The Drawing of the Three: The Dark Tower II

The biggest decision most people will have regarding the Dark Tower series is should they continue after the first book, The Gunslinger. While the first one is fairly marginal, if you read/listen to The Drawing of the Three you'll be in it 'till the Dark Tower.

This is a great story and the first of the series with the brilliant Frank Muller narrating. Books 2-5 are (by far) the best in this series, so enjoy. You probably won't have much to criticize until the last two books.

The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three continues where The Gunslinger leaves off, with Roland of Gilead on a beach along a western sea. Soon, he's fighting for his life and ultimately, the salvation of all worlds as he continues his push to the Dark Tower. He has been set upon a task to "draw" three people to his world for the purpose of joining him on his quest, if they don't kill him first.

It is in The Drawing of the Three that we first see the passageways between Roland's world and our world as Roland opens doorways into 1986 and 1964 New York to draw two new characters into the story. Jake, from The Gunslinger was also from New York of the 1970's but this is the first time that we see a direct doorway between worlds.

The Drawing of The Three is a book mainly of character introduction for the tale to follow, much of it presumably in the final three books. The books in the series are as follows:

The Gunslinger
The Drawing of the Three
The Waste Lands
Wizard and Glass
The Wolves of the Calla (November, 2003)
Song of Susannah (June 2004)
The Dark Tower (November 2004)

Before audible.com added The Dark Tower to its catalog, I had previously listened to the first four books on tape dozens of times. I literally had two replace two of the cassettes due to tape breakage! I am proud to say that I repurchased all 4 titles from audible.com and for the first time have heard the Frank Muller narration of The Drawing of the Three and look forward to The Waste Lands.

The audio book community suffered an incalculably high loss in November 2001 when Frank suffered serious injury in an accident. Prior to that time, Stephen King had all but made Frank the exclusive narrator for his newest works. To find out more about Frank and how you can help, search audible.com for Frank Muller and select the third link displayed.

Review continues with The Waste Lands...

First, the Dark Tower series is King's greatest. I have re-read the series as each new book comes out. It's incredible.

Second, Frank Muller is absolutely one of the best people to have read an audio book. He can do a complete cast of characters and make you feel like you're listening to a radio play. I have bought books simply because they are read by him.

Seeing these titles finally available made me glad I'm part of the Audible Listener program. The hardest part will be waiting another month to get the next two.

I just finished the entire Dark Tower series on audio and this book remains my clear favorite. An excellent effort by both SK and Frank Muller. This book had me laughing out loud many times. Roland is laughably out of place in the "real world" and it makes for some killer comedy. After literally forcing myself to finish book one (the Gunslinger), this book was a welcome treat. Without this fine performance I would have never stuck with it and finished the series.

I plan to walk away from the Dark Tower series as I'm pretty burned out on the whole thing right now. But in the future, if I ever listen to any of these seven books again, it would certainly be this one.

Think of it this way: This book is the payoff for gutting your way through book one. The light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. Cheers.

It?s 11/18 and I just finished "The Drawing of the Three." But I?m not due for another credit for another 3 weeks. I might just break down and spring for the $50 for "The Waste Lands" (And I'm a Tightwad).
The Dark Tower series has it all. For the badass "man with no name" in all of us, or the Froto Baggins in few of us, it is a MUST read/listen. King's book was so enthralling and Muller's narration made the story so vivid that when I listened it felt like I was watching a movie. This saga isn't a story, it's an experience that will leave you literally begging for more. If you haven't read or heard this (or "The Gunslinger"), it's worth every penny and then some.

This was well worth the effort it took to get through the first volume of the dark tower. I was on the edge of my seat and my commute became an anticipated event rather than a horror pushing me toward road rage. I can't wait to hear the wastelands (III)

This was the book that hooked me into the series. A very unique story, Sci-Fi and fantasy mix with a huge upgrade in narration. Muller takes a little while to get into it. The first six hours he tended to end his sentences weird. But once you get comfortable with his style, the voices he uses absorbs you into the book. This was an easy five star rating. I only wish all 7 books were like this.

If you continue on with the other books you will find that it doesn't last. You will lose Muller in book 5 through 7, an unfortunate accident ended his career. Even the stories seem to lose uniqueness and become drawn out. At least, though, you get some great books in the middle like this one.

I have read the entire series. This is the first time listening to it. This is probably my favorite in the series. I really disliked the reader of book 1, but heard great things about Frank Muller. I dislike his interpretation of Roland, however the rest of the characters are incredible. It is so hard to believe that it is one man reading all of the characters, including females. He has great talent.

So - I'm about five hours into this one and - well I don't think I'm going to make it all the way to the Dark Tower. (What is it, about 100 more hours to go?) I like the story okay - but the new yawk accent the narrator is using for the junkie guy is getting on my nerves.

I've had this reaction to Stephen King books before - little bored at first and usually I get sucked in and have to see how it turns out.

But with 5 more full books to go - I'm not making any promises.

The series "The Dark Tower" is an excellent series. For all the true blue king fans you may or may not like these books. For all the people who find King to be to dark you may find these books to your liking.

The story is about Roland and his quest for "the dark tower". There are many adventures, such as following the man in black, that fill Roland's time as he journeys to the dark tower. If you have not read the first book in the series, The Dark Tower, than you will be at a loss as the what is going on in this book. In true King fashion, you may not understand what is going on in the tale at any one given time but, like life, you will understand if you keep going.

The story of Roland and his companions is fascinating. These books are a must read!