Currently re-reading
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. It has a sequel
Black House that retcons the story into the Dark Tower universe. I think Stephen King would do just fine writing his stories without trying to connect the majority of his stories, but that said the stories aren't bad in my opinion.
boct1584:
Maybe it's just me, but I kinda liked the ending. No matter what Roland accomplished, he still had some big sins to atone for, and it does end with a note of hope in the form of the horn.
Also, just curious, did you read the revised version of
The Gunslinger or an edition of the original release? I've not read the revised version, so I don't know what if any effect it may have on reading the rest of the series.
EDIT: I saw a mention of
Jennifer Government earlier. I love Max Berry, he is so funny. If you like the writing than I recommend picking up his other books
Syrup and
Company. He's also working on adapting a web serial
Machine Man into a novel, which from what I read (I can't afford the serial right now so I'm stuck with only the free part) promises to be interesting.