# The Dark Tower by Stephen King

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/dark-tower-series/

3 people recommended The Dark Tower by Stephen King in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its mix of fantasy, western, horror and sci-fi, with strong writing. Critics say the ending is a bit unsatisfying and the story can feel self-indulgent.

Summary written by Claude from 3 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Blends fantasy, western, horror and sci-fi (1 comment in the sample): "It mixes fantasy elements (inspired by LoTR), western, horror, scfi (robots, AI-trains) cyberpunk and horror." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48909621))
- Great writing (1 comment in the sample): "great writing, ending maybe a little unsatisfying but not abnormal" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46396567))

## What people warn about

- Starts to feel self-indulgent (1 comment in the sample): "it started to feel a bit too self indulgent and up King's own ass" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48910831))

## Other fantasy novel series people recommend

- [Discworld by Terry Pratchett](https://hackerapproved.com/p/discworld-series/): 30 recommend, 2 mixed, 4 criticize
- [Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling](https://hackerapproved.com/p/harry-potter-series/): 26 recommend, 11 mixed, 10 criticize
- [The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wheel-of-time/): 12 recommend, 8 mixed, 8 criticize
- [The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/stormlight-archive/): 9 recommend, 3 mixed, 1 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Dark Tower by Stephen King", https://hackerapproved.com/p/dark-tower-series/ (3 recommend, 2 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.