Stephen Kings The Dark Tower Series

[NeophyteNihilist]

Is there anyone else here who is reading or has read this series? I was thinking about making a fanclub, but I doubt they're are enough fans of it on this forum.

If you haven't read it, I highly suggest you do. The series is excellently written, brimming with origionality, and rather addicting.

[Spectrum]

I've read the first six books and the first half of the seventh, but after getting to a certain point in the seventh book I suddenly found myself hard-pressed to drudge up any will to continue. XD

Having not one, but both of your favorite characters suddenly killed in a seemingly pointless manner tends to do that to you. :noworry

I ended up returning it to the library; I figure I'll buy it when it comes out in paperback (I have the other six in paperback format) and finish it then. At any rate, disappointing end or not, it is a fantastic series. Definitely a worthwhile read. Glad to see at least one other person on this forum is a fan (long days and pleasant nights!). :P

[Lacus Clyne]

I am new to the DT series, but I am already a huge fan. I'm one the third book right now. Very addictive series.

[Yak]

Well, I'm in the mid of book 2 but I'm already addicted to Roland and his adventures. I'm curious how it all will turn out. King is awesome anyway but this is indeed his masterpiece, imo.

[neko-sennin]

Well met, NeohpyteNihilist, Spectrum, Cock fangirl, Yakkun.

This is the first time I've ever met Tower Junkies outside of a Stephen King forum. I finished reading DT 7 not long after it came out.

I suspect I know what part you're talking about, Spectrum. Nothing in this series ends the way you expect it to. But that's half with fun with Stephen King.

My fav was probably The Wastelands. Then again, I read it during my full-time insomniac days, and can kinda relate to a certain character's experiences.

How many other of SK's books have you guys read that relate to the Tower?

[Rockreaper]

I've read up to seven and am still trying to get the seventh. But i have to say, that is the best damn series of books i have ever read. If you started a club, i would join.

[NeophyteNihilist]

^I think I will start a club.

The only other SK book I've read is the Shining.

[Spunkey]

If you make one I'll join it for sure. It's weird I'm new to these forums, and when I saw the bookstore section I was thinking to myself I gotta make a thread about the DT series, and it's the first post when I come in, must be ka.
Was kinda disappointed reading the ending, wish I had just stuck to reading the book and not the ending he added so hardcore fans wouldnt assasinate him, it was too cliché, he couldnt have come up with something better

[neko-sennin]

Some suggestions:

Gunslinger FC
Tower Junkies FC
Breakers FC
maybe an "All Things Serve the Beam" FC?

Just a thought. I've got some archives of DT art that might be handy for a banner.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/scoot_the_koan/spooky_sig_03_fin.jpg

[Einlanzer]

I'm about 1/5 through the last book but haven't had the will to finish it. I think it is because I dont want the series to end. I have loved the Dark Tower Series since I read the first book and it still remains one of, if not the best series I have read.

[neko-sennin]

Was kinda disappointed reading the ending, wish I had just stuck to reading the book and not the ending he added so hardcore fans wouldnt assasinate him, it was too cliché, he couldnt have come up with something better[/QUOTE]

Apparently you've never read Black House. :)

Black House has THREE different endings.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/scoot_the_koan/spooky_sig_03_fin.jpg

[NeophyteNihilist]

Well this made my day:
STEPHEN KING BREAKS NEW GROUND AT MARVEL WITH ORIGINAL COMIC SERIES BASED ON HIS EPIC THE DARK TOWER

New Comic Series Exploring the Origin of the Notorious Gunslinger Character Marks First Time Stephen King Has Produced Original Content for the Comic Book Format.
Marvel Comics to Launch First Issue in April 2006.

NEW YORK – World Fantasy Award-winning writer Stephen King, long acknowledged as the master of modern horror, and Marvel Comics join forces this spring to launch a ground-breaking new comic book series adapted from King's magnum opus, The Dark Tower.

The comic series will mark the first time Stephen King has produced original content for an ongoing comic book project. The series will expand the saga of King’s epic hero, Roland Deschain, whose quest to save the Dark Tower is captured in seven best-selling novels published over the course of twenty-five years. King’s unparalleled storytelling power will inform new stories that delve into the life and times of the young Roland, revealing the trials and conflicts that lead to the burden of destiny he must assume as a man, the last Gunslinger from a world that has moved on. The comics will work in conjunction with the novels, further supplementing and defining the saga’s mythology under the direction of the acclaimed author himself.

"As a lifelong fan of Marvel comic books, and as an adult reader who’s seen comics "come of age" and take their rightful place in the world of fantasy and science fiction, I’m excited to be a part of Roland's new incarnation," said Stephen King.

