Talk:The Dark Tower (series)

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Contents

[edit] The drawing of the three

I am reading The Drawing of the Three. It's really wonderful.--211.143.249.210 12:58, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Calla Speak

shouldn't the dialect of the Calla have a spot on this article? Blu elph44 00:20, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

I am working on the Calla's own page. I can add a section on language in there when I have a chance. Leafschik1967 (talk) 01:19, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Comic Series

shouldn't the comic series come before the gunslinger and even before Little Sisters, seeing as it happens before both?Blu elph44 00:20, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

I was thinking the same thing, but was hesitating because it's currently going over the exact same events as we saw recalled in Wizard and Glass. Anyway, I've moved it now. –Gunslinger47 02:28, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
I dont think thats the best idea because even though story wise it may happen before, it wasnt written until much later.-Metastophles

[edit] Film Adaptation

Is it too early to create a separate article for the prospective film? Is there enough anticipation for the adaptation to warrant a page already, considering that the news has been reported by three sources, including King himself announcing that he found people he trusted to translate the story? —Tonyfuchs1019 22:28, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure that there is enough information available yet - is it even known if it will be a film or a television series? Title? Plot? --Mus Musculus 12:25, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
The short-article in EW #923 said "film franchise," with Lindelof mentioned as prime suspect for the screenplay. The same article also said, however, that DT wouldn't be Abrams and Co.'s next project, and there seems to be no indication as to when the production might get rolling. —Tonyfuchs1019 14:34, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
I say hold out until there is more substantial information than "prime suspects" and whose project it isn't. –Pomte 22:47, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
why? why? why? dammit! Why make a movie of every book that gets any attention, The dark tower is too good to be made into a movie. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.108.73.47 (talk) 09:25, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Too Much on Music?

If you ask me, the music section is overwhelming in its size (combined with the graphics, especially). Do we really need a track listing?

No. If the album is notable enough for its own article, it would have a track listing there. The excessive quotes should be cut down as well. –Pomte 21:34, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
So what are we doing here? We deleted the entire section? I dont remember it being excessive, but having images would be unnecessary. I still think a small section should be worked on though, to at least show that this is a very popular text. (Cablebfg 19:39, 13 June 2007 (UTC))

[edit] film adaption date

does aney one know whean the film adaption is going to be relesed Sckay 21:39, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

Nope, and probably not for a long time, since there's barely any news on it. Here's King's earlier response. –Pomte 01:32, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reading Order Questions

Instead of reading all of the other books that have tie-ins, big and small, to the series, could one in theory JUST read the Dark Tower novels, 1-7, on their own?

--Theotherness 10:42, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

That's what I did. Reading the other books after reading the series may even disappoint you. –Pomte 13:12, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
Read the others in tandum (for example, read Hearts in Atlantis before Song of Susannah, the Stand before Wizard & Glass) (142.33.70.38 20:51, 17 April 2007 (UTC))
In short, yes. Everything that needs explaining is explained as if you were a new reader. Nothing a new reader could miss plays a vital role in the narrative. –Gunslinger47 21:08, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
Unfortunately, I'd have to say no. The first two books I can see a new reader hop in with little trouble. By the third and fourth books, the references to other novels might be confusing. By the time you read the last three, when major characters from other novels pop in, if you're not at all familar with the previous works you're bound to get lost or at least feel like you're missing a piece of the puzzle.--CyberGhostface 21:12, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
I hadn't read "Insomnia" "Salem's Lot" or "Eyes of the Dragon", but I never felt like I missed out on anything. For instance, Callahan's sizeable recounting in Wolves provides quite enough backstory, as far as that goes. I could go and read those books now and maybe experience a geeky sort of "A-HA" moment coming across a Dark Tower nod, but all these works are self-contained and independent of each other. And, really, it'd be like saying you have to read "IT" to understand "Dreamcatcher".Artemisstrong 22:24, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
The only similarity with It and Dreamcatcher is the locale. A lot of important DT mythology occurs outside the actual series. For example, a lot of questions about Flagg are answered if you read EotD and The Stand--CyberGhostface 01:07, 16 June 2007 (UTC)
I'm not so sure how many questions are answered by The Stand. Flagg in that book seems to live a fairly independent life outside of the DT continuity. But I think our discussion here just illustrates that this issue is ultimately particular to each reader. But the original question raised was whether there is a correct "reading order". And I think that's where I'm coming from, that while the supporting books may have supplementary facts or whatnot, that beyond just reading DT 1-7 there is no particular reading order.
I agree with Gunslinger47 on this, in that King wrote it to be accesible to new readers, providing the information that was germane to the storytelling. If one were to go back through the books, they'd see frequently the ka-tet coming upon some artifact from another story (say the note addressed to Mother Abagail attached to the minivan window at the beginning of Wizard) and commenting either out loud or internally that maybe there's more to it, but it doesn't really involve them.
But, for those planning a sort of completists journey through Mid-World, I'd think the best route to take would be a chronological one. Knowing how King works, you'd get a fairly accurate account of how the story mutated through time. And the great thing about this timeline method is it is right there on the "Other Books by This Author" pages (at least in the softcover editions I have) with the DT related materials in bold type (at least up until Song of Susannah... on the DT 7 they're all in bold). I'd also add Danse Macarbre and On Writing to those lists (both books I read before reading DT) and while they are nonfiction, I find their subject matter almost identical to the DT, in that Danse talks about what influences and moves horror and how it works, and On Writing gives a reader the real-life account of the car crash of 1999 (also, both books have pieces about King's Uncle Oren, who also makes an appearance of sorts in DT).
And one more thing [I know I'm being a bit of a windbag here :)] but doesn't Dreamcatcher feature a whole sequence taking place during a "Pennywise" attack that occurs between the children's and adult's stories in IT? Isn't that where they discover Duddett's power and help save a potential clown victim?
I forgot about the It connection, although that was a one-scene cameo.
As for the questions concerning Flagg...his whole thing about "My life for you!" and having fondness for Trashcan Man makes a lot more sense if you read The Stand. Also, him being born and raped in Delain explains why he hated the place so much in Eyes of the Dragon.
The series isn't impossible to understand without prior reading, but it is a lot more clearer once you've read prior novels.--CyberGhostface 17:25, 16 June 2007 (UTC)
I agree with you here. I think it's similar to, say, reading God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater before reading any other Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (as I did) and encountering Kilgore Trout for the first time. It definitely enriched the story, but it wasn't until I read Breakfast of Champions that I really "got" the character.
So does this page need a "reading order" list (which I'm thinking is yes), and if so, what order should it go in?-- Artemisstrong 19:45, 16 June 2007 (UTC)
Personally I think its this (DT in italics, Non-DT in bold)
  • The Gunslinger
  • The Eyes of the Dragon
  • The Drawing of the Three
  • The Stand
  • The Waste Lands
  • Insomnia
  • Wizard and Glass
  • 'Salem's Lot
  • Wolves of the Calla
  • The Talisman
  • Black House
  • Song of Susannah
  • Hearts in Atlantis
  • Everything's Eventual
  • The Dark Tower
By reading it this way, you should be caught up with everything once you get to the specific book. There are other connected books that I considered putting up there but decided against. I put Black House and Talisman up there but those two I'm not too sure about.--CyberGhostface 21:28, 16 June 2007 (UTC)
Then there is this from the Dark Tower wiki: http://www.thedarktower.net/connections/roadmap. - Artemisstrong 21:05, 22 June 2007 (UTC)
Yeah but a lot of the books they list aren't important to understanding DT, such as Skeleton Crew, Desperation and The Regulators. They contain connected information (like the usage of the Language of the Dead) but nothing like recurring characters from DT.--CyberGhostface 21:51, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 'The Shining' tie in

