So I just got around to reading this book for the first time. It's been on my to-do list for years. After picking it up at the library I pretty much read it in 5 days, and here's my thoughts:

**I have not read any more of the Dark Tower, but intend to. Please don't spoil any future plots with sequel spoilers**

I always avoided Stephen King books because he came across as so morbid and more of a horror writer than anything else. Maybe it was that one time in seventh grade when me and my friends watched "It" on video and I had nightmares about that stupid clown for days afterwards... but I digress.

This book changed my impression of King. He's a really good writer. There are some passages in the book where he throws in random similes ("the setting sun painted the sky in tangerine threats," or something like that) that really made me think that he puts a lot of thought into making every chapter, hell, every paragraph a little work of art unto itself.

I thought Jake's character was an interesting plot device, if not a sad story. I really didn't know if Roland was going to sacrifice Jake or not right up until the end, and was quite sad when he did.

The flashbacks of Roland's backstory were nice and confusing, it took me a minute to realize that we really were reading about a different (parallell, alternate, whatever) world. I guess that's going to be a theme throughout the series, given the Man in Black's statements at the end.

Anyways, I guess I just wanted to say that I read a book from an author I had been avoiding for years and really enjoyed it. I am pretty exicted that I have six more books to go, and can't wait to dive into it. Thank god the series is complete, I hate having to wait for books to come out.