I made a vow for 2004 that I'd finish Stephen King's Dark Tower cycle of novels. After all, King went to all of the trouble to finally finish his epic work this year, with the last three books in the series coming in an 18-month period. I figured it was high time for me to start and finish the series I've been toying with reading for years.

So, while riding BART home last night, I finally finished up the fourth book, Wizard and Glass. Going in, I had my doubts about this book, as I knew the vast majority of the narrative consisted of a long flashback whereby we learn pivotal information about the series' hero, Roland Deschain. What I didn't expect was for this to be the best darn entry in the series yet. High praise, when compared against the mostly excellent second and third books.

With Wizard and Glass, King set out to tell a Western and ended up with a love story. Or maybe the other way around. Nonetheless, both structures work perfectly, deftly combining a sense of both familiarity (through the Wild West atmosphere) and alieness (through the subtle and effective tweaks of fictional language and fantastical setting). What got me the most, however, was the love story. I frankly didn't think King had it in him. As sappy as it may sound, the romance between Roland and Susan is convincingly told and adds a great deal of dramatic weight to the events in the Dark Tower books.

I can't wait to start on the series' fifth book, Wolves of the Calla. With three more books to go, the odds of me finishing the series in 2004 are growing slim. The consolation however, is that it will be a fantastic ride all the way to the Dark Tower, no matter how long the journey takes.