I suppose one difference with Wizard... is that The Wind... does seem to move along quicker. But yes, I think yet another back-story could be an issue for some readers. And then in Wolves of the CallaSpoiler: 05-20-2012 04:51 PMMerlin1958Quote:That's very true!!! Now I'm back on the fence!!! LOL
WeDealinlead: It's true TWTTKH does little to further the main story, but it does offer some very interesting glimpses into Mid-World, The Starkblast (which I found particularly interesting), The Shapeshifter's and another level to MIB to name a few. Plus some really cool creatures and I have not yet quite finished it!!! Given that there a "Back Stories in (now) 3 consecutive volumes perhaps it truly should be read (for the first time) in the Authors recommended order. Or maybe not!!! LOL 05-21-2012 06:52 AMWeDealInLeadI think Michael's post was spot on. Publishing order > anything else. 05-21-2012 10:43 AMmaeAbsolutely publishing order. Nothing else makes sense. Just like with anything, really. Just because something takes place earlier in the chronology doesn't mean anything. It was created later. 05-21-2012 10:47 AMDan 05-21-2012 06:56 PMBriceHmm...I've read them in publishing order, but I see nothing wrong with mixing it up a bit. It gives new perspectives. 05-21-2012 10:07 PMMerlin1958Well, I would think that for most of us here it's a "Moot" point, right? This thread is really for newcomers and first time readers. However, it's fun to speculate!!!
Edit: To clarify, it's kinda hard to imagine reading it in any other fashion than you already did. As much as you may think you can there will always be a little bias mixed in. It's human nature. Make sense? 05-22-2012 09:28 AMRandom321321I would extend the publishing order to reading the original Gunslinger first, and only reading the revised Gunslinger after W&G, if you must read it at all. (I think it's vastly inferior). 05-23-2012 10:33 PMRoland of Gilead 33actually i haven't really read anything for awhile. but i am somewhere in 'The Wolves of Calla' i forget where? i think it was during "Callhan's storyline.
or however ya he spell his name? as you said to each their own i guess. honestly i dunno what i'd going to do first finish the series the way it was written. or read it as King suggested pretty much & read the new one after W&G 05-24-2012 04:20 PMCyberGhostfaceThis kind of reminds me about the "Narnia" debate about whether or not you should read the books in publishing order (with "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" being the first one) or in chronological order (starting with "The Magician's Nephew"). I know Lewis wrote in a letter that he preferred the latter. 06-12-2012 06:39 PMzerodinhOf all points and reasons wether to read as 4.5 or 8 the one that would mater most to me are the endings. To keep it as simple as possible so no spoiler is needed, "Wind's" ending is more complete and for me it is the best way to end this series (for now of cousre, because I will love any other glimpses King want's to give us into Roland's story) But as I said, For me ending it with those final lines in WTTK needed to be after those final words in DT7. That and 2 campfire stories in a row might not be as fun as getting right into "Wolves." 09-17-2013 04:11 PMtwice 09-17-2013 06:48 PMChristineBI have to say, for the very first reading of the series I would suggest chronological order... and by that I mean all his books in that order, yes I know that is a daunting task but really there are so many tie ins that without ready Salem's lot before you hit Wolves of the Calla Callahan is no one special and the list goes on.
Now once you have read them all in chronological order I suggest you read TDT with Wind in the order SK says it belongs, after Wizards. Just my suggestion. 09-18-2013 05:30 AMmattgreenbean 09-18-2013 06:04 AMBev VincentThe best experience would be to read them in order of publication. Certain DT concepts were introduced in non-DT books before they entered the series. The Crimson King debuted in Insomnia and the concept of Breakers was explained in Black House. Which ones are necessary? At a minimum: 'Salem's Lot, "Low Men in Yellow Coats," Insomnia, Black House, "Everythings Eventual"
Here's my list of the principle books and stories with strong (or strong-ish) DT connections (from The Dark Tower Companion)
- ‘Salem’s Lot
- The Stand
- The Talisman
- Skeleton Crew (The Mist, Mrs. Todd's Shortcut)
- It
- The Eyes of the Dragon
- Insomnia
- Rose Madder
- Desperation
- The Regulators
- Bag of Bones
- Hearts in Atlantis
- The Plant
- Black House
- From a Buick 8
- Everything’s Eventual (Little Sisters of Eluria and the title story)
- The Colorado Kid
- Ur
- Mile 81
09-18-2013 04:49 PMMerlin1958I strongly feel that the books (all) should be read in the order of publication in order to get the full effect. That being said, you can absolutely read TWTTKH between TDTIV and V no problem. It's best to try to experience the "mystery" most of us did in the publishing/writing journey IMHO 09-19-2013 03:57 AMjhanic 09-20-2013 04:17 PMMerlin1958 09-20-2013 05:10 PMjhanicThat's what I did!
John 04-22-2015 05:33 AMRossI just finished Wizard the other day. While waiting for Wind to arrive I re-read The Gunslinger on Monday night and started Wind last night. I am hoping to finish Wind by the weekend and hopefully start Wolves by Saturday afternoon. After seeing all the posts in this thread I kind of wish I saw this discussion before starting or I would have gone with Wolves next and read them in published order. In any event, my goal is to continue reading daily and get through the entire series as if it were one long book (The I am going to read the Stand again as its been years since I read it). My hope is that doing this will enable me to keep everything as fresh as possible so that I can recall previous books (stories), characters, etc easily. I cant even imagine what some of you went through that read these books as they were published, I would have gone crazy waiting years for the next books to come out. 04-22-2015 06:11 AMJohnny AlienI prefer Wind to go where King intended it story-wise which is 4.5. I think it really makes it flow better. He wrote it afterwards but intended it to be after Wizard story wise. I think you did the right thing but that is just my opinion. 04-22-2015 06:38 AMcraigobauI also recently finished reading Wizard and Glass (for the first time) and then ploughed straight into Wind and thought the transition from one to the other made perfect sense (without any knowledge of what's to come in books 5, 6 and 7).
I've taken a break from the series (now reading Dreamcatcher, which is proving to be much better so far than expected based upon general opinion of this book), purely for the reason that I don't want the story to end as the DT books so far have created such rich characters and environments.
So, once I've finished Dreamcatcher, I think I might re-read Salem's Lot, then Black House, and then plough on with Wolves of Calla.
Question for anyone - do you think it would be worthwhile re-reading The Talisman before reading Black House?
Thanks. 04-24-2015 07:09 AMchucknbuckI'm a proponent of reading it in publishing order. There was something intangible missing from the wind through the keyhole. The spirit or feel of the book was different. I like it ok, and it is required reading for any DT fan, but I feel it might disrupt the mood or feeling of the original series. It is certainly subjective. 04-27-2015 10:04 AMMerlin1958I know, King intends it as 4.5, but as I recall when you finish TDT IV you should be dieing to get back to the main story and it rolls rather fluidly from there until the end. In my mind, you aren't missing anything waiting until after finishing the original series to read WTTKH. In fact, it's a rather nice epilog of sorts. IMHO Now, if you are just starting out, LSOE is a really good starting point before TDT I. 04-27-2015 11:51 AMfrik