Greetings, reader!
The third edition of Literature Month continues with today's post: a ranking of every book from those book series that are dearest to me. I originally envisioned a ranking of the book series themselves, but my imagination got the better of me, and I decided that this would be much more fun. Below, I've ranked every book from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frank Herbert's Dune saga, C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire franchise and Stephen King's Dark Tower epic. I chose these series because they are the dearest to me (well, there would be a seventh in terms of how much the books mean to me, but a certain someone-who-must-not-be-named still hasn't learned to say "I apologize for being a massive dick to the trans community and for actively hurting trans people and endangering their lives with my vile hate speech", so I don't really feel like praising her works - man, it's amazing how much respect someone can gain only to lose every ounce of it by being a massive bigot). Anyways, here goes!
P.S. - After a lot of consideration, I decided to limit the list to the 'main core' of each series, instead of going down the rabbit hole of spin-offs and other universe expansions. So, it's just the 3 LOTR books, 6 Dune books, 7 Narnia books, 5 Percy Jackson books, 5 ASOIAF books and 7 Dark Tower books. Maybe for Literature Month IV I'll do an expanded universe -version, with everything from the Silmarillion lore and Brian Herbert's Dune prequels to Martin's Westerosi histories and King's larger Dark Tower multiverse connections included.
33. The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia #4 / #6)
The two numbers for every Narnia entry are because of the two schools on reading orders - I myself read chronological (the 2nd number in each entry) as a kid, because we hade a rare edition where the seven books are numbered according to the fictional timeline, only to find out years later that the publication order (the 1st number) is generally more popular.
But yeah, The Silver Chair isn't great. It has its moments (even the worst books in these series are far from bad), but overall, meh. Eustace and Jill are alright as the heroes, but they most definitely fall short of the iconic Pevensie siblings that the reader was used to at this point, and the main villain plot feels a bit too recycled and rehashed.
32. The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson #2)
The second Percy Jackson book falls short of the first one in terms of quality. It starts out intriguing and the final moments are great, but it's everything in between that I take issue with - every Percy Jackson book consists largely of the main characters running into various Greek mythology characters and threats on their way to whatever the book's climax is, and this book somehow contained all the most boring instances of that trope. Not as fresh and addictive as the first but not as well-thought-out and high-stakes dramatic as the last three, this one falls into some awkward middle ground.
31. The Horse and His Boy (C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia #5 / #3)
I've warmed up to this one over the years. As a kid, it was more than a bit disorienting to follow such a completely different set of characters in a very different part of the Narnia universe than what I was used to. But as my taste in fantasy has evolved from those days, I've become such a worldbuilding geek that I now find it extremely cool how C.S. Lewis fleshes his fictional world out with a full-length sidequest like this one. It's a cool concept and it does make the 7-book franchise richer as a whole, but at the same time, I can't rank it especially high because the plot isn't all that memorable.
30. Heretics of Dune (Frank Herbert, Dune #5)
As I mentioned in last week's ranking of the Dune books, Heretics does introduce some cool new storylines and it ends in an utterly shocking manner. Everything else, however, is a bit average. Especially in the context of a ranking, Heretics suffers from the fact that most of the things it does well are things that the earlier Dune books did even better. I suppose Herbert was a bit past his prime in terms of creating new and imaginative sci-fi stories, themes and characters - can't blame him, as the first four Dune books are some of the most creative and innovative storytelling I've come across.
29. The Labyrinth Battle (Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson #4)
As the penultimate book of the series, The Labyrinth Battle is amazing. As an individual book - it's alright. The book suffers a bit from the same as The Sea of Monsters - not as badly, but the sidequests during the middle part of the plot do vary between 'okay, this one is awesome' and 'jeez, that was generic'. The setting and premise itself is very cool, and the book's biggest strength is indeed how well it works in the context and structure of the series as its second-last instalment. The final act feels bigger and more climactic than anything that came before, while still retaining a strong 'this is mere build-up for the real climax' feel.