The series will be illustrated by Eisner-award winning artist Jae Lee.

King continued, "I love Jae Lee's work, and I think this is going to be a dynamite partnership. Frankly, I can’t wait."

The first issue is scheduled to debut in April, 2006 with a hard cover collection of the first 6 issues released Holiday, 2006. Fans will start seeing promotional items – which feature more info in the series – beginning this December. Watch for more info as it becomes available at www.marvel.com/king
I'll be starting the fanclub as soon as I finish making the banner, which should be tonight or tommarrow.

[DyersEve]

Words cannot express how much I love this series.

Walter o' Dim =

BAD


ASS

!!!!!!

[neko-sennin]

Well this made my day:

Yeah, I just wish King had gone with Vertigo.

Has anyone else read any of SK's other book that relate to the Tower?

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/scoot_the_koan/osaka_power_sig_02.jpg

[NeophyteNihilist]

The FC is up and running. Its called the "Dark Tower Fan Ka-tet."

[General Shino]

I just finished Black House...

[neko-sennin]

I'll have to take a look.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/scoot_the_koan/osaka_power_v2_01.jpg

[neko-sennin]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone else here read The Little Sisters of Eluria?

It's a DT short story King wrote for the "Legends" series of sci-fi/fantasy novellas, a tale about Roland's time in the desert.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/scoot_the_koan/osaka_power_v2_01.jpg

[NeophyteNihilist]

^Nope, never read that one, although I've heard of it. Have you?

[neko-sennin]

Yeah, it's also got a Wheel of Time short I haven't read yet. (I wanted to read as much of that series as had been published by that point first.)

Stephen King's written a lot of books that related to the Dark Tower (technically, all of them do), a number of which either make references to things from DT or vice-versa:

DIRECT REFERENCES:
The Stand
The Talisman
Black House
Insomnia
'Salem's Lot
Hearts In Atlantis
IT
Rose Madder
(short stories)
The Little Sisters of Eluria
Everything's Eventual

INDIRECT/POSSIBLE:
Desperation/Regulators
From a Buick 8
The Shining
(short stories)
1408
Mrs Todd's Shortcut

There are some others. I'll update the list when I remember them.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/scoot_the_koan/osaka_power_v2_01.jpg

[neko-sennin]

There is alredy a thread, it would be a good idea to revive instead of starting a new one.

Done and done. Check this out, tiGer.

[Randir]

My God, the last posting before the bump was in 2005- talk about thread necromancy. However, I shall be more than willing to accept it, for the Dark Tower series is easily the most fascinating book cycle I've ever had the pleasure to read. Not to mention the series' outstanding suitability for 'quote material', the thrilling plot and the vivid characters- I love them all. With the consequence that (here be spoilers for book seven)hardly anything ever stirred me so profoundly as the character deaths in the series' finale, particularly Jake's.
If I remember correctly, I got "The Drawing of the Three" as a Christmas present a few years ago. Of course, starting with the second book of a heptalogy is somewhat unusual, but you know the thing with presents. Either way, I started reading it, and upon finishing, it was set in stone that I wanted to read the entire series, come hell or high water.

Luckily, the series was already finished at that time, and I could merrily proceed to buy and read- no, devour- "The Gunslinger" through "The Dark Tower".

King himself supposedly said about the series, "Roland's story is my Jupiter."
Boy, is he ever right.

P.S.: If there are still doubts about my DT-affinity, you might want to have a look at my avatar.

[Tyrael]

I just recently purchased the drawing of three, I'm keeping an open mind to the series although I found the gunslinger was not all that great. I have heard it's far from the high point of the series, and since it is such an epic idea I thought I keep on going.

[Randir]

I just recently purchased the drawing of three, I'm keeping an open mind to the series although I found the gunslinger was not all that great. I have heard it's far from the high point of the series, and since it is such an epic idea I thought I keep on going.

Well, while "The Gunslinger" is a fairly entertaining book, it's not exactly packed with strong scenes, except for
the annihilation of Tull and the palaver at the end.
In my humble opinion, there's a significant rise of quality starting with "The Drawing of the Three" (which by the way happens to be my favourite book of the series.)
"The Waste Land" is pretty strong as well, and "Wizard and Glass" is considered the absolute high point by the majority of fans. "Wolves of the Calla" is a double-edged sword: Some deem it to be the low point of the heptalogy, some (although fewer than the first group) say it's the best book of the series. Personally, I wouldn't go so far as to agree with either one of those extreme positions, but I certainly enjoyed "Wolves..." a lot.
"Song of Susannah" and "The Dark Tower", which are so closely connected that they're practically just one book anyway, constitute a very worthy finale for the series from my point of view.

