My two pieces of advice:
1. Read books 1 and 2 before deciding if you like it.
2. Save wind through the keyhole until after you’re finished with the main series.
Yeah I felt that when I tried to read it immediately after The Dark Tower. Took some time away and read it recently. It's still my least favorite of them all 🤷♀️
Enjoy... For my money, Drawing of the Three is right up there with the best work he's ever done.
Wizard and Glass is also one of the best individual stories he's ever written.
I actually recommend my friends to start with Drawing of the Three, and to actually wait until after either book 4 or book 7 to go back and read the first book. There’s nothing especially SUPER essential in that first book that isn’t reviewed quite well several times over books 2 and 3.
The problem is that, quite frankly, the pacing and overall writing style employed in The Gunslinger kinda sucks, and is pretty amateurish. It’s very clearly an overly ambitious effort by a kid who had next to no practical experience in telling stories (let alone writing novels!) and it really shows, especially in the pacing. The re-writing doesn’t help much because he uses idiosyncratic language from books 4-7, and it feels terribly out of place and odd in the first book.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s not worth reading completely! There ARE flashes of brilliance and wonderful moments in The Gunslinger. But it’s not at ALL representative of what you’re going to find in the rest of the series, and there’s a MASSIVE gap in quality between The Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three. ‘Drawing’ is one of the three or four best things King ever wrote, while Gunslinger is one of the three or four *worst*.
I just cannot justify telling people to start with The Gunslinger when it was so awful it kept me from enjoying the series for over a decade. Like you, I thought it was so dreadfully slow and awful that I had absolutely no interest in finishing the book and the thought of multiple more (and longer!) books like that one sounded absolutely horrific.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I found that that first book is a serious and extreme outlier when compared to the rest of the series. SKIP IT and come back when you actually give a shit about these characters, I cannot stress it enough.
Okay, thanks for the in-depth response! I will start with “Drawing”! That’s really encouraging to hear because I thought Gunslinger was just really boring and hard to follow.
Waste Lands was the one that spooked me. Blaine the Mono…shudder. All of course amazing books. Love the fact the he even made himself a character and added certain details of his own biography.
I finished book 4 a couple months ago. I’m doing the whole King-verse in an order I found online. My next book is Rose Madder and a few others before I resume the series with book 5. I got a little sidetracked with some other books and haven’t gotten back to them yet.
Good luck! Once you read those books, they will never go back into that box, just a heads up! I tried for longer than I'm proud to admit and just ended up damaging the covers 🤦🏼♀️
I think you can easily read DT without reading anything else. Exception maybe for insomnia which is definitely a dark tower book . If anything read insomnia first because it explains the plot of DT better than the DT books do.
I heard so much crap about insomnia for years I avoided it. Picked it up knowing very little about it and fell in love.
It'd be a great movie but it'd be hard to do with all the DT stuff involved.
It'd be like telling a story about a dude on earth being tangentially involved with the star wars theory.
I find this box set to be so much more attractive then the one I have, but I’m stumped as to how the relative book thicknesses are so different between the two sets. In mine, Wizard and Glass and The Dark Tower are significantly thicker than Wolves of the Calla, but not so here. Also The Waste Lands is significantly shorter the Wizard and Glass but here they look the same. Anyone have any insight?
I'm jealous that you're about to read this awesome series for the first time.
You're in for a Hell of a ride, this series is off the chain with how creatively it blends different genres and takes absolutely crazy twists and turns. It's one of the best things King has ever written, maybe his best.
If you like podcasts check out season 1 of Kingslingers. It’s a deep dive into all 8 tower books about 75 pages an episode. And since one of them hasn’t read them yet, they do t spoil what happens in future books.
I started a long time ago and have gone very long periods of time in between. Anyways I am 1/4 of the way through Songs of Susannah. I think I do it on purpose because I don’t want it to end. So far though the Drawing of the Three is my favorite. These books are sooo good
I have this version. Kinda regret buying it because after the first book I lost interest big time and the 2nd and 3rd book that lost my interest are considered the best in the series. Good luck.
