Best three memorable moments from The Dark Tower series?

[IrishWriter]

Ok here we go.I'm going to try and get some brains going here because the keypad simply calls me every now and then.I'm wondering what people here can come up with when they wonder what the three best moments were in the whole Dark Tower series but there are three restrictions.
1.Your choices can't include the final scene simply because it's the most obvious.
2.It can't be a concluding scene from any of the books.
3.Roland has to be in the scene(I know that sounds pretty dim but there are some pretty good scenes where he isn't even in the same world,lol).

 

[HoopyFrood]

Hmm, now this one's a thinker... and Roland has to be in the scene as well...I take it these are our own personal memorable moments, rather than ones we think should be classed as memorable?

I don't think I'd actually pick the ending to be honest...of course it's memorable, but I think there are others that spring to my mind before that:

- The beginning of the Waste Lands is one of my favourite parts of the whole series, with the fight with Shardik the Bear and then the shooting of the smaller robots that 'lived' with it.
- Eddie's death is certainly one of the more memorable moments, purely because it's so sudden and quite unremarkable...just when they think they have won, Eddie gets shot -- as I said, it's so abrupt and quite unexpected.
- The fight between Roland and Eddie and Enrico and his men is a very memorable scene as well.

With a series that's as long and as packed full of fantastic moments like The Dark Tower, there are probably a thousand more scenes I could mention...however, you did ask for the most memorable and they are the three that leap immediately to the front of my mind. I'll probably remember loads more soon, though.

 

[faerietalegoddess]

Wow...this one IS a thinker.

-I really enjoyed the part when Roland and Company went up against Shardik. I don't think it was the battle itself more than just the writing and the excitement of that particular portion. The Waste Lands was just a total menagerie of strange creatures and I really liked that about it.
-The "death" of Jake in the first book due to Roland and his need to ignore everything else to catch his prey. It was interesting to see how these two characters were so affected by each other after that point, and even more interesting when Jake makes his return and becomes a part of the ka-tet.
-In Wizard and Glass...learning about his relationship with Susan. It really made a lot of things obvious as to why he had such a cold personality in the present time.

And, just to nerd out...I felt a feeling of glee each time I came across all the other symbolisms into King's other works and other popular phenomena. I really did enjoy all the ties he had in his story, especially the ones to 'Salem's Lot and the appearance of Randall Flagg.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Heh, I know what you mean...every time I came across some kind of allusion to his other books (and he does the same in his other novels, even little things like how Rose has a copy of "Misery" (the fictional book, of course) near her at the beginning of Rose Madder) I congratulate myself on spotting it, hee. And praise King for adding all these links and creating his own world, with the Dark Tower series standing in the centre of it.

Ooh! Another moment (I knew I'd remember more). Well, not quite a moment, it's on-going. But the whole Jake and Roland's madness that builds and climaxes with Jake's entrance into Roland's world. Watching them both being torn apart by their conflicting memories is very memorable.

 

[IrishWriter]

Well I might as well give my own view on what the three best moments were for myself.

1.I think the single most affecting moment was Jake's burial.I don't think I've ever come more close to weeping over a book(no, I'm not heartless but I'm just not very expressive physically over books,even though they are my first love,lol).

2.I'm sure I can say this because even though it was quite near the end,it still wasn't quite the end.This is when Roland walks to the Tower and Patrick hears him proclaim all the names of the people who were part of his quest.There's something about it, like the most potent injection of liquidated "pride" in the history of man.That's as good as I can describe it.I think it's a pretty accurate assumption.It actually gave me the same sensation I get when I see Mel Gibson scream "FREEDOOOOOM" in the film, Braveheart.That part of the film would seriously make you cry.And then the slamming of the door when Roland enters.I think if King had of left the book come full circle there, then he would have gotten many more positive letters on his course of conclusion.I certainly would have been more pleased,even though I still thought the ending was magnificent.But that would have been pure brilliance at that,because it would have been up to the reader to decide what was in the Tower.So in that case, you wouldn't have random idiots complaining with their ....."Oh that sucked"....and their......"I could have written a better ending than that".

