Stephen King Universe and The Dark Tower Read Through Discussion

Greetings 75'ers, particularly those of you who are Constant Readers and/or Tower Junkies, as Eddie Dean calls us.

A few of us are currently are working our way through a complete read of F. Paul Wilson's Secret History of the World. It's a daunting task, but so far quite a fun one. It got me thinking that I've always wanted to read through The Dark Tower series in a completist way, including all the related works in Uncle Stevie's canon. So, I recently read The Road to the Dark Tower by Bev Vincent to research what such a read through would look like. I also cast a wider net out in to Kingverse on the internet to see what some others have said about it. And I looked at Uncle Stevie's website to see what suggestions might be gleaned there.

What I've decided to do is to document my research here in the 2026 group, encouraging any and all discussion from others about the inclusion of books and reading order. Both topics inspire a vast array of perspectives. My goal is to come to a final reading list sometime late this year, in preparation for kicking off a read through to run throughout next year. Depending on what is represented in the final reading list, I may even start the read through before next year begins, given the size of some of the tomes.

So, please, speak up and offer your opinions as I continue to post material here. I'm dying to hear from you guys about this.

I'll start in the obvious place:

After Uncle Stevie announced that The Dark Tower series was finally complete with the publication of The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower Book 7), we all breathed a sigh of relief. Some eight years later, he slyly slipped in a new title, The Wind Through the Keyhole, which existed in the ka-tet's quest between Wizards and Glass and Wolves of the Calla. That publication breathed some fresh air into the series for those of us who'd read the series multiple times. And it substantially fleshed out Roland's backstory. Admittedly, though, there was controversy from the traditionalist who didn't like that we now had a book 4.5, and many suggested simply skipping it when reading the series, claiming it wasn't all that vital to the narrative thread of the quest.

Obviously, I disagree wholeheartedly with that latter assessment. As a completist, and a reader who hates for the quest to be over, another book and more story scratches an infernal itch.

Now, more to the point, in the front material of The Wind Through the Keyhole, there is a listing of what Uncle Stevie considers canon for the series. While he's the author and all, I might disagree about whether his list is all-inclusive, because I'm the reader, dang it! But it's a good starting point for the discussion here.

Interestingly, the list provided suggests a reading order, as well. Otherwise, Uncle Stevie wouldn't break up the basic series books with the related material. But he does list the related books in between the basic books of the series - so, a reading order.

So, here's Uncle Stevie's list:

'Salem's Lot

The Stand

The Gunslinger

The Talisman

It

The Eyes of the Dragon

The Drawing of the Three

Waste Lands

Insomnia

Rose Madder

Desperation

The Regulators

Wizard and Glass

Bag of Bones

Black House

From a Buick 8

Wolves of the Calla

Song of Susannah

The Dark Tower

Almost as addendum, at the bottom of the above list, he includes Collections:

Skeleton Crew

Hearts in Atlantis

Everything's Eventual

Now, a couple of brief comments about the list.

First, The Wind Through the Keyhole is not included in the list, but I've already said where it's place in the reading order should be, at least in general.

Second, though he lists the collections, he doesn't list the short stories from those works that are part of the canon. In most cases, the short stories to which he is referring by listing the collection are fairly evident. But it will take some work to both identify and properly place those in a reading list.

Third, and final for this posting anyway, a quibble with Uncle Stevie's listing order, as an example of the discussion likely to break out here. He lists 'Salem's Lot as the first book to read here. That book provides the backstory to Father Callahan's place in the quest and ka-tet; which makes it a really odd one to read first, given that the good father doesn't re-appear and actually connect with the ka-tet until Wolves of the Calla, fully 16 books later. My guess is that Uncle Stevie is suggesting this placement because we eventually learn that Callahan is born into Roland's world during the events of The Gunslinger, that he awakes at the way station after Jake and Roland leave, and that The Man in Black circles back to meet him. The reasoning is supported by the inclusion of The Stand at the very beginning, as well, to give that Man in Black/Flagg's back story prior to kicking off Roland's quest. In any case, I can tell you that I don't plan on putting 'Salem's Lot so early in my reading list, but rather putting it soon before Wolves of the Calla. Sure, Callahan's back story is a sort of flashback as read this way, but so is the rest of Father Callahan's back story as told by him in Wolves of the Calla.

