Stephen King Dark Tower Question

Oman

Someone just bought a King book for me, the thing is that its the 6th book in the Dark Tower series and i was wondering if you have to read the other five before it or could i simply read this one in other words, could i start at the 6th or is it essential to start at the first book

zenmonk

I read Wizard and Glass - the only Dark Tower book I've read and even though alot of it passed me by it was still alright.

silverwater

I would advise you not to read it until you've read 1-5.
The first Dark Tower, and the Fourth are the best, and then 5-7 go downhill a little, as he left twenty years or so between number 4 and 5.

Do read them though. Dark Tower is right up there with Lord of the Rings in my opinion.

John

If you start reading that late into the series you'll miss out on loads. Wizard and Glass is an exception because it is mostly a flashback so you don't have to have read any of the others but 6 is definitely one that you'd need the rest of the story for.

ixoy

Definitely read the previous five at a minimum. If you want to get full enjoyment from it, try and read a bunch of his other works too, in particular the likes of 'Salem's Lot', 'Insomnia', 'Hearts of Atlantis', and some of his short stories (can't recall which ones off hand) as well as the likes of 'The Stand' and 'Talisman' to get a fuller flavour.

Chumpski

I read all 7 and wish i hadn't bothered. Book 1 is promising and book 4 is excellent but all the others are poor. Don't waste precious hours of your life with this series, there are so many better books out there.

John

Don't listen to him, it's a great series

ixoy

John wrote: »

Don't listen to him, it's a great series

Ah well in fairness Book 6+7 aren't great as King falls into the ultimate ego-trip and seems to show he had no ending plotted and wraps up things very poorly.

Good up to a point but I'd be surprised if you're happy with the resolution.

John

I didn't mind the ending or the self-indulgence as none of it was incongruous with the rest of the series. In fairness, the whole series builds you up to that ending.

Chumpski

Chumpski wrote: »

I read all 7 and wish i hadn't bothered. Book 1 is promising and book 4 is excellent but all the others are poor. Don't waste precious hours of your life with this series, there are so many better books out there.

Bit harsh there. The series has it's flaws but it's a damn good read. Fantastic characters and some fantastic storytelling easily make up for any shortcomings.

Chumpski

Bit harsh? Maybe but I was very disappointed in this series.

First half of book 3 belonged in book 2, The drawing of the three? Book 1was so different in style to the rest of the series that they were almost unrecognizable. It was written very well while the other 6 books have a more standard King novel feel to them. I think the format he used there should have been kept up.

In saying that book 4 was excellent, decent plot and characters. Book 5, 6 and 7 went in a ridiculous direction. I'm not annoyed at the ending, just at the antagonist(s). Where there any real ones at any point?

Edit: I realize that it was written at different stages of Kings life and he never really had a concrete plan going forward or if he did it changed over the years particularly after his accident in 99. I think calling it Kings greatest work says alot about the guy as a writer (that might be harsh). I think The Stand is a much better work than the entire Dark Tower series.