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''The Dark Tower'' is a series of seven books by American writer Stephen King that tells the tale of lead character Roland Deschain 's quest for the "Dark Tower." The Dark Tower is often described in the novels as a real structure, and also as a metaphor. Part of Roland's fictional quest lies in discovering the true nature of the Tower. The series incorporates themes from multiple genres, including Fantasy Fiction , Science Fantasy , Horror , and Western elements. King has described the series as his Magnum Opus ; beside the seven novels that comprise the series proper, many of his other books are related to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into play as the series progresses. The series was mostly inspired by the epic Poem " Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came " by Robert Browning , the full text of which was included in an appendix to the final volume. In the preface to the revised 2003 edition of ''The Gunslinger'', King also identifies '' The Lord Of The Rings '', the 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 Roland. King's style of location names in the series, such as Mid-World, and his development of a unique language abstract to our own, are also influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien 's work. OVERVIEW Plot summary In the story, Roland is the last living member of a Knight ly order known as ''gunslingers''. The world he lives in is quite different from our own, yet it bears striking similarities to it. Politically organized along the lines of a Feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West , as well as bearing Magical powers and the relics of a highly advanced, but long vanished, society. It becomes apparent as the story progresses that this is our society. Roland's quest is to find the ''Dark Tower'', a fabled building said to either be, or be located at, the nexus of all universes. Roland's world is said to have "moved on," and indeed it appears to be coming apart at the seams — mighty nations are being torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish from the face of the earth without a trace, 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 even his 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 in the series See Also: List of characters from the Dark Tower series Places See Also: Places in The Dark Tower series Language King created a language for his characters, known as the ''High Speech''. Examples of this language include the phrase ''Thankee, Sai'' ("Thank you, Sir/Ma'am."), ''Dan-Tete'' ("Little Saviour") and ''Can-Toi'' ("Low man/men"). In addition King introduced the unique term '' Ka '', which is the approximate equivalent of destiny, or fate, in the fictional language ''High Speech''. SERIES #'''' ( 1982 ) #'''' ( 1987 ) #'''' ( 1991 ) #'''' ( 1997 ) #'''' ( 2003 ) #'''' ( 2004 ) #'''' ( 2004 ) Origins and publishing history 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: # Michael Whelan , multiple award-winning science fiction and fantasy painter. ''The Dark Tower'' is among his early notable works. # Phil Hale , the only Dark Tower illustrator who created a second set of illustrations for a later printing of the book he illustrated. # Ned Dameron . # Dave McKean , graphic designer noted for working in many media, including photography and film. The only Dark Tower illustrator to work in Photocollages . # Bernie Wrightson , established illustrator for 1960s and 1970s horror comics. # Darrel Anderson , the only Dark Tower illustrator who used Digital Illustration techniques. # 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."1 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 .2 The New York Times ' Michael Agger was disappointed with how the series progressed; while he marveled at the "sheer absurdity of 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."3 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." 4 OTHER MEDIA Offshoot books The series has prompted related books by authors besides King. 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 See Also: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born A , 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 is due to be released on November 7, 2007. The next arc in the ''Dark Tower'' comic series being released by Marvel Comics is called ''The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home''. It is set for a worldwide release in February of 2008. Film adaptation |
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