The Dark Tower
The Dark Tower by Stephen Kingby Stephen King
Shares rank 6 of 11 fantasy novel series by recommenders
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.
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.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Blends fantasy, western, horror and sci-fi
“It mixes fantasy elements (inspired by LoTR), western, horror, scfi (robots, AI-trains) cyberpunk and horror.”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Opening lines of famous literary works” Great writing
“great writing, ending maybe a little unsatisfying but not abnormal”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Ending a little unsatisfying
“great writing, ending maybe a little unsatisfying but not abnormal”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” Starts to feel self-indulgent
“it started to feel a bit too self indulgent and up King's own ass”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Opening lines of famous literary works”
Other fantasy novel series people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novel series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discworldby Terry Pratchett | 33 | 4 | 89% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Harry Potterby J.K. Rowling | 28 | 7 | 80% | 9 | 1 yr4 owners | Approved |
| The Wheel of Timeby Robert Jordan | 20 | 10 | 67% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Stormlight Archiveby Brandon Sanderson | 12 | 1 | 92% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Dark Towerby Stephen KingThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it started to feel a bit too self indulgent and up King's own ass”
“It mixes fantasy elements (inspired by LoTR), western, horror, scfi (robots, AI-trains) cyberpunk and horror.”
“great writing, ending maybe a little unsatisfying but not abnormal”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.