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The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three (1987)

Before reading: Yay! I'm excited to finally get back into The Dark Tower series! I read the first book back in May, so it has been quite a while. Especially with the recent news that Mike Flanagan is planning on making a series, I am ready to get more of these books under my belt. Let's get to it!

After reading: That was nice. I'm really enjoying reading The Dark Tower series and was happy to hop back into that world. I also found it to be a good transition from IT. This book was, of course, not as masterful as the previous read was, but it was familiar and beautifully written. I didn't feel like I was reading a dud after reading something so amazing. I think it also helped that it was a different genre. It is funny because the two books are so different, especially reading them back-to-back, but they are both so King. 

First and foremost, I was very pleased that the book included a recap. That was very much appreciated since, like I mentioned, it has been about eight months since I had read the first book. We got a few references in this book to other work. I believe this is the first time this has happened...and from what I know about the series, it definitely won't be the last. We got a reference to our pal Ginelli that we met in Thinner and then again in The Plant. I find this interesting because Thinner is a Bachman book and The Plant is an unfinished piece. Both of which are somewhat deep cuts and I can only assume that someone reading this novel when it came out, more than likely, hadn't read either of those two stories. We also got not one...but two (!) references to The Shining. Alas, not the book but the film. This is now the second time that we have a Kubrick's Shining reference in a King book. Interesting. Finally, we got an Eyes of the Dragon callback! I was very excited to see this considering I wasn't sure if it was ever going to be referenced in the series. Which leads me to...

We get a mention of Flagg from Eyes of the Dragon as well as The Man in Black, talking as if they are two people. Are they? I assumed they were the same. Do I know something Roland doesn't know? Or am I making a completely wrong assumption? Guess I'll find out. 

Overall, this was a great read. I have read many a DT series rankings and more often than not, Drawing of the Three is at the top. Personally, I found the first book to be better. However, I can see why people would be especially drawn to this one. As someone who loves the multiverse genre, I really enjoyed this story. Also, the reveal of The Pusher?! Chef's kiss. This was not only a fun story but also it was also skillfully crafted. We also got to meet Susannah who, based on a future book title, must be pretty important. The first book was a lot of build up and this one was just the same. According to King's afterword, we are getting closer to the tower, however. I, for one, am excited to continue on this journey. And good news! We only have four books between this one and the next, so hopefully it won't take another eight months...knock on wood. 

If you've read The Gunslinger and you haven't read this book...what are you doing?! Do you like torturing yourself? If you've never read either then, like I said last time, I can't recommend it...yet. It wouldn't be fair since I haven't read all of the books. But the hoards of DT fans out there in the universe definitely encourage it. 

Next up is a classic and one of my favorite movies...Misery.





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