When we last left Roland of Gilead, the last gunslinger in a world that has moved on, we found him at the end of his quest to "capture" the Man In Black (a man named Walter who was an associate of his father). Roland is now dealing directly with the outcome of that meeting and "Drawing" companions to aid his quest for the Dark Tower (seeking them out 'drawing' -- not taking a pen to paper).

For those who didn't get pulled in deeply with "The Gunslinger" - the first novel of Stephan King's Dark Tower saga - I believe King does his damnedest to make sure you are drawn into the world that Roland exsists in with this piece of literature and tries to make you stay there as long as possible.

In this novel, we come face to face with the fact that worlds and dimensions merge in the land which Roland lives. He seeks out three people that Walter specified at the end of "The Gunslinger" when he gave Roland a Tarot Card reading...

The Prisoner, The Lady of Shadows and Death... "But not for you, Gunslinger."

But before that begins, King throws us a huge twist with our protagonist... Taking away a very vital piece of his abilities and disabling him. I found this to be the biggest hook I have read of any novel that I've seen. The hero being struck down to a huge degree within the first 30 or so pages of a novel.

Of course, I don't want to give away plot details everywhere (and I believe I have already said too much) but I will say that Roland comes across 3 doors on a long trek up a desolate coast. Each one of these doors leads to some version of our world. New York of the 1980's, 70's and 60's....

I was spellbound by the challenges and the new characters that were introduced in this story. I literally couldn't put it down. I found that I couldn't have the follow up novel "the Wastelands" soon enough after all was said and done.

And the Tower is closer... A must read... but there is an order to things. Make sure you read "The Gunslinger" before you touch this book, or you will not grab a basic understanding of what is going on.

Recommended: Yes