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The Dark Tower #1-3
Стрелок / Извлечение троих / Бесплодные земли
Юный Роланд - последний благородный рыцарь в мире, "сдвинувшемся с места". Ему во что бы то ни стало нужно найти Темную Башню - средоточие Силы, краеугольный камень мироздания. Но прежде Роланд должен отправиться, как говорят карты Таро, в современную Америку на поиски помощников. Вместе они смогут противостоять темным силам и продолжить нелегкий путь к Башне...
1008 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1991
62 people are currently reading
3908 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,422 books887k 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 - 30 of 119 reviews
April 23, 2024
The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three and The Waste Lands. The first three books of the eight-volume report on Mr. Stephen Edwin King's transpersonal mescaline trip. I'll probably take a break and then finish the remaining five. The main thing is not to forget The Face of My Father by the end.
Ru: Первые три книги восьмитомного отчёта о трансперсональном мескалиновом трипе мистера Стивена Эдвина Кинга.
Начал читать из смутного любопытства «как это сделано», но на второй книге, вместе с появлением торчка героинщика и негритянки шизофренички, а также описаний изменённого восприятия, мистических, и схожих с психозами состояний, я уже привык к слогу, терминам типа Большой Грязный Мужик, и втянулся в текст так, что далее читал до конца уже без остановок. Держит.
by the way Mr. King, how does it work?
По итогу, могу сказать, что Стивен Кинг очень смелый мастер (я имею ввиду писательскую смелость), и когда начинает излагать свою версию видения мира/ов, то не смущаясь движется напролом, и как Роланд идёт до самого конца, влёгкую смешивая несочитаемое и с каждой страницей углубляя свой и без того мощный психоделический опыт.
+++ for the sense of humor and cyberpunk
Наверное, сделаю перерыв, а потом дочитаю остальные пять. Главное к окончанию не забыть Лицо Своего Отца.
Ru: Первые три книги восьмитомного отчёта о трансперсональном мескалиновом трипе мистера Стивена Эдвина Кинга.
Начал читать из смутного любопытства «как это сделано», но на второй книге, вместе с появлением торчка героинщика и негритянки шизофренички, а также описаний изменённого восприятия, мистических, и схожих с психозами состояний, я уже привык к слогу, терминам типа Большой Грязный Мужик, и втянулся в текст так, что далее читал до конца уже без остановок. Держит.
by the way Mr. King, how does it work?
По итогу, могу сказать, что Стивен Кинг очень смелый мастер (я имею ввиду писательскую смелость), и когда начинает излагать свою версию видения мира/ов, то не смущаясь движется напролом, и как Роланд идёт до самого конца, влёгкую смешивая несочитаемое и с каждой страницей углубляя свой и без того мощный психоделический опыт.
+++ for the sense of humor and cyberpunk
Наверное, сделаю перерыв, а потом дочитаю остальные пять. Главное к окончанию не забыть Лицо Своего Отца.
October 4, 2025
The first 3 books in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series are a wild psychedelic ride.
***
Book 1: The Gunslinger
The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed. Roland Deschain chases down the man in black with plans to get revenge for the fallen while clinging to the wavering hopes of being led closer to his final destination, the Dark Tower. In an apocalyptic wasteland where the flow of time is off kilter, plagued by mutant demons, evil magic and blooming insanity, Roland fights against the tides of time and infinite space to achieve his ultimate goal, even if it costs him what little mercy and humanity he has left.
So much better on a second read of the series and having a bunch more Stephen King books under my belt since the first time I read this. The Dark Tower series gets better the more you read it and it gets better with every other book by King you read because it brings it all together. All of Stephen King's books connect and complement each other in one way or another, but the Dark Tower is quite literarily the single coordinate that holds all the cracks and seams of the multiverse together at a single foundation in time. It's the biggest piece in a very large puzzle.
Gunslinger is still sorta the black sheep of the series though. It's disjointed, weird and not fully formed. You can tell King only had a vague sense of where he wanted the future of the series to go and he even admits so himself. That being said, there are definitely small seeds of genius planted throughout the narrative that grow into fascinating plot threads that appear in later Dark Tower books as well as many other books outside the Dark Tower universe.
Gunslinger is grim and intriguing with occasional bursts of philosophical genius, but far too vague in detail and plot direction for newbies of King to enjoy I imagine. I remember feeling the same way the first time I read it. When I originally finished the novel, I had no sense of direction of where the plot was heading or where it was ever meant to be heading in the first place. The motivations of the characters, the setting and the story were lost in a jumbled sea of hallucinatory prose and characters speaking in vulgar riddles. I had so many unanswered questions at the time that I had to sit back and think about what the hell I had just read before writing a review.
Thankfully I don't feel that way anymore. I get it now. Roland is the man. He's a dark, disturbed and scary man, but he's the man nonetheless. Dark Tower takes the whole journey is more important than the destination thing to heart. It grows on you the longer you travel down that seemingly never-ending road.
