The Dark Tower II

by Stephen King

English language

Published Dec. 27, 2016

ISBN:: 978-1-5011-6181-0

(170 reviews)

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.

16 editions

ghost with books 👻📚 reviewed The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #2)

The Beginning of the End

4 stars

Content warning Spoiler for prev book

In The Gunslinger, we witnessed the end of an era for Roland of Gilead:

He finally catches the Man in Black, the dark wizard the Gunslinger has pursued, alone, for what may have been an age. During that fateful confrontation, Roland learns that he will once again have companions on the path to the Tower. And so the time of the lone gunslinger comes to an end.

The Drawing of the Three picks up right where The Gunslinger left Roland:

On the beach, at the westernmost edge of the trail that brought him to the Man in Black. Things go badly for Roland right at the beginning of this book, and that sets the atmosphere for all the chapters to follow as Roland races against his impending death to collect the companions he will need if he is to make it to the Dark Tower.

Where The Gunslinger felt to me like a very long prologue, The Drawing of the Three feels like the first fully-realized book in the epic of The Dark Tower, and a fantastic start to a strange and dark journey to the Tower at the end of the path.

Schoenswetter reviewed Drei (Der dunkle Turm, #2) by Stephen King

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.

Bryan Fordham reviewed The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #2)

Review of 'The Drawing of the Three' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Much tighter plot than The Gunslinger.

The audiobook version is excellent

tivasyk reviewed The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #2)

Review of 'The Dark Tower II' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

closer to whar mr. king is best at, thus much more readable, imho, than the first part.

Lord of Candy reviewed The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #2)

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 …

JoeJoh reviewed The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #2)

Review of 'The Dark Tower II' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

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.

Rodolfo reviewed La chiamata dei tre by Stephen King

Review of 'La chiamata dei tre' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Non c'è niente da fare, nonostante sia un piccolo fan di SK devo dire che la serie della Torre Nera non mi piace e non mi appassiona.

jellybeyreads reviewed The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #2)

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 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.

chriskirk reviewed The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #2)

Review of 'The Dark Tower II' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

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.

Jesper Hauge reviewed The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #2)

Review of 'The Dark Tower II' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

2nd in Stephen Kings epic saga. It's starting to pick up and draw together, and I'm better entertained and moved than I was by #1. Recommended!

Terrance reviewed The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #2)

Review of 'The Drawing of the Three' on Goodreads

5 stars

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.