Any thoughts for anyone else???

Did you know that he finished the Dark Tower series when he almost died by being hit by a van, so he quickly wrote those books? Bc he didn't want it to be left on a cliffhanger

>1 blackdogbooks: I'll definitely join you in the main series and The Eyes of the Dragon, but probably not all of the related works.

>3 louisisaloafofbreb: Indeed, louisisaloafofbreb, that real-life event actually constitutes a large plot point for the last couple of basic books Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower, because King writers himself in as a character in the series, a quite important character. So, King fictionalizes the events as part of the narrative.

>4 amanda4242: That is just great - I know that I'm biting off quite a big piece of cake here. You should quite enjoy The Eyes of the Dragon. If I had to torture you to add just one more book, it would be The Talisman. But I won't torture you!

>5 blackdogbooks: I just got that fact from my dad, whom owns a lot of his books, so I'm sure he knows a lot of facts- maybe even my grandma does because I stole a lot of her Stephen King books, I'm reading It right now, I'm about 500 or so pages in I think-

>7 louisisaloafofbreb: That's a wonderful book - and part of the series, for sure.

>8 blackdogbooks: My dad really likes The Stand and he read it when I was just in the NICU which I think is really cool- and I think that's his longest book if I'm not mistaken!

>6 blackdogbooks: The Talisman has been on my TBR list for awhile, so I probably will join you for that one. And The Eyes of the Dragon is actually my favorite King book!

>9 louisisaloafofbreb: Just barely - the one you're reading now is only a few pages shorter.

>10 amanda4242: if you like Eyes, you'll love Talisman.

>11 blackdogbooks: I remember my dad saying that, its quite fun

>1 blackdogbooks: I'm definitely a "Constant Reader" and I'm pretty sure I've read all of these over the years. I don't know if I'll reread everything on the list, but I'll definitely slot some of them in.

Have you read the new collection The End of the World As We Know It, King blessed other authors to write short stories in the Stand universe, which is really the Kingverse. It was really good.

>14 mahsdad: Yep, read The End of the World As We Know It last year, and quite enjoyed it.

Well, you join for as many as you wish - they're all rereads for me. Once I get a final list later in the year, I'll start a new thread.

>15 blackdogbooks: I always have an inner turmoil with rereads. As I sit surrounded by books I never read, how much time should I devote to the rereads. I'm sure I'll do several.

thanks for starting this.

Oh my goodness, I had no idea that so many of the King canon that I considered stand-alone are really part of a connected series! Thank you, kindly bdb!
I've certainly added your list to my favorites!

>17 LizzieD: Your welcome, LizzieD....this thread will go on for quite some time, and I'll be adding more to the related material with some explanations and other suggested reading orders.

There is even a fair argument that everything Uncle Stevie wrote connects up to the Dark Tower in some way.

Not to mention, the thing he's working on now is reportedly also deeply connected The Talisman stuff - so another sequel to that, of sorts, that will connect up in some way.

Wow, that's a heckuva list. I'll see if I can manage this, but not making promises on when... 😀

Oh, and I added this to the group wiki.

>20 drneutron: thanks, Doc. The title of the thread should give you some breathing room. It’s just a discussion at this point. Not planning to start reading until next year or late in this year. I have soooo much more material to cover in just building a reading list. Plus, this year is for the FPW SHW. 🤓

>3 louisisaloafofbreb: I don't know that I would say "quickly" -- he started about 2 years after the accident and it took him nearly a year and a half to create the first drafts.

>22 BevVincent: It's a good point, as I didn't pick up on that "quickly" in the post. The accident in which King was struck took place on June 19, 1999 (19!), and he didn't start drafting Wolves of the Calla until September 1999 and he didn't finish the first draft of The Dark Tower until October 2022. All of that information is in a carefully detailed appendix in The Road to the Dark Tower featuring a timeline of both fact and fiction for the quest.

