The Dark Tower

Song of Susannah continues directly from the almost literally cliff-hanging epilogue to Wolves of the Calla. As ever with such series, this is not the place to begin and new readers are strongly advised to start with volume one, The Gunslinger.

Meanwhile the penultimate instalment in the Dark Tower septet follows three interlocked storylines. Roland and Eddie in New England, where they undergo the firestorm of the book's only major action set-piece, Jake and Father Callahan hot in pursuit of Susannah in New York, and Susannah herself, together with her alter ego Mia, struggling with probably the strangest pregnancy in all fiction. Her travails certainly make the New York horrors of Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby seem almost mundane. The novel is not complete in itself, but leads to a duel climax-cliffhanger leading directly into the final volume, The Dark Tower.

While the journey itself is compelling and the finale riveting, it is Stephen King's imaginative boldness which make this episode so remarkable. Stories about storytelling have become increasingly common in modern fiction, with books within books and fictional authors being central to such metafictions as Christopher Priest's The Affirmation and Jonathan Carroll's The Land of Laughs. King though takes the process further, writing himself into the saga, playing ingenious games with what the public knows of his life, even to his famous near fatal accident in 1999, and in a breathtaking achievement weaving the 34 year long writing of this series of books into its own fabric. The shocking sting in the final pages mean all bets are off for the epic final volume.--Gary Dalkin

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Lacklustre low-point in an otherwise decent saga - Rated
Dark Tower books 1 to 4 is a must-read. Dark Tower up until the ka-tet boards Blaine the Mono in The Waste Lands is golden. Then, the blooming rose starts to grow out of a crack in an abandoned lot and pretty much starts to become a thorn in the side of the story, the implications of which come to a head in the lacklustre 'Song of Susannah'. The good side to this is that the book is short, but that still didn't avail me in trying to finish it.

The story starts off well enough, fresh from the battle of the Calla and hot on the heels of Susannah, who has been possessed by the evil-but-not-so-evil Mia, the events Calla-side are quite interesting as the first of the beams breaks. But after that, the indescribably boring gunfight (yes you read that right) between Roland, Eddie and the rather incredulous return of Jack Andolini (why not have a more formidable foe awaiting the greatest gunslinger who ever lived, rather than some rehashed mafia mobster, I will never know). Everything which thus transpires in Maine of 1977 is pure drudgery, and God knows it didn't have to be this way, although maybe Gan had other plans.

The events of New York are slightly more interesting but still a far cry from anything remotely resembling the previous books in terms of enjoyment or plot. Mia is not a villain you can hate, and likewise everything which happens in Susannah's head makes for very detached reading, as we constantly hear about one personality coming forward then the other, then vice versa; it's almost a rehash of the Drawing of the Three's 'Detta Walker' chapter except an entire book of it.

I think this is the book where King forgot it was all about Roland. Roland is all but invisible throughout the book, almost taking a back seat to the events. It doesn't help that for some sadistic turn of events Roland is thrust as far away from the real action as possible.

I will say this: if you are discouraged by Song of Susannah, just throw it away and read the final book. You won't have missed anything substantial. Read the final volume, as it does a fine job of getting back on track from this abhorrent detour.

A proper dark Tower book - Rated
I'll make this brief. The Wolves of The Calla was a big let down for me. Overlong, slow paced and ponderous. Took me an age to finish. However the last 200 or pages of that book made me want to carry on with the next in the series. It is a return to the Dark Tower of old. Fast paced, inter-twining stories, a cliffhanger ending and characters you care about. As a lot people had commented on King including himself as a character. Didn't really bother me, just another character in the book, didn't feel like you spent too much time with, though he is relevant to the plot.
If you thought about ditching after Wolves, give this a read and then see if you've got the minerals for the last in the series.

I really enjoyed it!!!! - Rated
I have to say I really enjoyed this book! It had a similar energy to "The drawing of the three". It's fast paced and before you know it, your onto the next book. Regarding SK including himself in the book, well who's to say Roland and Eddie didn't actually visit him, it's possible!!! A great read!

Such a shame - Rated
'Song of Susannah' continues the mistake made at the end of 'Wolves of the Calla' when King finally introduces himself as a main character in his own novel.

This is an act of supreme arrogance, not to mention completely unnecessary. He could have been entirely cut out, and it would have made no difference to the story.

This book is more of a bridge between 'Wolves of the Calla' and the final volume, and it shows. The pace quickens in this from that of the previous books, but unfortunately King has now done so much damage to the series that it will never take its place next to the other epics. For a while, especially just after 'Wizard and Glass', it had the potential to be up there with 'The Lord of the Rings', but has unfortunately fallen short. Despite its flaws, 'Song of Susannah' is worth reading, simply because it is part of the Dark Tower series, which has some spectacular components, but don't expect the last three books, so eagerly awaited, so over-hyped, to satisfy you.

A mad whirlwind - Rated
King has you going every-which-way in this book. And as an author who has broken every convention, he commits his biggest sacrilege ever in this book by writing himself into the story.

As a fan you can take it though - and if you've read all the books up to this point don't stop now - there's even something magical about it.

Most people know how close to death King really was. And in this book I think he is trying to reach out to his readers, and say "thankya." But with all of his money, wealth, agents, and fame it is hard to find the sincerity in his plea. The plea to be taken as a true writer and artist. Something the critics will never give him in his lifetime.

I'm bias, so of course I want to believe. And I look for the meaning in these books and there are times when I think I've found it, and then, like a dream it fades away . . .