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The Dark Tower (series)

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For other uses, see The Dark Tower (disambiguation).
The Dark Tower
"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)
AuthorStephen King
IllustratorMichael Whelan, Phil Hale, Ned Dameron, Dave McKean, Bernie Wrightson, Darrel Anderson
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy, horror, western
Followed byThe Dark Tower (comics)
The Little Sisters of Eluria

The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including 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. 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.

In 2009, King announced an upcoming eighth book, The Wind Through the Keyhole. December 7, 2009 saw the release of a spin-off online game entitled Discordia.[1] As of 2010 more than 30 million copies of the series have been sold in 40 countries.[2] In September 2010, an elaborate film adaptation was announced, consisting of alternating feature films and television series.

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

Main article: List of characters from the Dark Tower series

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 form 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

Main article: Places in The Dark Tower series

Language

Main article: High Speech

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[3]
  5. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003)—Locus Award nominee, 2004[4]
  6. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004)—Locus Award nominee, 2005[5]
  7. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004)—British Fantasy Award winner, 2005[5]

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."[6]

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.[7] 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."[8] 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.[9] The New York Times' Allen Johnston 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."[10] 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."[11]

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

Main article: The Dark Tower (comics)

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

Main article: The Dark Tower series film adaptation

On September 8, 2010, it was officially confirmed that the series will be brought to both the big and the small screens via a trilogy of feature films and two seasons of a television series to bridge gaps between the films.[12] According to a press release from Universal Pictures from October 29, 2010, the first Dark Tower film will open on May 17, 2013.[13]

Connections to King's other works

Main article: Stephen King works related to The Dark Tower series

The series has become a linchpin that ties together much of King's body of work. 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. ^ a b Stephenking.com/discordia
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ "1998 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  4. ^ "2004 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  5. ^ a b "2005 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  6. ^ http://blogs.usaweekend.com/whos_news/2009/03/stephen-king-no.html
  7. ^ http://www.stephenking.com/news.html
  8. ^ Sheehan, Bill (2007-09-19). "The Return of the King". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  9. ^ Noonan, Erica (2004-01-15). "'Calla' worth the read, but caters to 'Tower' fans". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  10. ^ Agger, Michael (2004-10-17). "Pulp Metafiction". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  11. ^ Berry, Michael (2004-09-26). "Waiting for the end of their worlds". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  12. ^ http://www.stephenking.com/promo/dark_tower_film_and_tv/news_tracker/
  13. ^ http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=71268

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Dark Tower (series).
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