Which brings me to the next stop along the way in discussing the works that should be included in a completist list for The Dark Tower and why.

In The Road to the Dark Tower, Vincent begins the journey by listing the related works which he intends to discuss in the text of the book in his Table of Contents. On the facing page to the end of the Table of Contents he also lists a key to the referenced works in his book.

So, in the Table of Contents, Vincent lists the related works he intends to discuss in details as:

The Stand

Eyes of the Dragon

Insomnia

Rose Madder

Desperation

The Regulators

The Little Sisters of Elyria, a short story that can be found in Legends and Everything's Eventual

Low Men in Yellow Coats, a short story that can be found in Hearts in Atlantis

Everything's Eventual, the title short story from the collection Everything's Eventual

The Talisman

Black House

As you can see, each of these titles also appeared in Uncle Stevie's list from The Wind Through the Keyhole. Vincent also pulls out some of the short stories from the collections mentioned at the bottom of The Wind Through the Keyhole list.

Some of the additional titles from The Wind Through the Keyhole list that Vincent doesn't include in his Table of Contents are listed in his key to referenced works. 'Salem's Lot and From a Buick 8 are in the key to referenced works, while It and Bag of Bones are not. Also, Vincent does not identify any of the short stories from Skeleton Crew, even though that appears in The Wind Through the Keyhole list. And Vincent adds Different Seasons to his list of key to referenced works.

So, Vincent's lists as a group is largely the same as The Wind Through the Keyhole, with the noted differences of the addition of Different Seasons and the omission of It and Bag of Bones.

Let's talk briefly about Different Seasons. Vincent makes the inclusion, I believe, because of some references to The Dark Tower terms/ideas in the short story The Breathing Method: notably BREAKERS.

In an interview, Peter Straub says that it was his idea to make Black House more of a The Dark Tower book because he was intrigued by the concept of Breakers and the Crimson King. Notably, The Breathing Method bears a striking resemblance to Straub's own Ghost Story, as the short story, like Straub's novel, is based on a club who gets together and tells scary stories. In the short story, the club meets in a building that contains doors, like we find in the quest, and is filled with books and poems authored by people who can't be found anywhere else, similar to some of the books the ka-tet finds along the quest. And one of those books specifically mentioned in the short story is title, Breakers. The building and its furnishings is also reminiscent of the house from which Jake is born again into Mid-World, which is also reminiscent of the black hotel in The Talisman, which is also reminiscent of the house in It where a battle takes place. The other stories in Different Seasons do not seem to bear any connection to the series.

On balance, I believe that the connections in The Breathing Method are sufficient to include it in any final reading list for The Dark Tower. Also, it's nice to see a relatively unnoticed story of Uncle Stevie's get some attention. All three of the other short stories in Different Seasons are well known from film treatments, a couple are cultural icons. But The Breathing Method gets little attention. I also like that its such an homage to Ghost Story.

A brief interlude here - listening to Bev Vincent on The KingCast podcast from February, 2021, and he mentioned that Later has some Dark Tower elements in it - I need to figure that one out for the list!

Also, there's a discussion about Dandelo - who feeds on laughter in The Dark Tower. Vincent and the KingCast boys talked about other creatures, or 'Outsider', who appear in King's work. There's obviously Pennywise who feeds on fear. And then they talk about Bag of Bones, where there is a ghost, Sara Tidwell, Vincent explains that Tidwell is not the antagonist of the book but an outsider has invaded Tidwell's ghost. The discussion concludes with the speculation that these creatures are perhaps of the same species - it helps to direct the inclusion of Bag of Bones and how it fits into a completist read of the series.

Okay, back more specifically to Vincent's The Road to the Dark Tower - let's get some the notes down for how each of the primary works listed in his book and in the list at the front of The Wind Through the Keyhole fit into The Dark Tower series -

'Salem's Lot (listed in both places) – this is an obvious one, it's Father Callahan's back story, everything that happened before he dies in one world and is ushered into Roland's part of the story. Keyhole puts first in reading order. But I've already said that I'll put it right before Wolves of the Calla in my final reading order. Also, probably going to include Jerusalem’s Lot from Night Shift, which is the prequel to the novel.

