Drawing of the Three, The by Stephen King

An interesting book, one which is almost completely devoted to introducing the characters (or most of the characters) that will be with Roland throughout his quest for the Dark Tower.

It is well-paced, and doesn't go as in-depth with the characters as some of his other books do. However, it does its job very well... which is to introduce the characters, give you some insight into them, foreshadow what they may be capable of (under the right circumstances), and begin the delicate task of weaving them together. It also does a pretty good job of explaining the concept of ka and making you wonder if coincidences really exist, or if it is all part of some master plan...

Do not rush through this book. There are details that will become relevant later in the story. I can't understand how King managed to keep his story so well-organized over a 33 year period of writing, while writing so many other books... sometime's it's hard to remember things that tie together between one book and another, even if you are reading them in succession, as I am. Oh, but the effort is very well worth it.

So far, though I'm a rabid fan of the four so-far released books in the Dark Tower series, The Drawing of the Three is perhaps my favorite yet, perhaps because it builds so steadily and cleverly introduces each new character in such a fashion that you (or rather, Roland) becomes them, for a little while. Further, the climactic "Roland in New York" sequence had me laughing, frightened, fascinated, and left exhausted when it was all done. It managed that tightrope act of "funny because it's strange" and "desperate situation requiring drastic measures."

Yes, it's the "introduce the other characters" book, but it also shows how they needed to change to become who they'd need to be in the later books, and did so in a intricately, well-paced, slambang way. And, other than the Gunslinger, arguably the most consistent, tonewise, in my opinion. Marvelous stuff

This book is well written and excellently paced. It describes things through metaphors very well, and I was so intrigued by it that I sped through it and the next 2 books. I can't wait for book 5 to come out!