3.Em for me I think Oy's death was probably right up there with the most memorable.Simply because no one hates to see the dog die.I realize Oy wasn't quite there with the canine genes but its the closest we had, and in any film you see everyone's hearts go out more so for the dog that must inevitably die while saving the poor drowning kid.Or at least with me thats the case.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Oh, man, Oy's death...damn, that has to be worst moment in all of the books for me. I don't mind people dying so much (although most of the deaths -- expect for the bad guys of course! -- were traumatic (King really has a way of writing those damned scenes, in any of his books, that really wring out the sadness)) but that little raccoon/dog creature I loved and I knew he was going to die and was dreading the moment!

I don't think I could have coped with the book ending like that, with the door shutting behind him and never knowing what was in the Tower...since we, the Constant Reader, have journeyed along with Roland, we too were desperate to know what was in that Tower (ooh, a thought...perhaps the ending was King's way of saying that, like Roland, we had to learn that it wasn't the Tower that was important but the journey! ) and if the door had just shut and then it had ended, I think even I would've had something to say about it! I read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls the other day and that had an ending that would be similar to that scenario and although, yes, it was left to the reader to make up their own minds, I still wasn't entirely pleased by how cliff-hanger-y it was!

 

[Angelus_18]

oooo, toughy!

I coulden't possibly order them in a 'top 3', so i'll just put them in any order.

1. Rolands talk with Walter in 'The Gunslinger' first comes to mind, just because it really gets you thinking about the Tower, what it is, and whats in it, it also brings up some interesting ideas and theories about the universe, e.g the whole blade of grass thing. it just makes u think, and its the first time in the series hen I decided I really wanted to know whats in that Tower!

2. I think the final fight with Jonas and his crew in 'Wizard and Glass' was memorable, just because I liked the way the Gunslingers did it, sneaking up behind and picking them off one by one until somebody noticed, and then just going mental and shooting anyone possible! I know this is cheatin slightly, but I also want to link in with this Roland seein Susan die in the wizards glass, because its a very emotional and shocking moment. although we find out how Susan dies in the first book(if u read the revised edition) I had forgotten about it by that point, and so it came as a shock to me.

3. If I could I would choose the ending here, but since I can't, i'd have to agree with Irish Writer and say the bit where Roland says the names of all the people hes lost on his journey. This had an impact, and shows that although he is willing to sacrifice those he loves for his obsession, he still cares, and will not break his promise to shout their names at the foot of the Tower. for me, this moment gives me some hope that Roland will finally beat the Tower eventually, and blow that darn horn!

 

[Marvolo]

One of my favorites may defy the rules, but I apologize in advance.

In order of appearance:

1. Roland losing two fingers and a toe immediately at the beginning of the second book. That hooked me into the rest of the series. This probably requires a bit of explanation. At the time, the very first time I read it, I did not like the first book whatsoever. I thought it was slow and a little dull. I enjoy it a lot now, but it isn't exactly the same book anymore, now is it? It is revised. The version I read was the original version. But The Drawing of the Three hooked me from the get go with the lobstrocities.

2. Roland dancing in Wolves of the Calla.

3. The shootout at the service station in Song of Susannah.

Alright, those fit into the rules, but four wouldn't fit within the rules but I think they are spectacular.

1. The first chapter with Jake in the Wastelands.

2. Eddie shooting out the robot's eyes.

3. The entire ending to Wolves of the Calla. That book built up steadily and paid off in a big way.

4. Callahan and the vampires.

And another scene which does fit into the rules but I didn't put in my top three:

Jake getting hit by the van. To be honest, every segment where Stephen King's real life became part of the mythos of the stories was astonishing to me. He pulled it off. He honestly pulled it off.

At work, we listened to the fifth book on audio, unabridged. It got passed around the office. After everyone finished we all agreed that it was a horrible idea, and likely to be very cheesy, that he place himself within the mythos. It made sense within the rules of the world he built, but it scared it to death. The series was so very good so far. It would be a shame if he destroyed it with such a strange move.

But it made the series so much stronger and made me glad he didn't write this back before he had such a wealth of knowledge on crafting good tales. It also made me realize that had the Dark Tower concluded prior to his accident, it wouldn't have been nearly as good.

 

[Pollution]

"The man in black fled across the dessert, and the Gunslinger followed."
and
Roland telling off Blaine... "Command me nothing!"
oh and my favorite bit...
Oy saying Fu*k in the truck in book 7 never fails to get a giggle out of me.