28. Chapterhouse: Dune (Frank Herbert, Dune #6)
The last Dune book that Frank Herbert finished before passing away is an accidentally beautiful conclusion for the saga. Herbert had intended to continue the story, which is why the book ends in a massive cliffhanger - but even though I know it wasn't his intention, I swear that the Chapterhouse cliffhanger works outrageously well as a way to finish the series. The larger plotline had spanned thousands of years by this point, so ending with a conventional sense of closure would've felt a bit weird and against the saga's cyclical nature. Ending with the way Chapterhouse ends feels perfectly ambiguous, leaving the next steps to the reader's imagination.
27. A Feast for Crows (George R.R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire #4)
I have a huge love/hate relationship with the two latest ASOIAF books finished by George R.R. Martin, and especially with this one. On one hand, I'm frustrated with Martin's addition of more and more subplots without moving towards conclusion, and this feeling grows every year that us fans spend waiting for Winds of Winter (I still don't get how the "I hate the final seasons of Game of Thrones" crowd never takes it out on the author - the show would've benefitted from adapting a book series that has wrapped up, instead of being forced to make shit up because Martin is taking 14+ years to figure how to tie it all together). The subplots from A Feast for Crows onwards are too numerous, and I do think that the endless creation of such storylines is why Martin has found himself cornered and with no clear way to bring it all across the finish line.
On the other hand, as a fan of creative and out-there storytelling, I definitely have a side that appreciates the unconventional story direction here. After three books of following the Starks, King's Landing, Daenerys across the sea and a few other plotlines, we're suddenly thrust fully into the realm of the obscure - Aeron Greyjoy observing power plays on the Iron Islands, Arianne Martell planning a coup in Dorne, and Brienne's video-game-esque plot of following clues to weird-ass locations like The Whispers with weird-ass characters like Dick Crabb (no, really, there's a dude called Dick Crabb in this book), you name it. So, even if it ended up hurting the series as a whole, A Feast for Crows still makes for an excellent read when wanting to dive deep into the world of the Seven Kingdoms.
26. The Curse of the Titans (Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson #3)
I have a massive soft spot for the third Percy Jackson book. The main premise and final act aren't even all that special, and among the weakest of their kind in the series - but the middle parts, for which I criticized the second and fourth books in the series, are pure fire in this one. The obstacles and scenarios in which the main heroes find themselves are neat and inventive, and Riordan's insertion of deep cuts from ancient Greek lore into his fantasy plot is at its best. The element I remember with the most fondness is the addition of fantastic characters Bianca and Nico di Angelo, and the atmosphere created by the mysteries and eventual twists relating to their backstory.
25. The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia #7 / #7)
The only Narnia book where the number in the chronological order corresponds with that of the publication order is the very last one. It's a book that gets better as you read it - it starts out a bit silly and doesn't feel all that epic for the final instalment, but as the plot progresses, Lewis provides more and more high fantasy epicness and nostalgic connections to storylines throughout the series, thus pulling off a conclusion that is so much better than you'd expect based on the first 100 pages or so. When all is said and done, The Last Battle is a great ending for the Chronicles of Narnia - a flawed book, but one where the positives do outweigh the negatives.
24. The Magician's Nephew (C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia #6 / #1)
It's so weird for me to think that a majority of Narnia fans didn't start with this book, but rather see it as a late-addition prequel, because for me, this will always be the one that started it all (I actually have a faint recollection of my Dad reading this book for me, which means that Narnia has been with me for an insanely long time, because I learned to read for myself at a very young age). But, yeah, The Magician's Nephew is a fresh and magical fantasy adventure, filled with cool concepts (the Wood Between the Worlds? Perfection.) and dramatic introductions to iconic characters like Aslan and Jadis.
23. A Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire #1)
Yeah, we're really starting to get to the good stuff here. The first A Song of Ice and Fire book doesn't exactly have growing pains in the way that many first instalments do, but when comparing it to later instalments, one can't escape the feeling that the series does improve a great deal throughout the second and third book. Still, A Game of Thrones is a brilliant introduction to the world of Westeros - the POV storytelling works like a charm, the intricate worldbuilding and the combination of brutally dark themes with magical fantasy lore is great right off the bat, and it makes sense that one of the greatest TV shows of all time was adapted from this.
22. The Wolves of the Calla (Stephen King, The Dark Tower #5)
This list has burned through one third of the Dune books, nearly half of the ASOIAF books, and over half of both the Narnia and Percy Jackson series - and only now are we getting to the worst book of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. That's how good King is.
