Years ago, okay really decades ago, on our honeymoon I read the first two books in the Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three, only to then realize that Stephen King had yet to finish the series. So after the reading those two, the next books didn’t come out until 1991 and 1997 (way too much time between them), so I decided to wait until they were all published before continuing.
Then the accident happened in 1999, Stephen King got hit by a car, and the realization hit that he could die and never finish the books! That’s when my rule came that I’m not starting a series unless all the books are finished (a la Robert Jordan, who unfortunately did die before finishing his Wheel of Time series).
Happily though, Stephen King recovered and eventually finished the series and though we own all the books in illustrated paperback, when they appeared in my library’s kindle lending library, I decided to return to them.
Now you should know I’m really not a huge Stephen King fan. That’s not because I don’t think he’s a good writer. I think he’s an amazing writer. Probably the most under-appreciated writer of our time. It’s just that his subject matter is usually so creepy and scary and that he creates such vivid images, that he gives me nightmares. However, since this series is more fantasy that horror I decided to give it a go.
As a re-read, I was surprised by how much I remember and how much I forgot. That said though, I did remember why it captivated me over 25 years ago and without giving anything away, why I will continue on with the next book, after a short break.
At the end of the series though, I’ll let you know all of my final thoughts.