A great series for horror fans and dark fantasy fans, but it definitely requires a bit of leg work and extensive outside research to be able to fully appreciate it to the max in my opinion.
***
Book 2: The Drawing of the Three
The Gunslinger is a great book in its own right, but I feel like it can only be fully enjoyed after having read at least a few more books in the series as they give you a much better grasp of what the story and world are actually about and what Roland’s endgame motives are. I didn’t like The Gunslinger that much the first time I read it but loved it after a reread. Drawing of the Three, though? This is the one that initially made me fall in love with the series.
It starts right after the ending of book one where Roland has his confrontation with the Man in Black about the bleak destiny that awaits him if he chooses to keep pursuing the Dark Tower. Traveling alongside a beach filled with monstrous, flesh devouring lobsters, he’s greeted by three cryptic doorways. Doorways that lead into our world at different points in time. Each doorway contains a person tied to him by fate, a new set of allies he must befriend (against their wills) and bring them back to his world. Before he can do that, he must help in solving their personal hang ups in their own world while dealing with some nasty problems of his own. One bloody piece at a time, Roland struggles against all odds to haphazardly gather his new crew of dysfunctional gunslingers together with the constant threat of agonizing death constantly looming over his shoulder.
This book is twisted, bleak, hilarious, vulgar and trippy as hell. Beneath all that, it has a lot of heart. Roland has a hell of a way of expressing love for his comrades, but it’s a deep and heart wrenching love all the same.
This book introduces my favorite character in the series and one of my favorite characters ever created by Stephen King in general: Eddie Dean. Odetta is another complex character that adds a lot of depth to the main cast.
The best part of this book was easily the introduction of Eddie and Odetta, a foul mouthed heroin junkie and a wheelchair- bound woman suffering from severe schizophrenia. Not only were they incredible characters in their own right, but they also brought out some much-needed personality out of Roland. The three of them being on page simultaneously was a joy to behold. Sometimes it was tragic, sometimes it was hilarious, sometimes it was terrifying and sometimes it was beautifully human.
Roland goes from being your typical edgy action antihero gunslinger to a shockingly vulnerable, emotional and tortured soul who is trying to do his damned hardest to do the right thing while making some grim choices and terrifying fumbles to achieve those goals. Having Eddie and Odetta around to hammer down and call him out on his questionable choices, doubts and flaws adds a lot of tension and consequence to an already visceral saga.
The way the book is written is also fascinating. When Roland enters into other worlds, he does so through peering from the eyes of inhabitants of that world while his body remains in his own world, almost like some kind of voyeuristic demonic possession where he shares a mind and consciousness with whoever he is in charge of controlling. The whole thing felt like an insane drug-fueled fever dream with constant chaos, conflict and interdimensional high-stakes drama. The quiet moments of character bonding, venting and banter were the icing on the cake and made the more intense moments hit that much harder.
The chemistry between the three unstable misfits kept the tension and the emotion high at all times. I’m really enjoying this reread because I never read beyond Wizard and Glass back when I tried reading this series back in the day. I’m looking forward to actually reading all the way to the end this time.
***
Book 3: The Waste Lands
This novel is insane in all the best ways. Just like Drawing of the Three, it almost feels like 30 different novels of various different genres smashed together in a chaotic mess of awesomeness.
There’s giant mutant animal sentinels guarding beams and pathways to other worlds. There’s allusions to Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings and Alice in Wonderland. There’s double memory, alternate universe and time travel paradox conundrums. There’s an evil sentient train that psychologically tortures people to death with complicated riddles, mad cults in apocalyptic cities, underground pirate gangs and terrifying abstract lovecraftian cosmic horror stuff going on in the background, just out of sight but not out of mind.
On top of all this madness, it’s just a wonderful epic fantasy story with a ragtag band of incredibly flawed misfit heroes fighting big battles, exploring haunting ruins, solving cryptic puzzles and growing closer together like a real family as they struggle for survival on their long quest. Roland, Eddie and Susannah started off on a rough note, but they’ve grown closer over their months traveling the grim wastelands of Mid-World and learning the ways of the gunslinger. They fight, argue, laugh, joke, protect, hate and love each other in equal measure.
This book also brings back Jake from the first novel and a talking animal companion (a talking crow creature named Oy,) that joins Roland’s RPG party. Both add a lot of much needed heart, compassion, humor and cleverness to the core of the group. Roland treats him like a son and Eddy and Susannah treat him like a beloved younger sibling. I really enjoyed all their interactions together.
Roland and his crew are in a riddle battle against Blaine the Mono. The battle could end in them arriving at their destination unscathed or crashing in a gruesome blaze of hellfire. We’ll see how their journey continues (or ends) in the next entry.
***
Book 1: The Gunslinger
The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed. Roland Deschain chases down the man in black with plans to get revenge for the fallen while clinging to the wavering hopes of being led closer to his final destination, the Dark Tower. In an apocalyptic wasteland where the flow of time is off kilter, plagued by mutant demons, evil magic and blooming insanity, Roland fights against the tides of time and infinite space to achieve his ultimate goal, even if it costs him what little mercy and humanity he has left.
