/r/TheDarkTower

Photograph via //r/TheDarkTower

Devoted to Stephen King's magnum opus and the center of his literary universe.

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Let us talk of The Tower.

New to the series? Click here for the suggested reading order and all of King's related works!


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First come smiles, then lies, [last is gunfire.](/spoiler)

First come smiles, then lies, last is gunfire.


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THE GUNSLINGER: MOHAINE by Michael Whelan

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/r/TheDarkTower

63,328 Subscribers

7 Comments
2024/12/02
16:11 UTC

11

Therese Dark Tower Movie

What wasted potential! Idris Elba I can accept as the gunslinger. Matthew McConaughey makes a pretty good Walter O’Dim/Randall Flagg, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. But why mess up a perfectly good story? I think there are enough of us Tower junkies out there to turn some decent numbers, and the larger world of King fans plus all the sci-fi geeks are ready for something a bit grittier than Harry Potter and a bit more grown-up than the Hunger Games, also with less T and A than Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire. Come on, someone save us with a limited series or something!

28 Comments
2024/12/02
09:53 UTC

33

How awesome would a

Book of short stories from the dark tower universe be? I was thinking of a few stories that could be in it

The second meeting of Merlin the Wizard and Tim

The death of Rhea of the Coos

Sheemies travel to Gilead

More stories of the Green Crack from the skin man story

The first time the Wolves came

And of course the battle of Jericho hill.

This would a great way to keep the universe alive without touching the ending or altering the main story

What other stories would you like to hear?

14 Comments
2024/12/01
20:59 UTC

60

I had a dream last night where Stephen King announced another Dark Tower book...

... but it was one set in a distant future where all parallel worlds converge. In this dark future the Earth has fallen like a comet into Maturin's shell. King told the crowd this news in the form of a new World Turtle poem:

See the TURTLE of enormous girth,

IN his back he holds the Earth.

The orb he held began to lower,

As Maturin died, and down came the Tower.

The world now sits in cratered shell,

Where monsters roam, come straight from Hell.


Once I woke up I wrote the dream poem down (above), and also created three new verses by altering the lines from the original poem to reflect the twisted and broken nature of this dark future (below).


In his back all vows are broken,

His blind cold eyes no longer woken.

In his back all lies are carried,

And there, are hate and fear both married.

He loved the land and loved the sea,

But there's no love left for a child like thee.

8 Comments
2024/12/01
20:13 UTC

183

KA caught in the wild

7 Comments
2024/12/01
16:21 UTC

67

The Shining plays a Crucial role in the story

So this is a theory I have been crafting for some time that connects the shining in with some key concepts of what I call " the dark tower multiverse" for lack of better term.

Everything starts with one line of dialog in Doctor Sleep. That line is "go then, there are other worlds then this." Uttered by Danny Torrance. This line of dialog, in my mind, cements The Shining and Doctor Sleep into the multiverse.

From here I started thinking about characters and themes that seem to cross over. This was when my mind came to the true knot and Pennywise. When we look at Pennywise, on the surface, you wouldn't think he has anything in common with the true knot. Until you think about what they eat.

As far as can be told from the book It, Pennywise feeds on fear. There is, however, another creature like Pennywise that shows up in the last book of The Dark Tower. This creature seems to feed off of laughter.

This is when the true knot comes in. The true knot feed off the shining in order to gain an extended life, but they torture thier victims first. The reason they do that is because pain gives the shining a better flavor!!!

Given this knowledge, is it not reasonable to think that the fear is a flavor for Pennywise and what he is really eating is the shining?

Now you may be thinking that the true knot feed off of children strong with the shining. Pennywise will feed on just about any child and the one in the dark tower will feed on anyone. To this I say that the difference is food scarcity.

Pennywise seems to be confined to the town of Derry, while the other seems to be stuck pretty much at the end of the world and barely has anyone cross his path. The knot, on the other hand, are free to travel the world and have the ability to sense and track people strong in the shining. To sum it up, Pennywise and the other one have to deal with what they can get, while the knot can afford to be picky.