The Stand (listed in both places) – another obvious connection, since it features Flagg/Marten/Man in Black; also, obvious because the ka-tet eventually happen briefly into a world afflicted with Captain Trips. Given Flagg is the primary antagonist, or one of them, it will go at the head of the final reading order, though not exactly first.

Different Seasons (listed only in the Vincent book) – see discussion above in post #24. I’m not 100% sure I’m going to include it in the final reading order, but if I do, it will be squeezed in at the same location as Low Men in Yellow Coats, the story from Hearts in Atlantis and Everything’s Eventual, the story from the collection by that name – so after Song of Susannah.

The Talisman (listed in both places) – this one is a related work, though not specifically tied in with the ka-tet, which covers a borderland territory, a place near and like the place where the ka-tet travel, and a quest like the ka-tet’s quest. It’s language and feel make it almost a twin to the series, twins being a big deal in the book itself. Since it’s not directly tied but give the feel to the series, I’m going to put it early in the final reading list, before The Stand. The main character comes back in Black House, but that story is more directly tied to the series, and has a specific place it needs to go.

The Eyes of the Dragon (listed in both places) – a sort of primer to the early days of Gilead, before Roland’s quest begins. And timeless Flagg is there, of course. Vincent, in his book, says “Roland met the two young men {Dennis and Thomas, primary characters in The Eyes of the Dragon} during the last days of Gilead.” Indeed, Thomas goes on his own quest to find Flagg and they catch up with him but the confrontation is not covered in the book – an unwritten story??? In any case, since it’s chronologically very early in Roland’s time (whatever that means at any particular point), I’m putting it early in the final reading list, after The Talisman and before The Stand.

The Tommyknockers (listed only in Vincent’s book) – this one is listed by Vincent merely as a book referenced in his book. There aren’t a lot of obvious connections, though soe readers have collected some brief references on a website I visited. On balance, I think this one wpon’t make the final reading list.

Insomnia (listed in both places) – this is a book about Breakers and Patrick Danville, though the main characters are not those. Danville is an important character in the final book in the series. I’ll probably put this one in the final reading list right before The Dark Tower.

Rose Madder (listed in both places) – a book infused with elements and language and geography of the series, though not set there primarily. There are scenes that echo Susannah’s todash trips when she’s battling Mia. So, I believe that I will place this in the final reading list just before Song of Susannah.

Desperation and The Regulators (listed only in Keyhole) – these two books were published at the same time, and deal with the same characters in different ways {different levels of the tower?}. Among those characters is an ancient evil named Tak – he resembles one of those monsters that arise from the fissures outside Lud and Fedic in the series. He also resembles the ‘outsiders’ from It and Bag of Bones and Dandelo, of the same species perhaps. Desperation appears to be set in the same location as the short story The Little Sisters of Eluria, from Everything’s Eventual. Since the books aren’t chronological but sister tales, you could select one or the other, but I’ll probably read both, and put them in between Keyhole and Wolves of the Calla, probably before ‘Salem’s Lot.

Bag of Bones (listed only in Keyhole – first, the action in this book takes place around a house named Sara Laughs, which twins with the house Cara Laughs on Turtleback Lane from Song of Susannah where all the walk-in activity takes place in that book. Also, see the discussion above in Pst #25 about the ‘outsider’ in the book that is probably of the same species as the others. Going to put this one in between Rose Madder and Song of Susannah.

The Little Sisters of Eluria from Everything’s Eventual (mentioned in both places) – the chronology of this story is that it takes place between the battle of Jericho Hill and the opening of The Gunslinger. Given that, I’d put this at the top of the final reading list, probably right before The Gunslinger.

Hearts in Atlantis with Low Men in Yellow Coats and Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling (mentioned in both places) – the first story is an obvious choice because it tells of Ted Brautigan’s flight before the events of The Dark Tower. The second story is not as obvious because it’s essentially an ending for Bobby Garfield as an older man, dealing with Ted’s loss and other issues from his early years. I’ll read both right before starting The Dark Tower and after reading Insomnia.

