Timeline

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shakeyman

Member
Mar 28, 2017
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I am keen to read the dark tower series and related novels that include characters tge man in black and the crimson king. i have a couple of questions.

are the related works, like the stand and eyes for the dragon, all cannon?

is there a timeline of the related works? is the a best order to read them? id should the related books be read before DT, after it, or midway though the various DT volums?
 

Kingunlucky

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2016
368
1,681
I am keen to read the dark tower series and related novels that include characters tge man in black and the crimson king. i have a couple of questions.

are the related works, like the stand and eyes for the dragon, all cannon?

is there a timeline of the related works? is the a best order to read them? id should the related books be read before DT, after it, or midway though the various DT volums?

The Truth Inside The Lie: The Dark Tower: A Suggested Reading Order for the (Extended) Series
 

Bev Vincent

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,351
11,651
Texas
www.bevvincent.com
I am keen to read the dark tower series and related novels that include characters tge man in black and the crimson king. i have a couple of questions.

are the related works, like the stand and eyes for the dragon, all cannon?

is there a timeline of the related works? is the a best order to read them? id should the related books be read before DT, after it, or midway though the various DT volums?

I usually recommend reading them in publication order -- that way you can see the concepts develop in "real time." For example, there are Dark Tower concepts and characters that appear in Insomnia, Black House and "Low Men in Yellow Coats" before they show up in the series proper.

I would say that the related works are "cannon,"; however, Insomnia in particular is more important as a book, a physical entity, than any of the content is.
 

Philzilla

Well-Known Member
Mar 1, 2009
176
604
Here's an old cannon

cannon-009.jpg
 

Spideyman

Uber Member
Jul 10, 2006
46,336
195,472
79
Just north of Duma Key
I am keen to read the dark tower series and related novels that include characters tge man in black and the crimson king. i have a couple of questions.

are the related works, like the stand and eyes for the dragon, all cannon?

is there a timeline of the related works? is the a best order to read them? id should the related books be read before DT, after it, or midway though the various DT volums?
Hi and welcome.
Read in order to get the full enjoyment of the journey. Exception-- The Wind Through The Keyhole-- personal opinion, save it for reading after the original 7. It will give you a feeling of going back to a reunion of family and friends.

Reading the map is easy. Before you read any of the books listed, make sure you have finished the ones which point to it. This will make sure that you don't come across any spoilers and will understand references made to previous books. Start with The Gunslinger and work your way down the list following the arrows. The numbers do NOT specify the order that you should read the books. They are just there as reference points for the explanations below. ***** I deleted the explanations as they contain spoilers that would ruin the book storyline.



260y87q.jpg
 

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
Hi and welcome.
Read in order to get the full enjoyment of the journey. Exception-- The Wind Through The Keyhole-- personal opinion, save it for reading after the original 7. It will give you a feeling of going back to a reunion of family and friends.

Reading the map is easy. Before you read any of the books listed, make sure you have finished the ones which point to it. This will make sure that you don't come across any spoilers and will understand references made to previous books. Start with The Gunslinger and work your way down the list following the arrows. The numbers do NOT specify the order that you should read the books. They are just there as reference points for the explanations below. ***** I deleted the explanations as they contain spoilers that would ruin the book storyline.



260y87q.jpg

I can't remember how Wizard and Glass is tied to Skeleton Crew. :upset:
 

Doc Creed

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2015
17,221
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United States
I usually recommend reading them in publication order -- that way you can see the concepts develop in "real time." For example, there are Dark Tower concepts and characters that appear in Insomnia, Black House and "Low Men in Yellow Coats" before they show up in the series proper.

I would say that the related works are "cannon,"; however, Insomnia in particular is more important as a book, a physical entity, than any of the content is.
I like this explanation, Bev. Good point.
 

Spideyman

Uber Member
Jul 10, 2006
46,336
195,472
79
Just north of Duma Key
I can't remember how Wizard and Glass is tied to Skeleton Crew. :upset:
· The connection between Skeleton Crew and the Tower series has often been debated ever since King officially announced that the two are indeed connected.

Originally, my guess was the short story "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands." The number 19 factors in (slightly) to the story. However, the more concrete connection is that it takes place in the same club as in "The Breathing Method." The Club has an "infinite" feel to it. It has hundreds and hundreds of shelves of books; one book is titled Breakers. Also, Stevens, the butler, has been around for many years and has not aged at all. This is erriely similar to the "long-timers" mentioned in Insomnia. What made me doubt this connection is that Different Seasons, which contains "The Breathing Method," is not listed by King as an officially connected.

This is from the remainder of the article
 

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
· The connection between Skeleton Crew and the Tower series has often been debated ever since King officially announced that the two are indeed connected.