So much better on a second read of the series and having a bunch more Stephen King books under my belt since the first time I read this. The Dark Tower series gets better the more you read it and it gets better with every other book by King you read because it brings it all together. All of Stephen King's books connect and complement each other in one way or another, but the Dark Tower is quite literarily the single coordinate that holds all the cracks and seams of the multiverse together at a single foundation in time. It's the biggest piece in a very large puzzle.
Gunslinger is still sorta the black sheep of the series though. It's disjointed, weird and not fully formed. You can tell King only had a vague sense of where he wanted the future of the series to go and he even admits so himself. That being said, there are definitely small seeds of genius planted throughout the narrative that grow into fascinating plot threads that appear in later Dark Tower books as well as many other books outside the Dark Tower universe.
Gunslinger is grim and intriguing with occasional bursts of philosophical genius, but far too vague in detail and plot direction for newbies of King to enjoy I imagine. I remember feeling the same way the first time I read it. When I originally finished the novel, I had no sense of direction of where the plot was heading or where it was ever meant to be heading in the first place. The motivations of the characters, the setting and the story were lost in a jumbled sea of hallucinatory prose and characters speaking in vulgar riddles. I had so many unanswered questions at the time that I had to sit back and think about what the hell I had just read before writing a review.
Thankfully I don't feel that way anymore. I get it now. Roland is the man. He's a dark, disturbed and scary man, but he's the man nonetheless. Dark Tower takes the whole journey is more important than the destination thing to heart. It grows on you the longer you travel down that seemingly never-ending road.
A great series for horror fans and dark fantasy fans, but it definitely requires a bit of leg work and extensive outside research to be able to fully appreciate it to the max in my opinion.
***
Book 2: The Drawing of the Three
The Gunslinger is a great book in its own right, but I feel like it can only be fully enjoyed after having read at least a few more books in the series as they give you a much better grasp of what the story and world are actually about and what Roland’s endgame motives are. I didn’t like The Gunslinger that much the first time I read it but loved it after a reread. Drawing of the Three, though? This is the one that initially made me fall in love with the series.
It starts right after the ending of book one where Roland has his confrontation with the Man in Black about the bleak destiny that awaits him if he chooses to keep pursuing the Dark Tower. Traveling alongside a beach filled with monstrous, flesh devouring lobsters, he’s greeted by three cryptic doorways. Doorways that lead into our world at different points in time. Each doorway contains a person tied to him by fate, a new set of allies he must befriend (against their wills) and bring them back to his world. Before he can do that, he must help in solving their personal hang ups in their own world while dealing with some nasty problems of his own. One bloody piece at a time, Roland struggles against all odds to haphazardly gather his new crew of dysfunctional gunslingers together with the constant threat of agonizing death constantly looming over his shoulder.
This book is twisted, bleak, hilarious, vulgar and trippy as hell. Beneath all that, it has a lot of heart. Roland has a hell of a way of expressing love for his comrades, but it’s a deep and heart wrenching love all the same.
This book introduces my favorite character in the series and one of my favorite characters ever created by Stephen King in general: Eddie Dean. Odetta is another complex character that adds a lot of depth to the main cast.
The best part of this book was easily the introduction of Eddie and Odetta, a foul mouthed heroin junkie and a wheelchair- bound woman suffering from severe schizophrenia. Not only were they incredible characters in their own right, but they also brought out some much-needed personality out of Roland. The three of them being on page simultaneously was a joy to behold. Sometimes it was tragic, sometimes it was hilarious, sometimes it was terrifying and sometimes it was beautifully human.
Roland goes from being your typical edgy action antihero gunslinger to a shockingly vulnerable, emotional and tortured soul who is trying to do his damned hardest to do the right thing while making some grim choices and terrifying fumbles to achieve those goals. Having Eddie and Odetta around to hammer down and call him out on his questionable choices, doubts and flaws adds a lot of tension and consequence to an already visceral saga.
The way the book is written is also fascinating. When Roland enters into other worlds, he does so through peering from the eyes of inhabitants of that world while his body remains in his own world, almost like some kind of voyeuristic demonic possession where he shares a mind and consciousness with whoever he is in charge of controlling. The whole thing felt like an insane drug-fueled fever dream with constant chaos, conflict and interdimensional high-stakes drama. The quiet moments of character bonding, venting and banter were the icing on the cake and made the more intense moments hit that much harder.
The chemistry between the three unstable misfits kept the tension and the emotion high at all times. I’m really enjoying this reread because I never read beyond Wizard and Glass back when I tried reading this series back in the day. I’m looking forward to actually reading all the way to the end this time.
***
Book 3: The Waste Lands
This novel is insane in all the best ways. Just like Drawing of the Three, it almost feels like 30 different novels of various different genres smashed together in a chaotic mess of awesomeness.
