Amber (The Literary Phoenix)
Written on Jan 1, 2006
As the sixth installment of the Dark Tower series, the reader starts to feel like they're climbing a mountain and they're almost at the top. Almost, but not quite. Fortunately, the pace picks up a lot in Song of Susannah and we get to see the story from Susannah and Pere Callahan's POV, a nice change of perspective.
Sadly, at the end of Song of Susannah, we aren't really any further along than we were in the previous book. At the end, Susannah is in labor, they're no closer to the Dark Tower, black thirteen is still a problem. A lot of things have just been on pause, and we have to wait until book seven for anything to get resolved.
It really bugs me that Stephen King is a character in his own book, though. You know, I understand why he's doing it. The explanation is fantastic, but it's just so egocentric. I get that he's quite famous and an incredibly prolific writer, and he's probably one of the few people who can afford to do something like this... but I'm not crazy about it.
All that said, though, it's a decent book. The pace is a nice change. Susannah and Mia's relationship is interesting to watch unfold. I didn't like this one the first time I read it, but it has grown on me.