The Dark Tower 4.5 – A new King novel is on its way

Nov 16, 2009   By: Michael | #Books  #Stephen King  

While we’re waiting for someone to start shooting The Dark Tower movies, there’s been a bit of a development from Stephen King, who has just announced that he will be writing The Dark Tower VIII. Actually it would be more accurate to call this The Dark Tower 4.5 as the new book will be set between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla.

The working title is, The Wind Through The Keyhole and it will be a full length novel, though its origins are based on three short stories that focus on a number of supporting characters and important events between the fourth and fifth DT books.

King has stated that he’ll likely not start writing until next summer, so at the rate things are going, this will be released well before filming on the movies even begins!

37 responses

I do not understand why he would be writing a new book to take place between books 4 and 5. Isnt that the whole purpose of the Dark Tower comics?! If he wants to write a new story, how about giving us something a little better than that uneventfull ending in the final book. I love all seven books and the story. But talk about a half assed ending to the greatest story ever told.

Doc – November 30th, 2009
It’s actually a good idea. Comic books are shite and after the first one (Gunslinger Born), which is good only because everyone interested knows the story, the plot is dead, and the characters are made of cardboard. I want to see the story written by someone who can actually write.

k – January 7th, 2010
King is a genius whos ability to write exceeds any critics ability to critisize. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for writing these wonderful stories that have taught me such strength and values. If you read this King, which I’m sure you do not, I hope you feel very proud of this story, and it’s ending.

Jeffrey Cummins – January 22nd, 2010
I have to disagree about the ending of the seventh book being “half-assed”. If you look back through the story, you can see that this is they way it was to turn out all along.

I think the purpose of the comics was really just a lark, something to do because fans wanted it. I hope that the books he writes as suppliments will explain things like, why does it go back to the desert? What is the signifigance of the belt his mother made for him? How does Eddie know about Dandelo? Those sorts of things.

Emily – February 17th, 2010
I actually loved the ending. The Dark Tower books are books that I can and do read over and over again. And with the ending being what it is it allows me to do it and never have to actually start over. Besides, it shows the hell Roland has to go through as part of his Ka.

As for a new middle book, I think it’s great. It will just add to the series. He has already done something like it in short story format. Why not go bigger. Besides, with as big of an adventure as the series is, there will always be room for more stories.

itzthor – February 26th, 2010
i suppose that when one makes a great book the endning must be greater than the book for most people to love reminds me of a anime show where the main character got killed in final ep a lot of people disliked it but we all know the end in our lifes [thats fate]we usly know the begining as well, the part that matters the most is rising events [or the middle part lols] it’s what defines us and dependning how the middle goes we may die a day later or sooner[destiny] lets do a quick review if a story is great on the middle than people want a great endning the greater the story gets the harder it is to top it off we all die[fate] we can survive longer or shorter dependning on our lifes[destiny] fate does not change but destiny does

sorry for wall it’s so hard for me to explain sometimes that all i can really do is build it up than add more foundation protection by far king is my fav auth-his books are filling and whole compared to most but lets face it who could top off a really really reallllly good book?

Jsg3 – March 21st, 2010
The ending was good and expected, and i liked his idea that said before of not writing again about it

But if it will be a side story put in the same multiverse leaving Roland in peace, its ok for me ^^

Stimpy – March 25th, 2010
Doc you’re a moron, King ended the series in the best possible way. Best ending to a book ever.

Doc's Enemy – April 21st, 2010
I can’t wait for this book to come out! Every Dark Tower book was amazing and the end (though far from “final”) was magical and sad (much like poor Roland’s entire life.) It all fit together perfectly and though many people say the end is shit I disagree and can only say be a little more open minded! I have faith that someday Roland will break through the pain and suffering and live his life for one last time. Thank GOD for Stephen King and every story he has written! <3

Sarah – May 28th, 2010
I have only read the first Dark Tower comic, but I from what I have read, the comics were made to show Rolands life before his search for the Dark Tower. From what I have read, it is basically showing the story that Roland tells in Wizard and Glass. If this is wrong, someone please correct me.

Tae – June 11th, 2010
I have also heard rumors that Stephan King may be writing an eigth book to the series…But I am not sure what to think about this.

Tae – June 11th, 2010
i think the book will far surpass whatever the graphic novels did! No one can bring his characters alive like he can. I love the graphic novels but with the lack of insight into the characters thoughts , feelings, and actions i cannot fall in love with them as i did in the novels. Also this will make up for the disapointment i had after discovering none of the seven books had his original friends (cuthbert, alain, jaime) or told of how Gilead fell. True completment of the series will come with this new book! You the man Stephen! The series that made me fall in love with reading and was is and always be my favorite epic story of all time!

TERENCE – June 18th, 2010
The comics did recap on what happened in wizard and glass but they only started where wizard and glass left off. They tell of when roland came home and the end of the gunslingers. You hear about it in the series but you never found out how it all happened. Only that roland and cuthbert killed alain, and somehow the horn of arthur eld played a huge part in the last battle. So this new book will finally give closure and shine some light on roland’s mysterious past and the destruction of his home and everyone he knows.

