A post-apocalyptic paranormal fantasy Western, with a few macabre touches of horror (because it's Stephen King--I'd be confused if there weren't.) 
 A genre mashup of this magnitude would probably be a convoluted and difficult to sell, if this weren't a known effort to form a bridge between the author's many universes. That concept alone sold me on the need to read at least partway into the Dark Tower series. 
 Of everything King has written, this series is the one I hear about second-most often. (The Stand being the first--from even King's memoir admission that he's never been able to top that particular work.) And of those who rave about this series, there is the consistent claim that they increase in readability with each successive book. This, I can completely believe. Because to my mind, book #1 felt more like the incomplete start to a much larger book. 
 Roland is an interesting character, to be sure, but his single-minded tracking and reflections throughout the first half of the book do little to make him sympathetic. The pacing and information-withholding (along with a prolonged flashback) causes a sort of drag on the story progression up until we are finally introduced to Jake--a child/youth who seems to have fallen between the cracks in this (eventually) somewhat explained multi-verse. 
 The last 10-15% felt dramatically different from the rest of the book. And I mean that in the best way possible. The Man in Black becomes less of a boogeyman figure and more of a character--albeit still nebulous in his motivations. His significance in Roland's past comes into sharper focus (as does Roland.) And the nihilistic philosophical ranting he does offers the first real peek into the overarching plot of the series. 
 The ending to this one is pretty open. Few answers, little closure, and stakes that aren't particularly clear. If I didn't already have some idea of what it was building toward, it might be hard to press on into the next book. But I trust those who've given me assurances and raised my expectations.