The Drawing of the Three

The Drawing of the Three is the second book in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, and its action picks up directly after the conclusion of the first novel of the series, The Gunslinger. Inspired by Victorian-era poet Robert Browning’s epic poem “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came” (1855), the series describes the quest of the knight-like figure Roland Deschain and his companions to find the Dark Tower, believed to be the center of all creation. In his quest, Roland is often thwarted by the man in black, an antagonistic, mysterious figure. The Dark Tower series is set in a multiverse, a reality that contains many parallel worlds. Roland belongs to a world known as Mid-World, the only place from which one can directly enter the Dark Tower. Mid-World is a curious mixture of medieval and quasi-modern elements: Guns and ammunition exist, yet magic is real and machines are primitive. Roland speaks in a dialect that differs from modern English; even the meanings of words are different. Implicitly, Mid-World was once a prosperous and fertile land but is now in a postapocalyptic stage. The gunslingers, or protectors of the law, have died out, and Roland is the last one remaining. Gunslingers were rigorously trained in arms from age six to pursue their higher purpose of keeping the world from collapsing.

In The Gunslinger, Roland has spent decades unsuccessfully chasing the man in black across an unending desert. The man in black may hold important information about the Dark Tower, the place that can revive Roland’s fading world. On a waystation, Roland meets Jake Chambers, a 12-year-old boy from the readers’ world who has drifted into Mid-World after an unnatural death. Jake becomes Roland’s companion as they continue their journey, encountering and overcoming obstacles and dangers. At the end of the book, Roland finally meets the man in black, who offers to provide Roland vital clues to get to the Dark Tower, but there’s a catch: At that moment, young Jake is hanging at the edge of an abyss. The Man in Black can either read Roland’s fortune or rescue Jake. Roland chooses the clues, and Jake falls to his second death. The man in black draws three cards, indicating three people who will be vital in the quest for the Tower. The recruitment of this trio is the main plotline of The Drawing of the Three.

While it’s helpful to know the story of The Gunslinger before reading The Drawing of the Three, the latter can also be read as a stand-alone adventure story. Its tone is markedly different from the meditative first novel of the series, and it contains many action-packed scenes, new characters, and vivid descriptions that are immersive on their own. Context clues and references strewn throughout the text provide much of the backstory. Thematic concerns that link the first two books of The Dark Tower series are the quest for redemption, The Relationship Between Destiny and Free Will, and the choice between love and duty. At the end of the first book, Roland has chosen duty over love in sacrificing Jake, leaving him in a spiritual stasis. In the second book, Jake gets a chance at redemption. The Drawing of the Three is an important book in the context of the overall series because it establishes the central trio of Roland, Eddie, and Susannah and because it revives Jake, who will be an important character going forward.