10 Fantasy Novels To Read If You Love The Lord Of The Rings
4. The Dark Tower
Renowned the world over for his expertly crafted horror stories, Stephen King defined supernatural suspense as we know it today, adaptations of his novels contributing as much to the cinematographic language of contemporary culture as the books they were based on did to the modern horror genre. Many seminal movies of the eighties and nineties (The Shining, Cujo, Cat's Eye, Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption) were based on King's works, and contributed to a visual language which paved the way for contemporary cult classics such as Stranger Things.
Despite all his accomplishments in almost single handedly revolutionising the horror genre, Stephen King is no one trick pony.
The Dark Tower, a series of eight novels and an additional short story, was King's stab at fantasy writing. Stephen King being Stephen King, elements of horror creep their way into series debut The Gunslinger and its sequels, making this series the darkest on the list.
Taking inspiration from sources as diverse as Arthurian mythology, classic Westerns and, of course, The Lord Of The Rings, The Dark Tower is a reimagining of tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, swapping out swords and shields for pistols and the technology of the Old West.
Though magic has largely disappeared from the world, traces remain and resurface as Roland Deschain, the gunslingerof the first book, hunts for The Dark Tower, the meeting place of all universes.