[Marvolo]

One of my favorites may defy the rules, but I apologize in advance.

In order of appearance:

1. Roland losing two fingers and a toe immediately at the beginning of the second book. That hooked me into the rest of the series. This probably requires a bit of explanation. At the time, the very first time I read it, I did not like the first book whatsoever. I thought it was slow and a little dull. I enjoy it a lot now, but it isn't exactly the same book anymore, now is it? It is revised. The version I read was the original version. But The Drawing of the Three hooked me from the get go with the lobstrocities.

2. Roland dancing in Wolves of the Calla.

3. The shootout at the service station in Song of Susannah.

Alright, those fit into the rules, but four wouldn't fit within the rules but I think they are spectacular.

1. The first chapter with Jake in the Wastelands.

2. Eddie shooting out the robot's eyes.

3. The entire ending to Wolves of the Calla. That book built up steadily and paid off in a big way.

4. Callahan and the vampires.

And another scene which does fit into the rules but I didn't put in my top three:

Jake getting hit by the van. To be honest, every segment where Stephen King's real life became part of the mythos of the stories was astonishing to me. He pulled it off. He honestly pulled it off.

At work, we listened to the fifth book on audio, unabridged. It got passed around the office. After everyone finished we all agreed that it was a horrible idea, and likely to be very cheesy, that he place himself within the mythos. It made sense within the rules of the world he built, but it scared it to death. The series was so very good so far. It would be a shame if he destroyed it with such a strange move.

But it made the series so much stronger and made me glad he didn't write this back before he had such a wealth of knowledge on crafting good tales. It also made me realize that had the Dark Tower concluded prior to his accident, it wouldn't have been nearly as good.