В първата книга от серията, "човекът в черно" разкрива пред Роланд страховито пророчество, което той непременно трябва да изпълни. Ще се формира и един причудлив, но динамичен ка-тет - та закъде е опитния пътешественик, ако няма верни другари?

Следват паралелни светове и времена, престрелки и овладяване на тела. И целият този джумбуш ни води неотклонно към зловещата Тъмна кула!

The Drawing of the Three is the second book of Stephen King’s magnum opus The Dark Tower. So far it hasn’t been bad, but I have to admit that I’m not fully a believer yet. It’s a good story, taking up where we left off in The Gunslinger with Roland on the beach after having confronted the Man in Black and pondering his next move. After being attacked and wounded by a lobstrosity (wtf?! couldn’t King come up with something better? I mean it kind of makes Roland look like a dweeb that he was overcome by one of these things) Roland wanders the beach in a daze, gradually getting sicker and weaker and wondering how he will continue his quest. Three doorways in the sand present themselves to him one after the other and upon entering each he is taken into the lives of those who will become his new ka-tet (think band of not-so-merry co-adventurers).

Each of these potential heroes is not exactly keen at the idea of following our taciturn gunslinger into another dimension in the name of some ill-defined quest, but luckily (for him) Roland can be persuasive. The first one we meet is Eddie Dean, a heroin addict in 1987 New York City (denoted ‘the Prisoner’ in the man in Black’s tarot reading) who has some complications with a smuggling gig on the very near horizon. Add to that an encounter with Roland and Eddie’s not in for a very fun day all things considered. The second ‘hero’ is Odetta Holmes/Detta Walker (it makes sense once you get to know her), called ‘The Lady of Shadows’ by the tarot. She is an African-American civil rights activist in 1964 New York city with a few personal (and personality) problems, not the least of which is the fact that she’s been in a wheelchair since an ‘accident’ with the subway years before. The final doorway in the sand leads to a confrontation with the enigmatic Jack Mort and a full circle journey for one of our heroes that will either save and meld this new ka-tet into a real force, or destroy it before it begins.

I liked, but didn’t love this book. King’s characters are interesting, but I am much more interested in the larger story, of which we still have received almost no indication yet, as opposed to the personal tales of the new ka-tet. I guess I was hoping for more genre-busting fantasy and a little less contemporary dark fiction. Also, the story was often a long plod, though in some ways this is a compliment to King since it reflects the reality he was trying to express as Roland, Eddie, and Odetta/Detta trudge across the seemingly endless Mid-World (apparently this is not yet Mid-World) beach…a long, slow, plodding journey through illness, fear and weakness marching towards a goal neither of them is exactly certain of.

My real interest in this series was initially prompted by the character of the Gunslinger Roland himself and thus I am (contrary to what appears to be most readers experiences) at this point looking forward more to volume 4, which covers his backstory and the members of his original ka-tet, than I am to volume 3. For the time being though I’ll stay along for the ride and hope that more answers are forthcoming.

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For the sportsman: minutes from an unlimited supply of fresh jumbo lobster meat. All-you-can-catch-and-eat!! Yummy!!!

Contact Roland at Dad-A-Chuck Realtors. Tell him Odetta/Detta sent you for a free cocaine-filled balloon.

Re-read

Still stunning. Read in one sitting which I'm pretty certain I did the first time around. One of my favourite Stephen King novels

I'm reading the extended "Dark Tower" world so I'm now onto The Stand re-read

I think I'm in for a run ride with the series

Roland Deschain, fresh from the events of the Gunslinger, lies exhausted and poisoned on the shores of the ocean. In his delirium, he finds three doorways leading to our world and his new ka-tet. Will Roland survive long enough to bring his new ka-tet?

This is when the Dark Tower really started coming together. The first thing that happens really shocked the crap out of me. Damn lobstrosities! I had no idea what Roland was going to go through when I first opened this one.

The new characters are interesting, as are Roland's relationships with them. Eddie Dean, funnyman and heroin addict, is pretty codependent at first, while Detta/Odetta, a multiple personality in a wheelchair, really causes some havoc. Jack Mort, well... you just better read it.

The action in this one is great. The gunfight in Andolini's is one of my favorite Stephen King scenes of all time. While the Gunslinger got me interested in the Dark Tower, this one grabbed me for the long haul.

Thoughts from the April 2011 reread:
Upon yet another re-reading, it seems really illogical that Roland let himself fall asleep so close to the ocean. The battle between Roland and Eddie and Balazar's goons remains one of my favorite gunfights in the series. Susannah is still my least favorite of the ka-tet.