Oh, and on a random side note, I'd like to mention that "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed" is the single most awesome first sentence of a (series of) book(s) ever.

[seventyGTO]

You forgot to mention that both Cujo and Pet Semetary are set in the same universe as 'Salems Lot and therefore in the same universe as the Tower. Also I beleive the Regulators is a relatively established direct link.

Don't forget The Mist.

Mist + Critters = stuff that lives in todash. It also bears a striking resemblance to the thinny described by Roland during his main flashback.

[seventyGTO]

[QUOTE=neko-sennin;2483188]
DIRECT REFERENCES:
The Stand
The Talisman
Black House
Insomnia
'Salem's Lot
Hearts In Atlantis
IT
Rose Madder
(short stories)
The Little Sisters of Eluria
Everything's Eventual

INDIRECT/POSSIBLE:
Desperation/Regulators
From a Buick 8
The Shining
(short stories)
1408
Mrs Todd's Shortcut

[QUOTE]

Sorry, meant to do that on the last post, what can I say I'm a newbie.

[seventyGTO]

Oh, and some people think The Long Walk is related.

The shadow at the end is suppossed to be Walter

So it could go in indirect/possible

And I look like an idiot for responding three times to a poster who abandoned his thread over two years ago. Great first impression.

[tGre teh Disleksik]

My library doesn't have "The Gunslinger" but has every other book in the series :argh

FUCKING LIBRARY :argh

[Tobirama]

Strange, I found the fourth (Wizard and Glass) by far the worst. The Drawing was what really sunk its hooks into me. It is fantastic how King has interweaved so much of his other work into this one.

[Randir]

Strange, I found the fourth (Wizard and Glass) by far the worst. The Drawing was what really sunk its hooks into me. It is fantastic how King has interweaved so much of his other work into this one.

Same here. I've never been particularly wild about "Wizard and Glass", except for
the opening part with the showdown Eddie vs. Blaine. Also- shame on me- I've never been able to bring myself to like Susan's character. However, "Wizard and Glass" earns some definite bonus points for the noteworthy presence of Cuthbert Allgood. You just have to love this guy.
As for "The Drawing of the Three"... I'll admit that I might be biased towards the positive side there, seeing how it was the first book I've read of the series, but I think the introduction of the characters has been done exceptionally well even by King's generally high standards.
Heck, even Jack Mort, whatever you want to think about his rather strange ideas of enjoying himself, is a thoroughly interesting character.
And of course, you just have to love Detta Walker's charming personality.

[Witcher]

Opinions on this series seem pretty divided. Wizard and Glass is my favorite or second favorite from the series.

I found the gunslinger was not all that great.

I loved The Gunslinger. I know it kind of stinks from an objective point of view though. We never really get the sense that any of the people shambling and twitching through the pages are really human, due in large part to the weird, somewhat disjointed dialogue that plagues the book. Their unreality is only emphasized by the bizarre way events simply happen, e.g., when the man in black resurrects Nort by emptying his salivary glands all over the guy's face and repeatedly jumps over his body like a lunatic. And as he's doing this, some guy breaks out in laughter while hacking up giant globs of snot. Some people cackle then run away, and others stick around while the wind blows and things crash into the building. That's just...odd. Unnatural. Nonlinear. Roland himself is impossible to relate to, Jake's appearance is incomprehensible, etc. Anyway my point is that I like this book precisely because of these "flaws." It has a eerily surreal quality to it not duplicated anywhere else in the series, as though I'm reading the script of a dream I once had but forgot upon awakening. I'm a big sucker for atmosphere in everything (books, music, movies, dinner...) which probably explains why I'm so fond of this book.

So for those who've finished the series, what did you think of the ending?

[Randir]

[...]
I loved The Gunslinger. I know it kind of stinks from an objective point of view though. We never really get the sense that any of the people shambling and twitching through the pages are really human, due in large part to the weird, somewhat disjointed dialogue that plagues the book. Their unreality is only emphasized by the bizarre way events simply happen, e.g., when the man in black resurrects Nort by emptying his salivary glands all over the guy's face and repeatedly jumps over his body like a lunatic. And as he's doing this, some guy breaks out in laughter while hacking up giant globs of snot. Some people cackle then run away, and others stick around while the wind blows and things crash into the building. That's just...odd. Unnatural. Nonlinear. Roland himself is impossible to relate to, Jake's appearance is incomprehensible, etc. Anyway my point is that I like this book precisely because of these "flaws." It has a eerily surreal quality to it not duplicated anywhere else in the series, as though I'm reading the script of a dream I once had but forgot upon awakening. I'm a big sucker for atmosphere in everything (books, music, movies, dinner...) which probably explains why I'm so fond of this book.

