Stephen King Fans discussion
Dark Tower Series
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DT Storyline Origin
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Sounds similar to me; stopped reading SK around Gerald's Game, but resumed by rereading The Stand last summer. Now playing catch up with his books and am currently on Duma Key. I plan to start the DT series after I've caught up on everything else. It's good to know you like it so far, as my husband didn't get past the first two in the series, and I wasn't sure how much I'd like it myself, as I'm not into fantasy that much. But, being Mr. King, I have no doubt I'll get into it :)I'll follow this thread with interest, and thanks for introducing the topic!
I'd suggest reading On Writing - King talks about his writing style in detail there. The short version (from my memory), is that he has an idea and starts writing it. It grows from there. The Dark Tower idea is based on Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came by Robert Browning - but obviously King spun it out in his own way.
And yes - the length of time that it took for King to write it, and the developments in his life along the way, affected the story that was written, sometimes in small ways, and sometimes in huge storyline plot ways. That's why we have a revised edition of The Gunslinger - because after writing the last three books, he realized that the first book no longer fit, and had to go back and change some of the details. Like Roland's father's name, and so on.
Becky wrote: "I'd suggest reading On Writing - King talks about his writing style in detail there. The short version (from my memory), is that he has an idea and starts writing it. It grows from there. The Dar..."
So Becky, I have older version of Book 1; should I buy a more recent version?
Well... given that you haven't started the series yet at all and I don't want to spoil anything for you, I'd say that you probably should just go ahead and read the revised edition, as it will fit better with the overall series after the tweaks that were made to it to match up with the later books in the series. BUT... I will warn you that The Gunslinger can be somewhat dry reading, and can potentially put off readers, so if you're not feeling it - I'd suggest skipping it and starting with book 2, The Drawing of the Three. Then come back to The Gunslinger at the end of book 7, and you'll have a whole new appreciation for Roland. It's... flexible that way.
So, kind of in the same way, the original and revised versions both work with the series. I own both, and I think on my next re-read, I'm going to read Original Gunslinger, books, 2, 3, 4, 4.5, 5, 6 & 7, then revised Gunslinger. Because it's flexible like that.
Great information, Becky, thank you! I probably won't find it dry; as people have said, I'd read the phone book if he wrote it :)
Hehe... I used to say that as well, but then I read Mr. Mercedes and changed my mind. :P Still, the Dark Tower series is fantastic, and it's absolutely one of my all time favorites. I hope you love it. I'm a little envious of your getting to read it for the first time!!
Oh, one other thing - Regarding The Wind Through The Keyhole... The placement of that one is up to you as well. If you want to read in storyline-chronological order, it would go between book 4 and 5, but it doesn't really move the story along at all. So if you want to read the series through without it, to get the experience as it was when it was originally finished (which is what I'd recommend, honestly) then you can read it after everything else, too. It's just a bit of backstory mixed with fairy-tale, so it's up to you where you want to read that one. :)
Uh oh. Oh well, I'll still read MM :) I'm catching up after a loooooong SK break; currently reading Duma Key, then on to 11/22/63, Joyland. I think MM is next (already read Under the Dome). Then I'll start DT, although I know there's been debate on other threads as to whether or not Insominia, Eyes of the Dragon, and others need to be read before DT. I've already read those, but I don't have a problem with rereading, I was going to do that anyway. I've told my husband that I don't ever want to leave his universe :)
You don't need to have read anything else to read DT - everything you need to enjoy the series is explained in it. There's a reference to The Stand, but even if you've read it, it would just add more depth. It's not necessary for understanding the series. All of the other books mentioned, Insomnia, IT, Eyes of the Dragon, etc contain links TO the DT series, so reading those expands your knowledge of the DT universe, but again they aren't necessary for enjoying the series itself.
And don't take my word for MM. I hated it, but I'm rather picky these days. Lots of other people enjoyed it, so you may as well. :)
Becky wrote: "And don't take my word for MM. I hated it, but I'm rather picky these days. Lots of other people enjoyed it, so you may as well. :)"Thank you for all the great information!
Teresa wrote: "Uh oh. Oh well, I'll still read MM :) I'm catching up after a loooooong SK break; currently reading Duma Key, then on to 11/22/63, Joyland. I think MM is next (already read Under the Dome). Then I..."Those are the three books that got me back into SK. Both Duma Key and 11/22/63 have all the great character writing I remembered from reading his older books. In fact, I'd rank 11/22/63 as one of his best books overall and one I've been recommending to non-King fans because both the characters and story are well written.