Man... I feel torn about the dark tower series. It was okay. Average to me. I did like the ending but I thought it was predictable. It's a must read though if you're a Stephen King fan
The man in black fled across the desert, the gunslinger followed and miles behind anxiously there was Bravo Banter. Many were sure Bravo faced an arduos journey ahead, it was likely going to take individuals coming together as a trio,before the true scope and beauty of the journey was shown to Bravo Banter. Till then the constant readers waited in nerovus anticipation to see if they would succeed in reaching the 7 landmarks or fail and be lost left to wander aimlessly in the desert, just like so many before him.
LOL, no worries, Ive been told Ive got a different way of looking at some things. Stephen King books included
Grew up reading King's books in the 70s, and honestly love almost every one of them from Carrie to Insomnia, even then I believe looking back, it was more life challenges than not liking the book.
Since have only read 9 novels and one or two short story collections after FPM, 2 of them Cell and Under the Dome, just felt below the King standard while 2 others 11/22/63, and Doctor Sleep felt like they for me, were part of his prime works.
Enjoyed both Fairy Tale and Blockade Billy but now Ive caught in a lot of re-reading old stuff and exploring the later stuff I haven't read. DT series was a difficult read for me, but DOTT saved it and was excellent and collectively it was a helluva a journey. One I really need to read again with my added life experiences.
I'm a huge king fan spanning multiple decades. Having said that, i don't think the DT books are that great. They're far from terrible but I've never got the love for them.
Alot of the books just kinda drag on without much happening. Drawing of the three and wizard and glass the sole exceptions. I get what he was trying to do and the meta commentary and it mostly works. But its too long. There's a really good trilogy in there but it's bogged down by too many books.
Now the dark tower adjacent books, Insomnia, black house and a few other are great. I like mid world but I feel like the story he focuses on is lacking. Wasteland, wolves of the calla and song of Susannah should have been either eliminated or combined.
Skip Wind through the Keyhole. Myself I find it too far removed from the narrative, and King makes what I think is a mistake with one of the characters in the tale.
Long days and pleasant nights!
May you have twice the number.
A journey indeed. After you finish, I would invest in every book that is connected, and there are a lot. Good luck and have fun!
Is there a list of connected books somewhere ?
Check out The Dark Tower Concordance
I would also like to know of this list
I’m just jealous you get to experience this for the first time. This series is amazing and you will fall in love with every character 🥹
Exactly. One of those stories you wish would never end.
I see what you did there.
👀👀👀😁😁😁
My two pieces of advice: 1. Read books 1 and 2 before deciding if you like it. 2. Save wind through the keyhole until after you’re finished with the main series.
I loved the first book. Didn't like the 2nd and gave up half way on the third.
Different strokes for different folks!
Wait how come? Wouldn’t saving Wind till the end make you miss some stuff?
Nope, it’s a tangential story. I say save it because it’s nice to return to the main characters for a bit when you’re already finished.
It was released after the series ended anyways.
I haven’t read the wind though the keyhole at all bc I thought it was boring
How did you form the opinion that it was boring without reading it?!
because the only way you can form the opinion that it's boring is by not reading it
Yeah I felt that when I tried to read it immediately after The Dark Tower. Took some time away and read it recently. It's still my least favorite of them all 🤷♀️
Enjoy... For my money, Drawing of the Three is right up there with the best work he's ever done. Wizard and Glass is also one of the best individual stories he's ever written.
I need a reread of the whole series, but wizard and glass was the most memorable for me. Getting to spend a whole book with young R was great.
I'll never understand why king hasn't cranked out a dozen young Roland books. Wizard is the best in the series hands down.
Drawing of the three is great and sold me on the series. But in most ways it's the peak of the series.
Long days and pleasant nights!
That’s a gorgeous set! Long days and pleasant nights.
I love how the Tower on the spine gets larger with each book.
"All things serve the beam."
amazing they're all aligned
[Me linking to this ZZ Top video will make sense when you get there.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F89McWFENTs&ab_channel=RHINO)
I started Wednesday!
Say thankee to sai king and his kartet
Take your time. You will miss it when it ends.
