Wizard and Glass

Stephen King

The gunslinger, Roland, and his ka-tet, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy, are traveling across Kansas on Blaine, the suicidal train. They have to riddle their way off to continue their quest for the Dark Tower.

They find themselves with some time. Roland knows that he has to tell them his story. He became a gunslinger when he was 14. His father, knowing he is in danger, sends Roland east, away from Gilead. His friends Cuthbert and Alain join him. They are going to avoid trouble. Instead they walk into the small town of Hambry and a conspiracy that threatens his whole world, not just the coastal town they have reached.

On the way, Roland meets Susan Delgado. She has just left the local witch. She is returning to town, having been judged fit to be the mayor's new gilly - a woman to bear the child he wife hasn't for him. Her meeting with Roland changes everything.

Wizard and Glass is the fourth book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. The book is mostly Roland's and Susan's story and their ka-tet, with only a small portion devoted to the current ka-tet. The story is poignant. The reader knows from the outset that the young couple's story will not end well. Throughout the telling, Roland refers to the future, such as "Later he would regret this decision - if it was a decision - bitterly,..." The reader's emotions are twisted when things look good, knowing that somehow, they would go bad again.

Unfortunately, the story is inflated and drags, Too much time is spent describing the background when the main story is already well underway. While King is a masterful story teller, Wizard and Glass lacks his crispness. Presumably Roland's and Susan's story will be important again in this final quest for the Tower. Otherwise, King could have skipped it as part of this series and made it it's own stand alone book separately.

Notice:  Graphic violence, Strong indecent language, Suggestive dialogue or situations

The Gunslinger
The Drawing of the Three
The Waste Lands
Wizard and Glass
Wolves of the Calla
Song of Susannah
The Dark Tower