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Stephen King: The Dark Tower Series

Sly

Sly

New Member
Does one need to have read most/all of Kings work in order to understand or enjoy the Dark Towers?

I'm about to read Gunslinger but was confused when I found out that the Dark Towers goes through other Kings work...:confused:
 
Sly said:
Does one need to have read most/all of Kings work in order to understand or enjoy the Dark Towers?
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Like ions said, no. Characters/events etc from some of King's other works loosely (or more closely) interconnect with The Dark Tower series, but you can read the DT without losing anything if you haven't read his other stuff. :)
 
Nice one. :) Just be warned that some people don't much like The Gunslinger, but if you find yourself feeling the same way, persevere. The series really is worth reading (though I wasn't happy at the ending :mad: ).
 
The series is connected to some of King's novels, not his entire body of work. You could probably read the DT series first if you're just starting to read Stephen King. It's a fantastic series too, although the ending is weak.
 
Halo said:
Nice one. :) Just be warned that some people don't much like The Gunslinger, but if you find yourself feeling the same way, persevere. The series really is worth reading (though I wasn't happy at the ending :mad: ).
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I just finished Gunslinger and found it to be very enjoyable. I"ll start the 2nd novel fairly soon after I finish all of my to be read list first. :)
 
Halo said:
Nice one. :) Just be warned that some people don't much like The Gunslinger, but if you find yourself feeling the same way, persevere. The series really is worth reading (though I wasn't happy at the ending :mad: ).
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I have started reading the Dark Tower series and indeed the gunslinger is kind of slow in some parts. Well, it's not bad, but wait till you see the fantasy in the coming books. I'm about to finish the third one, I hear the fourth one is a good book, if not the best out of the DT series.

I also heard that the ending wasn't as expected, but the whole journey is just a supersive peice of fantasy, and that is what I'm finding out ... :D
 
Im trying to read the first book at present, for a local reading group. What can I say - very long winded :eek:
 
I have finished the first three books and have stopped for a while. Read some other books but what mostly kept me away is the war and then the university studies.

Two days ago, at midnight and before heading to sleep, I have decided to go back and continue with the fourth book, Wizard and Glass.
I hear this is the best, for most...
 
I enoyed the whole series. Part of my fasination with the Dark Tower Series is how he incorporated some of his other charaters into it . I spent a lot of time going back and reading some of the other books that tied into the series. I think I may re-read the series some time soon.
 
I loved the dark tower series, nearly all say it has a weak ending. I totally disagree, it's an ending that gets you thinking. Throughout the books King hints that it will not be a 'lived happily ever after ending', and I for one, never thought it would be.

My only dissapointment was the crimson king, the picture I painting came nothing close to King's discription in the final book, and the 'Harry Potter' references sucked a bit.

All in all... a fantastic journey. A must read... and once started, a must finish (to the end, not where King gives you the option to stop!)
 
Halo said:
Nice one. :) Just be warned that some people don't much like The Gunslinger, but if you find yourself feeling the same way, persevere. The series really is worth reading (though I wasn't happy at the ending :mad: ).
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Man, I agree. The ending was such a downer!
 
I tried reading the Dark Tower in high school. I was curious as to the references to a Wizard. I had read Cujo and Pet Semetary and the idea of Stephen King writing about a Wizard, being it medieval or modern was interesting to me at the time.

So I picked up the Gunslinger, and tried reading it. It was one of the most boring pieces of trash I had read during that period of my life. I can't remember a lot of details, but I remember reading pages upon pages of him wandering in a desert or dusty plain or something. I think the book was divided into two parts IIRC and I made it barely into the second part and quit reading it.

I would love to give the series another shot one of these days.

If I can't get through Gunslinger, would you guys say the series could be read if I skipped that one?

Mathius
 
I love the dark tower series thet are my favourite books ever! I too love the way that they seem to interconnect with Kings other books, like references in hearts in atlantis, black house, the talisman and i think insomnia (have I missed any?)

I though the end was well thought out and I often re-read the books although I'm not so keen on wizards and glass, though it went on a bit!

I keep trying to get members of my family to read them , but they never get past the gunslinger. More fool them!

You could read the series with out the gunsliger, Mathius, but you might miss a few things, give it another try and skim read it if you have to, it's not a long book!
 
Jo Walker said:
You could read the series with out the gunsliger, Mathius, but you might miss a few things, give it another try and skim read it if you have to, it's not a long book!
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IIRC, I was either in junior high, or high school when I attempted to read the book, so that probably didn't help.

Mathius
 
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