The Dark Tower (series)

The Dark Tower
Thedarktower7.jpg
"The Dark Tower" painting by Michael Whelan
The Gunslinger (1982)
The Drawing of the Three (1987)
The Waste Lands (1991)
Wizard and Glass (1997)
Wolves of the Calla (2003)
Song of Susannah (2004)
The Dark Tower (2004)
The Wind Through the Keyhole (TBA)
Author Stephen King
Illustrator Michael Whelan, Phil Hale, Ned Dameron, Dave McKean, Bernie Wrightson, Darrel Anderson
Country USA
Language English
Genre Fantasy, horror, western
Followed by The Dark Tower (comics)
The Little Sisters of Eluria

The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King. The series incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy fiction, science fantasy, horror and western elements. They describe a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower whose nature the books call both physical and metaphorical. King has described the series as his magnum opus. Besides the seven novels that compose the series proper, many of his other books relate to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into play as the series progresses. After the series was finished, a series of prequel comics followed.

The series was chiefly inspired by the poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning, whose full text was included in the final volume's appendix. In the preface to the revised 2003 edition of The Gunslinger, King also identifies The Lord of the Rings, Arthurian Legend, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as inspirations. He identifies Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" character as one of the major inspirations for the protagonist, Roland Deschain. King's style of location names in the series, such as Mid-World, and his development of a unique language abstract to our own (High Speech), are also influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien's work.

December 7, 2009 saw the release of a spin-off online game entitled Discordia.[1]

In 2009, King announced an upcoming eighth book, The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Contents

Overview

Plot summary

In the story, Roland Deschain is the last living member of a knightly order known as gunslingers and the last of the line of "Arthur Eld", his world's analogue of King Arthur. Politically organized along the lines of a feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West but is also magical. Many of the magical aspects have vanished from Mid-World, but traces remain as do relics from a technologically advanced society. Roland's quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to be the nexus of all universes. Roland's world is said to have "moved on", and it appears to be coming apart at the seams. Mighty nations have been torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish without a trace and time does not flow in an orderly fashion. Even the sun sometimes rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland's motives, goals and age are unclear, though later installments shed light on these mysteries.

For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each book.

Characters

Along his journey to the Dark Tower, Roland meets a great number of both friends and enemies. For most of the way he is accompanied by a group of people who together with him from the Ka-tet of the Nineteen and Ninety-nine, consisting of Jake Chambers, Eddie and Susannah Dean, and Oy. Among his many enemies on the way are the Man in Black and The Crimson King.

Places

Language

King created a language for his characters, known as the High Speech. Examples of this language include the phrases Thankee, Sai ("Thank you, Sir/Ma'am.") and Dan-Tete ("Little Savior"). In addition King uses the term 'Ka' which is the approximate equivalent of destiny, or fate, in the fictional language High Speech (and similarly, 'Ka-tet,' a group of people bound together by fate/destiny). This term originated in Egyptian mythology and storytelling and has figured in several other novels and screenplays since 1976. It also appears in the short story, Low Men in Yellow Coats, in which Ted describes the meaning to Bobby.

Series

  1. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982)
  2. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
  3. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991)
  4. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997)—Locus Award nominee, 1998[2]
  5. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003)—Locus Award nominee, 2004[3]
  6. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004)—Locus Award nominee, 2005[4]
  7. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004)—British Fantasy Award winner, 2005[4]

Continuation

In an interview in March 2009, King stated, describing an idea for a new short story he recently had: "And then I thought, 'Well, why don't I find three more like this and do a book that would be almost like modern fairy tales?' Then this thing started to add on bits and pieces so I guess it will be a novel." According to King, the idea is a new Dark Tower novel. King said, regarding the Dark Tower series, "It's not really done yet. Those seven books are really sections of one long über-novel."[5]

Stephen King confirmed this during his TimesTalk event at The TimesCenter in New York City on November 10, 2009, and the next day King's official site posted the information that King will begin working on this novel in about eight months, with a tentative title being The Wind Through the Keyhole.[6] King noted that this novel should be set between the fourth and the fifth books of the series.

