Am i the only one that really enjoyed the gunslinger? I thought it was a perfectly good entry to the world and roland as a character

I would include The Talisman and Black House as well.

Talisman, Black House and the short story Little Sisters of Eluria

The Stand is a must read

It seems that everyone talking about the dark tower series forgets about "the little sisters of Eluria" which is set before the gunslinger.

Bonus quest: watch "Storm of the Century". The antagonist, André Linoge, seems eerily similar to the Man in Black. And since he goes by many names (Walter O'Dim, Randall Flagg, etc.) I could see Linoge being another one of his aliases.

Thank you for a logical reading order that isn’t laden with spoilers!

I feel like the more King you've read the better experience you'll have with DT. You should definitely have read It. Also, I hated Gunslinger on the first read, my wife said I threw it across the room but KEEP GOING! It's so worth it.

This is a really good video. I made it to Wolves of Calla years ago and this makes me want to start again and reread the stand as well. Keep up the great work!

U forgot a few lol. This is my time to shine - the talisman + black houss but mainly black house after book 6. It tells of the territories in mid world + the destruction of the big combination. Black house also explains why crimson king was so weak in book 7. - IT: uh Hello?? Maturin? Guardian of the Beam??? Pennywise possibly a twinner of Dandelo??? I would read this book anytime after book 3 and before book 7. - if youre gonna include low men in yellow coats u gotta include Everythings eventual starring Dinky earnshaw. I would even consider reading UR bc its another low men story - (SPOILERRRRR) another one would be Gwendys button box trilogy which takes place after the epilogue of book 7. Or at least the 3rd one does. The first 2 are loosely connected but the third Gwendy book i consider highly essential because it further explains what Tet Corporation does and apparently the “crimson king is dead”????? Its wild and cool. Thank you. To anyone who felt they got spoiled i did put a warning - regulators/desperation: entirely optional lol. Maybe even a lower tier than optional but these books introduce the language of the dead, regulators, and alternate worlds! I think the regulators that work for Tak are like rogue low men who went “off the beam”. Or at least thats my theory

I liked that you found the hints in other books like The Eyes of the Dragon. I would put Wind earlier. It's a nice way to finish, but it also worked well into the natural progression as well.

Would definitely add "It" to the list;

The disclaimer having the list is great.

For continuity I would go with Wind Through The Key Hole after Wizard and Glass

I have read all these books and his order is perfect. I think I am going to re read in this order.

So... if I simply read all SK books in publication order I'll be fine I guess.

Great video! Subscribed

I just watched the dark tower . I’m guessing a lot of the book readers hated it based on reviews . Haven’t read any books in a long time and have been wanting to jump into a new universe and binge ! Thanks for the video

Always do keyhole and little sisters of eluria after I finish. Helps with the come down

Great list! I agree with it!

Actually I would read Eyes of the Dragon as a mandatory during the Dark Tower Saga, specifically reading it between the Gunslinger and the Drawing of The Three. It is in fact a short read, you get a good idea of the history and ruthlessness of the Man in Black, and a couple of other characters are briefly noted in the Drawing of the 3. It’s not important who those mentioned characters are, unless you’re a stickler for satisfying both major AND minor curiosities, but it is an amusing little easter egg that King put in there. And Oh good. I read The (unabridged version, geez) Stand years ago and barely picked up the Dark Tower a couple months ago so I’m already right on track.

The only recommendation I would add is Everything's Eventual. First off, The Little Sisters of Eluria is a good read. Its a good little story that has Roland in it. Second, the titular story (Everything's Eventual) also incorporates Dinky Earnshaw. 😊

Love the books!

I enjoy this about his writing. In the institute I linked a character to doctor sleep. For me that was fun

I caught some on the comics about 15 years ago.. top notch

Finally a DT reading list that isn’t over the top! I first journeyed to the tower having read Salem’s Lot and a few other connected books, but that was it. I read the series straight through. Afterward I read The Stand, IT, Eyes of The Dragon, etc. basically every related book you can imagine. Then I started my journey a second time, and plugged a couple books into that second reading. (Salem’s Lot before book 5. Insomnia before book 7, etc.) To me that was the most fulfilling way. Finishing the series and THEN hunting for connections is the fun part! And DT veterans forget that, I think.

