The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author
Stephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including
fantasyFantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
,
science fantasyScience fantasy is a mixed genre within speculative fiction drawing elements from both science fiction and fantasy. Although in some terms of its portrayal in recent media products it can be defined as instead of being a mixed genre of science fiction and fantasy it is instead a mixing of the...
,
horrorHorror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and
westernWestern fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 1900s and Louis L'Amour from the mid 20th century...
. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King has described the series as his
magnum opusMagnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
. Besides the seven novels that compose the series proper, many of his other books relate to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into play as the series progresses. After the series was finished, a series of
prequel comicsThe Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born is a seven-issue comic book limited series, published in 2007 by Marvel Comics. It is the first story arc of five based on The Dark Tower series of novels by Stephen King. It is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David, and illustrated by Jae Lee and...
followed.
The series was chiefly inspired by the poem "
Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" is a poem by English author Robert Browning, written in 1855 and first published that same year in the collection entitled Men and Women. The title, which forms the last words of the poem, is a line from William Shakespeare's play King Lear...
" by
Robert BrowningRobert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
, whose full text was included in the final volume's appendix. In the preface to the revised 2003 edition of The Gunslinger, King also identifies
The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
,
Arthurian LegendThe Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the body of literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and its legendary kings, particularly King Arthur...
, and
The Good, the Bad and the UglyThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles. The screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone...
as inspirations. He identifies
Clint Eastwood'sClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
"
Man with No NameThe man with no name is a stock character in Western films, but the term usually applies specifically to the character played by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy."...
" character as one of the major inspirations for the protagonist,
Roland DeschainRoland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and antihero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society...
. King's style of location names in the series, such as Mid-World, and his development of a unique language abstract to our own (High Speech), are also influenced by
J. R. R. TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's work.
In 2009, King announced an upcoming eighth book, The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole. December 7, 2009 saw the release of a
spin-offIn media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
online game entitled Discordia. As of 2010 more than 30 million copies of the series have been sold in 40 countries. In September 2010, an elaborate
film adaptationThe Dark Tower is a planned film and television adaptation of the series of dark fantasy novels by the author Stephen King. The series spans seven main novels with an upcoming eighth, one novella, and several comic book series based on the events of the novels...
was announced, consisting of alternating feature films and television series. The project was reportedly cancelled in July 2011. But in October 2011 it was announced that the film was still on track, and that the television series was slated to air on HBO.
Plot summary
In the story,
Roland DeschainRoland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and antihero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society...
is the last living member of a
knightA knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ly order known as gunslingers and the last of the line of "Arthur Eld", his world's
analogueThe term analogue is used in literary history in two related senses:* a work which resembles another in terms of one or more motifs, characters, scenes, phrases or events....
of
King ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
. Politically organized along the lines of a
feudalFeudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the
American Old WestThe American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
but is also
magicalMagic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
. Many of the magical aspects have vanished from Mid-World, but traces remain as do relics from a technologically advanced society. Roland's quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to be the nexus of all universes. Roland's world is said to have "moved on", and it appears to be coming apart at the seams. Mighty nations have been torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish without a trace and time does not flow in an orderly fashion. Sometimes, even the sun rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland's motives, goals and age are unclear, though later installments shed light on these mysteries.
For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each book.
Characters
Along his journey to the Dark Tower, Roland meets a great number of both friends and enemies. For most of the way he is accompanied by a group of people who together with him form the Ka-tet of the Nineteen and Ninety-nine, consisting of
Jake ChambersJohn "Jake" Chambers is a fictional character in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. He first appeared in the short story "The Way Station" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in April 1980, which was later compiled as one of the chapters of the first Dark Tower book, The...
, Eddie,
Susannah DeanSusannah Odetta Holmes Dean is a fictional character from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series...
, and
OyOy of Mid-World is a primary character in Stephen King's The Dark Tower. He was introduced in the third book, The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, and became a member of the ka-tet for the rest of the series....
