Wizard and Glass / Stephen King / 672 pages

Wizard and Glass is the fourth volume of The Dark Tower series.  The Dark Tower features Roland Deschain (along with his ka-tet of Eddie and Susannah Dean, Jake Chambers, and Oy the bumbler) and his epic quest to save his world from decline and corruption by finding the dark tower.  The series is inspired by old westerns and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, with pop culture thrown into the mix.  Roland's world is connected to ours through doors or death, and parts of his world will remind you of your own.  This book is largely a flashback to Roland's early years and the beginning of his quest for the dark tower.  We get much more information on Roland's parents, his friends (Alain and Cuthbert) and his first love.  This book briefly visits the world created in Stephen King's The Stand, and reading The Stand first may add to your enjoyment of that portion.  I would recommend this book to Stephen King fans or Tolkien fans who want a different version of the epic quest.  As with any Stephen King, this is not a book for children.  Parents should read the book before encouraging teens to read it.