15 Stephen King stories ranked from heartwarming to horrifying

6. The Dark Tower

This one is perhaps a little unfair since I’m listing the entire Dark Tower series. This saga includes eight books and encompasses at least as many genres, from dark fantasy to western to horror. King himself is pretty attached to the series and has described it as his magnum opus on multiple occasions. Which is to say, if you dare to delve into The Dark Tower story, prepare to be there for a while.

But, it’s one hell of a story. It starts by following Roland Deschain, the last of the “gunslingers,” an ancient order of knights that carry fancy guns instead of swords. Roland chases the mysterious “man in black,” first across a land that mixes western filmscapes with feudal Europe, and then across time and multiple realities.

Roland is ultimately searching for the Dark Tower, said to be at the nexus of all universes. He’d better find it sooner rather than later, seeing that his own world is fraying and reality there has become unstable.

Of course, epic as it sounds, that’s not quite enough for eight novels. So, Roland soon encounters other people in other worlds. This includes a group of people that come together in order to form the “Ka-tet of the Nineteen and/or Ninety and Nine,” including a few people from New York City and a sentient badger/raccoon creature called Oy.

It’s also revealed that the “man in black” is yet another version of the “nearly immortal” Randall Flagg (also known as Marten Broadcloak and “the dark man”). Can’t quite seem to get rid of this one.