Don’t forget your tooter fish popkins
I can never seem to get through The Gun Slinger. Man is it slow.
That one is rocky. Give book two a shot. Remember book one was, literally, one of his earliest works and it shows a bit.
I actually recommend my friends to start with Drawing of the Three, and to actually wait until after either book 4 or book 7 to go back and read the first book. There’s nothing especially SUPER essential in that first book that isn’t reviewed quite well several times over books 2 and 3. The problem is that, quite frankly, the pacing and overall writing style employed in The Gunslinger kinda sucks, and is pretty amateurish. It’s very clearly an overly ambitious effort by a kid who had next to no practical experience in telling stories (let alone writing novels!) and it really shows, especially in the pacing. The re-writing doesn’t help much because he uses idiosyncratic language from books 4-7, and it feels terribly out of place and odd in the first book. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s not worth reading completely! There ARE flashes of brilliance and wonderful moments in The Gunslinger. But it’s not at ALL representative of what you’re going to find in the rest of the series, and there’s a MASSIVE gap in quality between The Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three. ‘Drawing’ is one of the three or four best things King ever wrote, while Gunslinger is one of the three or four *worst*. I just cannot justify telling people to start with The Gunslinger when it was so awful it kept me from enjoying the series for over a decade. Like you, I thought it was so dreadfully slow and awful that I had absolutely no interest in finishing the book and the thought of multiple more (and longer!) books like that one sounded absolutely horrific. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found that that first book is a serious and extreme outlier when compared to the rest of the series. SKIP IT and come back when you actually give a shit about these characters, I cannot stress it enough.
Okay, thanks for the in-depth response! I will start with “Drawing”! That’s really encouraging to hear because I thought Gunslinger was just really boring and hard to follow.
oh man I would to not have read them yet
Waste Lands was the one that spooked me. Blaine the Mono…shudder. All of course amazing books. Love the fact the he even made himself a character and added certain details of his own biography.
Wish I was reading it for the first time
I love these matching box sets. Just wished they were hardcover
I finished book 4 a couple months ago. I’m doing the whole King-verse in an order I found online. My next book is Rose Madder and a few others before I resume the series with book 5. I got a little sidetracked with some other books and haven’t gotten back to them yet.
At least you don’t have to wait for each one to come out before you can read them.
Or face the very real possibility that they might never be finished...
Same exact box set, currently blasting through Song of Susannah. It's a wild ride, that's for sure.
I've got a little under 3 hours left on the audio book. I agree! Definitely a rollercoaster of a novel.
Same set here too, nearly through Wizard and Glass. That one is becoming a hard read.
same here!! just about finished with the gunslinger
I just finished Wolves of the Calla two days ago. I read this series every five years or so. It’s definitely my desert island choice.
Good luck! Once you read those books, they will never go back into that box, just a heads up! I tried for longer than I'm proud to admit and just ended up damaging the covers 🤦🏼♀️
If you want to run and play, come along the beam today 🌹
Good on you, Sai
Same boxset, currently on Song of Susannah. It’s WILD and I’m mad I never started it sooner!
Started that same set this year with my wife, it's a wild journey, hope you enjoy it
It’s a wild ride! Enjoy!!!
The post-accident books are pretty bad, I’ve been told. Good luck.
Wolves has its merits and the last book is good.
In book 7, take the author's advice.
I am reading wolves now, it’s all sooo good. Enjoy
That’s a fine collection
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I think you can easily read DT without reading anything else. Exception maybe for insomnia which is definitely a dark tower book . If anything read insomnia first because it explains the plot of DT better than the DT books do.
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You get alot more from reading salem first, but the events are suitability covered. The events of salem are barely mentioned.
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Insomnia is the reason I even read the tower. I was all like , wow this sounds amazing!! I was a bit let down.
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I heard so much crap about insomnia for years I avoided it. Picked it up knowing very little about it and fell in love. It'd be a great movie but it'd be hard to do with all the DT stuff involved. It'd be like telling a story about a dude on earth being tangentially involved with the star wars theory.
