Read The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King’s Epic Fantasy for Free Online

in the April/May 1987 issue of
Castle Rock: The Stephen King Newsletter,
and Donald M. Grant published the limited and limited-trade editions, illustrated by Phil Hale, shortly thereafter. King dedicated the book to Grant for taking a chance on the novels one by one.
    Like
The Gunslinger
,
The Drawing of the Three
was not copyedited prior to publication. It contains more mistakes than any other book in the series. Character names change from one page to the next, and several geographical details are wrong. King will subsequently use these errors as part of the story. Some will become cues that let readers know whether something is taking place in one version of reality or another. Many of them, though, are simply mistakes and no meaning should be read into them.
    The second book in the series opens on the beach by the Western Sea seven hours after the end of
The Gunslinger
and relates events that take place over about a month. During this period, Roland makes no forward progress toward the Dark Tower. He probably gets farther from it as he makes his way up the coastline.
    He is dealt a major setback within the first few pages. Though he has just slept for an unknown length of time after his palaver with the man in black, he is dead tired. He falls asleep on the beach. The incoming tide awakens him and, to his horror, he discovers that some of his limited supply of ammunition has gotten wet. He doesn’t know if any given bullet will work when needed.
    Worse, though, is the grievous injury delivered to him by a lobsterlikemonster that emerges from the ocean and clips off two fingers on his right hand and one of his big toes. Until now, it seemed as though Roland could accomplish his goal without any assistance. Losing a toe is inconvenient. Losing two fingers, though, is a crushing blow for a man who lives and dies by the gun. He also loses a boot to the lobstrosities, which will make walking to the Dark Tower difficult. However, none of that matters if he is poisoned by the infection that sets in afterward. His quest might have come to an end in those few moments of uncharacteristic inattention.
    One of the issues people had with
The Gunslinger
is that Roland is a loner, and not a very nice man. He is the kind of person who would sacrifice a young boy in the name of some abstract goal. He isn’t exactly hero material, and some readers found it difficult to spend time with him.
    All of that changes in this book. For the first time since the fall of Gilead, Roland assembles a
ka-tet
—a group of people bound together with a common goal. In the past, the members of his
ka-tet
, which included Cuthbert Allgood, Alain Johns and Jamie DeCurry, joined him willingly. On his quest for the Dark Tower, some force that wants him to succeed delivers his allies to him. He has no say in the selection process—nor do they. Roland essentially conscripts them into duty. Because of his injuries—and because
ka
demands it—he is forced to embrace these new companions. Without help, he will never make it to the Dark Tower. He needs them; therefore, they must come.
    At first glance, they seem like unlikely candidates: a heroin junkie and a woman who lost her legs after being pushed in front of a train and who suffers from multiple personality disorder. And yet Roland understands that these people can become gunslingers. The structure of the book parallels the man in black’s tarot reading, with sections named for each of the three cards/doors and interludes where the deck gets shuffled.
    In addition to expanding the cast, King also broadens the story’s scope. In
The Gunslinger
, Jake Chambers tells Roland about New York City. In
The Drawing of the Three
, Roland experiences that universe, both vicariously and in person, thanks to three magical doors that appear along the beach. They’re one-dimensional: visible from only one side. Their hinges aren’t connected to anything. Only Roland can open them and, when