The Dark Tower

The Dark Tower by Stephen King is the climactic conclusion to his epic Dark Tower series, blending fantasy, horror, science fiction, and Western genres. The novel, like the series as a whole, follows protagonist Roland Deschain on his relentless quest to reach the Dark Tower and save the interconnected multiverse from collapsing. The book was part of the inspiration for the 2017 film The Dark Tower, as well as a planned television series based on the Dark Tower mythology. The last installment in the series explores themes of Fate, Free Will, and the Cycle of Life, The Duality of the Cosmos, and The Role of the Creator.

This guide is based on the 2017 Holder & Stoughton edition of The Dark Tower.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of addiction, substance use, death, death by suicide, mental illness, child abuse, animal death, sexual content, and rape.

Plot Summary

The novel opens with Roland Deschain and his ka-tet, a group to which he is bound by fate: Eddie Dean, a man from 1980s New York; Susannah Dean, a woman from 1960s New York with dissociative identity disorder whose two distinct personalities have merged into the singular identity of “Susannah”; Jake Chambers, a boy from 1970s New York; and Oy, a billy-bumbler (an intelligent, dog-like species native to Mid-World). Roland himself is the last of the gunslingers, a knight-like order committed to defending the world from evil. Together, the group is journeying toward the Dark Tower.

The story picks up with Roland and Eddie in Maine 1999. Susannah, possessed by a demon-mother persona named Mia, escapes to deliver her baby, Mordred. The baby, Susannah learns, has two fathers: Roland and the Crimson King. Susannah travels through a door into Fedic, a location in Mid-World, with the help of Black Thirteen, a magical wizard glass orb. There, she enters the Dixie Pig, a stronghold of vampires and taheen (humanoid-animal creatures loyal to the Crimson King). Meanwhile, Jake, Oy, and Father Donald Callahan (a character from ‘Salem’s Lot who traveled between worlds by means of a door) follow Susannah to the Dixie Pig via another portal. They confront a large number of enemies, including vampires, bugs (insect-like creatures), and low men (humanoid creatures). Father Callahan sacrifices himself in a standoff to allow Jake and Oy to advance. Callahan dies by suicide after killing many vampires and taheen, unwilling to be turned into a vampire. Jake and Oy escape through the labyrinthine hallways beneath the Dixie Pig, navigating the traps as they are pursued by the Crimson King’s minions.

Meanwhile, Mordred is revealed to be a spider-like creature who can shape-shift into a boy. He kills Mia immediately after birth, consuming her essence. Mordred, part-human and part-demonic, possesses great power and is destined to oppose Roland. Susannah takes advantage of the chaotic moment to escape. She shoots Mordred but only wounds him as he scuttles away into the shadows. Susannah searches for the magic doors that will reunite her with the ka-tet. Through psychic projections, she is able to give a password to Eddie, Roland, and Jake, allowing the ka-tet to reunite.

The ka-tet regroups and proceeds through the barren lands of Thunderclap, heading for a settlement called Devar-Toi, where the remaining Breakers—psychics abducted from different worlds—are being forced to use their powers to weaken the Beams that support the Tower. Roland’s group must stop the Breakers to prevent the collapse of the Tower. The Breakers are kept in a facility that resembles a small American town and that is designed to provide them with a comfortable life. Three of the psychics, however, have rebelled against the system: Ted, Dinky, and Stanley meet the ka-tet and offer their help. In the meeting, Ted explains his complicated history. Roland also discovers that Stanley is his old friend, Sheemie, who has the power to teleport. This makes him very powerful, as he can create magic doors.

The ka-tet learns that while the Breakers are threatening one of the two remaining Beams, another is being held together by Stephen King. However, King has stopped writing his Dark Tower books, much to Roland’s dismay. Roland decides that they should first free the Breakers; then, with Stanley’s help, they will travel to King’s world and prevent an assault on his life by the Crimson King. During the battle at Devar-Toi, Eddie Dean is fatally wounded, but Roland kills Pimli Prentiss, the facility’s warden, and the remaining guards. Susannah stays behind to mourn Eddie while Roland, Jake, and Oy travel to King’s world to save him.

In another tragic loss, Jake is killed while saving Stephen King. Roland is filled with regret; he was willing to abandon his quest to save Jake’s life. He buries Jake and, with the help of a woman named Mrs. Tassenbaum, travels to New York. There, he visits the Tet Corporation, set up by himself and Eddie to combat the Crimson King’s corporate minions. The Tet Corporation welcomes Roland and helps him on his journey. He parts from Mrs. Tassenbaum and, alongside Oy, returns to Mid-World to reunite with Susannah in Fedic. He tells her what happened, and they continue on their quest with heavy hearts. Mordred, growing rapidly and in mental anguish, stalks the group. He begins to develop a deadly illness and becomes increasingly desperate.

Roland, Susannah, and Oy travel through the catacombs beneath Fedic. They escape from a monster and then travel through the desolate cold beyond. Mordred follows them, increasingly consumed by hate for Roland. Roland, Susannah, and Oy pass through the lands destroyed by the Crimson King. They learn that the Crimson King has gone to the Tower and died by suicide. Now undead, he is trapped on a balcony of the Tower while he waits for Roland.

After passing through the cold wastelands and hunting deer for meat and clothing, Roland and Susannah come across a village and meet a character named Joe Collins, who is later revealed to be Dandelo, a psychic vampire who feeds on emotions, especially fear and laughter. He paralyzes Roland with laughter, nearly killing him, but Susannah manages to defeat Dandelo with King’s intervention. In Dandelo’s basement, Susannah and Roland find a half-starved young man named Patrick Danville, whom Dandelo imprisoned and manipulated. Patrick, an artist who cannot speak and has supernatural drawing abilities, joins the group.

As Roland, Susannah, Oy, and Patrick continue their journey, Susannah becomes disillusioned and increasingly detached from the quest. She dreams of Eddie and Jake and realizes that Patrick can draw a magical door that will allow her to leave Mid-World permanently. Susannah is convinced that she must not see the Tower for herself—otherwise, she will not be able to leave it. She bids an emotional farewell to Roland, who continues with Patrick and Oy. She passes through the door and enters an alternate New York, where she meets versions of Eddie and Jake who never joined the quest. She senses a feeling of familiarity and hope in this new life.

Roland and Patrick continue alone to the foot of the Dark Tower, where they find the Crimson King hurling sneetches (explosive devices) from his balcony to block Roland’s progress. The Crimson King, now a semi-immortal being, is imprisoned within the Tower but guards it with deadly force. Patrick, using his magical drawing skills, creates an image of the Crimson King and then erases him from existence, rendering him powerless and removing him from the Tower. This act allows Roland to enter the Tower at last. Inside the Tower, Roland ascends its many levels, each of which contains relics and scenes from his past. As he climbs, he reflects on the lives lost and choices made throughout his long journey. At the top of the Tower, he finds a door marked with his name. He steps through it. Roland discovers that he has repeated this journey countless times before. He is cast back to the beginning of the series, chasing the man in black (a shapeshifting sorcerer who serves the Crimson King) across the desert. Roland is trapped in a recurring cycle, doomed to repeat his quest until he gets it right.