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The question gets asked constantly in King fan communities, and the answers are violent in both directions. Some readers say the Dark Tower is the defining achievement of King’s career, the connective tissue that gives his entire multiverse meaning, and the conclusion — despite its reputation — is exactly right. Others say it’s a self-indulgent ramble that gets progressively worse across seven books and ends with one of the worst finales in popular fiction.
Both camps are wrong, a bit. Here’s an honest assessment.
What Is The Dark Tower?
An eight-book series (plus companion materials) following Roland Deschain — the last gunslinger of a world that has moved on — on a quest to reach the Dark Tower, a mythical nexus at the centre of all universes. It’s a fantasy-western hybrid drawing on Arthurian legend, Sergio Leone, Robert Browning, and King’s own wider mythology. It begins in a desert and ends somewhere very different.
The series was published across nearly thirty years, from The Gunslinger (1982) to The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012). The gaps between volumes mean the tone shifts considerably as King ages and changes as a writer.
Book by Book
Book 1: The Gunslinger (1982) ★★★★★
The best book in the series. A short, lean, atmospheric novel about a lone figure crossing an endless desert following a man in black. The prose is some of King’s finest. The world is mysterious and immediate. It ends on one of the best cliffhangers in fantasy fiction.
Do not judge the series by this book’s length or tone — it’s unlike anything that follows.
Book 2: The Drawing of the Three (1987) ★★★★½
Roland pulls companions from our world into his. Eddie Dean — a charming junkie with a complicated family situation — is the standout acquisition. Propulsive and inventive. Still excellent.
Book 3: The Waste Lands (1991) ★★★★★
The high-water mark of the series after The Gunslinger. The ka-tet is complete. The world of Mid-World is fully realised. There’s a train. There’s a riddle contest. There’s a cliffhanger that left readers waiting six years for a resolution.
Book 4: Wizard and Glass (1997) ★★★★
A long flashback to Roland’s youth and first love. Deeply melancholy and beautifully written. Divides readers — those who want plot momentum find it frustrating; those who want to understand Roland will love it. I’m in the love it camp.
Book 5: Wolves of the Calla (2003) ★★★
The quality drops here. King begins inserting himself into the narrative — literally, as a character — and the meta elements divide readers sharply. The core plot involves the ka-tet defending a village, with heavy Seven Samurai borrowings.
Book 6: Song of Susannah (2004) ★★½
The weakest volume. Mostly bridging material for the finale. Short but still drags.
Book 7: The Dark Tower (2004) ★★★½
The conclusion is simultaneously better and worse than its reputation. Several sequences are among King’s finest writing. The ending itself — which I won’t spoil — is genuinely brave and conceptually right, even if the execution is debatable.
Book 8: The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012) ★★★★
Published late and set between books four and five. A story-within-a-story-within-a-story. More emotionally satisfying than any of books five through seven. Best read after book four.
So Is It Worth Reading?
Yes, with a caveat. The first four books are exceptional. The series as a whole is worth experiencing if you love King. You should go in knowing that books five and six represent a quality drop and that the ending will require some processing.
My honest recommendation: read books one through four and treat book five onwards as optional based on how much you’re enjoying the ride.
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Check out Sunset In the East — a mind-bending short story collection from Ben Luxon.