TERENCE – June 18th, 2010
it will be certainly interesting for another dark tower novel to come out. I would much prefer to have a novel rather than a graphic one for the reason that it is much more fleshed out when stephen king wields his glammer.

DT – June 28th, 2010
I think Stephen King ended the book the only way it Could end.. He left it open for Rolaand to someday so all he needs to do before his end.. if he had finished the tale any other way 1) there would be no more tale to tell 2) Roland may yet find his chance for redemption. Stephen King is a brilliant writer and i will be eagerly awaiting the next step on the road to the tower..

Jess – July 11th, 2010
This is good news, and I can’t wait for it. The comics didn’t cut it for me. I bought the first one and another from a different g-slinger story and neither really worked. That’s a problem in today’s culture. The same story, albeit with a bit of a different perspective, gets told in a gazillion different media which eventually kills it for me. Ya know, I dig some things like Jackson’s take on LoTR turned out to be pretty cool. But Christ! Can we not just have a good story and let that be it every once in a while?!?!

At least I still have Dayworld.

Blck – August 12th, 2010
I’m so excited about “The Wind through the Keyhole.” Mike’s post mentioned the book will be based on four short stories set in the Dark Tower universe. I’ve read “The Little Sisters of Eluria,” and assume this is one of the four mentioned stories. Can anyone tell me the names of the other three stories? Thank you so much.

rjcrowtherjr – August 28th, 2010
Simply put, there’s no way that he could’ve ended this series that would have made even a majority of his fans happy. Why? Because none of his fans wanted it to end. Unfortunately the first poster was among those that were left with a sour taste in their mouth.

Dave So – September 8th, 2010
Although when I was younger, I was a more enthusiastic fan of King’s writing than I’ve come to be as I’ve grown older (in fairness tho’, that’s my outlook towards a lot of things these days). That said, I did follow the Gunslinger Series & enjoyed it a lot up ‘til the end. Yeah, I was 1 of probably millions of readers saying to themselves after that last page, “What?! That’s it??? This is how it all ends?!” It didn’t take long however for me to come to peace with that anti-climatic ending, as I was also occupied with the realities of living life too. But after reflecting on the story overall, I guess the ending did make sense in its way. I also hoped too, that perhaps King would write a follow up on the alternate new/old beginning at the end of book 7. Too explain the significance of Roland’s having the intact horn with him on his next go-around. I pondered too on the question of the Gunslinger being made into a series of movies. Not hopefully tho’, given the pretty grim track record of King stories being translated from page to screen. Not to mention the fact of wondering how, with several other of his previous works also entertwined in the plot of the Gunslinger’s storyline, such movies could possibly be made to work. I guess we’ll see.

Chad – January 2nd, 2011
In regards to the halfassed story comment. Did you even read the books? All they ever say is ka is a wheel. Maybe you didnt understand the symbolism that was staring you in the face.

sam – February 14th, 2011
Chad, Roland having the horn showed that he infact was able to change things. and that he wasnt doomed to relive the experience repeating the same mistakes over and over. Roland always regreted leaving the horn. This time that regret atleast has been fixed.

sam – February 14th, 2011
love the DT series and I know that for some people the ending of the final book was anticlimactic. But that’s how SK writes, he writes about fantastic and unbelievable stuff and puts into a context that seems real. I agree with Doc’s Moron, there was no other possible way for it to end. Just because it doesn’t satisfy the readers doesn’t mean it wasn’t the best ending. It imparts the feeling like, yes, poor Roland has to relive this hell over and over, but it also shows that change can happen, that the hell he’s living in can get better and better. It leaves the reader with the hope that THIS time around, he’ll make the right choices and get his long-awaited happy ending (maybe, this IS SK we’re talking about lol)

Emily – February 16th, 2011
More power to ya, Mr. King! Don’t let laziness overpower the call of the turtle! Keep up the good work! Also, in regards to the ending, he explains perfectly at the end of the book why people will not like it. It is for the same reason people get disappointed by sex. Because they are in it for the ending rather than for the actual essence of it: the path of the beam, if you will not mis-translate. And the path of the beam was indeed the greatest path ever trodden. How can anybody possibly turn their nose up at this? It’s an incredible work and example of how truthful writing works, and Stephen King is one who understands it. I agree with the ending wholeheartedly, and look forward to the new addition!

Garret – February 18th, 2011
Listen, and hear me very well, if it do ya…

Did anyone notice that King had started talking directly to us (the readers) in the sixth and seventh books? He was telling us between the lines that it was his story and that it was his mind that was haunted by Roland and his Ka-tet. I believe King needed closure. (30+ years is a long time to have something unsettled on your mind don’t you think?) When Eddie and Jake died in the seventh book I was truly heartbroken. I couldn’t believe it! What I found later though after Oy died is that I was starting to get closure (after 20 yrs) myself. We needed this finality and so did he. We should be happy he didn’t die or “cry off” the tower before we got there.

