Serial Novels: The Dark Tower

At one point in my life, my 20's, I was never into reading serial novels. Maybe it was because I never chose to read them or maybe I just didn't want to commit to reading several novels. However, since my late 20's on I've found myself getting into a few of these epic stories and franchise characters.

I think these books are the main reason why. The Dark Tower by Stephen King. Thankfully, most of these books were already published when I started the series. Over the course of about three years I read them all.

Actually I've finished this series a while ago and loved every bit of it. Like many, I found the final book some what of a let down as I had hoped for a bigger conflict at the end. However, I refuse to let my expectations for a strife ruin the satisfaction I received on the journey to that point.

The story stretches over seven lengthy novels, most with major cliffhangers. Without giving away any spoilers on this epic adventure, I will just sum up the basic plot of the series: In a different world from our own, Roland, the last gunslinger, searches to find the Dark Tower, which is the nexus of all universes. Along the way he gathers other people to aid in his quest and battles old enemies.

I find it fascinating how so much of King's work revolved around and intertwined (directly and indirectly) with the themes, characters, and creation in this series of books. If you read a lot of King's work, these items will be easy to detect. At times the series is frightening, always suspenseful, surprisingly caring, and often violent; these books are the opus of King's career and should put him up there with the greats in literature, if he already wasn't considered.





THE BOOKS
1. The Gunslinger


2. The Drawing of the Three


3. The Waste Lands


4. Wizard and Glass


5. Wolves of the Calla


6. Song of Susannah


7. The Dark Tower




Other Novels Which Directly Tie In (major connection)
- The Talisman
- The Black House
- 'Salem's Lot


- Bag of Bones
- Hearts in Atlantis
- The Stand


- Insomnia
- It
- Eyes of the Dragon


- The Regulators
- Desperation


Prequel Comic Series by Marvel
1. Gunslinger Born


2. Long Road Home
3. Treachery
4. Sorcerer




For more on Stephen King, go to his websitestephenking.com

For more information on the Dark Tower series, here is a great website thedarktower.net


Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance by Robin Furth




The Road to The Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus by Bev Vincent