There are other connections I have made but this post is already too long so im gonna stop here.

45 Comments
2024/12/01
13:44 UTC

13

“nothing but shadows and uncertainties”

Currently reading my 49th book of the the year (say thankee-sai), “Dead Silence” by S. A. Barnes, and found this gem of a line.

I’m aware no actual connection lies here, but I did enjoy it. Long days and pleasant nights!

4 Comments
2024/12/01
05:53 UTC

224

Just got this ink! This quote helped me get sober and stick to my decision, been six months now and I wanted it as a tattoo, to always remember and help me.

4 Comments
2024/12/01
04:49 UTC

8

Just finished Salem’s Lot

I wanted to read this A) after finishing The Dark Tower series, but took some time between. Since B) the new adaptation of Salem’s Lot is coming out.

While it’s fresh in my mind, Help me remember everything about Father Callahan in Dark Tower. (I know I could just read the wiki, but I also want your impressions).

Did he go by a different name?

I remember him being very troubled with guilt and regret. Did he redeem himself or stay true to his cowardice?

What other details do you remember about him?

13 Comments
2024/12/01
04:08 UTC

15

1982 review of the gunslinger doesn’t exist?

Why can’t I find a single contemporary review of the gunslinger within a year or two of its release

Seems strange since it sold out its first pressing, there had to have been some press for it

No reviews? No interviews?

2 Comments
2024/12/01
01:05 UTC

22

Ka is a wheel…

So i just finished another trip through the Tower. Didn’t reread Keyhole again yet but i will. So figure I’ll cleanse my pallet with something not by Sai King. So I pick up The Queen it’s a new book by Nick Cutter. It’s fine so far but figured I’d post this. You actually have to click on it to read the names of the characters on the top of the page.

6 Comments
2024/11/30
22:24 UTC

34

That certain scene with Sylvia Pittston

So like... How did that work? I know he's shoving his gun up there, but like... Is he shoving it ALL THE WAY up there, like, up into the uterus, or is just being near the guns enough to abort her devil baby?

Morbid I know, but I never could figure how sticking a gun in her snatch just aborted her evil crotch spawn.

28 Comments
2024/11/30
21:49 UTC

6

Wolves Timeline

Spoilers galore for both book V and the series ending.

I'm rereading the series for the 3rd (4th?) time and something just caught my attention in Wolves of the Calla. When Callahan is telling the story of his death and waking up in the Way Station, he talks about seeing Jake and Roland off in the distance. However, he then talks about there being years between this moment and present day. Roland & co haven't been traveling for that long. Is this just another "time is funny" moment? My other thought is that perhaps he saw Roland and Jake on one of their earlier journeys, not the current one. Thoughts?

4 Comments
2024/11/30
20:09 UTC

145

Comics!!

Apologies for the poor rotation of the pic but the misses just surprised me with the complete set of DT comic books!!! To say I am over the moon is an understatment!

7 Comments
2024/11/29
23:24 UTC

0

They shouldn't make a DT movie or TV series.

I'm in the bath and just had a thought.

Here's my take.

We should be pleased when another adaptation falls through.

I don't think it can be done.

It's too big, too involved and too convoluted. And also, quite frankly it's too batshit fucking crazy to be made.

We're either going to get a dumbed down normalised version (like the movie I shall not speak of) or it's going to be so fucking weird that it'll just bomb with everyone possibly including us.

Don't get me wrong, I mean no disrespect to Sai King. Nobody is going to be that much more or a fan than me but it is a fucking mental story series.

I mean, at one point they go to Oz and all wear ruby slippers including OY, there's a talking insane train, folks with animals heads, vampires, people from other works of King fiction who learn they are a work of fiction by reading their own book. Robots dressed as Dr Doom..this list goes on.

