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The Road to the Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus Kindle Edition
In 1970, Stephen King embarked on what would become the crowning achievement in his literary career-the Dark Tower. The seven-volume series, written and published over a period of 30 years, was inspired by Robert Browning's poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," as well as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and the spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone.
With the full cooperation of Stephen King himself, The Road to the Dark Tower examines the epic journey of the author to complete a story that threatened to overwhelm him. In this indispensable companion, Bev Vincent presents a book-by-book analysis of each volume in the series, tracing the Dark Tower's connections to King's other novels including The Stand, Insomnia, and Hearts in Atlantis, and offering insights from the author about the creative process involved in crafting his lifelong work-a work that has consumed not only Stephen King, but his legion of devoted readers. This is essential reading for any Dark Tower-or Stephen King-fan.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBerkley
- Publication dateSeptember 28, 2004
- Reading age18 years and up
- File size2699 KB
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
“Wonderful...opens doors to Roland’s world that not even I knew existed. If you like The Dark Tower books, you’ll like this one. Enthusiastically recommended.”—Stephen King
“Bev Vincent is a true King insider....His book is essential to every reader of Stephen King’s magnificent work.”—Peter Straub
“Vincent proves himself a master of the Dark Tower world.”—Publishers Weekly
“An excellent and maybe even vital guide to King’s grand opus.”—Locus
About the Author
His short fiction has appeared in places like Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, From the Borderlands, and The Blue Religion. He is a member of the Storytellers Unplugged blogging community. He also writes book reviews for Onyx Reviews. Vincent lives in Texas with his wife.
Product details
- ASIN : B000OIZSVO
- Publisher : Berkley (September 28, 2004)
- Publication date : September 28, 2004
- Language : English
- File size : 2699 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 362 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #800,769 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Bev Vincent is the author of several non-fiction books, including The Road to the Dark Tower, The Dark Tower Companion and Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life and Influences. In 2018, he co-edited the anthology Flight or Fright with Stephen King.
He has published over 120 stories, with appearances in Ellery Queen’s, Alfred Hitchcock’s and Black Cat Mystery Magazines, as well as several SHIVERS anthologies and two Mystery Writers of America anthologies. He has published numerous essays, interviews and book introductions. His book reviews can be found at Onyx Reviews.
His work has been published in 20 languages and nominated for the Stoker (twice), Edgar, Ignotus and ITW Thriller Awards. Recent works include “The Ogilvy Affair” and “The Dead of Winter,” the latter in Dissonant Harmonies with Brian Keene. To learn more, visit bevvincent.com
He lives in Texas with his wife.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find that the book provides detailed information and new insights into the story. They consider it a great addition to their collection and a companion for fans of the Dark Tower series.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book provides detailed information about the series. It explains the story in a clear way, providing new insights and highlighting subtle details. They find it helpful as a reference and consider it an interesting discussion of Stephen King's writing process. Overall, readers consider the book a good guide to the series.
"...It highlights many aspects of the book's subtleties and weaves together the text with insight into the deeper meanings behind the characters and..." Read more
"...This book explains all and let me enjoy the entire story at a new level." Read more
"...In addition, this book gave me a few new insights to the works I've already read." Read more
"...They add to the DT stories in ways any fan would love!..." Read more
Reviews with images
Bev does amazing work!
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2022This book is a thoroughly researched exploration of the Dark Tower series. It highlights many aspects of the book's subtleties and weaves together the text with insight into the deeper meanings behind the characters and events. I enjoyed the perspective and it enriched the "journey" to the tower.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2024I finished the Dark Tower books 15 years ago (2009). I had many questions about the characters fate and how they were intermingled in the none DT novels such as Insomnia. This book explains all and let me enjoy the entire story at a new level.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2004I picked this up because I was about to start Wolves of the Calla and I hadn't read the three previous works in a while and needed a refresher (without spending all the time to read every page). In this respect, I was happy with this book. In addition, this book gave me a few new insights to the works I've already read.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2020This book is a must-have for any fan of Stephen King or The Dark Tower! Bev performs some serious magic here in connecting the DT series to many other King’s works and deserves honorary citizenship to Mid-World (assuming anyone would want such a thing! 😉) Also pick up the updated version The Dark Tower Companion so you can read about the Marvel Comic connections as well. They add to the DT stories in ways any fan would love!