There’s giant mutant animal sentinels guarding beams and pathways to other worlds. There’s allusions to Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings and Alice in Wonderland. There’s double memory, alternate universe and time travel paradox conundrums. There’s an evil sentient train that psychologically tortures people to death with complicated riddles, mad cults in apocalyptic cities, underground pirate gangs and terrifying abstract lovecraftian cosmic horror stuff going on in the background, just out of sight but not out of mind.
On top of all this madness, it’s just a wonderful epic fantasy story with a ragtag band of incredibly flawed misfit heroes fighting big battles, exploring haunting ruins, solving cryptic puzzles and growing closer together like a real family as they struggle for survival on their long quest. Roland, Eddie and Susannah started off on a rough note, but they’ve grown closer over their months traveling the grim wastelands of Mid-World and learning the ways of the gunslinger. They fight, argue, laugh, joke, protect, hate and love each other in equal measure.
This book also brings back Jake from the first novel and a talking animal companion (a talking crow creature named Oy,) that joins Roland’s RPG party. Both add a lot of much needed heart, compassion, humor and cleverness to the core of the group. Roland treats him like a son and Eddy and Susannah treat him like a beloved younger sibling. I really enjoyed all their interactions together.
Roland and his crew are in a riddle battle against Blaine the Mono. The battle could end in them arriving at their destination unscathed or crashing in a gruesome blaze of hellfire. We’ll see how their journey continues (or ends) in the next entry.
May 11, 2009
I thought this was a very well written, science fiction series. Although the first book was a BORE and I almost didn't continue reading, I am really glad my brother convinced me otherwise. The rest of the series is full of complexity, and very exciting reading. Not sure what I think of the ending. I would recommend the series to others - but would warn them first of how boring the first book is - just skim it to get to the "good books!"
May 17, 2009
Absolutely the best series I've ever read.
August 16, 2017
An over thousand page bind up of all three of the fabulous King "The Dark Tower" novels; the titles of which include- "The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger", "The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three" and "The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands".
February 7, 2009
The Gunslinger: Instantly engaging in its nod to spaghetti western films, this book quickly moves beyond that into the realm of fantasy as we learn that Roland, the gunslinger, is the last member of a knighthood-like order, and his world, similar to our own, is said to have moved on. He follows his adversary, the Man in Black, across the desert, looking for answers to his life, and questing for the linchpin of all levels of all realities, The Dark Tower.
The Drawing of the Three: The gunslinger's quest for the Dark Tower continues as he gathers to his side kindred spirits from our world, and through inter-dimensional doorways left free-standing along the shore of an ocean, brings them back to his world to join him in his quest, and teaches them to become gunslingers too. Strange, unexplained synchronicities seem to connect all the characters.
The Wastelands: Roland and his ka-tet, (a group bound by a common destiny,) follow the path of one of the beams of energy holding reality together, and leading to a central spoke - The Dark Tower - upon which all universes turn. Their journey leads them through the remains of an ancient metropolis where a deranged computer intelligence holds the remaining populace in a state of continual civil war.
I loved these books! It seems every genre has made it smoothly into this series, with dominant influence from westerns, fantasy, suspense, science fiction and (of course, it is Stephen King,) horror. I find the character Roland truly intriguing. It's so funny that King, this incredibly imaginative and prolific writer, has chosen as his hero of this, his self-styled "Magnum Opus", a character that is utterly without imagination and nearly void of humor. Roland, with his mind uncluttered by nonsense, sees things in stark contrasts, and with an unflagging sense of right and wrong. He is not a brilliant man, but his singularity of purpose - to find the cause of all that is wrong in the universe and set it right, carries him through every situation, no matter how seemingly insurmountable. If analysis is paralysis, then Roland is a speeding bullet!
The Drawing of the Three: The gunslinger's quest for the Dark Tower continues as he gathers to his side kindred spirits from our world, and through inter-dimensional doorways left free-standing along the shore of an ocean, brings them back to his world to join him in his quest, and teaches them to become gunslingers too. Strange, unexplained synchronicities seem to connect all the characters.
The Wastelands: Roland and his ka-tet, (a group bound by a common destiny,) follow the path of one of the beams of energy holding reality together, and leading to a central spoke - The Dark Tower - upon which all universes turn. Their journey leads them through the remains of an ancient metropolis where a deranged computer intelligence holds the remaining populace in a state of continual civil war.
I loved these books! It seems every genre has made it smoothly into this series, with dominant influence from westerns, fantasy, suspense, science fiction and (of course, it is Stephen King,) horror. I find the character Roland truly intriguing. It's so funny that King, this incredibly imaginative and prolific writer, has chosen as his hero of this, his self-styled "Magnum Opus", a character that is utterly without imagination and nearly void of humor. Roland, with his mind uncluttered by nonsense, sees things in stark contrasts, and with an unflagging sense of right and wrong. He is not a brilliant man, but his singularity of purpose - to find the cause of all that is wrong in the universe and set it right, carries him through every situation, no matter how seemingly insurmountable. If analysis is paralysis, then Roland is a speeding bullet!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2007
Okay, I read each of the Dark Tower books as they came out, but couldn't write separate reviews for each, because really, they're just one long book.
