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ListPrice: $250.00

Edition: Lettered Edition

Summary: "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. "

ISBN: 0451213041

ListPrice: 14.95

Edition: First Edition

Summary: How does one determine what the greatest work of an author’s career is? The answer to this query, posed in the final pages of this book, can be found throughout Vincent’s in-depth analysis of King’s seven-volume Dark Tower epic (The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, etc.). Making sense of a story that switches back and forth through time, across multiple universes, and involves the safety of a tower that represents the fate of all existence is no easy task. Kudos to Vincent for even trying. But readers beware—the work is analyzed in its entirety, so expect spoilers galore. Vincent—whose column on Stephen King, "News from the Dead Zone," appears in Cemetery Dance magazine—tracks the evolution of both King’s three-decade avocation (the very first line was written in 1970) and the development of the saga’s characters and plot. Most importantly, Vincent shows how the few members of gunslinger Roland’s fellowship, recruited to help him protect the Tower, slowly evolve from reluctant participation to resolve about their leader’s quest. Former cocaine addict Eddie, for example, puts his sarcasm and skepticism aside and learns to embrace the dream of his surrogate father. As Vincent writes, "If Roland were to die on their journey, Eddie would continue with the others, for having dreamt of the Tower and the field of roses, the compulsion to reach the Tower claims him, too." Vincent also devotes a full chapter to discussing some of King’s other works that are related to the Dark Tower series, such as Hearts in Atlantis and Insomnia. In light of King’s own admission that the Dark Tower epic is the nexus of all his books—"The Dark Tower finishes everything that I really wanted to say"—Vincent asserts, "What else, then, is a magnum opus if not something that both ties together and summarizes a person’s life’s work?" With this thorough analysis of King’s epic, Vincent proves himself a master of the Dark Tower world. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Vincent's expansive synopsis of horrormeister King's Dark Tower saga arrives nipping the heels of its seventh and last volume, The Dark Tower [BKL S 1 04]. Besides recapping the epic itself, Vincent points out the most germane aspects of other King novels and stories that touch upon it, sketches its leading characters, notes influences on it, and discusses its creation and the layered, self-consciously reflexive concept (King himself is a character in it) that animates it. Appended are... 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.

ISBN: 0824043472

ListPrice: 70.00

Edition: First Edition

Summary: According to Barron, his survey is "partly designed to avoid the deficiencies" of Horror Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide ( LJ 8/81), edited by Marshall Tymn. Barron annotates almost 800 novels and collections, Tymn about 1100. The difference results primarily from Tymn's emphasis on "classic" Gothic literature. Barron also faults Tymn's lack of "critical rigor," but his own survey is not without problems. Space is devoted to contemporary writers of dubious importance, while others (Ballard, Golding) seem distinctly out of place. On the plus side, Barron pays far more attention to critical and biographical works (some 700 additional annotations to Tymn's some 300). Up until now Tymn's has been the standard, and libraries collecting in the field should probably have both books. Barron's is recommended with minor reservations, particularly for the edge it has in current titles, which go up to 1988. For a review of Barron's Fantasy Literature: A Reader's Guide , see p. 78.--Ed. -Grove Koger, Boise P.L., Id. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. Barron (Anatomy of wonder) provides here and in the companion volume Fantasy literature a comprehensive critical introduction to two genres whose best works deserve far more critical attention than they have received. Approximately 3,000 works of fiction and nonfiction are critically evaluated. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

ISBN: 0743252071

ListPrice: 15.00

Edition: First Edition

Summary: Robin Furth was born and raised in Philadelphia and attended the University of Pennsylvania. She was introduced to Stephen King at the University of Maine and has been working with him as a research assistant since 2001. "I found this overview of In-World, Mid-World, and End-World both entertaining and invaluable. So, I am convinced, will you." -- from the foreword by Stephen King The Dark Tower is the backbone of Stephen King's legendary career. Inspired more than thirty years ago by works as diverse as J. R. R. Tolkien's epics, Robert Browning's poetry, and Sergio Leone's Westerns, this is the tale that Stephen King has never abandoned. When he typed the first sentence in 1970, King feared the telling might take several lifetimes, but two thousand pages and four books later, the end is in sight. Published in anticipation of The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla, A Concordance, Volume I is the definitive guide to the first four books in Stephen King's bestselling epic fantasy series, The Dark Tower. With the hundreds of characters, Mid-World geography, and the High Speech lexicon, this comprehensive handbook is one no Dark Tower fan will want to be without. It is the perfect way in for readers new to the series, or the perfect way back in for longtime fans who read the first four books years ago. Characters and Genealogies Mid-World and Our World Places High Speech, Low Speech, and Mid-World Argot Mid-World Maps Political and Cultural References Roland Deschain and His Ka-tet Portals and Magical Places Mid-World Miscellany Gilead Fair-Days and Mid-World Moons The Dark Tower and the Quest