Illustrations

Each book in the series was originally published in hardcover format with a number of full-color illustrations spread throughout. Each book contained works by a single illustrator only. Subsequent printings of each book in trade paperback format usually preserve the illustrations in full, except for books I and IV. Pocket-sized paperback reprints contain only black-and-white chapter or section header illustrations.The illustrators who worked on each book are:

  1. Michael Whelan, multiple award-winning science fiction and fantasy painter. The Dark Tower is among his early notable works.
  2. Phil Hale, the only Dark Tower illustrator who created a second set of illustrations for a later printing of the book he illustrated.
  3. Ned Dameron.
  4. Dave McKean, graphic designer noted for working in many media, including photography and film. The only Dark Tower illustrator to work in photocollages.
  5. Bernie Wrightson, established illustrator for 1960s and 1970s horror comics.
  6. Darrel Anderson, the only Dark Tower illustrator who used digital illustration techniques.
  7. Michael Whelan, returning more than 20 years later as the only recurring Dark Tower illustrator.

Reception

The Washington Post's Bill Sheehan called the series "a humane, visionary epic and a true magnum opus" that stands as an "imposing example of pure storytelling," "filled with brilliantly rendered set pieces... cataclysmic encounters and moments of desolating tragedy."[7] The Boston Globe's Erica Noonan said "there's a fascinating world to be discovered in the series" but noted that its epic nature keeps it from being user-friendly.[8] The New York Times' Michael Agger was disappointed with how the series progressed; while he marveled at the "sheer absurdity of [the books'] existence" and complimented King's writing style, he said preparation would have improved the series, stating "King doesn't have the writerly finesse for these sorts of games, and the voices let him down."[9] The San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Berry, however, called the series' early installments "highfalutin hodgepodge" but the ending "a valediction" that "more than delivers on what has been promised."[10]

Other media

Tie-in books

The series has prompted related non-fiction books by authors besides King. Robin Furth has published the two-volume Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance, an encyclopedia-style companion to the series that she originally wrote for King's personal use. Bev Vincent has published The Road to The Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus, a book containing back story, summary and analysis. Stephen King has endorsed both books.

Prequel comic series

A prequel to the Dark Tower series, set around the time of the flashbacks in The Gunslinger and Wizard and Glass, has been released by Marvel Comics. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David, and illustrated by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove. The project is overseen by King. The first issue of this first arc was released on February 7, 2007. A hardcover volume containing all 7 issues was released on November 7, 2007.

The second arc in the Dark Tower comic series was released by Marvel Comics, and it is called The Long Road Home. The first issue was published on March 5, 2008. A hardcover volume containing all 5 issues was released on October 15, 2008.

The third arc in the Dark Tower comic series was released by Marvel Comics, and it is called The Dark Tower: Treachery. The first issue of the six issue arc was published on September 10, 2008. A hardcover volume containing all 6 issues was released on April 21, 2009.

Following the completion of the third arc a one-shot issue titled The Dark Tower: Sorcerer was released April 8, 2009. The story focuses on the history of the villainous wizard Marten Broadcloak.

The fourth arc in the Dark Tower comic series was released by Marvel Comics, and it is called The Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead. The first issue of the six issue arc was published on May 13, 2009. A hardcover volume containing all 6 issues was released on February 2, 2010.

The fifth arc in the Dark Tower comic series was released by Marvel Comics, and it is called The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill. The first issue of the five issue arc was published on December 3, 2009. A hardcover volume containing all 5 issues was released on August 17, 2010.

Marvel Comics has also published three supplemental books to date that expand upon characters and locations first introduced in the novels. The Dark Tower: Gunslingers' Guidebook was released in 2007, The Dark Tower: End-World Almanac was released in 2008, and The Dark Tower: Guide to Gilead was released in 2009. All three books were written by Anthony Flamini, with Furth serving as creative consultant. End-World Almanac and Guide to Gilead feature illustrations by David Yardin.

