

As the series opens, Roland's motives, goals, and age are unclear, though later installments shed light on these mysteries.įor a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each book.Ĭonnections to King's other works Sometimes, even the sun rises in the north and sets in the east. 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. Roland's world is said to have "moved on", and it appears to be coming apart at the seams. Roland's quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to be the nexus of all universes. Many of the magical aspects have vanished from Mid-World, but traces remain as do relics from a technologically advanced society. Politically organized along the lines of a feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West but is also magical. 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.

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.
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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 addition to the eight novels of the series proper that comprise 4,250 pages, many of King's other books relate to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into play as the series progresses. The series, and its use of the Dark Tower, expands upon Stephen King's multiverse and in doing so, links together many of his other novels. Incorporating themes from multiple genres, including dark fantasy, science fantasy, horror, and Western, it describes a "gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. The Dark Tower is a series of eight novels and one short story written by American author Stephen King.

Michael Whelan, Phil Hale, Ned Dameron, Dave McKean, Jae Lee, Bernie Wrightson, Darrel Andersonĭark fantasy, science fiction, horror, Western