Say Thankya Big-Big, for getting us there Stephen King of Maine.

tony – February 21st, 2011
The ending was bloody brilliant and not what I expected it to be; And I agree with the previous comment by Emily, if you re-read the books, the ending is inevitable. Obviously I shall not give it away in case someone has stumbled onto this site interested in the up coming films but who hasn’t read the books. Of course my message to them is READ THE BOOKS!!!!

Roo – February 21st, 2011
I love the DT books. I have just finnished putting all the audio cassettes onto my xbox and have already listened to the first two books. I have read them all years ago, but for fans, seriously read through them again, SK leaves nice little “cookies” that people who have only finished the series will understand. I hope in the new book SK will uncover what happend in Gilead, what happend to the witch Rhea. I love the movie The Myst, for those of you who have not seen it, it is almost like prelude to the DT universe. For those of us who have seen it, where abouts in MidWorld do you think the doorway is opened up? for me its totally the wastelands. Cant wait for Wind through the keyhole.

justaguy – February 21st, 2011
I love all SK works, and of course the DT ending is typical of his dry humor and style. That doesn’t mean I liked it. I was pissed off for weeks about it. Roland might have well just sat on his butt and smoked crack his whole life, since he’d gotta do it all again. The futility of it all……I keep my fingers crossed that SK will pull another DT book outta his butt that has an ending different to the one he stabbed us in the back with, and that the “ending” wasn’t such.

Crazycraig5150 – March 6th, 2011
What’s the point, we all know it’s all for naught now anyway… if he wants to right another DT book, let’s take Roland through his final cycle.

Adam – March 9th, 2011
Initially I was upset with the ending of the Dark Tower series, but then realized that there mayn’t have been any other, or better ending. Besides, the ending allows that Roland’s journey continues, and the loop of time to replay until which time as he achieves his goal.

Sam I Am – April 8th, 2011
Just finished reading the entire series back to back and Im trying to figure out if I missed something here. Not sure why the hell getting to the tower would ever be important if the only thing it did was send ya back in time to repeat it, and if it sends him back in time to repeat his quest why would it not send him back in time to where it first began when he got hold of the wizards glass and seen the tower to begin with. Or as it suggests at some points in the story if he was made for this and trained for this his whole life why not back to birth. Towards the end he says he is like a robot maybe some point King left out the part he was simply a program looping and the whole dang thing is nothing more than someones experiment with a computer program trying to develop a soul. Hell I dont know seemed like a quick end to what until that point I thought was a great story. Im not upset so much about it not being a happy ending, so much as I am upset about not knowing why he must repeat it over and over… and by the way who the hell gave him the horn?!?

worrell72480 – April 20th, 2011
The ending isnt important its the journey you should enjoy

stephen – May 19th, 2011
Without the destination there would be no journey which is why all parts begining middle and end are important. When the end leaves you with more questions than you had at any point in the story it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. A writer should take the end into deep consideration because without making the fans of the story (which I loved until the end) happy then why write it to begin with. In the end its just my thoughts on the ending and judging by an awful lot of posts on the web Im not alone in my thinking. Heres to hoping the movie ends different… and no it would have to be a happy ending either just one that makes more sense.

worrell72480 – June 15th, 2011
I will get the new book, BUT, I really wish he’d venture to write something to help settle everyone’s nerves with the crappy ending of the last book. I understand the ending, but did not like it at all. C’mon SK! Let’s here about Susannah and the “new” Eddie and Jake - also, let’s give Roland a break! I mean, repeating a hellatious life over and over and never getting anywhere is a pretty morbid way to treat a lovely character. I the Dark Tower book, Stephen King (as hisself) says in the book that he doesn’t like Roland. I think it’s true in real life too! He torments him!

misty – July 24th, 2011
How would you have ended it? Is the question after all 7 books how could it possibly have ended other than going back to the beginning (or middle even). The most likely idea is that now he has the horn of Eld in the desert he is on his 19th trip to the dark tower and once he has loved, killed and lost again he will finally die at the very top (say thank ya). Amazing books and I am kind of glad they are not making the films, I have my doubts that they would be able to capture the characters and the story.

Sam – August 25th, 2011
I’m so sad that the very first comment left on here is so terrible. The ending could not have been more perfect and fitting for the entire series. Ka is a wheel. Roland is the eternal reincarnate, destined (or doomed?) to relive his life and his horrors until all is right within the Dark Tower. Doc, you have forgotten the face of your father.

Rae – February 6th, 2012
I completely disagree about the DT ending being “half-assed”. That ending was perfectly King and I am so thankful he went that way.

Rachael Claiborne – April 30th, 2012
I have to agree with Rachael and side against Doc on the ending opinion. The ending is not only classic King but ranks up there with the surprise endings of the best Twighlight Zones or even The Sixth Sense. Doc should try to imagine himself compelled to go through everthing Roland did only to find himself doomed to repeat it endlessly. Groundhog day in hell.

Rick Walmsley – November 9th, 2012