Yeah, The Wolves of the Calla is a bit underwhelming on the sky-high standard of the Dark Tower series, mainly because of its length. All of the other Dark Tower books are paced just right, with some being long because they need to be, while others are much shorter because they don't call for 600+ pages - but the fifth instalment is an outlier, as it is over 800 pages long while it really doesn't have a reason to be, as a lot could've been cut. However, in the standard of overall fantasy literature and the 6 different series compared in today's post, I'm still ranking the book this high despite its pacing flaws - the western-ish setting is cool as hell, the connections to other books in King's multiverse are epic, and the book's very last pages are some of the most breathtaking, ingeniously shocking and utterly mind-blowing literature I've read. The series is so solid that its worst instalment has its arguably best individual moment.
21. A Dance with Dragons (George R.R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire #5)
The latest A Song of Ice and Fire book to be released was a tough one to rank - the negatives and positives alike are many, making for a chaotic mess as a whole. On one hand, the problem of obscure subplots is even more evident here than in A Feast for Crows - I could do without Jon Connington fostering the kid who may or may not be a fake Aegon Targaryen, or following Quentyn Martell for several chapters only for his red-herring quest to blow up in dragonfire. But at the same time, I have to admit that at its best, A Dance with Dragons is peak fantasy literature, and it would be my favorite ASOIAF book if I were judging based on positives alone.
I mean, the book gave us the chills-down-your-spine 'The North remembers' moment between Davos Seaworth and Wyman Manderly, the series' best Jon Snow storyline culminating in his perfectly built final chapter, and the hands-down best chapter George R. R. Martin ever wrote - Theon's against-all-odds moment of redemption, that had me crying from the very moment I saw that the chapter's title was 'Theon' and not 'Reek'.
20. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia #3 / #5)
Ah, this is vintage Narnia right here. Many of the saga's most iconic characters, a zany and adventurous plot, cool sea monsters and exciting fantasy concepts and a bittersweet ending, it's all there in a light and compact package.
19. The Last Olympian (Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson #5)
The final Percy Jackson instalment is everything a franchise finale should be, and I'd probably rank it even higher if it wasn't for the fact that the series as a whole isn't as special to me as many of the others on today's list, so all the nostalgia and closure doesn't hit quite as hard here as it would in a series I was even more invested in. But yeah, it's the right ending for the series on pretty much all fronts - the stakes are higher than ever before, it feels like a dramatic last stand from the very first chapter, the climax is properly epic and the major characters are written out in a semi-poetic manner.
18. The Gunslinger (Stephen King, The Dark Tower #1)
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed". Has any book series ever kicked off with a more cold opening line?
No, say I. The rest of the first Dark Tower instalment is pretty great as well, as unconventional of an opening chapter it is. The combination of steampunk, western and sci-fi elements makes for a unique atmosphere, and I absolutely love how much of a surface-scratcher The Gunslinger is for the Dark Tower mythos. Some fans dislike the book because it's so simple and small-scale in contrast to what the series would grow into, and while I kind of see the point (after all, I also rank it 6th out of the 7 Dark Tower books), I also love that part of the book's nature in its own way (thus the fact that even the second-worst Dark Tower book is at 18th place in this ranking). The Gunslinger leaves the reader with unbridled curiosity, tons of questions, and a hunger for more, which makes the broader worldbuilding of the later books a massive payoff. Starting off such a larger-than-life epic with such a mysterious and small-scale instalment was an act of unconventional genius on King's part.
17. A Clash of Kings (George R.R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire #2)
As excellent as the first ASOIAF book is, the second one is a grand improvement. The plotlines are more engaging by average, the character development is more layered, and the addition of new storylines is such a highlight - the two new POV characters make for the book's two hands-down best storylines, with Theon Greyjoy's gripping betrayal arch and Davos Seaworth's conflicting observations of the leadership of the morally grey Stannis Baratheon.
The book's climax is the Battle of Blackwater Bay, and if you've seen Game of Thrones but haven'ts read the books, trust me when I say that it's even better in the original. With five consecutive chapters from the POV's of three characters who experience very different sides of the battle, it's such a rush to read. Also, the book's final chapter (Bran leaving Winterfell) is some of Martin's very best work.
16. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia #1 / #2)
Whether you see it as the very first Narnia book (as a vast majority of fantasy geeks do), or as the second instalment (me and my fellow chronological-order enjoyers), I think we can all agree that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the most Narnia book. All of the series' themes and tropes are so delightfully present, and the plot is the stuff of legends. From the vibrant supporting characters to the iconic character archs like Edmund's villainous turn and Lucy finding her courage, from settings like the castle of Cair Paravel and the Stone Table to events like the battle at the Ford of Beruna, it's no wonder why this is generally considered the best Narnia book (although my personal ranking puts one instalment slightly ahead of it - more on that later).
15. Song of Susannah (Stephen King, The Dark Tower #6)
Ah, yes. I don't even know how Song of Susannah would read as an individual book, nor do I care - as an instalment in the Dark Tower series as a whole, it is near perfection. Stephen King suffered a near-death incident in 1999, which had a major impact on the series: he had written the five first books with no clear or specific endgame in mind, with the scale of the series growing and growing, and he credits the incident and his post-survival reflection with the fact that he finally decided it was time to wrap things up.
King came up with an endgame fitting the series, and wrote the two last books with that clearly in mind, and that shows - in comparison to the previous books, Song of Susannah has such a clear drive, a tangible atmosphere of going towards something specific, and the fast pace and shifting between storylines fits that with aplomb. Also, the plot isn't just fast and focused, but also very compelling and exciting, with especially the opinion-splitting meta element being something that I for one enjoyed immensely. Oh, and that cliffhanger ending? Just the right note to end the penultimate instalment on.
14. Prince Caspian (C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia #2 / #4)
Yes, one of the hotter takes on today's list is that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in all its greatness, is in fact not the greatest Narnia book. I know, I know - as far as popular opinion is concerned, this is akin to claiming that Appetite for Destruction isn't the best Guns N' Roses album or that Do the Right Thing isn't the best Spike Lee joint. But yeah, when all is said and done, it's a close call - but Prince Caspian hits even harder for me.
There are so many little details that I absolutely love about Prince Caspian - the fascinating way in which we return to the lives of the Pevensie kids, the unconventional but adventurous pacing choice of having them arrive in a weird part of Narnia where they explore amongst themselves for quite a while before running into others, the addition of integral characters like Caspian and Reepicheep, the list goes on. For me, it's the most magical and memorable instalment out of the bunch.
13. God Emperor of Dune (Frank Herbert, Dune #4)
The fourth Dune book is one of the strangest, trippiest books you'll ever read. Taking place after a 3500-year time jump from where the previous book left off, God Emperor consists largely of philosophical dialogues and trains of thought between the main characters, and it goes on some levels. At times, it'll be many pages in a row where nothing happens, but a character stops mid-conversation to consider what to say next, pondering the implications and agendas and plans within plans of every little detail. It's a unique and mind-bending reading experience.
12. A Storm of Swords (George R.R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire #3)
Aww yiss, this is the crown jewel of the ASOIAF series (at least so far - who's to say how good The Winds of Winter is when a cryo-frozen George R. R. Martin finishes the job in the 32nd century?). Every POV character has a banging storyline, with a special shout-out to Jaime Lannister's gradual redemption arch, the chain of events with the Red and Purple Wedding in close proximity, and the masterfully written final chapter that starts with a sentimental Sansa Stark building Winterfell out of snow and ends with a thrilling, game-changing shift in Westerosi power dynamics.
11. Dune Messiah (Frank Herbert, Dune #2)
The second Dune book will be adapted into a Denis Villeneuve film next year, and I am PSYCHED! Messiah is a narratively fascinating piece of literature, especially in how it creates a unique balance between small-scale and large-scale storytelling. On one hand, it's the most intimate and small-scale Dune book, as the settings are limited, the major characters are few, and this makes the end result feel almost like a play. But on the other hand, the underlying geopolitical situation of the fictional universe and the power wielded by the major characters makes for a constant sense that whatever happens in this drama between individual characters will end up affecting the lives of billions and billions. Truly brilliant storytelling.