Thoughts from the April 2014 reread:
The beginning is still shocking. While I was pissed the first time I read it, it goes a long way toward the rest of the katet being necessary additions to the series. While the idea of Roland assaulting the Tower with both hands intact sounds awesome, I don't think it would be as good.

Detta gets my goat every time. While Susannah has some measure of redemption near the end of this book and in future books, I still look at her as the woman who did everything she could to sabotage the trip to the third door.

The gun fight at Balazar's is still great.

Continued from the halfway mark after a hiatus and found a newly-bred love for this story and the writing. Maybe it’s just how smooth yet plotless it is that kept my attention going.

This is the second book of a series and I recommend reading the first book before this one. In this one, Roland is severely hurt and stuck on a beach. A door appears which allows him access to our modern world. This door allows him to gather companions for his journey to the tower.

Truthfully, I am not in love with this book and series like most of my Goodreads friends or members of this site. The writing is terrific and the new characters are unique. These characters are so unique that you probably will never read such unique characters in just one book. This is King's attempt at fantasy and one can see he is following the usual fantasy tropes but with his own take on it. The first book was about the world setting. This book is about the companions one usually gets before the main character partakes on the quest. And that is where this book differentiates itself from other fantasy. We don't get the dumb oaf who has brute strength or the lithe, graceful elf. Instead we get heroin addicts or people who have mental disorders. I really did enjoy this changeup. The problem for me is that nothing has really happened and we are two books done. I know Roland needs to get to the tower but he isn't any closer to it. I don't know why he needs to get there or what is the significance of the tower.

This book is a character story and really does not progress the story line. It is just introducing the pieces and putting them on the board. That is the reason I am not loving this like most readers. It is interesting but I am not compelled to immediately grab the next one in this series. I will end up grabbing the next one because I am a completionist but I am not getting why many consider this to be King's best work. King does say that the first several books should be considered as one giant book and after reading the first two I have to agree with him.

I think Roland's fever jumped off the page and transferred to me, other than that a terrific read. 4.5 stars.

Edited - after re-read on 8/14/22, Bumping this one up to 5 stars

Just looking at this one after you’ve closed the first, you already know you’re in for something different. The most obvious sign is the size – King has expanded the world by more than half. The first would look dwarfish lined beside this much larger work.

The first began on a vague note, and this one continues on a dreamy beginning vibe as Roland arrives on a beach, finds a door suspended in midair, and the door leads to New York city, but at different moments in time. Through each opening he’s supposed to nab his future traveling companions, all foretold at the end of the first book’s conclusion. Eddie (The Prisoner), Odetta (Lady of Shadows), and Jack Mort (Death.)

All readers are anxious for Roland to start his journey, but we still have quite a way before the official walk starts. Seeing Roland thrust into the 80’s to recruit Eddie, a heroine addict in trouble with the mob, is funnier than you’d think. It reminded me a bit of Crocodile Dundee coming to New York city for the first time. They then have to travel to the 60’s for Odetta, a woman who lost her legs in an accident, a woman whose mind hides another personality.

Roland hasn’t been around folks he has to work and connect with in ages, but now King forces him to walk the road with new companions, all with their own personal demon taint. King also cripples him from the get-go with an unexpected ‘attack.’ He seems more human in this book and is even more epic a character.

Eddie is a fiercely strong being, choosing to follow a path he knows little about, shrugging off drug addiction and adjusting. Odetta…I disliked a lot. Savannah never grows on me in either form. Her interactions on the beach especially irritated me as a monstrous woman. There’s much sickness and deviancy among the book’s players, from the minor to the major.

It’s still written in a surreal fantasy realm this time with some fun and underlying humor. Makes you eager to read the next book to find out what happens next, and I definitely enjoyed it more than the first. Eddie especially.

And those lobrosities are creepy.

Much better than the first book, without a doubt. Stephen King will be the first one to admit it. In fact, he did so in the afterword.

This time we have a coherent story, with Roland trying to get together his Ka-Tet. Shortly after the events of  The Gunslinger he finds himself on a beach, where he's to discover three doors. Those lead into a different reality. Which, in this case, is the New York City of the years 1987, 1964, and 1977 respectively. But he does not simply go through the door and pop up in NYC. No, he actually enters the bodies of three different people. One for every time period.

The first one is Eddie Dean, a drug addict, currently on board an airplane, and trying to smuggle cocaine into New York City. That first act was a lot of fun. Not only because poor Eddie was literally losing (control of) his mind, but also because, well, Roland is not really used to airplanes and stuff. That constant culture shock he experiences made for some funny moments. Although the effect wears off a little over the course of the story.

The second act, unfortunately, was pretty boring, and King was losing me again here. Before in the third act there were some fun moments again, as the narrative was harking back to previous events and characters, not only of this book, but of  The Gunslinger as well. That's been very satisfying for me. But overall the third part is too long, as King once again stretches out a couple of scenes until they reach their breaking point, and beyond.

