The Dark Tower #1

by Stephen King, Peter David, Jae Lee (Illustrator)

First Edition printing of Stephen King's first real foray and collaboration in comics. Plotting and consultation by Robin Firth. Beautiful Jae Lee cover & interior art.

Comic

Published January 1, 2007

About the author

Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

Reviews

[Erin Wagener · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great premise + love the line “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.“ but overall the book just had me going huh?? Seemingly he sets you up to have all the confusing directions each character takes you in wrapped up at the end, but then you don’t really get that. I’m not sure I have the stamina to try to get answers by reading the next book(s)

[M]

"Until finally only three remained of the old world, three like dreadful cards from a terrible deck of tarot cards: gunslinger, man in black, and the Dark Tower"

[Eric Partridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a story I had been wanting to read for a long time. Ever since I saw the “Dark Tower,” movie from what seems like a decade ago, I knew there was so much more to this story and I needed to read it.

My uncle mentioned it casually and said how it was one of his favorite books he’s read. He loaned me his copy, and I was not disappointed.

There were only a couple of moments where I had an issue with the content or the actions of the character which stood out to me as I write this review. It was a strange new world and the characters within the story of the gunslinger are surely unique. While Roland does have some classic western tropes from old school cowboy movies, he also carries with him a noble attitude and mission driven attitude.

It’s a good read for my first Stephen King novel and I recommend it. I am looking forward to the next one.

[Silvana McDermott · Rating 1 out of 5]

i couldn’t finish this book. stephen king is my favorite author but i just couldn’t get into this book, i read 200 pages before i decided this wasn’t worth my time to finish. maybe i should have stuck it out but i just didn’t understand the plot. it was all over the place. i don’t know it wasn’t for me but i still will continue to read my boy

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not my favorite genre. I’m wondering, how old this book is? WOW! 1982, and revised in 2003. References to all things evil and often looking for a tiny bit of good. Sci-fi isn’t my cup of tea at all. I love suspense but not like this. Sorry Stephen. I know millions love this, but it was a chore.

[Crystal Guta · Rating 1 out of 5]

It wasn't for me. As much as I imagined Matthew McConaughey & Idris Alba when listening to this one, I couldn't get into it. It finally picked up in the last 15% of the book but it was meh. Won't continue the series.

[Mitchell Cadrette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a good easy read. Enjoyed the adventures of gunslinger but it felt like a lot of build for a relatively quiet ending. That said the ending did leave me curious to read on so I will likely continue the series

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a weird way I really enjoyed this book. I think once you figure out what’s going on (or at least you think you do) it makes it really interesting, intriguing and frightening. Looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

[Gracie Carson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short enjoyable book that I assume is setting the plot for a grand story. Audiobook only took like 7 hours to listen to and excited to read the rest

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 king is a stellar story spinner, but this is not my cup of tea

[Amer Dzebo · Rating 3 out of 5]

My psychology professor in college said he liked this book but it was mostly just underwhelming.

[Briee Roehrig · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea what I just read

[Bevany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the movie years ago and finally got around to reading the book. I liked the book much better than the movie. The characters were great, and the world building was fun.

[Brian Freckleton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not enjoy this book very much at all. My first Steven King. . Think I'll pass on them in the future

[Colleen Schulz]

Excellent!! Completely different than my normal reading material!

[Josh D · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an impressive mythic, gothic, western of a nightmare.

[Kelsey Schmitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

75% of it is nearly nonsense but the end, with reference to our understanding of God and an infinite universe was very thought-provoking.

[Sky Figs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what people mean when they say a book is atmospheric I guess. I just thought that meant boring but I’ve never been satter

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not at all what I was expecting and yet thoroughly enjoyed. At times it felt a bit slow but it was still good. Looking forward to continuing the series.

[JBettles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging with strong characters, looking forward to reading more in the series.