Originally, my guess was the short story "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands." The number 19 factors in (slightly) to the story. However, the more concrete connection is that it takes place in the same club as in "The Breathing Method." The Club has an "infinite" feel to it. It has hundreds and hundreds of shelves of books; one book is titled Breakers. Also, Stevens, the butler, has been around for many years and has not aged at all. This is erriely similar to the "long-timers" mentioned in Insomnia. What made me doubt this connection is that Different Seasons, which contains "The Breathing Method," is not listed by King as an officially connected.

This is from the remainder of the article

Hmmm. Seems a bit of a reach, but, I'll go with it.

(heh, I said 'Reach')
 

Spideyman

Uber Member
Jul 10, 2006
46,336
195,472
79
Just north of Duma Key
I don't, either. Is The Mist connected to it because of
the portal or thinny that the creatures came through?
Here is the entire SPOILER of connections ***** if you have not read the DT books, do not open. It helps explain ONLY for those who have read the DT journey.

· As constant readers know, 19 comes to play a critical role in the revised edition of The Gunslinger and the last three Tower books. Bag of Bones is the first novel in which King highlights the importance of 19. In it, the number often appears throughout the text and helps Mike Noonan solve the mystery of Sarah Laughs.
· At the end of Eyes of the Dragon, Dennis and Thomas are last seen following the trail of Flagg. In The Drawing of the Three, Roland remembers the fall of Gilead and briefly seeing a creature that called itself Flagg. "Hot on his heels had come two young men who looked desperate and yet grim, men named Dennis and Thomas" (II.41
cool1.gif
.
· At the end of The Wastelands Flagg rescues the Tick-Tock Man from Ludd.
· The connection between Skeleton Crew and the Tower series has often been debated ever since King officially announced that the two are indeed connected.

Originally, my guess was the short story "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands." The number 19 factors in (slightly) to the story. However, the more concrete connection is that it takes place in the same club as in "The Breathing Method." The Club has an "infinite" feel to it. It has hundreds and hundreds of shelves of books; one book is titled Breakers. Also, Stevens, the butler, has been around for many years and has not aged at all. This is erriely similar to the "long-timers" mentioned in Insomnia. What made me doubt this connection is that Different Seasons, which contains "The Breathing Method," is not listed by King as an officially connected.

Recently, we finally found out the answer (sort of). The connected story is "The Mist." Although how it connects is anyone's guess. I'm placing it next to Wizard and Glass and saying that they both contain thinnys.
· Wolves of the Calla tells the story of how Father Callahan found his way to the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis where he joins Roland's ka-tet.
· In Song of Susannah, Roland and Calvin Tower briefly discuss Roland's grandfather, Alaric Deschain.
"Of Alaric, aye," Roland said, "him of the red hair."
"I don't know anything about his hair, but I know why he
went to Garlan. Do you?"
"To slay a dragon."
"And did he?"
"No, he was too late. The last in that part of the world had
been slain by another king, one who was later murdered." (VI.197)

Roland is referring to the story of how King Roland of Delain slayed a dragon in Eyes of the Dragon before he was killed.
· Dinky Earnshaw from Everything's Eventual is a Breaker working for the Crimson King in The Dark Tower.
· These two books are mirror images of each other. Alter egos if you will. One can't be read without the other.
· It is one of many King novels which take place in Derry, Maine. There are lots of small connections as well. One of the larger ones is that the Turtle, the most important Beam Guardian, is mentioned quite often in It. Also, Stan says that "In this universe there might grow roses which sing," (p411) which alludes to the Rose in the vacant lot.
· Insomnia also takes place in Derry, Maine.
· While inside of the painting (which is really a doorway to another world), Rosie meets with Dorcas and Rose Madder. Dorcus says that she has seen "bodies on fire and heads by the hundreds poked onto poles along the streets of the City of Lud." Also, Rose Madder talks to her about ka.
· Both stories take place in the Desotoya Mountains. Also, the "doctor bugs" from Eluria speak the same language as Tak from Desperation.
· In Insomnia Ralph Roberts battles the Crimson King in order to save the life of Patrick Danville. In Hearts in Atlantis Ted Brautigan faces off against the Low Men - the Crimson King's henchmen. He also explains to Bobby about the Beams and Breakers.
· Black House is the sequel to The Talisman.
· During the palaver between Parkus, Jack, and Sophie in Black House, Parkus warns that they must be gone before nightfall so they can avoid the Little Sisters, who have built a tent nearby.
· A low man leaves the Buick 8 behind.
· Parkus explains to Jack about the Breakers, the Crimson King and his plan for destroying the Beams. These ideas were first written about in Hearts in Atlantis.
· Black House's information about the Beams, Breakers, and the Crimson King are further explained in Song of Susannah.
· This is the name King and Straub jokingly use to refer to the third book in Jack Sawyer's story. Straub has said that they have mapped out what happens to Jack in the third (and final) story, which takes place primarily in the Territories. However, there are no concrete plans for when (if) the book will be written.