So for those who've finished the series, what did you think of the ending?

Well, "The Gunslinger" is an extremely direct plunge into what basically is Roland’s life story, so we’re lacking quite a lot of vital information at this point. Ideally this notion of “unfinishedness” sparks the reader’s interest and has an effect on them similar to the effect it’s obviously had on you. Personally, I can’t really relate to that, since I started my DT reading with “The Drawing…”- in other words, I already had a pretty good idea of Roland’s character- well, as good as you can possibly understand Roland’s character at all, that is- by the time I got around to read “The Gunslinger”. So perhaps that bereaved me of some of this initial fascination. It’s still a solid book, of course, it just isn’t my favourite of the series.

As for the ending:
First of all, the scene where Roland calls out all those in whose names he’s coming is extremely strong. His subsequent climbing the tower with the various rooms depicting the stages of his life is a masterpiece of build-up of tension, ‘nuff said. Well, and then there are, of course, the famous final scenes…
Many fans seem to dislike the ending. In fact, I’ve always had the impression that what Roland finds at the top of the tower has sparked the most controversy among readers altogether, perhaps with the sole exception of Walter’s (or whichever alias of him you prefer) demise at the hands of Mordred, which practically every fan deems unworthy.
Personally, I think King might be right when he said he felt that it was not just the “right ending, it was the only ending". [Since I unfortunately only have the German version, this citation is of course not a direct quotation, but I guess you know what I'm talking about.]
The continuous cycle of Roland’s quest (remember that Ka is a wheel) and yet the preservation of hope for change or even salvation by the reappearance of the Horn of Eld is an outcome that leaves a lot of room for pondering the matter further, for interpretations and- sometimes regrettably, I must say- also for more philosophical implications than you can shake a stick at.
It’s not a closed, a definitive ending (neither was “Eddie and Jake in New York”, for that matter), but since when has King ever been notorious for closed endings, anyway? Also, I like the subtext coming across via the fact that a cycle featuring King himself as a character (as kas-ka-gan, no less) doesn’t have a definite ending.

[Witcher]

As for the ending:
First of all, the scene where Roland calls out all those in whose names he’s coming is extremely strong. His subsequent climbing the tower with the various rooms depicting the stages of his life is a masterpiece of build-up of tension, ‘nuff said. Well, and then there are, of course, the famous final scenes…
Personally, I think King might be right when he said he felt that it was not just the “right ending, it was the only ending". [Since I unfortunately only have the German version, this citation is of course not a direct quotation, but I guess you know what I'm talking about.]
The continuous cycle of Roland’s quest (remember that Ka is a wheel) and yet the preservation of hope for change or even salvation by the reappearance of the Horn of Eld is an outcome that leaves a lot of room for pondering the matter further, for interpretations and- sometimes regrettably, I must say- also for more philosophical implications than you can shake a stick at.
It’s not a closed, a definitive ending (neither was “Eddie and Jake in New York”, for that matter), but since when has King ever been notorious for closed endings, anyway? Also, I like the subtext coming across via the fact that a cycle featuring King himself as a character (as kas-ka-gan, no less) doesn’t have a definite ending.

I like the ending as well, at least from the point Roland enters the Tower itself and onwards. It's fun to attempt to find some meaning to it all, or try to spot hints throughout the series that point to this conclusion. The whole Ka theme is the most obvious, but I believe Roland mentions now and again that Eddie and Susannah were natural gunslingers who simply had a talent for the business. Maybe that's because the same Eddie and Susie incarnations accompanied Roland on his quest each and every time? No wonder they were good at it, they had years of practice.

The presence of the Horn is also a nice puzzle as well. I don't really have a good idea of why it should be here this time around, exactly, though my current theory is that it means Roland was teleported all the way back in time to the beginning of his life (and not just to that desert as the ending kind of suggests). Since he valued human companionship more when he reached the top of the tower at the end of this cycle, instead of burying the memories of his first ka-tet beneath the ruthless pursuit of the Tower like he did in previous lives, he was reborn with a slightly different predisposition that eventually led to his retrieving the Horn of Eld at Jericho Hill. And maybe this little reminder of the Will of Fire importance of friendship will be enough to make some kind of a difference when he reaches the Tower again. I don't know what the nature of his salvation would be like though. Maybe not even Stephen King knows. And the previous paragraph was all bs and hot air =D

This is just something I noticed, but in my version of The Gunslinger, this is the very last sentence in the book:

The gunslinger waited for the time of the drawing and dreamed his long dreams of the Dark Tower, to which he would some day come at dusk and approach, winding his horn, to do some unimaginable final battle.

