"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

Written by Stephen King in 1970, five years before the publication of his first novel, that sentence opens up a world still unknown to many of his readers. It begins a spectacular seven-volume epic fantasy — The Dark Tower — that is sure to become an American classic.

Preparing the way for the publication of the saga's concluding volumes, this hardcover edition of The Drawing of the Three, the tension-filled second book in the series, features a special introduction by the author and Phil Hale's 1998 repaintings of the striking illustrations that enriched the original limited edition published by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, in 1987.

After his confrontation with the man in black at the end of The Gunslinger, Roland awakes to find three doors on the beach of Mid-World's Western Sea — each leading to New York City but at three different moments in time. Through these doors, Roland must "draw" three figures crucial to his quest for the Dark Tower. In 1987, he finds Eddie Dean, The Prisoner, a heroin addict. In 1964, he meets Odetta Holmes, the Lady of Shadows, a young African-American heiress who lost her lower legs in a subway accident and gained a second personality that rages within her. And in 1977, he encounters Jack mort, Death, a pusher responsible for cruelties beyond imagining. Has Roland found new companions to form the ka-tet of his quest? Or has he unleashed something else entirely?

"With The Drawing of the Three...King says, 'I found my voice' (for this particular series). Did he ever. Roland visits our world...picking up three people who are fated to return to his world and help him in his quest....The pace in this one outstrips the first book several times over. Great stuff!" Dorman T. Shindler, The Denver Post

"Although these minor but revealing books (which King began while still in college) are full of...adolescent portentousness, this is livelier than the first....Typically, King is much better at the minutiae and sensations of a specific physical world, and several such bravura sequences...are standouts amid the characteristic headlong storytelling." Publishers Weekly

Beginning with a short story appearing in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1978, the publication of Stephen King's epic work of fantasy--what he considers to be a single long novel and his magnum opus--has spanned a quarter of a century. Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, The Dark Tower series is King's most visionary feat of storytelling, a magical mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror that may well be his crowning achievement. In November 2003, the fifth installment, Wolves of the Calla, will be published under the imprint of Donald M. Grant, with distribution and major promotion provided by Scribner. Song of Susannah, Book VI, and The Dark Tower, Book VII, will follow under the same arrangement in 2004. With these last three volumes finally on the horizon, readers--countless King readers who have yet to delve into The Dark Tower and a multitude of new and old fantasy fans--can now look forward to reading the series straight through to its stunning conclusion. Viking's elegant reissue of the first four books ensures that for the first time The Dark Tower will be widely available in hardcover editions for this eager readership.

Stephen King has written more than forty books and two hundred short stories. He has won the World Fantasy Award, several Bram Stoker awards, and the O. Henry Award for his story "The Man in the Black Suit."