Discordia

December 7, 2009 saw the release of a spin-off online game entitled Discordia,[1] available to play for free on the official Stephen King website. The game is a continuation of the original Dark Tower story, following the war between the Tet Corporation and Sombra/NCP in New York, and it has been supervised by both Stephen King and Robin Furth. From the website: "Exploring the behind-the-scenes conflict between the two companies, Discordia introduces long-time Dark Tower fans to new characters and numerous mechanical/magical items developed by Mid-World's Old Ones. Over the course of our adventure we will visit many locations, both those familiar to Dark Tower fans and others which we only glimpsed in the Dark Tower novels. While we may not see Roland and his ka-tet in this adventure, the development team has remembered the faces of its fathers. We have done our best to honor the original Dark Tower series while simultaneously mapping new and exciting Dark Tower territory."

Film adaptation

IGN Movies has reported that a film adaptation was in the works; whether it was for a movie or a television series still is unknown. J. J. Abrams, co-creator of the television show Lost, was supposedly attached to produce and direct.[11] Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, who co-created the show Lost with J. J. Abrams, optioned the Dark Tower series from King for a reported nineteen dollars, a number that mysteriously recurs throughout the Dark Tower series of novels.[12] According to issue #923 of Entertainment Weekly, King "is an ardent supporter of the desert-island show and trusts Abrams to translate his vision" into a film franchise with Lindelof being "the leading candidate to write the screenplay for the first installment."[13] In a July 2009 interview with C21 Media, Lindelof revealed that he and Cuse had indeed optioned The Dark Tower's rights, but said he was wary about committing to such an ambitious project: "The idea of taking on something that massive again after having done six seasons of Lost is intimidating and slightly frightening, to say the least." [14]

King also reported that he had turned down long-time collaborator Frank Darabont, creator of such films as The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption and The Mist, after he had asked to do the film.

Roland as depicted in the opening credits of another Stephen King movie, The Mist.

Multiple mock trailers have appeared on YouTube. Also, the official Grand Prize winner of Simon & Schuster's (King's Publisher) American Gunslinger contest,[15] "Roland Meets Brown",[16] by Robert David Cochrane,[17] can be found there.

In King's 2007 film The Mist, the main character, David Drayton, can be seen painting a movie poster with Roland in the center, standing in front of a trans-dimensional Ghostwood door, with a rose and the dark tower to each side.

In April 2009, both Abrams and Lindelof revealed that they would most likely begin adapting the series when Lost concludes in 2010.[18][19]

In May 2009, rumours emerged that Christian Bale was the top contender to play Roland.[20]

In November 2009, Abrams stated that he would not be adapting the series. During an interview with MTV, Abrams made the following comments: "The Dark Tower thing is tricky. The truth is that Damon and I are not looking at that right now." Furthermore, in an interview with USA Today, Damon Lindelof stated that "After working six years on 'Lost,' the last thing I want to do is spend the next seven years adapting one of my favorite books of all time. I'm such a massive Stephen King fan that I'm terrified of screwing it up. I'd do anything to see those movies written by someone else. My guess is they will get made because they're so incredible. But not by me."[21]

In April 2010, it was announced that the books will be adapted into a trilogy that will be written by Akiva Goldsman and directed and produced by Ron Howard.[22][23]

Connections to King's other works

The series has become a linchpin that ties a lot of King's work together. The worlds of The Dark Tower are in part composed of locations, characters, events and other various elements from many of King's novels and short stories.

Intertextual references

As with most of Stephen King's novels many elements of real life popular culture are mentioned in each of the Dark Tower novels including other books, poetry, songs, and movies. These works may be mentioned in passing or often as important plot devices.

