eShop USA > Books > Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4)
Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4)
Price: $81.48 Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780670032570
ISBN: 0670032573
Label: Viking Adult
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 704
Publication Date: June 23, 2003
Publisher: Viking Adult
Studio: Viking Adult
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:
Wizard and Glass, the fourth episode in King's white-hot Dark Tower series, is a sci-fi/fantasy novel that contains a post-apocalyptic Western love story twice as long. It begins with the series' star, world-weary Roland, and his world-hopping posse (an ex-junkie, a child, a plucky woman in a wheelchair, and a talking dog-like pet named Oy the Bumbler) trapped aboard a runaway train. The train is a psychotic multiple personality that intends to commit suicide with them at 800 m.p.h.--unless Roland and pals can outwit it in a riddling contest.
It's a great race, for the mind and pulse. Movies should be this good. Then comes a 567-page flashback about Roland at age 14. It's a well-marbled but meaty tale. Roland and two teen homies must rescue his first love from the dirty old drooling mayor of a post-apocalyptic cowboy town, thwart a civil war by blowing up oil tanks, and seize an all-seeing crystal ball from Rhea, a vampire witch. The love scenes are startlingly prominent and earthier than most romance novels (they kiss until blood trickles from her lip).
After an epic battle ending in a box canyon to end all box canyons, we're back with grizzled, grown-up Roland and the train-wreck survivors in a parallel world: Kansas in 1986, after a plague. The finale is a weird fantasy takeoff on The Wizard of Oz. Some readers will feel that the latest novel in King's most ambitious series has too many pages--almost 800--but few will deny it's a page-turner.
Frank Muller, the recognized virtuoso of audiobook narration (The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption), takes on Stephen King's Goliath tale of sorcerers, time travelers, and sci-fi love. Totaling more than 27 hours and spanning 18 cassettes, Wizard and Glass requires the listener to love Muller's Hannibal Lecter-like voice--either that or suffer in audio hell for the equivalent of three full working days. While some might find his breathy staccatos irritating at best, others will find his voice the perfect accompaniment to King's creepy characters and nightmarish plots. (Running time: 27 hours, 18 cassettes)
Beginning with a short story appearing in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1978, the publication of Stephen King's epic work of fantasy-what he considers to be a single long novel and his magnum opus-has spanned a quarter of a century. Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, The Dark Tower series is King's most visionary feat of storytelling, a magical mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror that may well be his crowning achievement. In November 2003, the fifth installment, Wolves of the Calla, will be published under the imprint of Donald M. Grant, with distribution and major promotion provided by Scribner. Song of Susannah, Book VI, and The Dark Tower, Book VII, will follow under the same arrangement in 2004. With these last three volumes finally on the horizon, readers-countless King readers who have yet to delve into The Dark Tower and a multitude of new and old fantasy fans-can now look forward to reading the series straight through to its stunning conclusion. Viking's elegant reissue of the first four books ensures that for the first time The Dark Tower will be widely available in hardcover editions for this eager readership.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - I admit...
First let me state that I find/found every book in the series to be superb. and that I cannot recommend this series highly enough.
Next - this is the audiobook narrated by Frank Muller - and he is simply my favorite narrator. He captures the characters so well and has such skill as a performer that it makes books almost visual.
I loved Wizard and Glass. The entire story of Roland and Susan Delgado is simply gorgeous and tragic.
It's difficult to pick a favorite ... Read More
Rating: - Great book
Good Book. If you like king you will like this too. Tells the story of Roland.
Rating:  - WIZARD AND GLASS by Stephen King
Wizard and Glass is the fourth novel in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. It picks up precisely where The Waste Lands left off - with the riddling contest with Blaine the mono. This resolution is not completely satisfying, as it borrows noticeably from The Hobbit, down to specific riddles. But it gets the job done. The character then visit King's own The Stand, then The Wizard of Oz. All of this feels somewhat derivative, and the reader gets the feeling that King is just making it up as he goes (which ... Read More
Rating:  - Makes my brain ache.
Wizard and Glass is my favorite book of all time. I've read it three times and my sister gave me the audiobook to listen to at bedtime. I absolutely HATE Frank Muller's narration. The voices he does are so twangy and stupid it totally ruins the book for me. I had to stop listening after the second track.
Rating: - Excellent Book!
I have been reading the Dark Tower novels ever since Mr. King released the last three volumes about three to five years ago. I myself am a teacher and have found it hard to find time to read anything. However in the last two years I have made it through more books than usual. Three of those books have been books 4, 5, and (currently about half way through) 6. I have already read the first three books in the series.
I can without a doubt tell you that although this book: Vol. ... Read More
Related Categories:
|