Nothing made me sadder than when I finished the last book. I love Roland. I love Eddie and Susannah. I love the terrifying, dusty, romantic land of End World.
I am not ashamed to admit that when each new book came out, I felt compelled to read each of the previous books over again in order, so that each was crisp and still in my mind clearly when I began the new book.
Even if you hate Stephen King (Jennifer!) you have to read The Dark Tower series.
Nothing made me sadder than when I finished the last book. I love Roland. I love Eddie and Susannah. I love the terrifying, dusty, romantic land of End World.
I am not ashamed to admit that when each new book came out, I felt compelled to read each of the previous books over again in order, so that each was crisp and still in my mind clearly when I began the new book.
Even if you hate Stephen King (Jennifer!) you have to read The Dark Tower series.
March 24, 2015
Ridiculous plot with ludicrous characters and relationships...This series gives the fantasy genre a whole new meaning with its preposterous subplots...I found it to be 'goofy' and 'nonsensical' in many areas...The only individual with any merit in the series is Roland, and his impact is muted continuously by the exasperating presence of Eddie and Susannah (it hurts to even type their names), who certainly rank at the top in terms of the most annoying characters I have ever come across in any book...I am a Stephen King fan, but this just did not work for me...He should stick to the thriller and horror field where he thrives.
September 20, 2008
If you like westerns or science fiction or drama, or action, or romance,or better yet, a combination of these genres-this is the series for you. But be prepared to experience much, much more than that! This is one of the most engrossing series I've ever read. It sucks you and and doesn't spit you out until you've read that last page and "WOW!". Stephen King has provided an ending to beat all endings. You're either going to love it or hate it. I absolutely, positively LOVED it. I sat in satisfied shock: excellent. I can't ask more from a book than what King delivers here.
March 27, 2014
These first three books of the dark tower series made me believe that Stephen King is actually a really good writer.
Book four destroyed that impression.
The later books i never touched.
although...
i've read the four books in german translation, and i now, while writing this review, recognized that the fourth book had a different translator...
maybe i should re-read them, this time in english, because the first three ones were really great books...
had been favorites for a long time...
Book four destroyed that impression.
The later books i never touched.
although...
i've read the four books in german translation, and i now, while writing this review, recognized that the fourth book had a different translator...
maybe i should re-read them, this time in english, because the first three ones were really great books...
had been favorites for a long time...
October 30, 2009
I just can't say enough good things about this work. The plot, the characters, the writing (yes - Stephen King's writing) all kept me enthralled. I was so happy when the final book came out. I'm currently "rereading" the series (via audiobook) and it's just as good the second time around. When a seven-tome series is worth rereading, that's saying something.
November 27, 2012
Book 1 is a bit of a struggle but after that you're hooked! Book 7 just makes you want to read every one of them again!!
September 29, 2017
A must read for any Stephen King fan.
April 29, 2015
Stephen King is best known for being a horror writer, covering everything from evil cars to telekinetic high-schoolers. But his magnum opus was the Dark Tower series, an epic gritty high-fantasy story strongly tinged with horror. "The Dark Tower, Books 1-3: The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, and The Waste Lands" displays the strong first three parts of the series, sweeping you into the Midworld.
"The Gunslinger" introduces us to Roland Deschain of Gilead, the last gunslinger of a long-dead land. The hardened cowboy/knight wanders through a wasted world, tracking a "man in black" who can help him find (cue ominous music) the Dark Tower. Along the way he finds Jake, a young boy who was killed in a car accident in our world. But in the name of his quest, Roland may be called on to sacrifice what he loves...
"The Drawing of the Three" kicks off mere hours after "Gunslinger" ends. Roland is sick, and being pursued by carnivorous "lobstrosities." But then he ends up transporting his mind into our world -- specifically, into the minds of junkie smuggler Eddie Dean, and legless civil rights activist Odetta Holmes (and her evil alter ego, Detta). Roland "draws" these two into his own world, but Eddie's withdrawal and Detta's malevolence might kill his quest before it even starts.
"The Waste Lands" begins with Roland tutoring Susannah (formerly Odetta/Detta) and Eddie in how to be gunslingers. But Roland is not doing well. Because of a paradox he created when he saved the boy Jake, his mind is starting to deteriorate. In Manhattan, Jake is suffering from the same thing. To save them both from madness, the gang draws Jake away from our world. But no sooner has he joined them than they come to a ruined city, with an insane mono train and a sinister figure following them...
As the Dark Tower lies at the heart of all worlds, the Dark Tower series lies at the heart of Stephen King's vast bibliography -- this is where he ties everything together, from his classic novels like "IT" and "The Stand" to his own LIFE. These three books are only the beginning, slowly introducing the main ka-tet as well as the ruined, desolate Midworld, but they are absolutely brilliant.
