The Drawing of the Three. Stephen King. 1987.
Dark fantasy. Horror. Weird Western.
Wounded and alone on a desolate Mid-World beach, the last gunslinger must find and open three mysterious doorways into our world to draw companions who can aid his quest to find the Dark Tower.
Much of this story is told via magical telepathic communications between the protagonist and his companions. And since the companions are not accustomed to communicating in this way, each initially has to consider the question their own sanity.
This unusual voice shapes the story as a heavy psychological drama in which the protagonist enters the minds of his companions and draws them, first, into his influence, and, finally, into his world—a place that is distinct from our/their world.
In addition, the author’s inclusion of problematic themes—such as crime, addiction, manipulation, and insanity—darken the story’s vibe even further.
AUTHORS – I write short book reviews that focus on voice and vibe. They are useful to querying authors searching for comp titles. There are more like this on my website.
REMINDER – If you follow my reviews, you already know this. I have a policy about reviewing debut novels. Provided I finish them, I always rate debut novels with maximum stars, regardless. When I don’t finish a debut novel, I don’t review it. No exceptions. And I don’t review books I don’t pay full price for.