The Dark Tower series is Horror King Stephen King’s serious bid to become an iconic science fiction writer. King himself called the cycle the pinnacle of his work. The fandom of “The Dark Tower” includes people who can’t stand King’s trademark thrillers and horror stories, but have read all the books about the adventures of the shooter Roland Discayne from cover to cover.
We tell you in what order to properly read the cycle of “The Dark Tower”.
“The Dark Tower” tells the story of the last gunslinger Roland Diskein, who is searching for the mysterious Dark Tower, the center of the Force. Discayne has the piercing blue “eyes of a sniper” and is a lone hero who wanders a strange, post-apocalyptic world where magic exists and danger abounds. Periodically, from this world, it is possible to enter a world that resembles our reality – for example, one day Discayne enters the universe described by King in his novel The Standoff.
The Dark Tower series is inspired by old westerns, the very image of the gunslinger reminds of Clint Eastwood. Also on King’s list of inspirations are Robert Browning’s poems “Childe Roland Reached the Dark Tower” and Thomas Eliot’s “The Barren Land.”
The problem with the reading order of The Dark Tower is that in addition to the main seven parts of the cycle, there are several additional novels that King wrote later. However, in terms of the chronology of events, they precede some of the parts of the original lineup. Complicated? Don’t worry, we’ll lay it all out for you now.
“The Humble Sisters of Elluria.” A novella preceding the first book of the cycle, written by King in 1998. If it is important to read in the correct chronology, you can start with it, but it is more correct to get acquainted with the cycle from “The Gunslinger”.
“The Gunslinger”. The very first book of the cycle, written in 1982. It begins the journey of the shooter and his pursuit of the mysterious man in black.
“The Extraction of Three” (1987). A continuation of the journey. The action begins seven hours after the events that ended “The Gunslinger”.
“Barren Lands” (1991). The adventure continues. The Gunslinger moves away from the Western Sea and goes deeper and deeper into the forests of the Outer World.
“The Sorcerer and the Crystal” (1997). Just in this book, a company of travelers enter the world described by King in “The Standoff.” In it, almost all of humanity is exterminated by a terrible flu virus.
“Wind Through the Keyhole.” The novel was published in 2012, a few years after the end of the series. But chronologically it narrates the events that took place between the fourth and fifth part.
“The Wolves of Calya” (2003). The action takes place in a group of settlements collectively called Kalya. A significant part of the narrative is devoted to Father Callaghan, the protagonist of another King novel, “The Lot”.
“Susannah’s Song” (2004). One of the protagonists of the sixth novel in the series is Stephen King of Keyworld, who communicates with his characters.
“The Dark Tower” (2004). The last book of the series and the finish line of the journey of Roland and his company.