Included here is a list of such references. All works mentioned below occur within the books' narrative and do not include any mention in the foreword or afterword of the books:

Books

Poetry

Movies

Songs

Other

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stephenking.com/discordia
  2. ↑ "1998 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1998. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
  3. ↑ "2004 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2004. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "2005 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2005. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
  5. ↑ http://blogs.usaweekend.com/whos_news/2009/03/stephen-king-no.html
  6. ↑ http://www.stephenking.com/news.html
  7. ↑ Sheehan, Bill (2007-09-19). "The Return of the King". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A27485-2004Sep16. Retrieved 2007-08-16. 
  8. ↑ Noonan, Erica (2004-01-15). "'Calla' worth the read, but caters to 'Tower' fans". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2004/01/15/calla_worth_the_read_but_caters_to_tower_fans/. Retrieved 2007-08-16. 
  9. ↑ Agger, Michael (2004-10-17). "Pulp Metafiction". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/books/review/17AGGERL.html?ex=1255665600&en=c3b0bc5048e91c68&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland. Retrieved 2007-08-16. 
  10. ↑ Berry, Michael (2004-09-26). "Waiting for the end of their worlds". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/09/26/RVGR98QA141.DTL. Retrieved 2007-08-16. 
  11. ↑ Stax (2007-02-13). "Who is Lost in The Dark Tower?". IGN. http://au.movies.ign.com/articles/764/764210p1.html. Retrieved 2007-02-14. 
  12. ↑ Nisha Gopalan (2007-02-26). "Stephen King reveals long-awaited 'Tower' scoop at Comic-Con". Entertainment Weekly. http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/02/with_toothpick_.html. Retrieved 2007-03-03. 
  13. ↑ Missy Schwartz & Jeff Jenson (2007-02-23). "J.J. Abrams to Scale Stephen King's 'Dark Tower'?". the futon critic. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20013160,00.html. Retrieved 2007-03-05. 
  14. ↑ Adam Benzine (2007-07-03). "Lost duo weigh up King adaptation". C21 Media. http://www.c21media.net/news/detail.asp?area=5&article=50624. Retrieved 2007-07-03. 
  15. ↑ http://www.simonsays.com/subs/21/RCochrane.html
  16. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDqFbiv3Mro
  17. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168228
  18. ↑ "Are J.J. Abrams And Damon Lindelof Working On The Dark Tower?". Sci-fi cool. 2009-05-02. http://www.scificool.com/are-jj-abrams-and-damon-lindelof-working-on-the-dark-tower/. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  19. ↑ 'The Dark Tower' Adaptation Erodes
  20. ↑ "Bale to star in Abrams's 'Dark Tower'?". Digital Spy. 2009-05-08. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a154951/bale-to-star-in-abramss-dark-tower.html. Retrieved 2008-05-08. 
  21. ↑ "J.J. Abrams Not Adapting King's 'Dark Tower' Series". Cinematical. 2009-10-11. http://www.cinematical.com/2009/11/10/j-j-abrams-not-adapting-kings-dark-tower-series/. Retrieved 2008-05-08. 
  22. ↑ "Ron Howard Sets Sights on Stephen King's The Dark Tower?". Dread Central. 2010-04-30. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37264/ron-howard-sets-sights-stephen-kings-the-dark-tower. Retrieved 2010-04-30. 
  23. ↑ Fleming, Mike (2010-04-29). "Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' Set For Film Trilogy, TV Series By 'Beautiful Mind' Trio". Deadline New York. http://www.deadline.com/2010/04/stephen-kings-dark-tower-set-for-film-trilogy-tv-series-by-beautiful-mind-trio/. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 

"Extract three" "Leseprobe drei" Leseprobe/extract zum Roman Drei/Three aus "der dunkle Turm" Reihe

External links

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

Novels: The Gunslinger · The Drawing of the Three · The Waste Lands · Wizard and Glass · Wolves of the Calla · Song of Susannah · The Dark Tower · The Wind Through the Keyhole

Short stories: "The Gunslinger" · "The Way Station" · "The Oracle and the Mountains" · "The Slow Mutants" · "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" · "The Little Sisters of Eluria"

Comics: The Gunslinger Born · The Long Road Home · Treachery · The Sorcerer · The Fall of Gilead · Battle of Jericho Hill · The Gunslinger

Ka-tets

Roland Deschain · Jake Chambers · Eddie Dean · Susannah Dean · Oy · Father Callahan ·
Cuthbert Allgood · Alain Johns · Jamie De Curry

The Red

Crimson King · Randall Flagg · John Farson · Mordred Deschain · Rhea of the Cöos · Eldred Jonas · Andy the Messenger Robot (Many Other Functions)