Teresa wrote: "Uh oh. Oh well, I'll still read MM :) I'm catching up after a loooooong SK break; currently reading Duma Key, then on to 11/22/63, Joyland. I think MM is next (already read Under the Dome). Then I..."It was after finishing Insomnia (which I loved) that I decided to start reading The Dark Tower, but as Becky said, based upon what I've read so far of the DT, you don't need to have read Insomnia to appreciate the series.
Insomnia it seems is just one of many SK books which are interwoven into the DT universe (I just read the part in Wizards & Glass which references The Stand and it's such a natural connection, not forced, and really adds to the enjoyment of the story).
Teresa wrote: "Sounds similar to me; stopped reading SK around Gerald's Game, but resumed by rereading The Stand last summer. Now playing catch up with his books and am currently on Duma Key. I plan to start the..."Teresa - 23 years after initially shunning it when published, I finally read Geralds Game last month (in between DT 2 and DT3) and really enjoyed it.
Craig wrote: "Teresa wrote: "Uh oh. Oh well, I'll still read MM :) I'm catching up after a loooooong SK break; currently reading Duma Key, then on to 11/22/63, Joyland. I think MM is next (already read Under th..."My husband's been after me for months to read 11/22/63; he thought it was amazing and says it's one of the best. I did read Gerald's Game, but dropped off after that. He seemed to be getting away from real horror and I wasn't impressed. Now, being older, I can appreciate that his books are so much more and I'm so glad I decided to catch up. I've got all the newer short story collections to read as well, and after I've read everything, I'll start rereading. Maybe not everything, but most. I'm so hooked and in awe of his talent and writing that other authors pale in comparison now. He can trigger an emotion or a memory in just one sentence, and have me laughing in the next, and that's one of the things I love about him. But, I digress; I can't wait to start DT. It sounds like it's an intricate, fascinating world and I'm looking forward to it.
I do have a question: are the low men in yellow coats from Hearts in Atlantis originally from DT, and was the mystery driver who left the car at the gas station in From A Buick 8 a low man? Someone said so in another SK group I'm in. That's one element in Buick that I wanted explained more, who the original driver of the car was, and not having read DT yet, I didn't make the connection.
Yes the Low Men are from DT... and one may assume that the car's driver is as well, but that's less explicitly stated.
Becky wrote: "Yes the Low Men are from DT... and one may assume that the car's driver is as well, but that's less explicitly stated."So can I assume that the car in Buick is a sort of portal to the DT world? You can tell me to stop asking so many questions and just read the series :)
It's been a long time since I read Buick... I know it is sort of a portal... but where it leads is anyone's guess. There can be explanations found in the DT-verse, but It's an interpretation thing, in my opinion.Buick was published pre-final-three DT books (it was 2002 and the last three books were released over 2003-04), and that's where I think most of the answers would come from, so maybe it is... maybe it isn't. He could have been working on them alongside Buick, and meant for there to be connections, but not direct ones, or it could have been meant to be separate but DT has a way of... tainting things. LOL
I should probably re-read that one one day.
I re-read Buick recently only for the possible DT reference since I didn't love it the first time I read it. Like everything else, it's in no way necessary to the DT story, but it's fun to draw your won conclusions. I certainly have a LOT of theories about that damn car all lead to DT.
Kandice wrote: "I re-read Buick recently only for the possible DT reference since I didn't love it the first time I read it. Like everything else, it's in no way necessary to the DT story, but it's fun to draw you..."Yes, Kandice, it somewhat makes sense to me now, and especially about the driver of the car being a low man, now that I know what they are. I read Buick before Hearts in Atlantis, so the possible identity of the Buick's driver meant nothing to me at the time. Now that I know, I find it creepy, the way King described the man and his actions. That's a book I wouldn't mind a sequel to, because of the connections to DT :)
I don't actually think that the driver of the Buick was a low man. I think it's more likely to have been... someone else.
I also don't think the driver was a Low Man. I DO think the Buick may have been from...somewhere other than here, but anything I think is just fun conjecture. That's my favorite thing about the DT series. Because King is so good at referencing other work, circling plots and recycling characters, we are free to guess and connect dots as we read.
So I've been scrambling around for background on the storyline and it got me wondering about how SK developed the story - was the whole story arc clear at the outset or, do the big gaps between publishing the first 4 novels show that King hadn't really mapped out where the story was going and he let the books guide him?
All insights welcomed - thanks!