The Drawing of the Three is a dark fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the second book in The Dark Tower series, published by Grant in 1987. The series was inspired by Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came by Robert Browning. The story is a continuation of The Gunslinger and follows Roland of Gilead and his quest towards the Dark Tower. The subtitle of this novel is RENEWAL.
Review of 'Drei (Der dunkle Turm, #2)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Der Beginn des Buches flasht schon gewaltig. Eine solche Story hatte ich bis dato noch nie gelesen. Nach der Hälfte nimmt die Spannung aber ab. Trotzdem ist der Level noch hoch genug, um auch den dritten Band anzufangen.
Review of 'The Drawing of the Three' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Wow. Roland's journey goes on. He's aged but not seemingly aged. Like well worn leather his creases grow deeper but his substance is the same. This book took on such a jagged set of differences than the beginning work. The drawing of the three, doors into our times scattered within a few decades of each other. Is this the man in black's doing, why are there doors, why the quests within each and without.
I can't give this away because to say much is to say enough. All in all, lobstrosities or honkey mafahs, you're in for a ride of rides. Just don't touch the third rail and fry out before the end because it is an insane adventure of backstories and futures yet to be told all to bring Roland something he needs but doesn't know, more sacrifices for the tower? So much still unknown but all will be …
Wow. Roland's journey goes on. He's aged but not seemingly aged. Like well worn leather his creases grow deeper but his substance is the same. This book took on such a jagged set of differences than the beginning work. The drawing of the three, doors into our times scattered within a few decades of each other. Is this the man in black's doing, why are there doors, why the quests within each and without.
I can't give this away because to say much is to say enough. All in all, lobstrosities or honkey mafahs, you're in for a ride of rides. Just don't touch the third rail and fry out before the end because it is an insane adventure of backstories and futures yet to be told all to bring Roland something he needs but doesn't know, more sacrifices for the tower? So much still unknown but all will be told in time.
The language, settings, ponderances may not be for everyone but I think if you can stay in the boat, paddle when necessary, you'll find that the experience was worth it.
I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I've never read the entire Dark Tower series. I've never been much of a King fan, but in a way, it's his Ulysses (a case might be made for The Stand as his Magnum Opus, but I'll get there eventually).
The release cycle is what put me off. I've read a few fantasy series before, but always after they were complete. I don't like waiting. And that's a fault of my mine I'm willing to claim as my own. Having now gotten to book 2, I have to say: so far, I like it.
That's not to say I love it. It's more than tolerate, and less than love. For now, the Dark Tower series is something I will continue with. I'm also going to read some of the "attached works" in conjunction. Some I've read before (Insomnia, Desperation, The Regulators, The Talisman) Others …
I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I've never read the entire Dark Tower series. I've never been much of a King fan, but in a way, it's his Ulysses (a case might be made for The Stand as his Magnum Opus, but I'll get there eventually).
The release cycle is what put me off. I've read a few fantasy series before, but always after they were complete. I don't like waiting. And that's a fault of my mine I'm willing to claim as my own. Having now gotten to book 2, I have to say: so far, I like it.
That's not to say I love it. It's more than tolerate, and less than love. For now, the Dark Tower series is something I will continue with. I'm also going to read some of the "attached works" in conjunction. Some I've read before (Insomnia, Desperation, The Regulators, The Talisman) Others I haven't (The Stand, The Shining, Black House, etc.) I'm going to reread even the ones I've read since it's been so long. In a way, I will get the best of it, because all of the connections will be made apparent and I'll have them all at once rather than piecemeal. I have yet to decide whether I will read book 4.5 (The Wind in the Keyhole) before book 4 or after book 7, since it was released after book 7. Time will tell.
The only thing I find daunting about this task is The Stand, which is huge, and while I do not shy away from large books (I have read Infinite Jest, for example), I don't know if King's narrative power is enough to push me through the whole book. I'll find out when I get there.
Review of 'The Drawing of the Three' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this a lot and flew though it, but I think its predecessor, The Gunslinger, is a better book. Stylistically it's very different from The Gunslinger, which is bleak and sparse; this one is much more action-packed and abandons the slow moving "western" feel of The Gunslinger. It's not bad, but it's different, and frankly I'm a little sad it changed because The Gunslinger felt special.
I was not thrilled with Detta/Odetta. It's nice that one of Team Roland is a woman but it's not nice when "woman" is code for crazy/unpredictable/irrational, which is this character in a nutshell; as if to ensure she stays in her place, she's confined to a wheelchair and babysat by 2 conspicuously not crazy men for the length of the book. Plus her compulsive masturbation is not sexy, interesting, relevant, or shocking; I'm all for healthy expressions of female sexuality in …
3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this a lot and flew though it, but I think its predecessor, The Gunslinger, is a better book. Stylistically it's very different from The Gunslinger, which is bleak and sparse; this one is much more action-packed and abandons the slow moving "western" feel of The Gunslinger. It's not bad, but it's different, and frankly I'm a little sad it changed because The Gunslinger felt special.
I was not thrilled with Detta/Odetta. It's nice that one of Team Roland is a woman but it's not nice when "woman" is code for crazy/unpredictable/irrational, which is this character in a nutshell; as if to ensure she stays in her place, she's confined to a wheelchair and babysat by 2 conspicuously not crazy men for the length of the book. Plus her compulsive masturbation is not sexy, interesting, relevant, or shocking; I'm all for healthy expressions of female sexuality in literature but this was just another check in the "crazy lady" column. A big event at the end of the book suggests that her character changes pretty significantly in the next installment. In this book the heroin addict cleans up and becomes useful to the mission; I'm hopeful that she stabilizes and becomes useful to the mission.
However I was sufficiently engaged in the story--I still care about Roland's quest, and I liked Eddie Dean's and Jack Mort's stories--that I want to give the next one in the series a try.
Baffling and boring. The plot becomes mired in second-by-second storytelling that gets nowhere at a dreadfully slow pace. Cryptic plot points and confusing world rules. King's self-described magnus opus has a bitter mediocrity.
A wonderful sequel to The Gunslinger that draws us deeper into both Roland's character and world as well as introducing two interesting new characters. While The Gunsslinger can be seen as a brief introduction that promises much in terms of story, The Drawing of the Three delivers on those promises with some fascinating glimpses into what Roland's quest for the Dark Tower actually means. Highly recommended.