. Among his many enemies on the way are
the Man in BlackRandall Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King. Flagg has appeared in seven novels by King, sometimes as the main antagonist and others in a brief cameo. He often appears under different names; most are abbreviated by the initials R.F. There are exceptions to this rule; in The Dark...
and The Crimson King.
Language
King created a language for his characters, known as the High Speech. Examples of this language include the phrases Thankee, Sai ("Thank you, Sir/Ma'am.") and Dan-Tete ("Little Savior"). In addition King uses the term 'Ka' which is the approximate equivalent of destiny, or fate, in the fictional language High Speech (and similarly, 'Ka-tet,' a group of people bound together by fate/destiny). This term originated in Egyptian mythology and storytelling and has figured in several other novels and screenplays since 1976. It also appears in the short story, Low Men in Yellow Coats, in which Ted describes the meaning to Bobby.
Series
- The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982)
- The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
- The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991)
- The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997)—Locus Award nominee, 1998
- The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003)—Locus Award nominee, 2004
- The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004)—Locus Award nominee, 2005
- The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004)—British Fantasy Award winner, 2005
- The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
Continuation
While the series was declared finished with the publication of the seventh volume in 2004, in an interview in March 2009, King stated, describing an idea for a new short story he recently had: "And then I thought, 'Well, why don't I find three more like this and do a book that would be almost like modern fairy tales?' Then this thing started to add on bits and pieces so I guess it will be a novel." According to King, the idea is a new Dark Tower novel. King said, regarding the Dark Tower series, "It's not really done yet. Those seven books are really sections of one long über-novel."
Stephen King confirmed this during his TimesTalk event at The TimesCenter in New York City on November 10, 2009, and the next day King's official site posted the information that King will begin working on this novel in about eight months, with a tentative title being The Wind Through the Keyhole. King noted that this novel should be set between the fourth and the fifth books of the series.
The book, entitled The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole, was announced on Stephen King's official site on March 10, 2011, with the publication date set for some time in 2012.
Illustrations
Each book in the series was originally published in
hardcoverA hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
format with a number of full-color illustrations spread throughout. Each book contained works by a single illustrator only. Subsequent printings of each book in trade paperback format usually preserve the illustrations in full, except for books I and IV. Pocket-sized
paperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
reprints contain only black-and-white chapter or section header illustrations.The illustrators who worked on each book are:
- Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan is an American artist of imaginative realism. For more than 30 years he worked as an illustrator specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art...
, multiple award-winning science fiction and fantasy painter. The Dark Tower is among his early notable works.
- Phil Hale
Philip Oliver Hale, born in 1963, is an American figurative painter who currently resides in London, England.Prior to turning to fine arts he worked as an illustrator, doing mostly figurative work...
, the only Dark Tower illustrator who created a second set of illustrations for a later printing of the book he illustrated.
- Ned Dameron
-Works:Ned Dameron produced cover artwork for many genre novels including The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, and The Second Generation by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman...
.
- Dave McKean
David McKean is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician....
, graphic designer noted for working in many media, including photography and film. The only Dark Tower illustrator to work in photocollagesPhotomontage is the process and result of making a composite photograph by cutting and joining a number of other photographs. The composite picture was sometimes photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless photographic print. A similar method, although one that does not...
.
- Bernie Wrightson
Bernie "Berni" Wrightson is an American artist known for his horror illustrations and comic books.-Biography:...
, established illustrator for 1960s and 1970s horror comics.
- Darrel Anderson, the only Dark Tower illustrator who used digital illustration
Computer illustration or digital illustration is the use of digital tools to produce images under the direct manipulation of the artist, usually through a pointing device such as a tablet or a mouse. It is distinguished from computer-generated art, which is produced by a computer using mathematical...
techniques.
- Michael Whelan, returning more than 20 years later as the only recurring Dark Tower illustrator.
- Jae Lee
Jae Lee is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Inhumans and The Sentry, both with Paul Jenkins.-Career:Lee first rose to prominence in the industry for his work on Marvel's Namor the Sub-Mariner, Inhumans , and The Sentry, as well as his creator-owned character Hellshock at...
