Announcing: The Dark Tower Companion

I’ve been a little coy about what I’m working on, but it’s time to announce my third book. The Dark Tower Companion will be published by New American Library (Penguin) in April. This massive companion is 50% longer than The Road to the Dark Tower. It covers not only the eight books of King’s series, but also the Marvel graphic novel adaptations. I interviewed King for the book, along with Robin Furth, Richard Isanove (colorist), Peter David (script), Jae Lee (artist) and most of the subsequent artists. I also, much to my great delight, got to talk with Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman about how they plan to adapt the series. Click on the image to see a full-sized version of the great cover by Spanish artist Nekro.

I’ll be turning the copy-edited manuscript in to my editor on Monday. After that it will be down to reviewing the proofreader’s comments. It’s going to be a hefty book. NAL is estimating it at 560 pages, including two maps that I drew myself. I’m not going to suddenly take up cartography as a sideline, but it was fun working on them. And the interviews? Fascinating stuff—at least to me.

Here’s the Amazon copy. Pre-orders are being accepted there for the trade paperback and e-book (links below). A number of people have purchased it already, even before I told anyone about it.

AN ALL-NEW COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANTLY CONSTRUCTED WORLDS IN ALL OF FICTION

Stephen King’s bestselling multi-volume Dark Tower series is the author’s most inspired and imaginative creation. The story of Roland Deschain of Gilead, the last gunslinger, and his lifelong quest to reach the tower and save humanity across infinite parallel worlds is one that has consumed King throughout his career as characters and concepts crossed back and forth between the series and the rest of his fictional universe. The mythos continues to be chronicled and expanded in graphic novels overseen by King, interactive adventures on his website, a proposed film adaptation, and in a new Dark Tower novel.

The Dark Tower Companion is the ultimate compendium to King’s evolving magnum opus, presenting the mythology, history, and geography of this epic fantasy that has captivated generations of readers. Featuring interviews with Stephen King, Ron Howard, Dark Tower expert Robin Furth and others, Bev Vincent reveals The Dark Tower’s influential literary origins, examines its connections to the vast majority of King’s other novels, explores the expanded universe, catalogs the major characters, locations and concepts, and includes a travel guide to the story’s real-world locations, giving fans who have followed Roland’s journey—or those who are discovering it for the first time—a fascinating overview of the series and an inside look at the creative process of one of the world’s most popular authors.

• Publisher: NAL Trade (April 2, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451237994
• ISBN-13: 978-0451237996
• 560 pages | trade paperback | Kindle eBook