But he supposedly lost that Horn at Jericho Hill, so perhaps the "first" book isn't even a part of the same continuity as the rest.

Many fans seem to dislike the ending. In fact, I’ve always had the impression that what Roland finds at the top of the tower has sparked the most controversy among readers altogether, perhaps with the sole exception of Walter’s (or whichever alias of him you prefer) demise at the hands of Mordred, which practically every fan deems unworthy.

Yeah RF's death was garbage. After my first time reading the series, I actually though the last three books were crap compared to the first four. I don't feel as strongly anymore, but I still think that the first four are superior, and that the last three books are afflicted by a general malaise of which Marten's underwhelming death was only a symptom. It appears to me that there is a radical shift in tone that occurs sometime between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla. The scope of the story became more...trivial.

See, when I discovered the DT series, it was still unfinished, and only completed up to Wizard. While waiting for the remaining books to be written, I satisfied my addiction by scrounging around for Tower references in the rest of King's work. In The Stand, Flagg is portrayed as a timeless demon, an immortal that is always reborn anew in times of strife and bloodshed. In Black House, the Crimson King was characterized as some kind of god, who commanded a legion of freaks and monsters, and built a titanic machine powered by an army of slaves who worked ceaselessly to tear apart the fabric of reality itself. Hell, even in Hearts in Atlantis, the low men were tall, white, creepy shape-shifters with eyes like the death of galaxies and appetites like Jaws. This is epic stuff. Odysseus who? Trojan what? Epic.

But then the last three books roll around. Walter's a con artist with a bag of cheap nonmagical tricks who once got anally raped by some random tramp, the Crimson King is a geezer who runs around screaming "eeeeeeeee," low men are failed Animorphs...the list goes on and on. I probably set myself up for disappointment by expecting a little too much, and relying too much on material that wasn't directly a part of the Dark Tower continuity, but still, King definitely did a complete 180 as far as how the bad guys were portrayed. And maybe this is a statement of some kind, maybe it's King's way of showing us the smallness and meanness of evil, its ultimately insignificant nature, and how our fears are never as big as we imagine them to be in our minds. Maybe, but I still think it sucks. Phew.

[Tobirama]

Same here. I've never been particularly wild about "Wizard and Glass", except for

the opening part with the showdown Eddie vs. Blaine. Also- shame on me- I've never been able to bring myself to like Susan's character. However, "Wizard and Glass" earns some definite bonus points for the noteworthy presence of Cuthbert Allgood. You just have to love this guy.

That was fantastic, but the standout scene for me was Roland and company chasing the band of men and shooting them down from the back without them even realising it. The tension build-up was great. You keep thinking 'they'll turn around any minute now and see their comrades gone' but they just keep getting killed.

As for "The Drawing of the Three"... I'll admit that I might be biased towards the positive side there, seeing how it was the first book I've read of the series, but I think the introduction of the characters has been done exceptionally well even by King's generally high standards.

Heck, even Jack Mort, whatever you want to think about his rather strange ideas of enjoying himself, is a thoroughly interesting character.
And of course, you just have to love Detta Walker's charming personality.

The introduction of the characters was indeed well-done, but there was no resolution of Jake falling into the pit. :( Not until Wastelands, anyway. The two new characters (Eddie and Detta/Odetta) were fantastically vibrant. Book 2 really was the highpoint for me.

[Tyrael]

I found The Gunslinger was, well, unengaging. The way the context was described was utterly fantastic, up there (possibly) with LotR. Otherwise, however I struggle to find anything I really like about the book except:

The resurrection and the trap impressed me. I really liked dialogue at the end as well. I also quite liked the flashbacks to Rolands past.

I think Witcher's point is a gd one:

The way it was emphasised Jake and Roland bonded just so he would have to cross a hurdle had potential and the fact that Roland knows this is the trap is what makes it the tragedy should have been brilliant. But it wasn't, 'cause frankly I cared nothing either of the characters. By the time the 'choice' did come I was struggling to force myself to finish the book. The characters were unengaging, the story was random and rambling, alot of the symbolism was too overstated and fairly cliche. At times it feels like he's trying to write a screenplay, which doesn't really have the desired effect in book form.

^That's the reason I'm not a big fan of the gunslinger. As i said though, I'm trying to keep an open mind.