5.0 out of 5 stars Bev does amazing work!This book is a must-have for any fan of Stephen King or The Dark Tower! Bev performs some serious magic here in connecting the DT series to many other King’s works and deserves honorary citizenship to Mid-World (assuming anyone would want such a thing! 😉) Also pick up the updated version The Dark Tower Companion so you can read about the Marvel Comic connections as well. They add to the DT stories in ways any fan would love!
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2020
Images in this review - Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2006It's taken years and seven books but we have finally finished our quest for the Dark Tower. Now, we have this book to help us make sense of the journey. There is a love for the story that Bev brings to this book that many of us can empathize with. Bev's information, especially when discussing influences, is a very helpful adjunct to the series. There are bios of the characters, also a big help in keeping things straight. The poem which inspired it all (Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came) is wonderful to have.
Bev knows his topic very well and brings this knowledge to all of us. Another trip to the Tower will be in order once you have this guide at your side.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2014If you loved the Dark Tower series, you know that you always want more. This book ties all the stories together in a way that you will appreciate. You will learn things that you did not realize about the characters and the interaction of all of King's stories. A must have for your Stephen King collection
- Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2009Not a bad read for the Tower Junkie. There are just a few factual errors in this book, but I don't want to put any spoilers up here. Bev Vincent gets it MOSTLY right, but the errors stand out to someone who has read this series a few times.
On the plus side, he points out a few other bits of information that are correct, and interesting to boot!
Don't read this book until you have finished reading The Dark Tower series first. This book is not as exhaustively comprehensive as "The Dark Tower: A Concordance", by Robin Furth, which I also recommend for the serious Dark Tower Junkie.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2013Originally, planned on only ordering the Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance - then I saw this one. I ordered them for my son & he loved, this one. He said " this is the better of the two." I was very pleased with the service I received - quick and a great price.
Top reviews from other countries
- Diego A. SalazarReviewed in Mexico on July 29, 2023
1.0 out of 5 stars Damaged
The media could not be loaded.
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Daniele LisaReviewed in Italy on March 6, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Bello
Pacco arrivato integro e nei tempi stabiliti. Il libro è in ottime condizioni, ed è un must per chi, come me, adora Stephen King e la serie della Torre Nero. Unico consiglio, acquistatelo solo se il vostro inglese è buono.
- G. G. CurtisReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2010
5.0 out of 5 stars For all Dark Tower fans
Being an avid Stephen King fan and having read the Dark Tower series, 'The Road to the Dark Tower' by Bev Vincent was an absolute bonus, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone else who has also read what Bev Vincent describes as Stephen Kings Magnum Opus. It gave me a deeper insight and understanding, which I am very much appreciated.
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Frank ReiboldReviewed in Germany on November 21, 2007
4.0 out of 5 stars Macht Zusammenhänge klarer
Dieses Buch erzählt die Entstehungsgeschichte des Dunklen Turms und stellt die damit in Zusammenhang stehenden Bücher und die wichtigsten Personen vor. Kapitel über das Ka und Kings Quellen, Literaturangaben und Websites runden das Buch ab.
Den Hauptteil bildet jedoch eine Zusammenfassung der sieben Bände des Dunklen Turms in einzelnen Kapiteln. Dabei werden immer wieder Verbindungen zu den anderen Bänden und Büchern hergestellt. Der Autor zeichnet dabei vor allem nach, wie sich die Charaktere geändert haben und wie das Ka wirkt. Man muss dabei jedoch beachten, dass Vincent alle Informationen, die über das Ende des siebten Bandes hinaus gehen, im Internet als seine Spekulation bezeichnet hat. Wir wissen also nicht, ob Roland wieder jemanden ziehen wird und ob dies wieder Eddie, Susannah und Jake sein werden. (Ich würde es ihnen jedenfalls nicht wünschen.)
Mir hat das Buch gefallen, weil es viele Zusammenhänge klarer gemacht hat. Wer jedoch genaueste Informationen zu Orten und Personen benötigt, sollte "Das Tor zu Stephen Kings Dunklem Turm" lesen.
- I. C. PizzieReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2010
4.0 out of 5 stars A book for Dark Tower devotees
Provides good, solid background info for those of us who know that we are all walking the road to the Dark Tower. A great gift for King fans.