10. The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson #1)
The first Percy Jackson book will always have a special place in my heart. I remember burning through it in the span of two days, while at our family's summer cabin, at the age of 10 or 11 years. It was one of the most engaging, page-turning and downright addictive reading experiences of my life. Riordan's creative plot immersed me so fully that I just couldn't put the book down, and making my way through it remains one of my fondest reading memories.
9. The Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings #1)
Yeah, all three Lord of the Rings books made it into the top 10, because of course they did. That's how good Mr. Tolkien's unparalleled legacy is. While my ranking of the LOTR movies goes (from worst to best) 2-1-3, the books are different, as I've always ranked the first instalments of the all-time great trilogy just slightly below the other two. The reasons for this are mere nitpicking when looking at the big picture of the trilogy's greatness in comparison to a vast majority of literature, but still quite significant when comparing these three books to each other.
Mainly it's about the many consecutive chapters of sidequests that have no impact on the larger plot in the book's first half - don't get me wrong, they're not bad and actually quite fascinating fantasy adventure content, but they're easily the least epic and memorable part of the trilogy, which is why it makes sense that the Old Forest, Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-Wights were all cut from the movies. From thereon out, the rest of Fellowship is gold.
8. Children of Dune (Frank Herbert, Dune #3)
As I described with more detail in last week's Dune post, the third Dune book isn't the series at its deepest, but it gains massive points from readers like myself due to how insanely engaging the plot is. Very few books are as hard to put down as this one - every new plotline, every story direction, feels creative, fascinating and exciting, causing constant amazement at how Frank Herbert managed to take all of his narratives into the absolutely most interesting possible direction for this book. It's an epic and thrilling ride, and I hope Villeneuve changes his mind on stopping after Messiah because I'd pay good money to see what he'd do with a Children of Dune movie adaptation.
7. The Dark Tower (Stephen King, The Dark Tower #7)
Literature's equivalent of the overtime and penalty shoot-out in a World Cup final, or a band playing the final show of a the world tour for their final album, is quite challenging to rate as an individual book, because the tons of tons of context one needs is inherent to it. You should ready The Dark Tower only after you've read not only the first six books of the series, but also the myriads of other King books that tie in to his multiverse (Insomnia, Hearts in Atlantis and 'Salem's Lot are the most essential, but I really recommend The Stand and It as well if you happen to have aeons of time on your hands), because this is where it all comes together, and to a conclusion, in what is probably the most climactic book you'll ever read.
The reason for this being only seventh on today's list and not higher is that when all is said and done, the Dark Tower mythos is even more about the journey than the destination (although it's quite heavily about both). But, yeah, after thousands and thousands of pages of build-up, King does stick the landing. The way it all culminates is shocking, even downright outrageous, but it's the right ending.
6. Wizard and Glass (Stephen King, The Dark Tower #4)
The fourth instalment in the Dark Tower series is a delightfully out-of-the-box one: after three books where the complex backstory of protagonist Roland Deschain is only hinted at with cryptic fragments, instalment #4 spends only a tiny amount of time advancing the present-day story, devoting most of its 800+ page length to flashbacks as we finally learn how Roland's journey started. It's a risky idea on paper, but it works - even if you remove the larger context of the series, Wizard and Glass works wonders as a heart-wrenching love story with imaginative worldbuilding and a vibe of its own. When juxtaposed with the context of the Dark Tower multiverse and knowing where Roland's story would end up heading, the heartbreak increases tenfold, and the book becomes the stuff of legends.
5. Dune (Frank Herbert, Dune #1)
Ah, the original Dune is the shit. In what is arguably the greatest science fiction book of all time, Frank Herbert accomplishes many things without the end result feeling too stuffed: the reader is treated to an intriguing future setting with intricate worldbuilding, an entertaining tale of adventure with fascinating characters, a politically charged piece of art with strong themes critiquing colonialism and the destruction of the environment, and a game-changing twist on archetypical heroic tales with its unique, subversive protagonist. As good as the sequels are (especially book #2 - #4), they owe much of their excellence to the fact that the first book gave a world of storytelling potential with its blast of creativity and intrigue.