While not exactly making a connection to any characters or plot, the film adaptation of 'The Shining' is mentioned in The Drawing of the Three. I was wondering if that constitutes a legitimate tie in in the section on it. --DirtySocks85 05:51, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

I laughed when I read that. I like it when authors reference themselves. As far as I tie-in goes, it is a reference to something in our world, to me that is enough for a tie-in.Blackngold29 (talk) 00:28, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The "re-" subtitles

For Wolves, King added the "19" at the start of the book and also the "Re-something" subtitle, and went back and added them to the previous volumes too. What are all the subtitles?

http://www.thedarktower.net/wiki/Main/Subtitles –Pomte 14:28, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Revised editions

I would like to know which books of the series were revised and re-edited, and when. --200.70.145.219 03:03, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

He only revised the Gunslinger, and that occured around the time Wolves of the Calla came out.--CyberGhostface 13:40, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Inspirations for the series

I agree with the article's list of inspirations for the series but I was surprised to see that "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot was not included. The poem has a strong influence on plot, environment and characters of "The Dark Tower" and it is even quoted and directly referenced throughout the series. Although I am a longtime Wikipedia reader, I'm just starting to contribute so I do not want to make any changes to the article itself but I'd like to see what other people think about this. Enigma1375 07:46, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

I'd say Eliot's The Waste Land MUST be included in any list of influences/inspirations for DT for the simple reason that King himself cites it as an inspiration in the forewards to several of the seven books. The third book of the series is not named "The Waste Lands" by coincidence. When citing influences on this work, I'd be sure to mention ALL of those stated by the author himself. ROG 19 12:35, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A quibbling point

... But "Childe Roland" isn't an epic. I changed it to just say "poem." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.252.254.128 (talk) 07:42, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A List of References to Our World?

Due to the large number of references to our world (ie. books, songs, movies, etc.) throughout the story I think it would be interesting to create a list of all of them. Would this deserve its own page? Should it be done at all? Blackngold29 (talk) 00:34, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Thedarktower7.jpg

Image:Thedarktower7.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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BetacommandBot (talk) 12:53, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Refferences to and from other works of fiction

Please add references here.
1) In Command & Conquer 3: Kane Edition, Act V on the Nod side, Kane says: "there are 19 of these towers and they are portals to other worlds", note the bold words - a DT fan is sure to notice that something here is odd, 19 is the infamous number used abundantly in the DT series, the tower in the DT series is also a sort of link between worlds, and the world described in the dark tower is a post apocalyptic world that can be something after the command and conquer wars. Just a thought...
Eladkatz (talk) 12:07, 19 March 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eladkatz (talk • contribs) 12:05, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

That's interesting, although unless you know the reference is an intentional reference, it could just be a coincidence and thus original research.--CyberGhostface (talk) 22:59, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Carrie?

Carrie is specifically referenced in Song of Susannah (particularly as King's first published novel)it is therefore referenced, at least by title. Shouldn't it be included in the section about references to King's other works? —Preceding unsigned comment added by DirtySocks85 (talk • contribs) 21:08, 29 May 2008 (UTC)