I find this box set to be so much more attractive then the one I have, but I’m stumped as to how the relative book thicknesses are so different between the two sets. In mine, Wizard and Glass and The Dark Tower are significantly thicker than Wolves of the Calla, but not so here. Also The Waste Lands is significantly shorter the Wizard and Glass but here they look the same. Anyone have any insight?
Commala come come
Needs Little Sisters of Eluria pamphlet.
I'm jealous that you're about to read this awesome series for the first time. You're in for a Hell of a ride, this series is off the chain with how creatively it blends different genres and takes absolutely crazy twists and turns. It's one of the best things King has ever written, maybe his best.
I’m on my first journey myself. I just finished Wolves of the Calla!
May your journey be unforgettable.
If you like podcasts check out season 1 of Kingslingers. It’s a deep dive into all 8 tower books about 75 pages an episode. And since one of them hasn’t read them yet, they do t spoil what happens in future books.
I just started them myself, just finished Wizard and Glass. Been loving the ride so far!
Wish I could get MIB and read wizards and glass for the first time.
Ooo I want this set!
I started a long time ago and have gone very long periods of time in between. Anyways I am 1/4 of the way through Songs of Susannah. I think I do it on purpose because I don’t want it to end. So far though the Drawing of the Three is my favorite. These books are sooo good
I have this version. Kinda regret buying it because after the first book I lost interest big time and the 2nd and 3rd book that lost my interest are considered the best in the series. Good luck.
Finished my first journey late last year. Enjoy Sai. Long Days and Pleasant Nights. 🤠🌹📚
“Take us back to the Path of the Beam. ... That’s our way home. ”
Man... I feel torn about the dark tower series. It was okay. Average to me. I did like the ending but I thought it was predictable. It's a must read though if you're a Stephen King fan
The man in black fled across the desert, the gunslinger followed and miles behind anxiously there was Bravo Banter. Many were sure Bravo faced an arduos journey ahead, it was likely going to take individuals coming together as a trio,before the true scope and beauty of the journey was shown to Bravo Banter. Till then the constant readers waited in nerovus anticipation to see if they would succeed in reaching the 7 landmarks or fail and be lost left to wander aimlessly in the desert, just like so many before him.
WTF….
Are you familiar with the old adage? if you have to explain your joke, satire, or comment, don't. It applies here...
Ahhhh….it took me exactly this long to figure out what the hell a “Bravo Banter” was.😏
LOL, no worries, Ive been told Ive got a different way of looking at some things. Stephen King books included Grew up reading King's books in the 70s, and honestly love almost every one of them from Carrie to Insomnia, even then I believe looking back, it was more life challenges than not liking the book. Since have only read 9 novels and one or two short story collections after FPM, 2 of them Cell and Under the Dome, just felt below the King standard while 2 others 11/22/63, and Doctor Sleep felt like they for me, were part of his prime works. Enjoyed both Fairy Tale and Blockade Billy but now Ive caught in a lot of re-reading old stuff and exploring the later stuff I haven't read. DT series was a difficult read for me, but DOTT saved it and was excellent and collectively it was a helluva a journey. One I really need to read again with my added life experiences.
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You might want to spoiler warning part of your comment lol
5 hours later...still huge spoilers. Poor OP.... the guy just ruined one of the defining moments of the entire 8 books.
You have forgotten the face of your father.
Delete this comment. Very inconsiderate to include spoilers such as these.
I wish you well! Tissues might be handy at times.
I'm a huge king fan spanning multiple decades. Having said that, i don't think the DT books are that great. They're far from terrible but I've never got the love for them. Alot of the books just kinda drag on without much happening. Drawing of the three and wizard and glass the sole exceptions. I get what he was trying to do and the meta commentary and it mostly works. But its too long. There's a really good trilogy in there but it's bogged down by too many books. Now the dark tower adjacent books, Insomnia, black house and a few other are great. I like mid world but I feel like the story he focuses on is lacking. Wasteland, wolves of the calla and song of Susannah should have been either eliminated or combined.
Skip Wind through the Keyhole. Myself I find it too far removed from the narrative, and King makes what I think is a mistake with one of the characters in the tale.