4. The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings #2)
Pretty much everything that Tolkien did well with the first LOTR is improved even further in the second one. One of the many things that I love about The Two Towers is how the narrative is split: especially for first-time reader, it's such a brilliant hook for one's attention that the entire first half gives no answers on how Frodo and the Ring are doing, as we follow only the other major storylines, and then the second half is devoted only to Frodo, Sam and Gollum's journey during the same timeframe.
If The Fellowship of the Ring was only at ninth place because some of its chapters are only 7/10 or 8/10 in all their brilliance, The Two Towers makes a strong case for all of its chapters deserving a 9/10 or more. There's nothing extra of unnecessary, and Tolkien is just so good at maintaining the reader's fascination with exciting new settings, beautifully worded descriptions of various locations and fantasy concepts, and the general epicness of the story.
3. The Waste Lands (Stephen King, The Dark Tower #3)
One of the many, many reasons to love the Dark Tower series is that it's not just a series of instalments, but a collection of seven unique books, each with their own vivid atmosphere and distinctive personality that sets them apart. The Gunslinger is great because it's a steampunk-western mystery in addition to being an instalment in a franchise, while Wizard and Glass works as well as a deeply romantic and charmingly slow-paced character-driven work as it does as the fourth chapter in the series, while The Wolves of the Calla has the whole Seven Samurai -thing going on for it, et cetera.
As for The Waste Lands, I'd describe the book's specific identity as "King goes full Tolkien" - The Lord of the Rings was one of the many major influences on King when writing the series, and the third book is where it especially shows. After the first book gave us numerous questions and no answers, and the second book was so focused on its intense, rapid-pace story that there wasn't much time for worldbuilding, this is where we finally get some room to breathe and explore. For the first time, we learn in detail about how the worlds-within-worlds setting of the story works, and what Roland's quest for the mythical Dark Tower is all about. While there is a coherent plot (and a damn good one at that), a lot of time is reserved for exploring the hell out of the utterly fascinating fictional landscape that King created.
The Waste Lands is filled with imaginative settings, complex heroes and fleshed-out villains, tense escapes and moving reunions, and elements of genres from horror and adventure to science fiction and high fantasy. The plot is all over the place in the best possible way, with every development keeping the reader hooked and begging for more - the book starts with a giant bear (no, really) and ends with a cliffhanger that will make your heart race.
2. The Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings #3)
Oh yeah, this is the stuff. It all culminates in The Return of the King, a properly epic conclusion to the greatest trilogy of all time. Tolkien's dramatic balance of despair and hope in his signature stories-that-really-mattered style is at its very best here: the stakes are incredibly high, the situation looks bleak as hell, but the heroic loyalty, devotion and fellowship of the main characters pulls through, and all of the payoffs feel incredibly earned due to how dramatic and hopeless things looked for a while there. The book is deeply emotional, fantastically adventurous and a truly grand piece of literature that has stood the test of time. You couldn't make the arguably greatest movie of all time from a lesser book than this.
1. The Drawing of the Three (Stephen King, The Dark Tower #2)
When all is said and done, I had to go with the second Dark Tower book. It may be less groundbreaking than Dune and less multifaceted than The Return of the King, but it works with such perfection as the specific kind of book that it's supposed to be, that nothing can really beat how great it is in its own category. You see, when I mentioned that The Lightning Thief and Children of Dune are among the most addictive page-turners I've read, there's a reason I couldn't use a superlative - and that reason is this adrenaline-fueled, insanely paced, high-pressure masterpiece.
Out of all the books I've ever picked up, The Drawing of the Three was the hands-down hardest to put down. The very way in which the story picks up creates a pressing and dramatic high-stakes scenario, and from thereon out, King is at his most relentless as the plot doesn't give you room to breathe even a little. It's a stressful book to read, but in the best way possible - you just have to know what happens next, feeling a constant sense of danger and excitement. You have to experience it for yourself to believe it - preferably while over-caffeinated and in as few days as possible. King immerses the reader into a mindset where shit is just constantly going down and about to go down and you're in a fuck-awful seeing-red rush to get to the next place before it's too late, culminating in an end result that is probably the most thrilling book I will ever read.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I continue Literature Month III with a ranking of my top 10 all-time favorite poets.
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