Not to mention Stephen King being in the fucking thing.

It works great as a series of novels meaning its largley in our own heads, but in film or television it's maybe not worth trying.

I can see a long running weird as fuck TV series having some audience like Twin Peaks but the odds on it being done well and not being cancelled are slim to none.

Thoughts?

19 Comments
2024/11/29
20:50 UTC

29

Alt Covers

I received these covers as a gift from a relative that knows I love the Dark Tower. I really want to take them out of the laminate and put them on my books, but they are signed and marked as a limited addition. Are they actually worth anything or can I put them on my books to admire while I read? Thanks

18 Comments
2024/11/29
14:45 UTC

2

Read along - song of Susannah

0 Comments
2024/11/29
12:08 UTC

3

Books about the Dark Tower

I'd like to read some studies on King's cycle, apart from Bev Vincent's books and Alissa Burger's, and apart from Concordance, what other books studying “the dark tower” do you know of?

9 Comments
2024/11/29
11:23 UTC

19

How do the breakers work?

Quick question. Rereading all the books. Spoilers for book 7 . How exactly do the breakers work? I just read the part where the breakers are retired and did I skip where it says how they operate? Do they concentrate on dismantling the beam or what?

23 Comments
2024/11/29
00:23 UTC

151

One for the holiday swap

New x out heat.

Gives me mordred vibes from the Dark Tower series.

11 Comments
2024/11/28
20:28 UTC

45

I should skip W&G on my next read.

First off... this book is so insanely great. Every single time I read it my heart is torn out and my soul hurts for days. Fuckin' Charyou tree.

Entire series spoiler; I hope when/if Roland finally completes his quest for the final time Susan is waiting for him in the room at the top... he deserves something other than heartbreak for what ka does to him.

18 Comments
2024/11/28
14:37 UTC

26

Songs Of Susannah… help!

Hi friends I’m on my first trip to the Tower and I am having a hard time with book 6. I need your moral support as it’s a goal of mine to finish this series. I’m 120 pages in, does it get better? Worse? Or just more of the same?

Long days and pleasant nights!

63 Comments
2024/11/28
04:32 UTC

80

New hard covers ?

Are there new hard covers of the rest of the series. Only own the new Gunslinger

16 Comments
2024/11/27
21:24 UTC

12

The overlook

Ok, so I’ve seen a lot of theories about the overlook. Most of them seem to go around it being just an evil entity, like the wendigo in pet sematary, or just a ghost.

Considering the DT universe, I can’t help but wonder if it’s something bigger than just that. Still, having to consider that it’s one of kings first books and it probably had nothing to do with the DT universe.

What do you think about it? Would love to know more.

14 Comments
2024/11/27
20:02 UTC

4

Dark Tower characters or aspects in non-Dark Tower books

I've read most of King's works with the exception of the Dark Tower books. At the same time, I really like books or stories of his that have otherworldly or Dark Tower-ish aspects. We know about the low men in yellow coats, but what about that weird gentlemen's club in The Breathing Method, that has books and items not found on Earth? Or the strange world that Lisey's husband travels to, or the not-a-car with horrifying creatures that pop out of the trunk in From A Buick 8. Origin: Dark Tower?

I've started the first Dark Tower book several times and been unable to continue. What am I missing? I devour his other books.

17 Comments
2024/11/27
18:44 UTC

39

Wizard and Glass

Going through W&G for the first time. Haven't read a ton of King. Outside of Desperation and TDT, I'm not very well versed. I really appreciate his way of writing a childhood romance. I know he's done it in several other works, but I really didn't see it coming in TDT. Knowing Susan will die in a bad way, it's bittersweet reading her story. It's also interesting seeing a much more human side of Reoland. A man who decides he would never again put emotion over honor/duty. Very impressed with King's ability here. Made me nostalgic for my teens.

7 Comments
2024/11/27
16:45 UTC

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