I have been a HUGE Stephen King fan for more than 30 years and i think i've read almost everything that man has written.
The Dark Tower series took a me awhile to get started on(i kept picking up the 1st volume and started reading only to put it away again after a couple of pages for about 3 or 4 times
) but about 5 years ago i finally got hooked and read the then available volumes in 1 go, and then anxiously waited for the sequels.
I even fell in love with Roland (i know... i'm nuts) and i cried when Oy died.
What i love most about his books is that he writes about every day things and names them as well, like MacDonalds (or the Big Tits of America
), Kool Aid and so on.To me,it makes the stories ever so real and it is something other writers do not often do. The past couple of years i have also found that his books have evolved from mere horror to more sensitive stories, stuff that could happen in real life. His latest book, Blaze, is a very good example of that; i felt really sorry for the guy.
I do favor the books over the movies. With the exceptions of Stand by Me and The Green Mile, the books are always much better than the movies, as in most cases you need to use your imagination.And once you've pictured someone in your mind, most of the times the actor/actress in the movie does not look anything like the one you've imagined.