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The Dark Tower #1-7
The Dark Tower Boxed Set
For the first time ever in a single box set, all of Stephen King’s eight Dark Tower novels—one of the most acclaimed and popular series of all time—soon to be a major motion film starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey.
Set in a world of ominous landscape and macabre menace, The Dark Tower series features one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations—The Gunslinger, a haunting figure who embodies the qualities of the lone hero through the ages, from ancient myth to frontier Western legend. As Roland crosses a desert of damnation in a treacherous world that is a twisted image of our own, he moves ever closer to the Dark Tower of his dreams—and nightmares.
This stunning, must-have collection includes: The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger; The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three; The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands; The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass; The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole; The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla; The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah; and The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower. The perfect keepsake for Stephen King fans, The Dark Tower Boxed Set is the most extraordinary and imaginative cycle of tales in the English language from “the reigning King of American popular literature” (Los Angeles Daily News).
Set in a world of ominous landscape and macabre menace, The Dark Tower series features one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations—The Gunslinger, a haunting figure who embodies the qualities of the lone hero through the ages, from ancient myth to frontier Western legend. As Roland crosses a desert of damnation in a treacherous world that is a twisted image of our own, he moves ever closer to the Dark Tower of his dreams—and nightmares.
This stunning, must-have collection includes: The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger; The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three; The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands; The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass; The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole; The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla; The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah; and The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower. The perfect keepsake for Stephen King fans, The Dark Tower Boxed Set is the most extraordinary and imaginative cycle of tales in the English language from “the reigning King of American popular literature” (Los Angeles Daily News).
4720 pages, Paperback
Published December 6, 2016
628 people are currently reading
749 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,408 books888k followersStephen 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 7, 2020
Great fantasy series by Steven King which took me months to read but really enjoyable and gripping. I think he put his heart and soul into it and came out with a really good yarn.
November 18, 2020
'The Gun Slinger': A traveller chases the mysterious Man in Black across a dangerous desert. His unnamed quest is aided by some, hindered by others in a bleak and brutal world.
In many ways, this is a strange book. It feels wrong both as a reading experience and as the opening volume of 'The Dark Tower'. Stephen King's almost terse writing style is tempered by the sense that there is something looming on the horizon which casts a shadow on this book.
There is a sense of foreboding and terror which is never made explicit in the novel but, then, there wouldn't be. For this a novel of beginnings and prophecy and there are other worlds than these.
'The Drawing of the Three': Roland Deschain continues his quest by beginning to gather together the group who will one day form his ka-tet, his band of destiny. Eddie Dean is a junkie from New York who is extricated from a perilous situation by the arrival of Roland and, in turn, saves the Gun Slinger's life. Odetta Holmes is a society heiress who lives with a dual personality, the feral Detta Walker. Alternatively needing their help and trying to kill them, Odetta may be the key to saving Roland.
King's fine grasp of character and place helps us to ground Roland and his posse in a way the previous novel did not. To describe this as lighter in tone would perhaps lead readers to expect no horror, but the lobster monstrosities and the uncanny nature of the dimensional corridors grow more disturbing with each encounter.
'The Waste Land': Roland Deschain is slowly being driven mad by a sense of parallel but incompatible histories where a boy called Jake Chambers is both alive and dead. Eddie and Susannah must help him reconcile these events in his head and continue their quest.
King has a way of drawing readers into worlds which is all encompassing and eerie. This novel is both dark and foreboding.
In many ways, this is a strange book. It feels wrong both as a reading experience and as the opening volume of 'The Dark Tower'. Stephen King's almost terse writing style is tempered by the sense that there is something looming on the horizon which casts a shadow on this book.
There is a sense of foreboding and terror which is never made explicit in the novel but, then, there wouldn't be. For this a novel of beginnings and prophecy and there are other worlds than these.
'The Drawing of the Three': Roland Deschain continues his quest by beginning to gather together the group who will one day form his ka-tet, his band of destiny. Eddie Dean is a junkie from New York who is extricated from a perilous situation by the arrival of Roland and, in turn, saves the Gun Slinger's life. Odetta Holmes is a society heiress who lives with a dual personality, the feral Detta Walker. Alternatively needing their help and trying to kill them, Odetta may be the key to saving Roland.
