Book Review: The Drawing of the Three

THE DRAWING OF THE THREE | Stephen King
(The Dark Tower #2)
05.03.2016 (first published May 1987) | Scribner
Rating: 4/5 stars

Warning: Potential series spoilers ahead

At the close of THE GUNSLINGER Roland Deschain learned his fate through a tarot card reading. He was told that he would encounter three individuals who would aid him in his quest to read The Dark Tower. Three mysterious doorways appear in Roland’s path forward along a deserted beach. Each door leads into the body of a different person living in New York City. These doors will lead him to Eddie Dean and Odetta Holmes, who will each change Roland’s life.

Having been told entering my journey to The Dark Tower that the first book was the slowest out of the lineup I was immediately expecting this book to sweep me off my feet. I wasn’t let down when I entered the first door with Roland and met Eddie Dean. Eddie is easily one of my favorite characters who I hope makes it through much more of my journey. He is the comic relief a reader needs to break up heavy subjects or fight scenes. The relationship between Roland and Eddie is also extremely entertaining to read about. You can feel that they each want to be independent and yet need each other greatly.

I loved the first half of this book and our meeting of Eddie, but things started to lull once we opened the second door. I thought that our introduction to Odetta was rushed and I would have enjoyed getting to know her a bit better off the bat in her world. King saved the story when Roland finally arrives at door three and the pace of the story picks back up. There is so much happening throughout the quest to the third door that at times I felt confused and a little bored, however, overall, I enjoyed the pace of this book minus the middle section.

My favorite part of THE DRAWING OF THE THREE is getting to learn what the heck that title actually means and the explanation of what Roland’s tarot reading meant. I think King used an extremely clever format to introduce new characters, as well as progress the story forward. I also finally started to understand a lot of the lingo that Roland uses throughout the book, which made me laugh over the parallel of this to Roland trying to understand modern English when he is in New York. I’ve already started with book three, THE WASTELANDS, and can assure anyone reading this that the story does continue to get better and better! I love where book two sets the stage for this epic journey!

As a side note, I plan to keep these reviews shorter than normal to avoid giving away too many spoilers about the progress of the series. If you’re a fan and want to talk spoilers, I’d love to chat!

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.