Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Drawing of the Three

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King

33 reviews

lvl52_grant's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This one feels much more ... natural? modern? Than the first. The first book of the series feels odd, but this book just moves a bit better for some reason. It's when we meet two more of the party of heroes on the quest for the Dark Tower, and two of my favorite characters. It's also when we learn of the interconnectedness of our world and that of Roland, particularly with New York City.
It's also the reason lobsters kind of scare me now.

Content Warnings

dovahkiin_freyja's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

ziopera's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

jrboudreau's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm relieved that I enjoyed this second installment much more than the first. I feel invested in Roland's journey now, and I might actually remember the events of this book when I come to read the third!

This is noticeable in a few of King's books from the '80s and earlier, but he throws racial slurs around carelessly at times, and it's something to be prepared for. He's careful to mention when a particular element of the story is a blatant and inaccurate stereotype, but that doesn't make it any less uncomfortable.

There's something quite lovely about seeing such a serious character as the Gunslinger experience life in our world for the first time. His first Pepsi, his first brain freeze, his inability to pronounce the word aspirin, all humanised him enough to make the whole story more engaging for me.

I was also much more invested in Eddie and Odetta's stories than Roland's alone, and by the third door I was completely hooked. The tension shot up and I rushed through the last 100 pages. There were some brilliant connections made and I feel set up for the rest of the series now.

And the tower is closer.

Content Warnings

socialpsysteph's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A big goal this year is to make progress on the many series I am reading so I'm jumping back into The Dark Tower to try to make some progress. I enjoyed the first one when I read it (4 stars) so I was excited to go back into this weird, fantasy, Western, world. In this installment, Roland comes across 3 strange doors that are just standing on the beach. When he opens them, he finds something that he hopes will get him closer to the Dark Tower. I think I liked this one even more than the first one (though the rating stays the same). I was intrigued the entire time and felt like I couldn't put it down.

This book counts for Popsugar 2023 for a book published the year I was born and for Adventures in Aeldia 2023 for the June prompt to "visit a wizard tower" and read a book with a prologue.

Content Warnings