The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, Book 2) (Paperback)

by Stephen King (Author) "The Drawing of the Three is the second volume of a long tale called The Dark Tower, a tale inspired by and to some degree..." (more)
Key Phrases: sallow thing, last gunslinger, cool turkey, Fat Johnny, Jack Mort, Eddie Dean (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Elaborating at great length on Robert Browning's cryptic narrative poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," the second volume of King's post-Armageddon epic fantasy presents the equally enigmatic quest of Roland, the world's last gunslinger, who moves through an apocalyptic wasteland toward the Dark Tower, "the linchpin that holds all of existence together." Although these minor but revealing books (which King began while still in college) are full of such adolescent portentousness, this is livelier than the first. Roland enters three lives in the alternate world of New York City: junkie and drug runner Eddie Dean, schizophrenic heiress Odetta Holmes and serial murder Jack Mort. If King tells us too little about Roland, he gives us too much about these misfits who are variously healed or punished exactly as expected. Typically, King is much better at the minutiae and sensations of a specific physical world, and several such bravura sequences (from an attack by mutant lobsters to a gun store robbery) are standouts amid the characteristic headlong storytelling. BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
King is a master at creating living, breathing, believable characters. -- Baltimore Sun

This quest is one of King's best...communicates on a genuine, human level...but rich in symbolism and allegory. -- Columbus Dispatch --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Signet; Revised edition (August 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451210859
• ISBN-13: 978-0451210852
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (219 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,857 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 2 in The Dark Tower Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it's getting better!, July 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, Book 2) (Paperback)

Wow, fantastic. if you've read "The Gunslinger" and then gave up, then i encourage you to read this, the second volume. It is SO much better than the first! With "The Gunslinger" you could tell it was written while King was still in college because it was pretty rough around the edges and (forgive me for saying this about a SK story), a little boring. But "The Drawing Of The Three", in which Roland must pass through three doorways to 1980's America, is riveting, fast-paced,emotional, and yes, humorous. Some parts where Roland is trying to get used to our world are very funny (the "tooter-fish popkin" incident springs to mind). The 450 pages just fly past, but it gives some indication of the epic saga that King is creating, since even at the end of Volume II, we are still near the start of the journey. I only hope that once Roland reaches his Dark Tower (if he ever does?), the tale doesn't fizz out. All in all, this book offers much more bang for your buck than The Gunslinger, because it's twice as long, written twice as good, and there's twice as much action :)

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Prisoner, The Lady of Shadows, and Death, June 10, 2004

By	"mulder_trustnoone" (Monson, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, Book 2) (Hardcover)

The Drawing of the Three is the second book in the Dark Tower saga, which is of course, the greatest series of books ever written. This volume introduces Eddie Dean, Odetta Holmes/Detta Walker, and Jack Mort.
Eddie Dean is a heroin junkie from the 1980's.
Odetta Holmes is a civil rights activist from the 1960's, and Detta Walker is her dark half.
Jack Mort is a serial killer from the 1970's.
The second stanza continues the tale of Roland, the last of the Gunslingers who continues his trek towards the Dark Tower. He happens upon three doors standing freely along the beach. The doors open onto three different times in "our" world, out of which, Roland draws his three...(sort of)
The tale itself is very well written, and the dialogue is far superior to the original text from the Dark Tower I. This is where the course of Roland's story really begins to take its shape. From the first paragraph, picking up six hours after Roland's palaver with the Man in Black, the book moves forward at an almost un-relenting pace. Anyone who likes to read period, will enjoy this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great improvement over the first one..., May 2, 2005

By	Evil_Mage_Ra (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, Book 2) (Paperback)

"The Drawing of the Three" focuses on Roland gathering his "ka-tet" (his party or fellowship if you will). He meets Eddie Dean, a junkie from the 80s, and Odetta Holmes, a civil rights activist from the 60s. Eddie Dean is a cool character, I loved him right away (when Allie and Jake died in the first one, I thought "Good, now Roland can get on with his quest", but when Eddie almost died in this one, I thought "Noooooo! Not Eddie Dean!"). Odetta Holmes isn't as cool, but she is interesting (she's a double-amputee with a split personality, one of whom is extremely dangerous--what's not to like about that?). Roland is as cool as ever; he's so Stoic and tough-as-nails. I couldn't help but crack a smile as he gave some Very Bad People what they deserved. This volume puts aside the ridiculous prose of the first book, and it seems a lot shorter than it is. Quite frankly, it's hard to put down. Highly recommended. I bought the third volume today, and I can't wait to see what happens.