Jake Reynolds]

I thought the end was perfect, and I had no problem with Stephen writing himself in as a god, if not the god. The ending was great- I think this whole happy, saving Susan Delgado ending would have been a slap in the face, for me anyways. The fight for the tower is endless, and I rather had the impression that Roland's bag that he began the Gunslinger with contained goodies not from the old world, as such, but rather his previous attempts.

Who knows what difference the horn will make, what difference the loss of his fingers will make, what difference his relationship with his ka'tet will make? This is reflective of the constant struggle between light and darkness, where Roland restores the balance rather than wins or loses.

I love the idea that it didn't end, because somehow there is comfort in the thought that Roland is out there somewhere, walking the trail to protect us all.

[40ozFist]

I thought the ending was perfect. To me the whole point of the series was the final destination to anything does not matter as much as the experience of the journey. The tower was a metaphor for Rolands life. When he reached it, it was a shrine to his existance. To me it was clear that each one of us is our own personal dark tower. Roland having to repeat everything is fitting. To me he was so obssesed with getting to this tower everything else was second to it. He missed out on the point to life. Because of this, he's doomed to repeat it. I thought it was brilliant.

[Heck Tate]

I've read the series twice now and to me the question at the end is not did SK cheat the reader out of a real ending, but is there a better ending in literary history? There's not a single person in the world who hasn't looked back at their life and wondered how it might have proceeded if different actions were taken. IMO, King sums up this feeling perfectly. How many times must a man rewalk his own steps until he acts perfectly in the eyes of his ideal creator? Likely many...