stephen king c/d?

I'm not quite sure what to make of Fairy Tale. I thought the pacing and plot progression were all over the place. But it had some great sequences - the first walk through the abandoned city was fantastic, and the waiting room build-up to the "Fair One" was the most intense, horrifying thing he's written in a long time.

perlstein on stephen king as the writer of the great death of democracy novel: https://prospect.org/culture/2024-02-14-cultural-artifact-meets-the-moment/

Finally read The Gunslinger and… maybe hated it? I know the subsequent volumes are supposed to be much better, but *how* much better exactly? Roland is a a sticking point – he’s kind of a bore

It remains patchy as hell throughout imo but you might get on better with book 2 if you like 80s king, it’s a lot of fun & king starts to send up Roland a bit, both in the narrative voice & through the expanded cast of characters. Get ready for some peak sk problematic/tone deaf characterisation tho

Sounds like something a honk mahfah would say...

wins OTM

Book 2 feels like it was written with the vivid memory of addiction (or in the depths of it)

lol peace man

wins otm

theres really not much recommending any of the first three dark tower books based on whether you liked the other two tbh

if you want something to read, fancy a shaggy gunslinger story and are ready for three genres and era of stephen king then forge on imo youll find something in there for you i think

That Perlstein essay linked above is really good.

There is some good action scenes in both Drawing of the Three and the whole Lud part of the Wastelands.