Climbing the Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three

SPOILERS BELOW

All right, now it feels like our quest is actually getting started. Having caught the man in black last time, our gunslinger learned what he must do to reach the tower. But he won't be doing it alone...


Obviously, a good many threads from the previous book are picked up on and continued. The first and most pertinent to the events here are Roland letting more of his humanity back in. His letting Jake fall to his death in the last book still haunts his mind and the situation in this book, him being left crippled and feverish after an attack by lobster monsters, force him to rely on his new allies more than he's comfortable. But more human, if only a little, Roland does become but the issue he had with Jake still hangs in his mind. If the choice comes between his allies or the Tower, will he choose the Tower again? This question seems to be at the crux of Roland's character and will only become more prominent as the quest continues. It also ties into the other primary motivator of Roland's character, that these aren't his first allies and that something bad happened to them on their way to the Tower. The man in black may or may not have been involved.

All this mystery about Roland's past plays into the world-building, which is again excellent. Helping in that regard is that King now defines Roland's world by comparison with our own. Yep, this is where the Dark Tower series begins it multiversal weirdness as Roland must bring his new allies over from our own world through magic doors along the beach. King gets some funny moments out of these comparisons, like one scene near the end of the book where Roland criticizes the combat effectiveness of some NYC beat cops, but it's mostly used to let us know things about Roland's world. Like how rare paper & sugar are considered there, how their medicine is more alchemy than science, and that society is a good deal more brutal. It's a very effective technique.

But King's real strength as a writer is in his characterization. We get away from Roland's singular viewpoint in this book, which gives King a chance to flex. It's kind of incredible how within only a few paragraphs, some carefully chosen word choices, and a few hints of backstory he can create a distinct and involving character. He doesn't have to lay everything out for the reader. He can sketch enough details out for us that we can fill in the rest until he decides to flesh the character out later and subvert what we thought. Especially impressive is the character of Susannah, a schizophrenic who is two (or three?) people in one character. And beside Eddie Dean as the requisite junkie, none of the characters fall into King's well-worn character cliches.

The Drawing of the Three was a marked improvement on The Gunslinger, taking something that was interesting but very rough and polishing up what worked. This book feels like the opening chapter to an epic quest. The ending even felt quite satisfactory. The only missed opportunity feels like Susannah's arc. King makes a big deal out of how they need to reconcile the two halves of her schizophrenic personality, and I understand that it was something that needed to be resolved by the end of the book, but the moment where it happens comes across anti-climatically. A little more focus on that moment would have given it greater impact.

But still, our quest has finally begun. Our heroes have been gathered, their roadblocks have been overcome, and they're on the way to the Tower. Let's hope our villain reappears next time to create some conflict.