, an illustrator who had previously worked on the Marvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
adaptation of the series, will illustrate the midquel The Wind Through the Keyhole.
Reception
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
's Bill Sheehan called the series "a humane, visionary epic and a true magnum opus" that stands as an "imposing example of pure storytelling," "filled with brilliantly rendered set pieces... cataclysmic encounters and moments of desolating tragedy." The Boston Globe
's Erica Noonan said "there's a fascinating world to be discovered in the series" but noted that its epic nature keeps it from being user-friendly.
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Allen Johnston was disappointed with how the series progressed; while he marveled at the "sheer absurdity of [the books'] existence" and complimented King's writing style, he said preparation would have improved the series, stating "King doesn't have the writerly finesse for these sorts of games, and the voices let him down." The
San Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
's Michael Berry, however, called the series' early installments "highfalutin hodgepodge" but the ending "a valediction" that "more than delivers on what has been promised."
Tie-in books
The series has prompted related non-fiction books by authors besides King.
Robin FurthRobin Furth is the personal research assistant to Stephen King and the author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance, which was published by Scribner on December 5, 2006...
has published the two-volume Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance, an encyclopedia-style companion to the series that she originally wrote for King's personal use.
Bev VincentBev Vincent is best known as the author of The Road to the Dark Tower, the Bram Stoker Award nominated, authorised companion to Stephen King's Dark Tower series and The Stephen King Illustrated Companion, which was nominated for a 2010 Edgar award. He has been writing News From the Dead Zone for...
has published The Road to The Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus, a book containing back story, summary and analysis. Stephen King has endorsed both books.
Prequel comic series
A
prequelA prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the Dark Tower series, set around the time of the flashbacks in The Gunslinger and Wizard and Glass, has been released by
Marvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by
Peter DavidPeter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
, and illustrated by
Jae LeeJae Lee is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Inhumans and The Sentry, both with Paul Jenkins.-Career:Lee first rose to prominence in the industry for his work on Marvel's Namor the Sub-Mariner, Inhumans , and The Sentry, as well as his creator-owned character Hellshock at...
and
Richard Isanove.
The project is overseen by King. The first issue of this first arc was released on February 7, 2007. A hardcover volume containing all 7 issues was released on November 7, 2007.
The second arc in the Dark Tower comic series was released by
Marvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, and it is called
The Long Road HomeThe Dark Tower: The Long Road Home is a monthly five-issue comic book mini-series, a spin-off of Stephen King's sci-fi western novel series of the same name. The first issue was published on March 5, 2008...
. The first issue was published on March 5, 2008. A hardcover volume containing all 5 issues was released on October 15, 2008.
The third arc in the Dark Tower comic series was released by
Marvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, and it is called
The Dark Tower: TreacheryThe Dark Tower: Treachery is a monthly, six-issue comic book mini-series, a prequel spin-off of Stephen King's sci-fi western novel series The Dark Tower, the first issue of which was published September 10, 2008...
. The first issue of the six issue arc was published on September 10, 2008. A hardcover volume containing all 6 issues was released on April 21, 2009.
Following the completion of the third arc a one-shot issue titled
The Dark Tower: SorcererThe Dark Tower: The Sorcerer is a one-shot issue comic book, which serves as a prelude to The Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead story-arc within Marvel's The Dark Tower comic book series, which is a spin-off of Stephen King's The Dark Tower novel series.Unlike the previous three Dark Tower story-arcs,...
was released April 8, 2009. The story focuses on the history of the villainous wizard
Marten BroadcloakRandall Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King. Flagg has appeared in seven novels by King, sometimes as the main antagonist and others in a brief cameo. He often appears under different names; most are abbreviated by the initials R.F. There are exceptions to this rule; in The Dark...
.
The fourth arc in the Dark Tower comic series was released by
Marvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, and it is called
The Dark Tower: The Fall of GileadThe Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead is a six-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. It is the penultimatestory arc of five based on Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. It is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David, and illustrated by Richard Isanove. Stephen...
