the dark tower

I read Stephen King’s ‘The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2)’ as my next book for 2024.

I’m continuing along with my revisit to the world of the Dark Tower. Book two, in my previous opinion, was where the series started in earnest. The first book was necessary to kickstart the story, but it always felt like the black sheep of the family to me. It wasn’t until I got to book two that I thought, ‘Yeah, I can see why this gets so much love.’

Does the book still stand up in my estimations?

If you know me, you can guess my answer: without a doubt.

The story follows Roland, the last gunslinger, as he reaches the coast, following the end of book one. An encounter with a sea creature leaves him wounded. Struggling with blood poisoning, staggering along the beach, he finds a door in the sand. From there, the story rockets off into the stratosphere. ‘The Drawing…’ is King in his prime, firing on all cylinders. The action gets so intense that it’s unbelievable. I won’t spoil the events, but if you struggled with ‘The Gunslinger’, your payoff begins here.

I first read ‘The Drawing…’ when I was a teen passionate about books. King spellbound me then. I have now reread the book as an adult who also writes as a hobby. King has me in awe – this is a master of his craft flexing his muscles.

Flawless.

Stephen King’s ‘The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)’ was my next read of 2024.

I’ve read the entire ‘The Dark Tower’ novels, including ‘The Wind Through the Keyhole’. To say that I love these books is an understatement. But it has been a while since I finished the last book, and I was itching to read through the series again. I wanted to see if it still holds up to my older eyes.

In case you don’t know, the book follows Roland, the last gunslinger, on his quest for the Dark Tower. He also wants to catch the enigmatic man in black. Hence the famous opener: ‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.’ Who or what a gunslinger is and why he wants to catch this man and reach this location are complete mysteries.

Rereading ‘The Gunslinger’ reminded me of why I fell in love with these books in the first place. The world is bleak and apocalyptic, yet it is colourful and exciting. King created a beautiful combination of futuristic and medieval atmospheres in these books. The characters are all intriguing, with some being downright bizarre. You can’t help but want to know more about them and their stories.

Yet, this book is my least favourite in the saga. I know I’m not alone in this thinking, either. Steve himself echoes my sentiments, as do other fans of the series. Compared to other DT books, ‘The Gunslinger’ is slow and difficult to read. This moment was a period in Mr King’s career when he did not pursue the arty accessibility he perfected. Despite this, I recommend the book because it is the necessary intro to a fantastic tale. The fact that it’s short also works in its favour.

And remember this if you are having difficulty with it:

Steve corrected his course with the next book and adopted a better approach to this story.

Tag: the dark tower

Book Review: ‘The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2)’ by Stephen King

Book Review: ‘The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)’ by Stephen King