The One True Definitive Dark Tower Reading Guide

May 5, 2025

I’m rereading Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, including the major works of the larger Dark Tower legendarium. My general preference when reading a series is publication order; but since I’ve already read most of these books, I decided to try coming up with a more narratively meaningful order. After considering what I remember of the books and how they fit together (I haven’t read most of these in twenty or thirty years), and consulting several online reading guides, I have determined what may or may not be one reasonable order in which to read them.

Inspirations

• “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”, Robert Browning
• “The Waste Land”, T.S. Eliot

Prologue

• The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982)
• The Stand
• The Eyes of the Dragon
• Salem’s Lot
• The Talisman, cowritten with Peter Straub

Resumption, Renewal, Redemption, Regard

• The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (2003)
• “The Little Sisters of Eluria” (Everything’s Eventual)
• The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three
• The Dark Tower: The Waste Lands
• The Dark Tower: Wizard and Glass

Interlude

• It
• Insomnia
• Hearts in Atlantis
• “Everything’s Eventual” (Everything’s Eventual)

Resistance, Reproduction, Revelation

• The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole
• The Dark Tower: Wolves of the Calla
• The Dark Tower: Song of Susannah
• Black House, cowritten with Peter Straub
• The Dark Tower: The Dark Tower

Additional Works

The “major” and “minor” designations are largely taken from The One True Dark Tower Reading List Order, which defines major works as ones that “either flesh out major plot elements (e.g. breakers) or the back-stories of important secondary Dark Tower characters” and minor works as ones that “explore themes or concepts shared with the Dark Tower world.”

This is probably not an exhaustive list of works with Dark Tower connections.

I’ve listed them here in order of publication.

Major Connections

• The Shining
• Doctor Sleep
• Firestarter
• The Mist (Skeleton Crew)
• Desperation
• The Regulators
• The Institute

Minor Connections

• Carrie
• “Night Surf” (Night Shift)
• “Jerusalem’s Lot” (Night Shift)
• “One for the Road” (Night Shift)
• The Breathing Method (Different Seasons)
• Christine
• “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut” (Skeleton Crew)
• “Reploids” (Dark Visions)
• The Langoliers (Four Past Midnight)
• The Library Policeman (Four Past Midnight)
• “Crouch End” (Nightmares & Dreamscapes)
• “Ten O’Clock People” (Nightmares & Dreamscapes)
• “Popsy” (Nightmares & Dreamscapes)
• Rose Madder
• Bag of Bones
• The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
• From a Buick 8
• Cell
• Lisey’s Story
• “N” (Just After Sunset)
• 11/22/63
• Ur (The Bazaar of Bad Dreams)

Guides Consulted

• The One True Dark Tower Reading List Order
• Dark Tower Universe (the document with the actual reading list from the above link)
• A Reading Guide to Stephen King’s Dark Tower Universe
• The Dark Tower: An Introductory Guide and Expanded Reading List