The Dark Tower
#2154.10 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 9 books Status Complete 1982–2012 Reading commitment High Stephen King Last reviewed 2026-09-27
Overview
Stephen King's The Dark Tower follows gunslinger Roland Deschain across Mid-World and beyond in a quest for the Dark Tower, the nexus of all realities: a dark fantasy-Western-horror-science-fiction hybrid widely regarded as King's magnum opus and the connective tissue of his wider fiction. The eight-book main sequence runs from The Gunslinger (1982) to The Dark Tower (2004), with The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012) set between the fourth and fifth books. The Eyes of the Dragon (1984), King's fairy-tale fantasy of the kingdom of Delain, belongs to the same world: Delain lies in In-World, its villain Flagg is the series' Randall Flagg, and The Drawing of the Three recalls the novel's Thomas and Dennis on his trail.
Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (9 works) counts toward ranking
The Dark Tower Stephen King
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Gunslinger | 1982 | 1 | core | 3.90 (681,305 ratings) |
 | The Drawing of the Three | 1987 | 2 | core | 4.24 (300,472 ratings) |
 | The Waste Lands | 1991 | 3 | core | 4.25 (255,790 ratings) |
 | Wizard and Glass | 1997 | 4 | core | 4.27 (227,497 ratings) |
 | Wolves of the Calla | 2003 | 5 | core | 4.20 (208,175 ratings) |
 | Song of Susannah | 2004 | 6 | core | 4.00 (181,365 ratings) |
 | The Dark Tower | 2004 | 7 | core | 4.29 (195,472 ratings) |
 | The Wind Through the Keyhole | 2012 | 4.5 | core | 4.13 (96,926 ratings) |
A dark fantasy/Western/horror/science-fiction blend, admitted as fantasy per critical/marketing consensus, the same transparency pattern applied to Dragonriders of Pern, The Book of the New Sun, and The Locked Tomb. The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012) is an interstitial 'Dark Tower IV.5' set between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla -- registered Core (not Expanded) since King himself numbers it as part of the 8-book main sequence, unlike ACOTAR's interstitial novella.
The Eyes of the Dragon (1984) core · 3.95 (142,243 ratings); Set in the kingdom of Delain, part of In-World, the same world as the Dark Tower novels; the villain Flagg is the Dark Tower series' Randall Flagg, and The Drawing of the Three recalls Thomas and Dennis pursuing him. Published as a standalone novel, first in a 1984 Philtrum Press limited edition and for the mass market by Viking in 1987.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Dark Tower? The Dark Tower's Core Canon is 9 books.
- What is the reading order for The Dark Tower? Publication order, starting with The Gunslinger. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Dark Tower finished? Complete (1982–2012).
- How much reading does The Dark Tower take? High reading commitment (estimated from 9 Core Canon books · ~5,145 pages).
- How is The Dark Tower ranked? #215 in this site's official ranking, based on 2,289,245 reader ratings across 9 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #215?
Ranked #215 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.10 across 9 core books.
- Backed by 2.3M reader ratings.
- 0.01 behind #214, The Winnowing Flame Trilogy.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 9 books · Complete · 2.3M ratings · Ranks #215 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running dark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (9 Core Canon books)
- The Gunslinger (1982)
- The Eyes of the Dragon (1984)
- The Drawing of the Three (1987)
- The Waste Lands (1991)
- Wizard and Glass (1997)
- Wolves of the Calla (2003)
- Song of Susannah (2004)
- The Dark Tower (2004)
- The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
Documented internal/story order: 8 of 9 Core Canon books
- The Gunslinger (1982)
- The Drawing of the Three (1987)
- The Waste Lands (1991)
- Wizard and Glass (1997)
- The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
- Wolves of the Calla (2003)
- Song of Susannah (2004)
- The Dark Tower (2004)
Internal chronology is documented for 8 of 9 Core Canon books; the remaining 1 are not yet mapped onto the same ordinal scale.
Awards (verified)
- British Fantasy Award (Best Novel (August Derleth Award)), 2005: won: The Dark Tower; Corroborated by two independent sfadb pages (author-specific and full-category); the awarding body's own site could not be reached to fetch this specific year directly.
- Bram Stoker Award (Best Novel (nominee)), 2004: nominated: The Dark Tower; Confirmed via thebramstokerawards.com's own nominee list for Stephen King.
- Bram Stoker Award (Best Novel (nominee)), 2003: nominated: Wolves of the Calla; Confirmed via thebramstokerawards.com.
- Bram Stoker Award (Best Novel (nominee)), 1991: nominated: The Waste Lands; Confirmed via thebramstokerawards.com.
- Locus Award (Fantasy Novel (reader poll)), 1988: finalist: The Drawing of the Three; 16th place in the 1988 Locus poll.
- Locus Award (Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel (reader poll)), 1992: finalist: The Waste Lands; 3rd place in the 1992 Locus poll.
- Locus Award (Fantasy Novel (reader poll)), 1998: finalist: Wizard and Glass; 4th place in the 1998 Locus poll.
- Locus Award (Fantasy Novel (reader poll)), 2005: finalist: Song of Susannah; 4th place in the 2005 Locus poll.
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Suggestions computed from what The Dark Tower and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Nightside / Secret Histories Urban fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.01
- The Witcher Dark fantasy / Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.16
- Black Jewels Dark fantasy / Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.15
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue / Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil Mythic fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.13
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.10 across 2,289,245 ratings on 9 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: The Dark Tower admitted as a single-author universe; genre-boundary case accepted 2026-08-07
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-27
Rule: Core Canon = the 8 main-sequence novels (including The Wind Through the Keyhole) plus The Eyes of the Dragon (1984), a same-world Core novel outside the main sequence, admitted 2026-09-27 under the one-world rule. Genre-boundary case: admitted as fantasy per critical and marketing consensus, with the boundary flagged. King's other Tower-connected novels (The Stand, Insomnia, Hearts in Atlantis, The Talisman and Black House) are set in other worlds of the Tower's multiverse and are not registered here.