King's writing here is full of blood, dust and loneliness, and he weaves in some truly horrific moments of visceral power as well as moving drama. And he does an outstanding job setting up a parallel world to our own, with some shared history and beliefs but a very different "now."
And Roland Deschain is an excellent lead character, a mixture of rock-hard determination and affection for his friends. Eddie comes across as rather annoying at times, but he's evidently supposed to; on the other hand, Susannah is remarkably complex with her double personality and her boundless inner strength. And Jake serves as a surrogate son for Roland, while displaying his own brand of eleven-year-old toughness.
"The Dark Tower, Books 1-3: The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, and The Waste Lands" brings together the first three classic stories of Midworld, and it will blast you into a world of dust and blood.
"The Gunslinger" introduces us to Roland Deschain of Gilead, the last gunslinger of a long-dead land. The hardened cowboy/knight wanders through a wasted world, tracking a "man in black" who can help him find (cue ominous music) the Dark Tower. Along the way he finds Jake, a young boy who was killed in a car accident in our world. But in the name of his quest, Roland may be called on to sacrifice what he loves...
"The Drawing of the Three" kicks off mere hours after "Gunslinger" ends. Roland is sick, and being pursued by carnivorous "lobstrosities." But then he ends up transporting his mind into our world -- specifically, into the minds of junkie smuggler Eddie Dean, and legless civil rights activist Odetta Holmes (and her evil alter ego, Detta). Roland "draws" these two into his own world, but Eddie's withdrawal and Detta's malevolence might kill his quest before it even starts.
"The Waste Lands" begins with Roland tutoring Susannah (formerly Odetta/Detta) and Eddie in how to be gunslingers. But Roland is not doing well. Because of a paradox he created when he saved the boy Jake, his mind is starting to deteriorate. In Manhattan, Jake is suffering from the same thing. To save them both from madness, the gang draws Jake away from our world. But no sooner has he joined them than they come to a ruined city, with an insane mono train and a sinister figure following them...
As the Dark Tower lies at the heart of all worlds, the Dark Tower series lies at the heart of Stephen King's vast bibliography -- this is where he ties everything together, from his classic novels like "IT" and "The Stand" to his own LIFE. These three books are only the beginning, slowly introducing the main ka-tet as well as the ruined, desolate Midworld, but they are absolutely brilliant.
King's writing here is full of blood, dust and loneliness, and he weaves in some truly horrific moments of visceral power as well as moving drama. And he does an outstanding job setting up a parallel world to our own, with some shared history and beliefs but a very different "now."
And Roland Deschain is an excellent lead character, a mixture of rock-hard determination and affection for his friends. Eddie comes across as rather annoying at times, but he's evidently supposed to; on the other hand, Susannah is remarkably complex with her double personality and her boundless inner strength. And Jake serves as a surrogate son for Roland, while displaying his own brand of eleven-year-old toughness.
"The Dark Tower, Books 1-3: The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, and The Waste Lands" brings together the first three classic stories of Midworld, and it will blast you into a world of dust and blood.
September 16, 2012
I'm picking this option to save time in reviewing all three, because I believe the power comes from reading the three together more so than individually. The gunslinger series is one that my mind comes to over and over. Roland is a powerful character in my mind, no doubt because he's very much so a part of Kings. The first book is one of King's first, and it shows. However, in typical King fashion, it's the perfect character development for you to understand Roland as you progress to The Drawing of the Three. Book 2 is one of my hands down favorites ever, really digging deep on how we look at our world and these characters as they push to become more together than they'll ever be apart. This pushes into Waste Lands which is a love it or hate it book. Because of my connection with Jake, I loved it. Seeing the characters connect and Roland grow to correct past mistakes is a journey I was very much up for. The unfortunate part is, despite reading them all, the final books in the series are disappointing. The ending, while appropriate, ended in true King style of seeming to be thrown together because he was done developing the characters. That being said, these three are top of the tops for me.
July 9, 2007
Dark, twisted, Stephen King-esque. But never ending. He's up to book 7 or 8 at this point and I'm going to need to re-read these before I can get through the whole series.
The series follows the story of Roland, a sort of latter day six-shooter knight from an alternate world where sorcery and demons run side by side with science.
Roland seeks a man in black through the first book, makes some friends in the second book, they travel afar in the third, they continue the journey in the fourth (while Roland does some childhood flashbacks the whole time) and I haven't read the rest yet.
Some cool stuff that I started reading when I was a lifeguard at a tiny community pool (empty until the weekends) and had a lot of time to read.
The series follows the story of Roland, a sort of latter day six-shooter knight from an alternate world where sorcery and demons run side by side with science.
Roland seeks a man in black through the first book, makes some friends in the second book, they travel afar in the third, they continue the journey in the fourth (while Roland does some childhood flashbacks the whole time) and I haven't read the rest yet.
Some cool stuff that I started reading when I was a lifeguard at a tiny community pool (empty until the weekends) and had a lot of time to read.