So, this book also has not that much actual story to offer. BUT, there were enough moments that were good, some even very good, so that it actually was fun to read.

Do I think it is a great work? No, not really. Did I enjoy it? For the most part, yes.

What have I just read? Is this written by the same author that put The Gunslinger on paper? It does not seem so at all. If the name of the main characters hadn’t been Roland, I wouldn’t have known that the two books are from the same series. That’s how different thee 2 books are in writing style. Notwithstanding, I’ve enjoyed both of them just as much.

The Drawing of the Three starts where the previous instalment left us, on the beach. The beginning is abrupt and unexpected with Roland having a 3rd degree meeting with a Lobstrosity, a creature similar with a huge lobster. I could not help myself but feeling quite hungry for some crustacean meat while reading about these monsters. After the encounter, Roland is left with 2 missing fingers in one of his hands and with an aggravating infection. While dragging himself on the beach he encounters a door, who opens in the past/another world and here begins the adventure to build his team in order to tackle the Dark Tower. In total there will be three doors, as you might expect from the title, but the drawing will not be as straight forward as one would hope.

The plot is a lot more coherent, linear and less abstract than in The Gunslinger with a much faster pace, especially in the first part, when we meet Eddie. Obviously, is still contains a vast amount of strangeness and interesting characters.

There was one expect that was a letdown for me. It seems that King let himself fall for one of the most an annoying plot clichés that I can think of, besides love triangles, namely Instalove. I believe in Instalust but love at first sight makes me gag, especially in books where I do not expect this.

All in all, a worthy sequel and I am looking forward to the 3rd one.

Hey, I have a booktube channel (youtube for book reviews, etc.), and I include The Drawing of the Three in my Dark Tower Ranking list here. Please subscribe if I've earned it!

"...There's going to be shooting."
"There is?"
"Yes." The gunslinger looked serenely at Eddie. "Quite a lot of it, I think."

And so begins the coolest, most intense gun fight I've ever read.

Ever since I put down The Stand 300 pages in, I thought I'd never read another Stephen King novel. You could say I was even proud of the fact. Everyone seems to love King and I'm the only one who doesn't. I'm unique... I also don't like Katy Perry.

Well, then he had to go and write The Dark Tower series. The premise sounded way too interesting to pass by. The Gunslinger (my review) was decent. It was interesting and made me curious, but I still wasn't too impressed. I continued to believe I was a Stephen King Elitist (SKE).

After reading The Drawing of the Three, I can no longer deny it. I'm no longer an SKE. Sorry world, I'm not that cool anymore. I like Stephen King. The Drawing of the Three blew my mind. I still don't like Katy Perry though.

It's been a while since I've been this into a book. I had a hard time not ditching all my classes and just finishing the book. I wanted to spend every waking hour reading and that's a great feeling to have.

***Spoilers (for The Gunslinger only)***

The Drawing of the Three picks up right after The Gunslinger left off. Roland, the gunslinger himself, wakes up on a beach and almost immediately attacked by huge lobster-like creatures, lovingly called "lobstrosities". He loses two fingers and a toe and coupled with the fact that he's running out of food as well, this does not bode well.

Roland becomes very sick, but there's a reason he's the last gunslinger, he's the very definition of one of my favorite words - indefatigable. (Thought I was gonna go with another did you?)

Roland has been given some cryptic information (from the end of The Gunslinger) after finally catching up with "the man in black". He must now find the Prisoner, the Lady of Shadows, and the Pusher.

Luckily, it becomes apparent how this will work when the gunslinger finds a door in the middle of nowhere that also leads to nowhere, at least as far as he can tell without opening it.

***End Spoilers (for The Gunslinger)***

With The Drawing of the Three, we are also slowly given more information into the Gunslinger's mysterious past as he remembers the advice of his trainer. I always love these memories; many of which are filled with these kind of lines:
"Fault always lies in the same place...with him weak enough to lay blame."
I'm looking forward to finding out more about the Gunslinger's mysterious past.

As a final note, let me just say, Eddie Dean is awesome, Detta and Odetta are crazy/insane, and Jack, well, not much to say except read it. I will say no more.

Why Read The Drawing of the Three?

If you were a little dissatisfied with The Gunslinger, don't give up on The Dark Tower series yet. The Drawing of the Three takes everything up a notch (or 10). I couldn't have stopped reading even if I wanted to. It is an amazingly well-plotted, well-paced, and incredible book...and I no longer claim SKE status.

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Just remember:

"Fault always lies in the same place...with him weak enough to lay blame."