King's fine grasp of character and place helps us to ground Roland and his posse in a way the previous novel did not. To describe this as lighter in tone would perhaps lead readers to expect no horror, but the lobster monstrosities and the uncanny nature of the dimensional corridors grow more disturbing with each encounter.
'The Waste Land': Roland Deschain is slowly being driven mad by a sense of parallel but incompatible histories where a boy called Jake Chambers is both alive and dead. Eddie and Susannah must help him reconcile these events in his head and continue their quest.
King has a way of drawing readers into worlds which is all encompassing and eerie. This novel is both dark and foreboding.
April 19, 2020
There’ll never be an equal to Lord of the Rings. That we can all agree on.
Everything that tries to copy the high fantasy splendour is just a cheap imitation, a flimsy plastic copy of something pure and gold.
That’s what I love about The Dark Tower. It doesn’t try to imitate.
If LotR is precious metal, gems and leaves, then Stephen King’s magnum opus is gunpowder, sand and soft red petals. It doesn’t try to copy Tolkien, but you feel his influence in the best and dearest way.
There’s lots to be said about Roland’s quest for the Dark Tower. I didn’t read these books until many years after they were completed. I never had the decades of waiting between instalments. I saw no problem with Sai King writing himself in, or cyclical end, or the anticlimactic final battle with the Crimson King.
As a set I enjoyed The Gunslinger the least. It feels, as King himself points out in his final introduction, juvenile. I skimmed it during my first read.
The Drawing of the Three pulled me in. I loved the way the Gunslinger overrode people’s personalities. I loved that Jake survived. I loved everything down to the last Tooter Fish Popkin crumb.
The Wastelands was a pure Mad Max delight. Blaine the train is a pain- and his riddling game was a wonderful nod to Bilbo. I felt the same thing that is important in Middle Earth too- this is a world that has moved on.
Wizard and Glass has long stood as my mothers favourite in the series (she recommended these books to me). I see why she loves it. Poor Susan. Poor Roland.
The Wolves of the Calla is my favourite. It feels like the western I always wanted to see. The ka-tet of 1999 ride into town, they come-commella and they face off against the wolves final attack. I liked the robot. I liked the women and their plates. Father Callahan returning was the most wonderful and unexpected surprise.
Song of Susannah is the saddest for me. The fellowship is ending. Mia has truly arrived. The scrimshaw turtle and the Tet corporation gave me hope. Sombra Corp and the low men in yellow coats scared the shit out of me.
The Dark Tower is my other favourite. It feels sublime at times. I don’t care if you think the three Stephen Kings with the gift basket are hoaky. Mordreds death is wonderfully meaningless, while Oy’s still makes me tear up seven years later. I’ll have all of it (with Schlag!). The final spiral up into the tower is a perfect reading experience.
The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.
Everything that tries to copy the high fantasy splendour is just a cheap imitation, a flimsy plastic copy of something pure and gold.
That’s what I love about The Dark Tower. It doesn’t try to imitate.
If LotR is precious metal, gems and leaves, then Stephen King’s magnum opus is gunpowder, sand and soft red petals. It doesn’t try to copy Tolkien, but you feel his influence in the best and dearest way.
There’s lots to be said about Roland’s quest for the Dark Tower. I didn’t read these books until many years after they were completed. I never had the decades of waiting between instalments. I saw no problem with Sai King writing himself in, or cyclical end, or the anticlimactic final battle with the Crimson King.
As a set I enjoyed The Gunslinger the least. It feels, as King himself points out in his final introduction, juvenile. I skimmed it during my first read.
The Drawing of the Three pulled me in. I loved the way the Gunslinger overrode people’s personalities. I loved that Jake survived. I loved everything down to the last Tooter Fish Popkin crumb.
The Wastelands was a pure Mad Max delight. Blaine the train is a pain- and his riddling game was a wonderful nod to Bilbo. I felt the same thing that is important in Middle Earth too- this is a world that has moved on.
Wizard and Glass has long stood as my mothers favourite in the series (she recommended these books to me). I see why she loves it. Poor Susan. Poor Roland.
The Wolves of the Calla is my favourite. It feels like the western I always wanted to see. The ka-tet of 1999 ride into town, they come-commella and they face off against the wolves final attack. I liked the robot. I liked the women and their plates. Father Callahan returning was the most wonderful and unexpected surprise.
