The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King

This book is definitely the best in the Dark Tower series. In some respects, it's just a side note, a pause in the story, a place that you wouldn't even necessarily have known was a gap until it is filled in. But it really clarifies the relationship between Roland and his mother, and in its limited scope, it is beautifully done. Well worth reading even if the rest of the series frustrates you. The plotting (with stacked stories) is magnificent, and I really felt the story spoke to the heart of what it means to reach the Dark Tower.

The Dark Tower by Stephen King

This book concludes Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I'm deeply ambivalent about this series. It does get richer over time, and I generally enjoyed the rich levels of reference (from internal symbolism like the rose and the tower to external references to The Wizard of Oz and "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came"). I also thought the meta-fictional parts were fairly well done. Finally, I thought there was generally an appropriate level of sacrifice, and I actually didn't mind that King started Roland off on his journey again (I read the implication as being that this journey just depicted was the one that taught him what he needs to know to escape the cycle). I did think King was a bit of a jerk in his afterword when he simultaneously complains that a) critics who talk about meta-fiction are pretentious but that b) inserting himself in his own story is somehow not pretentious. I'm glad I finished the series, but it'll never replace The Lord of the Rings in my mind.

Song of Susannah by Stephen King

This book was not my favorite installment in the Dark Tower series. While I sympathize with the idea of putting the author in the book, and I find the book's bibliomania amusing, here it rang a little flat--as if King were tooting his own horn a little too loudly. That said, the references to other books and other fantasy worlds are some of the best parts of this series, and there was humor in Roland's visit to King. I'll definitely finish the series (the end is so close)--but this series, while intriguing, doesn't surpass some of my favorites like Lord of the Rings (that is to say, I won't be re-reading these books every year!).