November 24, 2008
I liked the first three books so much more than the last four. In fact, if I never read the last four again, I wouldn't feel like I was missing out.
These books are about a man called The Gunslinger who is trying to save his world, which is dying. In "Drawing of the Three", he must pull in three people from OUR world who will help him in some way - they know nothing about this other world, and are unlikely heros - for example, a druggie and a paralyzed woman with multiple personalities - not exactly what we would think our hero needs. These books are the "ultimate fantasy books" I suppose, which is why I only sortof got into them.
These books are about a man called The Gunslinger who is trying to save his world, which is dying. In "Drawing of the Three", he must pull in three people from OUR world who will help him in some way - they know nothing about this other world, and are unlikely heros - for example, a druggie and a paralyzed woman with multiple personalities - not exactly what we would think our hero needs. These books are the "ultimate fantasy books" I suppose, which is why I only sortof got into them.
May 17, 2013
The Wastelands was good, but it took a minute to get going. Stephen King has a knack for detail that borders on the obsessive. Once it got going though, it was one heck of a story, as always. This book felt like a transitional piece. Considering it's part of a longer work, I don't doubt that it probably is. It did leave me wanting to read #4 which I will do in a little while. Like every book I've read so far in this series, I have to put a little distance between readings. I like the way these books sort of lay over me. I'll be thinking about Roland and his ka-tet and the machines (especially Blaine) for weeks. There is always so much to understand.
July 28, 2008
Loosely threaded yarn from the great Stephen King. In my mind, you have to be a Stephen King fan to enjoy this series. You will enjoy the refrences to some of his other works, i.e. The Stand & Christine. I would probably give it more than 3 stars if I didn't like the basic premise that there is some futuristic world where gun slingers are like the Knight Errants of the world and there is a code, etc., etc. It just seemed a little hokey. Anyway, it has many twists and turns and some very interesting and colorful characters. For that alone, it is a decent read.
March 20, 2018
The Dark Tower series (1-7) is to me what the Harry Potter series is to some: by far the most rewarding long-term reading experience of my life. Stephen King says that it is his magnum opus and it a genre-smasher: part spaghetti western, fantasy journey, autobiography, with just a pinch of horror thrown in. He creates a world and fills it with great characters. He builds a language and uses it to talk about big ideas such as "Ka." Ka, a combination of the ideas of fate, destiny, and karma runs through the entire story. It is a big time investment but very worth it, IMHO.
August 28, 2008
The first three books in this series were written when Stephen King was young. The last three were written after his accident that nearly killed him. The first three are pure fun fiction. The second three are much more thought provoking. As it turns out the series would not have been as impactful if all six had been written at the same time. This is a huge investment in time, but well woeth the effort
June 15, 2009
I love the books that Stephen King wrote under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. His tendency toward gratuitous horror has not been quelled in this series, and I could do without some of his very graphic descriptions of folks losing limbs and such, but the story is so well done. I'm going on to the 4th book this morning.
September 22, 2018
A great start to what looks to be an amazing saga. The third book (The Waste Lands) was my favorite of Mr. King's first three Dark Tower books. It kept me engaged and helped further visualize the lands and history of mid-world. The characters (new and old) had rich development, and I look forward to moving ahead with the fourth story in the saga.
March 13, 2018
Book 1: The Gunslinger (★★★★☆)
Book 2: The Drawing of the Three (★★★★☆)
Book 3: The Waste Lands (★★★★☆)
Book 2: The Drawing of the Three (★★★★☆)
Book 3: The Waste Lands (★★★★☆)
March 11, 2017
To me, these were interesting but not my favorite. These three books were still very good stories though.
June 12, 2017
Engrossing dystopian fantasy series (audiobook).
July 10, 2017
This is the 2nd of the 3 in the Dark Tower series. I have always appreciated how Stephen King can easily slide me into an alternate universe and this was did not disappoint.
August 26, 2017
Fascinating!
February 4, 2018
Вся прелесть путешествия — в его начале.
Прочитал первый том (Стрелок / Извлечение троих / Бесплодные земли). Сразу же начал собирать все остальные книги. (А лучше бы остановился.)
Прочитал первый том (Стрелок / Извлечение троих / Бесплодные земли). Сразу же начал собирать все остальные книги. (А лучше бы остановился.)
May 21, 2023
Я безумно рада, что читала сразу три книги в сборнике. Иначе, все закончилось бы на Стрелке и продолжать я бы не захотела, а так у меня не было выбора... Сразу предупреждаю, будет много спойлеров! Так как пишу как напоминание о книге для себя в будущем, ведь по любому продолжу цикл.
Дело в том, что события в "Стрелке" крайне непонятны и я читала и не понимала о чем вообще речь. Какой-то другой мир, в котором один мужик куда-то идет и ищет какую-то башню. Что немного похоже на манию. Но понять зачем я так и не смогла. Роланд немного вспоминает свое прошлое, обучение и то, как он стал стрелком. Иногда ему попадались люди (очень странные люди), но чаще были какие-то странные существа. Из-за которых Роланд потерял два пальца на правой руке. Позже он взял в компанию мальчика по имени Джейк, как он попал в мир Роланда не ясно, но финал с мальчиком был грустным. В принципе я бы из-за этого и не продолжила знакомство с циклом.