. The first issue of the six issue arc was published on May 13, 2009. A hardcover volume containing all 6 issues, as well as the Sorcerer One-Shot was released on February 2, 2010.
The fifth arc in the Dark Tower comic series was released by
Marvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, and it is called
The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho HillThe Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill is a five-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. It the fifth comic book miniseries based on Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. It is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David, and illustrated by Richard Isanove and Jae...
. The first issue of the five issue arc was published on December 3, 2009. A hardcover volume containing all 5 issues was released on August 17, 2010.
Marvel Comics has also published three supplemental books to date that expand upon characters and locations first introduced in the novels. The Dark Tower: Gunslingers' Guidebook was released in 2007, The Dark Tower: End-World Almanac was released in 2008, and The Dark Tower: Guide to Gilead was released in 2009. All three books were written by
Anthony FlaminiAnthony Flamini is an American freelance comic book writer.-Comics Work:Writer*All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #1-12...
, with Furth serving as creative consultant. End-World Almanac and Guide to Gilead feature illustrations by David Yardin.
Further Comic Adaptions
An adaption of King's novella
The Little Sisters of Eluria"The Little Sisters of Eluria" is a novella by Stephen King. It was originally published in 1998 in the collection Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy...
titled The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Little Sisters of Eluria was made into a comic series and was released by
Marvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, and the first issue of the five issue arc was published on December 8, 2010, and in collected hardback edition June 08, 2011.
An adaption of King's novel The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger titled The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger: The Journey Begins was made into a comic series and was released by Marvel Comics. The collected hardback edition was released on January 26, 2011.
An second adaption of King's novel The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger titled The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Battle of Tull and was made into a comic series was released by Marvel Comics, and The first issue of the five issue arc was published on June 1, 2011.
Discordia
December 7, 2009 saw the release of a
spin-offIn media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
online
gameA game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
entitled Discordia, available to play for free on the official Stephen King website. The game is a continuation of the original Dark Tower story, following the war between the Tet Corporation and Sombra/NCP in New York, and it has been supervised by both Stephen King and
Robin FurthRobin Furth is the personal research assistant to Stephen King and the author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance, which was published by Scribner on December 5, 2006...
. From the website: "Exploring the behind-the-scenes conflict between the two companies, Discordia introduces long-time Dark Tower fans to new characters and numerous mechanical/magical items developed by Mid-World's Old Ones. Over the course of our adventure we will visit many locations, both those familiar to Dark Tower fans and others which we only glimpsed in the Dark Tower novels. While we may not see Roland and his ka-tet in this adventure, the development team has remembered the faces of its fathers. We have done our best to honor the original Dark Tower series while simultaneously mapping new and exciting Dark Tower territory."
Film adaptation
Initially, in 2007 J.J. Abrams was connected to a film adaptation but later revealed he had have removed himself from involvement in the project. On September 8, 2010, an official announcement was made that the series would be brought to both the big and the small screens via a trilogy of feature films and two seasons of a television series to bridge gaps between the films. According to a press release from Universal Pictures from October 29, 2010, the first Dark Tower film would open on May 17, 2013. On July 19, 2011, Universal pulled its support from the production of the Dark Tower films and television series. According to reports, the studio was unable to come to terms with producer Ron Howard. Despite this, Stephen King remains confident Howard will see the project through with another studio, and Howard confirmed the adaptation is still on track, noting that HBO will now carry the television series portion of the project.
Connections to King's other works
The series has become a
linchpinA linchpin, also spelled linch pin, lynchpin, or lynch pin, is a fastener used to prevent a wheel or other rotating part from sliding off the axle it is riding on. The word is first attested in the 14th century and derives from Middle English elements meaning "axletree pin".Securing implements onto...
that ties together much of King's
body of workThis Stephen King bibliography is a complete list of books published by Stephen King. For individual shorter works, see: Short fiction by Stephen King. Note that books related to The Dark Tower series are denoted with +...
. The worlds of The Dark Tower are in part composed of locations, characters, events and other various elements from many of King's novels and short stories.
External links
(requires Macromedia Flash 6)