Other characters

Patrick Danville · Stephen King · Sheemie Ruiz · Blaine the Mono · Calvin Tower · Dinky Earnshaw · Andrew Quick · Steven Deschain · Ted Brautigan

Races

Can-toi · Old Ones · Slow mutants · Taheen · Vampires
Places

All-World · Devar-Toi · Lud · Calla Bryn Sturgis

Organizations

North Central Positronics · Sombra Corporation · Tet Corporation

Glossary

Ka · Slo-Trans
High Speech · Gan

Related books

'Salem's Lot · The Stand · The Talisman · Skeleton Crew · It · The Eyes of the Dragon · Insomnia · Rose Madder · Desperation · The Regulators · Bag of Bones · Hearts in Atlantis · Black House · Everything's Eventual · From a Buick 8

Film adaptation
Works of Stephen King
Novels

Carrie (1974) · 'Salem's Lot (1975) · The Shining (1977) · The Stand (1978) · The Dead Zone (1979) · Firestarter (1980) · Cujo (1981) · Christine (1983) · Pet Sematary (1983) · Cycle of the Werewolf (1983) · The Talisman (1984; with Peter Straub) · It (1986) · The Eyes of the Dragon (1987) · Misery (1987) · The Tommyknockers (1987) · The Dark Half (1989) · Needful Things (1991) · Gerald's Game (1992) · Dolores Claiborne (1992) · Insomnia (1994) · Rose Madder (1995) · The Green Mile (1996) · Desperation (1996) · Bag of Bones (1998) · The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) · Dreamcatcher (2001) · Black House (2001; with Peter Straub) · From a Buick 8 (2002) · The Colorado Kid (2005) · Cell (2006) · Lisey's Story (2006) · Duma Key (2008) · Under the Dome (2009) · Blockade Billy (2010) · Doctor Sleep (TBA)
The Dark Tower
series

The Gunslinger (1982) · The Drawing of the Three (1987) · The Waste Lands (1991) · Wizard and Glass (1997) · Wolves of the Calla (2003) · Song of Susannah (2004) · The Dark Tower (2004) · The Wind Through the Keyhole (TBA)
Richard Bachman
novels

Rage (1977) · The Long Walk (1979) · Roadwork (1981) · The Running Man (1982) · Thinner (1984) · The Bachman Books (1985) · The Regulators (1996) · Blaze (2007)
Short fiction
collections

Night Shift (1978) · Different Seasons (1982) · Skeleton Crew (1985) · Four Past Midnight (1990) · Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) · Hearts in Atlantis (1999) · Everything's Eventual (2002) · Just After Sunset (2008) · Full Dark, No Stars (2010)
Non-fiction

Danse Macabre (1981) · Nightmares in the Sky (1988) · On Writing (2000) · Secret Windows (2000) · Faithful (2004; with Stewart O'Nan)
E-books

Riding the Bullet (2000) · The Plant (2000; unfinished) · Ur (2009)
Screenplays

Creepshow (1982) · Cat's Eye (1985) · Silver Bullet (1985) · Maximum Overdrive (1986; also director) · Pet Sematary (1989) · Sleepwalkers (1992) · Cell (TBA)
Teleplays

Sorry, Right Number (1988) · Golden Years (1991) · The Stand (1994) · The Shining (1997) · Chinga (1998; with Chris Carter) · Storm of the Century (1999) · Rose Red (2002) · Kingdom Hospital (2004) · Desperation (2006)
Collaborations
with musicians

Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997; with Michael Jackson) · Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (2010; with John Mellencamp) · Black Ribbons (2010; with Shooter Jennings)
Graphic novels

Creepshow (1982) · The Dark Tower (2007) · The Stand (2008) · The Talisman (2009) · American Vampire (2010) · N. (2010)
Related articles

Unpublished and uncollected works by Stephen King · Media based on Stephen King works · Stephen King in popular culture · Tabitha King · Naomi King · Joe Hill · Owen King · Peter Straub · Rock Bottom Remainders · Dollar Baby · Jerusalem's Lot · Castle Rock, Maine · Derry, Maine · The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red