Black House (mentioned in both places) – this is an essential series read, as it deals with the breakers and the destruction of the Crimson King’s Big Combination or Forge. When I read The Dark Tower the first time, I was too far from my reading of Black House and didn’t understand how the Forge had been destroyed. This one also has to go close to The Dark Tower in the final reading list.

From a Buick 8 (mentioned in both places – this one features a car that was likely owned and used by a Low Man, a car with a portal to Todash and from which creatures escape. A pretty strong connection to the series. I’ll put this with the others about the Breakers and Low Men toward the end before The Dark Tower.

It (mentioned only in Keyhole – there are lots of small references/similarities to the series, with The Turtle, Stuttering Bill the robot, Niebold House, and Pennywise as another ‘outsider’ like the Dandelo. It’s not an essential series read, but a lovely read and a favorite, so probably up in the early reads before Eyes of the Dragon.

That leaves just Skeleton Crew (mentioned only in Keyhole – likely included to capture the short story/novella The Mist. The reasoning is that the creatures afflicting the town in the story are probably walk-ins from Todash space, appearing through some rift that the Arrowhead Project has created, a newly formed thinny. This one will go early in the final reading list, probably up by The Stand.

One alibi – in the very back of The Road to the Dark Tower, Vincent reprints Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came by Robert Browning. It’s largely undecipherable as a whole, but it was an inspiration for King in writing the series. So, that’ll be the very first thing to read when I kick off the series.

So, here’s how the final reading list is shaping up so far:

Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, from The Road to the Dark Tower

The Talisman

It

The Eyes of the Dragon

The Stand

The Mist, from Skeleton Crew

The Little Sisters of Eluria, from Everything’s Eventual or Legends

The Gunslinger

The Drawing of the Three

The Waste Lands

Wizard and Glass

The Wind Through the Keyhole

Desperation and The Regulators

Jerusalem’s Lot from Night Shift

‘Salem’s Lot

Wolves of the Calla

Bag of Bones

Rose Madder

Song of Susannah

The Breathing Method from Different Seasons

Everything’s Eventual from Everything’s Eventual

Low Men in Yellow Coats from Hearts in Atlantis

Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling from Hearts in Atlantis

From a Buick 8

Insomnia

Black House

The Dark Tower

It's been a couple of weeks and there's news on the Beam front. I suppose that a venture reading through such a huge work, especially one so important to the author, runs the risk of seeing a new title drop at any point, particularly from an author with such a famously frequent output.

So, the third book in The Talisman path of the Beam is dropping in October, 2026 - it'll be titled Other Worlds Than These. I read a few paragraphs released for an article about the book's release, and the first line is an epic call-back to a favorite character in the first book - Wolf. The new book will open with:

"Right her and now (as an old friend used to say), we are in the fluid present, so see this and see it well."

I'll probably pre-order the book, but it's hard to know where it could land in the final read through list. Likely, it will be toward the end of the list, since it is meant to pick up where Black House left off chronologically.

Quite excited for this one.

I've finished 'salem's Lot and started The Stand.

>28 Deedledee: that’s awesome! So, you’re using Uncle Stevie’s list. I’ve got more to add to my reading list still. Next up, I think I’ll discuss the graphic novels.

I've neglected the discussion here for a few weeks, but I'm starting back where I said I would in the last post - the graphics.

There are a plethora of individual graphics in the Dark Tower world, many of them treading through portions of the narrative from the book. I don't plan on hunting up and reading all of the comics/graphics currently available. My focus will be on the 5 volume collected sett of the earliest graphics.

They are, in chronological order:

The Gunslinger Born
The Long Road Home
Treachery
The Fall of Gilead
The Battle of Jericho Hill

Now, the first two cover much of the same territory that is laid out in The Gunslinger and Wizard and Glass, all in flashbacks as Roland thinks on or recounts his history.

The others, while including references to events mentioned at various times throughout the series, expand the narrative quite a bit in their own original material.