Song of Susannah is the saddest for me. The fellowship is ending. Mia has truly arrived. The scrimshaw turtle and the Tet corporation gave me hope. Sombra Corp and the low men in yellow coats scared the shit out of me.
The Dark Tower is my other favourite. It feels sublime at times. I don’t care if you think the three Stephen Kings with the gift basket are hoaky. Mordreds death is wonderfully meaningless, while Oy’s still makes me tear up seven years later. I’ll have all of it (with Schlag!). The final spiral up into the tower is a perfect reading experience.
The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2020
Favorite series of all time. The first book is best described as a Western, but even if that's not your typical genre, stick with it - it picks up part way through. The whole series expanded my worldview.
January 6, 2024
This is a thoughtful, far reaching, exciting read. Its a tad disjointed given that Mr. King spent several decades writing the books that make up the story, but he does a good job pulling it all firmly together in the last two books. Its also a very creative exploration of reality, humanity, time and space, life and death and what it means to be human. Finally, this is not a horror novel. Its sci fi / fantasy and definitely not The Shining. I would consider this an absolute must read for any SK fan.
September 1, 2024
The third time rereading but not the last (ka is a wheel, after all).
November 14, 2024
I have read through this seeries several times. I think it is some of King's best work.
May 5, 2025
The first sentence of my review will tell you what I think of this series by Stephen King.
I have read this series by Stephen King 3 times, and I will very soon read it for a fourth time!
I have read this series by Stephen King 3 times, and I will very soon read it for a fourth time!
September 12, 2025
I wish I'd never read this series.
I feel like I was deceived. I expected a much better conclusion to this tale than what I got. I hope at some point Sai King revisits this story.
I feel like I was deceived. I expected a much better conclusion to this tale than what I got. I hope at some point Sai King revisits this story.
October 18, 2022
I own this 8 volume boxed set of THE DARK TOWER SERIES. Just finished reading THE DARK TOWER – THE DARK TOWER VII by STEPHEN KING. I read this book while listening to the audible version narrated by GEORGE GUIDALL.This was supposed to be the final book in the series but my set includes an extra book called THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE - A DARK TOWER NOVEL… (Entwining stories and worlds from a vast and complex canvas, here is the conclusion readers have long awaited—breathtakingly imaginative, boldly visionary, and wholly entertaining). Roland Deschain and his ka-tet have journeyed together and apart, scattered far and wide across multilayered worlds of wheres and whens. The destinies of Roland, Susannah, Jake, Father Callahan, Oy, and Eddie are bound in the Dark Tower itself, which now pulls them ever closer to their own endings and beginnings...and into a maelstrom of emotion, violence, and discovery. I know, I say this every time but this 7th edition was the absolute best in my opinion. This makes me want to go back and watch the 2017 movie again starring IDRIS ELBA and MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY.
July 30, 2019
This starts out as a great story, with mysteries and hints at events long past. The first books are great, but without any structure or direction other than what comes to the authors mind several years after the project started, it becomes an uninspiering read. It all goes down hill when the author writes himself into the book with a prominent role. His character has thoughts of how he couldnt finish the story in the first place, how it's been in the back of his mind all this time, and how tough it is to write (and so on and so forth). It was a devastating turn for the otherwise elaborate story, and the characters deserved much better.
December 25, 2018
This was my first introduction to Stephen King, and I loved it! Not at all like the movie. I found it fascinating how he wove all the stories together as the series progressed. A very fun read, and now I'm hooked on his writing!
June 8, 2020
Was just a good the second time . This is King's masterpiece, it equals the works of Tolkien,
I waited and suffered many years for the final book and own all the volumes this quest. It was worth the wait.
I waited and suffered many years for the final book and own all the volumes this quest. It was worth the wait.
January 16, 2020
Must have collection for fans of King or fantasy novels in general.
March 8, 2019
I literally cannot say enough good things about these books
February 8, 2020
Perfect ending!
Make sure you read from the beginning — and *all* of the other books the Dark Tower even brushes by. You won’t regret it.
Make sure you read from the beginning — and *all* of the other books the Dark Tower even brushes by. You won’t regret it.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews