I read this book for the first time when I was about 11 years old. I enjoyed the story quite a bit, as a story about resolve, drive, and the nobility of devoting one's self to a quest. The second time around, almost 30 years later, I enjoyed the story even more.

There's a lot more depth to the story than you would expect. I very much enjoyed the allusion to Abraham and Isaac going up the mountain, though it was kind of spoiled by King making it explicity through Walter's conversation with Roland at the end. It does serve a purpose in the story, though.

It was also interesting how King let us see the boy Jake slipping into hysteria through dialogue, before making it explicit in prose. It really demonstrated how good of a writer he was and is.

I'm really going to enjoy this re-read through the Dark Tower series.