ByDanielD
The Dark Tower series is Stephen King’s magnum opus, drawing characters and themes from many of his other works together into the strange and wonderful land of Mid-World. But while it’s certainly possible to enjoy all 7 Dark Tower books without reading any other Stephen King, to get the full experience — and understand all the myriad references and call-backs — there are a number of other novels that could be considered “required”.
It’s a complex question, however, as while there are a ton of different books that tie in to the Dark Tower series, their overall relevance varies greatly. In this article, we’ll discuss every book that relates to the Dark Tower, and make some clear recommendations on which ones are truly necessary to get the full story. First, though, let’s get right to the point — here’s our recommended reading order for Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series:
Legend:
With that done, let’s get into the idea behind this reading order! This will be as spoiler-free an overview as possible, while still letting you make an informed decision about which books you want to read or skip.
Of these three, only The Stand is truly integral to the Dark Tower experience — and it’s still a pretty long book. That said, the unabridged version is the best way to experience it, and The Stand not only contains a version of Earth relevant to The Dark Tower, it also heavily features Flagg, the Man in Black.
IT (the book, not the Man in Black) is less important overall, though there is one minor character that you’ll understand better after reading it. Some of the broader cosmic concepts also tie IT to the Dark Tower series. IT is a fantastic book, and in this author’s opinion one of King’s best works, but it’s another long one and you won’t miss much by skipping
Eyes of the Dragon is more debatable — it features the Man in Black, but in a way where it feels more like a legend or mythical retelling of part of his past, rather than actual canonical events. It’s also a fantasy book rather than horror, and so is a rather divisive book in King’s lexicon. I’d argue you can pretty easily skip this one as well if you prefer.
After reading The Stand, you should dive right into the actual Dark Tower books, and keep going until you finish book IV, Wizard and Glass. Without giving too much away, suffice to say that the fourth book feels like a logical place to take a break from the main series, and the following books in our reading order directly relate to books V-VII.
However, you could stick Little Sisters of Eluria before (or after) Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger. Chronologically, it takes place before the events of The Gunslinger… but it feels kinda wrong to start the Dark Tower without its classic opening line being your introduction to the series, so after is probably better (though personally, I couldn’t wait to continue the main story after reading Book I).
If you’re hungry for more Dark Tower proper after finishing book IV, there’s nothing wrong with reading The Wind Through the Keyhole now, as it takes place between books IV and V. The idea with leaving it until later is to let it serve as a nice, low stakes reintroduction to Roland’s world, but it’s fine to read it right after book IV.
Arguably, Insomnia, Low Men, and Everything’s Eventual are all required reading, as they introduce characters that are important to the plot of the second half of the Dark Tower series. However, the way the Dark Tower books are written, knowing these characters beforehand isn’t particularly important — but it’s more fun when they show up.
By contrast, Salem’s Lot is one you definitely don’t want to skip. A character from that book spends a decent chunk of Dark Tower V talking about what happened to them after the events of Salem’s Lot, and it’s way, way more interesting if you already know and care about the character in question. Because of this, whatever you choose to do with Insomnia, Low Men, and Everything’s Eventual, you should read Salem’s Lot last, right before you read The Wind Through the Keyhole (or Wolves of the Calla).
Dark Tower IV.5: The Wind Through the Keyhole is the one main-series book that you could skip if you really wanted too, as it has almost no bearing on the plot of the series. If you enjoyed the characters in book IV, however, you’ll see some of them again, and it does once again feature the Man in Black — readers hungry for more information on the mysterious Flagg will want to read The Wind Through the Keyhole eventually. Thematically, it serves as an excellent bridge between the two halves of the series, and chronologically, it’s right after book IV, so for the full experience, it’s best to read it before Wolves of the Calla.
Otherwise, enjoy my personal favorite, Wolves of the Calla, and then move on to book VI!
Both of these books are skippable, as they don’t relate too directly to the plot of the Dark Tower series. It’s also the case that reading both is a decent investment of time — while they aren’t as massive as some of SK’s works, they’re a combined 1,271 pages. However, the main antagonist of the Dark Tower books is also behind the events in Black House, and so skipping it isn’t recommended… and Black House is a sequel to The Talisman, albeit one that you could probably read and enjoy without having read The Talisman first.
The books are placed here because Black House takes place in between Dark Tower VI and VII, but you could also read Black House, or The Talisman and Black House, during the long break between Dark Tower IV and V as well if you prefer.
All that said, if you aren’t a fast reader (or simply don’t have a ton of time to spare) you may wan to leave these for after you finish the Dark Tower, so as to not spend too long away from Roland and friends.
Next up is the final Dark Tower book, confusingly titled “The Dark Tower”. Once you’ve finished it, you should read Little Sisters of Eluria if you skipped it and want more Roland — the reason it isn’t recommended earlier is that it doesn’t feel like there’s a good spot for it that wouldn’t break up the flow of the main series, but as mentioned above, you can 100% read it just before or just after The Gunslinger if you like.
After that, the Marvel series of Dark Tower comics cover many of the key events in Roland’s tale before he sets out for the Dark Tower; they also include stories about each other member of Roland’s ka-tet before entering Mid-World. One of the volumes is simply a retelling of The Gunslinger and Little Sisters, albeit with more details. While they weren’t my favorite comics ever, it’s still Dark Tower content, and given that we won’t get more until the TV series comes out, something is better than nothing!
WARNING: This section contains major spoilers for The Dark Tower series
The following books contain elements referenced in The Dark Tower series, but things that are more like easter eggs than important info:
We hope this reading order discussion was helpful, and that you enjoy your journey to the Dark Tower. If you have any questions, suggestions, or thoughts on this article, please let us know in the comments below!
Welcome to Beyond Hogwarts!
Beyond Hogwarts is a site primarily about the Wizarding World, including the Harry Potter franchise and Fantastic Beasts but also covers a wide variety of other series including The Lord of the Rings.
You can also find news, editorials, features, list, and reviews for other movies, TV shows, and books!
Our Communities
