(4.5 stars from 5) Packed from cover to cover with action, the sixth book in the Dark Tower series is widely condemned by many in the fanbase as the low point in the overall story, but while many criticisms of the novel that are in fact true - an uneven usage of characters, an unnecessary re-hash of a battle that occurred four books prior, the lack of time spent in Roland's world, and the introduction of the author himself as a character - the pacing is the best in the whole series and escapes King's habit of dragging a novel with too many words, and the sheer fantasy and over-the-top weaving is more than enough for a few, including the author of this review, to place the book near the top. As for an opinion about Stephen King introducing himself as a character in the novel (which is almost surely required of anyone penning a complete review), I'll quote a previous reviewer, Martin Coxall, who couldn't have written it any better: "The appearance of the author as a god-like figure in his own novel is a curious bit of egocentrism,and the breaking down of the barriers between fiction and reality is a well-executed, if slightly cliched trope."