Но вот начинается "Извлечение троих" и уже становится поинтересней и подинамичней. В мире Роланда иногда открываются двери в наш мир и он может забрать с собой какого-то человека, попав в его тело. Сначала это был Эдди, что перевозил наркотики на самолете и Роланду пришлось выпутывать парня на таможне, а потом и от главаря банды. Немногим позже Роланд забирает в свой мир женщину, у которой отрезаны ноги и которая передвигается на инвалидной коляске. Как оказалось в ней живут два разных человека, стервозная Детта, что ворует драгоценности и наследница какой-то компании Одетта. А третьим человеком оказался как раз тот маньяк, из-за которого Одетте и отрезало ноги и именно он хотел столкнуть Джейка под машину. Честно признаться я до сих пор не определилась с этим извлечением. Это таки извлечение 3 персонажей, Эдди, Одетты и того третьего (даже не запомнила имя). Или извлечение третьей женщины в теле Одетты. Или это была завязка на будущее, про Джейка. Но это уже то, что я додумываю сама.
В "Бесплодных землях" продолжается путешествие Роланда с Эдди и Сьюзан к Темной башне, на их пути встречаются странные существа и что-то похожее на роботов или киборгов. Во сне Эдди видит что ему нужно создать ключ, чтобы забрать мальчика обратно в мир Роланда. Мы видим как сам Джейк хочет уйти к Роланду и все бросить, ведь он чувствует, что не живой (ведь его должна была сбить машина, но его спасли). И почти в самом финале мы узнаем об этих землях и это нечто жуткое.
Как удалось связать все истории этих персонажей в одну, ведь Роланд забрал их из разных времен и кто-то пересекался раньше.
Вот я не понимаю как, но у Кинга каждый раз получается заставить меня сопереживать некоторым героям. Он брал откровенных отбросов общества и создавал такую сюжетную линию с ними, что я читаю и боюсь за них. Эдди наркоман и перевозчик наркотиков, Детта - воровка, в то же время шизофреник, которая иногда превращается в очень милую женщину...
Дело в том, что события в "Стрелке" крайне непонятны и я читала и не понимала о чем вообще речь. Какой-то другой мир, в котором один мужик куда-то идет и ищет какую-то башню. Что немного похоже на манию. Но понять зачем я так и не смогла. Роланд немного вспоминает свое прошлое, обучение и то, как он стал стрелком. Иногда ему попадались люди (очень странные люди), но чаще были какие-то странные существа. Из-за которых Роланд потерял два пальца на правой руке. Позже он взял в компанию мальчика по имени Джейк, как он попал в мир Роланда не ясно, но финал с мальчиком был грустным. В принципе я бы из-за этого и не продолжила знакомство с циклом.
Но вот начинается "Извлечение троих" и уже становится поинтересней и подинамичней. В мире Роланда иногда открываются двери в наш мир и он может забрать с собой какого-то человека, попав в его тело. Сначала это был Эдди, что перевозил наркотики на самолете и Роланду пришлось выпутывать парня на таможне, а потом и от главаря банды. Немногим позже Роланд забирает в свой мир женщину, у которой отрезаны ноги и которая передвигается на инвалидной коляске. Как оказалось в ней живут два разных человека, стервозная Детта, что ворует драгоценности и наследница какой-то компании Одетта. А третьим человеком оказался как раз тот маньяк, из-за которого Одетте и отрезало ноги и именно он хотел столкнуть Джейка под машину. Честно признаться я до сих пор не определилась с этим извлечением. Это таки извлечение 3 персонажей, Эдди, Одетты и того третьего (даже не запомнила имя). Или извлечение третьей женщины в теле Одетты. Или это была завязка на будущее, про Джейка. Но это уже то, что я додумываю сама.
В "Бесплодных землях" продолжается путешествие Роланда с Эдди и Сьюзан к Темной башне, на их пути встречаются странные существа и что-то похожее на роботов или киборгов. Во сне Эдди видит что ему нужно создать ключ, чтобы забрать мальчика обратно в мир Роланда. Мы видим как сам Джейк хочет уйти к Роланду и все бросить, ведь он чувствует, что не живой (ведь его должна была сбить машина, но его спасли). И почти в самом финале мы узнаем об этих землях и это нечто жуткое.
Как удалось связать все истории этих персонажей в одну, ведь Роланд забрал их из разных времен и кто-то пересекался раньше.
Вот я не понимаю как, но у Кинга каждый раз получается заставить меня сопереживать некоторым героям. Он брал откровенных отбросов общества и создавал такую сюжетную линию с ними, что я читаю и боюсь за них. Эдди наркоман и перевозчик наркотиков, Детта - воровка, в то же время шизофреник, которая иногда превращается в очень милую женщину...
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