10 Novels Strongly Connected To Stephen King's The Dark Tower

7. Insomnia

First published in 1994, Insomnia was not every King fan's cup of tea when it came out. In fact, those who weren't familiar with The Dark Tower series (which was still in progress to that point) found it confusing to say the least. Bizarre might actually be a better term.

It was a divisive novel for King fans, many of whom loved King for his straight horror novels, but hadn't yet picked up on his fantasy work. Whatever you think of Insomnia (and for whatever reason), there's no question that it is strongly connected to The Dark Tower series. In fact, you might consider it the first of King's novels to be overtly connected to the series.

In it, the main character, Ralph Roberts, a man suffering from Insomnia and seeing things as a result is required to save the life of a child, Patrick Danville - a child he comes to know will be important later in life. (Danville, it turns out, is an important character in the final novel of The Dark Tower).

The dark tower itself, ka, ka-tet (important concepts in the Dark Tower world), and other related topics are mentioned outright. Later on in The Dark Tower series, concepts from Insomnia - such as blue auras - are also brought up. The biggest connection, however? Insomnia marks the first appearance of the Crimson King, the primary antagonist (though the man in black might get more page time) of the series.