The Dark Tower (series)

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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.

Contents 1 Installments in the series 1.1 Illustrations 2 Other Dark Tower works 2.1 Prequel comic series 2.2 Film adaptation 3 Plot summary 4 Characters in the series 5 Places 6 Language 7 Connections to King's other works 8 Music inspired by The Dark Tower 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Installments in the series

1. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (2007)
2. The Little Sisters of Eluria (1998)
3. The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (1982)
4. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
5. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991)
6. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997)
7. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003)
8. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004)
9. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004)

[edit] 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.

[edit] Other Dark Tower works

The series has prompted related 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.

[edit] Prequel comic series

Main article: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born

A prequel to the Dark Tower series, set around the time of the flashbacks in Wizard and Glass, is currently being released by Marvel Comics. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David, 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.

[edit] Film adaptation

IGN Movies has reported that a film adaptation is in the works; whether it is for a movie or a television series is unknown. J. J. Abrams, who has been behind shows such as Lost and Alias, is supposedly attached to produce and direct.^[1] Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, also affiliated with Lost and JJ Abrams, have optioned the Dark Tower series from King for a reported nineteen dollars, which of course, is the infamous number from the Dark Tower series of novels.^[2] 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."^[3]

[edit] Plot summary

In the story, Roland is the last living member of a knightly 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. 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.

[edit] Characters in the series

Main article: List of characters from the Dark Tower series

[edit] Places

Main article: Places in The Dark Tower series

[edit] Language

King created a language for his characters, known as the High Speech. This was probably influenced by Tolkien's novel, The Lord of the Rings. Examples of this language include the phrase Thankee, Sai ("Thank you, Sir/Ma'am."), Dan-Tete ("Little Saviour") and Can-Toi ("Low man/men"). The dialect appears to be derived from a combination of English mixed with Old World terminology both European and Asian. Some aspects of the dialect, specifically Thankee, Sai may highlight the 'mirroring' between the Dark Tower universe and our world. It may also be King's way of demonstrating the unstoppable evolution of human language. The dialect which mixed old and new terms, seen in Roland's use of the word aye, could also be a reflection of a major Dark Tower theme -- that of old things/old ways enduring into the future even if they remain in a broken or dysfunctional way. Or vice versa -- even in evil times, the good in civilization may endure in very small ways.

[edit] Connections to King's other works

The series has become a linchpin that ties much 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.

The following is a list of specific connections between books. Note that all Dark Tower books are connected to each other chronologically.^[4]

The Gunslinger Bag of Bones The Stand The Eyes of the Dragon The Drawing of the Three The Eyes of the Dragon Needful Things The Waste Lands Rose Madder The Stand Cell (via the mentioning of Charlie the Choo Choo) It Wizard and Glass "The Mist" (from Skeleton Crew) The Stand The Eyes of the Dragon

Wolves of the Calla 'Salem's Lot Bag of Bones Black House (via the term opopanax) The Stand (via Randall Flagg) Song of Susannah The Eyes of the Dragon Black House The Talisman The Little Sisters of Eluria Desperation The Regulators Hearts in Atlantis From a Buick 8 (via HiA; Officer Dieffenbacker) Insomnia It The Shining The Dark Tower The Dead Zone Everything's Eventual Hearts in Atlantis From a Buick 8 (via HiA; Officer Dieffenbacker) Insomnia It

[edit] Music inspired by The Dark Tower

The following songs and albums draw on themes from The Dark Tower series:

• In 2004, composer J.R. Flynn wrote a full musical score based on the first book of the series, The Gunslinger. A second CD, The Drawing of the Three, is in the works as of 2007.
• "Somewhere Far Beyond", "Carry the Blessed Home" and "Another Stranger Me" by power metal band Blind Guardian
• Touched by the Crimson King album by power metal band Demons & Wizards
• Concept album Gone to Texas by American rock band Jessica's Crime

[edit] References

1. ^ Stax (2007-02-13). Who is Lost in The Dark Tower?. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
2. ^ Nisha Gopalan (2007-02-26). Stephen King reveals long-awaited 'Tower' scoop at Comic-Con. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
3. ^ Missy Schwartz & Jeff Jenson. "J.J. Abrams to Scale Stephen King's 'Dark Tower'?", the futon critic, 2007-02-23. Retrieved on 2007-03-05.
4. ^ Roadmap to The Dark Tower. TheDarkTower.net. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.

[edit] External links

• The Dark Tower's Last Stand: Stephen King & Epic Fantasy Article discussion how the Dark Tower series fits into all his Epic Fantasy worlds.
• The Dark Tower official website (requires Macromedia Flash 6)
• List of Stephen King's works - including this series - from his official website
• Dark Tower Wiki
• The dark tower compendium