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

4. The Eyes Of The Dragon

The closest thing to pure fantasy King has ever written, and an underrated classic (though hardcore King fans really have shown tons of love for the novel), The Eyes of the Dragon is one of the earliest King novels that can be linked to the Dark Tower. In fact, it's this novel's use of the recurring King villain Randall Flagg (just called Flagg here) that really made readers aware that the novels King was writing were, in fact, connected in many cases.

First published in 1984 and telling the story of a king (coincidentally named Roland, as is the Gunslinger of Dark Tower fame) murdered by his adviser, it's classic good vs. evil tale. The adviser, Flagg, pins this regicide on the King's son Peter - who is in turn imprisoned in a great tower called the Needle. Befriending Peter's younger brother, Thomas, who inherits the throne, Flagg manages to capture the new King's ear - until Peter escapes, and Flagg's crimes are made public.

In the end, Peter is installed as the rightful King, while Thomas sets off in search of Flagg, who after being revealed as a demon at the climax of the novel has fled. Thomas does in fact find him - but what happens next is never spoken of.

Besides Flagg simply being present, this novel feels as if it is set in an alternate universe, perhaps yet another reflection of the Gunslinger's world - though the Gunslinger himself mentions Thomas and his butler Dennis in the second novel of the series, The Drawing of Three.