Agreed and It should be up there aswell But Insomnia and Hearts in Atlantis are imo more important than Salems Lot

In wizards and glass, the fourth book they are in a future version of the world described in the stand they see newspaper clippings, talking about captain trips, the disease from the stand, but Eddie in the book would’ve lived the same time as that but he didn’t know anything about the Epidemic. That was pretty cool as an Easter egg but it’s confusing as far as if there’s a multi universe or this is our world there in just far in the future..

I love the dark tower I love Stephen king I read the Stand when I was in 7th grade my absolute favorite book Flagg is my absolute favorite character there is a vibe to him that I love he has a presence that makes me feel so many emotions reading him most of all uncomfortable but I then read his Mr Mercedes series and then jumped into the dark tower absolutely loved every moment of it (esp book 4)

The Little Sisters of Eluria and Everything's Eventual.

I’m new to the king universes and read 3 books and seen dick hallorann in 2 of them how many books is he in

Excellent video! I would also suggest King's novel, From a Buick 8, which has loose ties to The Dark Tower universe.

The Stand is a must-read, regardless of the Dark Tower.

You missed at least 1 book.. the gwendy trilogy. I say one book as the combined Audiobooks only have about 12-13hrs between the 3.

I feel like IT is important as well because of reasons I won’t say to avoid spoilers but if you know you know.

Not to read through, but to have ready: the dark tower concordance

Other KZfaqrs have added desperation and regulators but all put them in different orders. If you had to include where would you put them?

No mention of The Talisman?

eh what parts of salem's lot are in the dark tower i don't remember

I was going to ask, where exactly does The Talisman and Black House fit in, if at all?

UR and the Little Sisters of eluria should be added too.

Wait, no Eyes of the Dragon? I thought that one was essential

Damn it, I'll have to read these books before I die to escape eternal damnation now. Shouldn't have clicked on random videos. I'll subscribe just in case I missed something.

Not 19?

I kinda heard the best way was to read Stephen King books to get into the dark tower series was to read in release order.

It's all over the place, man. Plus not including the Talisman and Black House but hafta read The Stand AS part of the Dark Tower Series. And not including Wind in the Keyhole. It's unnecessary hurdle. It's not even a trade. All those books deserve their place. It's like saying we HAVE to watch Jack Reacher and Collateral to complete MI Series or we're not doing it right. You MUST watch them because they're good films. But you're not shorting yourself if you watch only the MI movies first. Apples 🍎 and Oranges 🍊.

You forgot the talisman and the black house,

Honestly I wish I had access to the Dark Tower series to read again. I started reading "The Gunslinger" when I was a kid, and spent the last half of my teens and the first half of my 20s checking with every bookstore I found to see if the next book had been released. Unfortunately, over the course of a dozen moves, as many years, and thousands of miles I lost my books. I would happily buy the set again, except that Im a useless cripple and cant work and therefore have no money. oh well.

The Stand is non essential? Hope you have a family photo you can stare at for a while because you have clearly forgotten the face of your father.

Ah man - wizard and glass. The flashback is a longggg struggle. I still haven’t finished that book

I am reading DT for the first time and am on "Wolves of the Calla"--which I am really liking. I thought "Wizard and Glass" was pretty much a waste of 700 pages!

I wouldn't recommend reading "The Stand" first. That's goofy. We don't really get confirmation that RF is a main villain until the fourth DT book. I recommend these books DT 1 through 4, DT 4.5, the DT 5 through 7. That's it. Everything else is window dressing.

Dark Tower was boring, jumbled, and just a plain awful mess of a fantasy series for me. I'm shocked people are still reading it today and consider it good, but need to remember different people have different views. I'm glad for Stephen King that there are people who like it, but it was a giant flop for me... I really wish I would have called it a DNF on this series and saved myself that time for other books.