 

[IrishWriter]

Good quotes chief, but this is a moment thread, so start up your turbines again and go for it.

 

[Pollution]

ok, fine, I'll rephrase.

The opening scene from the Gunslinger the first few paragraphs.

The scene where Roland tells Blaine to stick it up his arse (yes, the whole scene)

and the scene where they're driving to save king from the van and Oy keeps dropping the F-Bomb makes me giggle.

the quotes just dictate what exactly I like about those scenes.

 

[paranoid marvin]

The appearance of Flagg was pret;y special for me , and of course the death of Oy.

Probably the thing I found most fascinating was that after being attacked by the giant crabs , Roland's realisation that he had to trust Eddie in order to live - trusting in others being something that had become alien to him for so many years

 

[Marvolo]

The appearance of Flagg was pret;y special for me , and of course the death of Oy.

Probably the thing I found most fascinating was that after being attacked by the giant crabs , Roland's realisation that he had to trust Eddie in order to live - trusting in others being something that had become alien to him for so many years

Very strong characterization in those novels.

 

[Horizon]

1. Eddies death, right after he thanks him for his second chance, Id be hard pushed to find a more emotional moment in the series
2. Eddies drug running antics on the plane in Drawing of the Three, this was the moment when I realised that this series was something special
3. The implied fate of Black Thirteen, not much more to say about that really.

 

[Falsteed]

Roland in New York is up there, obviously for the writing but just how he handled himself and instinctively did everything as it should have been done down to every detail of morality and convenience, acting in a way to produce the most ideal situation. That scene left a strong impression on me, from then on "Roland was the man".

I would have to say the banter between the ka-tet and Blaine, maybe not so memorable, but I really enjoyed the dialogue that took place as they were on the monorail, and more specifically the end of Wizard and Glass when Eddie outsmarts Blaine. Lots of smiles from me.

Last, probably the flashback to Tull and everything that transpires, namely the shoot-out. The series was just starting, and what happened there really sucked me into the story.

As always, Roland is the man.

 

[TheFountain]

Wow! this is so friggin tough.

I'll list a bunch, like everyone else.

In no specific order:

1. When Roland, Eddie, and Suze chase after the man that abducted Jake from the bridge in The Wasteland

2.

Spoiler

Hot Chocolate in New York

3. When Eddie is shot

4. When Roland drops Jake

5. When Jake saves Roland from the blue van

6. When Roland kills the entire town of Zombies in the Gunslinger

7. The shootout at the gas station in Song of Susannah

8. When Roland, Alain, and Cuthbert take on the Coffin Hunters and the rest of Diego's men (pretty much the entire 4th book)

9. When they enter the same United States that the book The Stand takes place in.

10. When Roland climbs the Dark Tower

11. When the group encounters Stephen King for the first time

12. When the ka-tet battles the Wolves of Calla

13. Eddie and Roland take on the mobsters

 

[Lioness]

First memorable moment: Eddie's death. I saw it coming when King wrote that the guy on the ground had picked up a gun, but I didn't know who it would be. Then King started writing it from Eddie's point of view, or from someone's point of view who was watching Eddie, and I sat there going, 'No, don't you dare kill Eddie, don't you f-ing dare.'
Even though I expected it, it was a shock, A massive one. I didn't believe that King could actually do it, but I also thought that he sort of had to. I cried. That's what makes it memorable for me.

2: The scene in 'The Gunslinger' (So long ago that I read that, yet I still remember this bit clearly) where Jake and Roland have caught up with Walter, and Roland is torn between saving Jake and continuing in his quest. Jake's final words before his 2nd death are possibly my favourite quote in the book. 'Go then, there are other worlds than these'
The fact that he was mature enough not to scream at Roland and call him names, but to calmly but hurtfully state that, really moved me.

3: Jake's third and final death, being hit by the van. I seriously didn't see that coming, or maybe I just didn't want to see it coming, but I cried, again.

Honourary mention to Oy's death, I'm glad he went by saving Roland.

 

[The Imp]

spoilers











From the Drawing of the Three- Roland's "interaction" with the two NYC cops and his "disopoal' of the Pusher

From Wizard and Glass- Roland killing Rhea's snake

From The Wastelands- saving Jake (bypassing the booby traps, etc)

From the Gunslinger- becoming a Gunsliger (using the Hawk)

there are many others but those stand out for some reason.