Chronologically in the series, the events are largely from Roland's test of manhood with Cort, the sending West of Rolan's first ka-tet, their return, and the events as Roland's home is torn apart by war - all before Roland starts his quest for the Man in Black/Walter, and all before Roland has his encounter with the Little Sisters of Eluria. So, I'll likely place this series of graphics in between The Mist and Little Sisters of Eluria in the master reading list.

My newest addition to my Uncle Stevie collection helped me to date these graphics - Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance by Robin Furth, Uncle Stevie's research assistant during the time he wrote the last books of the series. She has a history of Mid-World that lists the events in Roland's life, even things long before he was born.

so, even though portions of Roland's narrative will be repeated by reading these graphics, there is new material in them that is original and important. Also, repeating the narratives is actually in keeping with the larger theme of resumption.

This brings up another point - read on in the next post.

The next point -

There are actually two versions of The Gunslinger, actually more than that if you include the very first appearance in a Science Fiction periodical and the Donald Grant publication, but two which are widely available. What I'll call the original version is one that was widely published in paperback and hit the stands in 1988 - the Plume book versions had wonderful art, but there were also mass market paperbacks. The revised version came out with Uncle Stevie's tweaks to update and fit them into the larger series better, in 2003.

I plan on reading them both - one in the early part of the list and one as the last book of the read-through. I've decided to read the original version, unrevised by Uncle Stevie, in the early part of the list and the revised version as the last book. This is in keeping with the whole Resumption theme, honors it, in my mind.

Another note, from my newly acquired concordance:

Furth has a listing of Secondary Texts to which she referred in completing the concordance - it's in line with the earlier list from The Wind Through the Keyhole:

Bag of Bones
Desperation and The Regulators
Everything's Eventual
The Eyes of the Dragon
Insomnia
It
Hearts in Atlantis
Skeleton Crew specifically mentioning The Mist in this case
'Salem's Lot
The Stand
The Talisman
Black House

Nothing new in thytatt list, except the specific mention of the short story, which is kinda important, actually - a nice confirmation.

>31 blackdogbooks: I totally forgot that there were two versions of Gunslinger. I have both.



I like the older one, esthetically, because of the artwork images scattered thru out.

I did let me old ratty paperback version of The Stand go. It was held together with scotch-tape. I do have the hard-back version of the revised version.

I'll always keep the Gunslingers, as well as my copy of The Bachman Books since it has a copy of Rage in it.

>33 mahsdad: yep, some sentimental stuff goes along with keeping both. Though I’ve been collecting up sets of the first three books in that Plume printing. Have several. But I also have a battered up mass market paper of The Gunslinger, like I found on a drugstore rack in ‘88. Blew my mind.

Have a copy of the Bachman but it’s got no dust jacket. Still hoping to find a First edition or a DJ at least. Never get rid of it, definitely.

I need to get the Furth book!

>35 drneutron: It's so well-done and comprehensive - a total nerd's dream - you do need it.

>34 blackdogbooks: I have the Plume versions for the first 4, but of course they changed the design on Wizard and Glass, so its not black and the fonts are all different. I hate when publishers do that. Of course I know why, but I don't have to like it.

My Bachman books is trade paperback. I got it for Christmas in '85. There's a note inside it from my Grandmother. If she only knew the content of the book she was giving me.

>37 mahsdad: Wow, your grandmother?! 😀 Yeah, I'll bet that would have been a surprise for her.

I have the Gunslinger up as my next read.

>39 Deedledee: you’re moving along that list. So much fun.

I just started rereading The Talisman on audio, read by the great Frank Muller. I'm definitely going to reread Black House as well.

I just read that Other Worlds Than These (that comes out in October), will be shown as being authored by both King and Straub, even though Straub died in 2022. Straub sent King a lengthy letter before he died about his ideas for the 3rd Talisman book, and that's what King used as his inspiration. Can't wait to read it as well.

>41 mahsdad: already pre-ordered in my house. Can’t wait! Love that he’s giving his late friend equal billing. I suspect it was a melancholy experience writing without his friend and partner this time.

I was wearin my Wolf shirt just today!

>41 mahsdad:, >42 blackdogbooks: Wow, I had no idea this is coming. Very exciting!