PDA

View Full Version : The Dark Tower Companion



Bev Vincent
11-09-2012, 08:35 AM
I'm currently working with the copy-edited manuscript of my third book, The Dark Tower Companion, to 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 smaller image below to see a full-sized version of the great cover by Spanish artist Nekro.

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 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451237994/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0451237994&link_code=as3&tag=theroadtothed-20) | Kindle eBook (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008U4BMN2/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B008U4BMN2&link_code=as3&tag=theroadtothed-20)

http://www.bevvincent.com/Companion/companion-small.jpg (http://www.bevvincent.com/Companion/companion.jpg)

you ever seen a ghost?
11-09-2012, 08:50 AM
does this book reprint King's snyopses, King's newsgroup post of the 1983 letter to you?

thanks!

-justin

Bev Vincent
11-09-2012, 09:08 AM
No -- that was in The Road to the Dark Tower, not here. This is all new content.

jhanic
11-09-2012, 10:42 AM
Looking forward to this!

John

Randall Flagg
11-09-2012, 11:44 AM
Everyone please order using these links:

trade paperback (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451237994/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0451237994&link_code=as3&tag=theroadtothed-20) Kindle eBook (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008U4BMN2/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B008U4BMN2&link_code=as3&tag=theroadtothed-20)

WeDealInLead
11-09-2012, 02:10 PM
Will you be getting your own copies? Id like to get a signed copy if that was at all possible.

Also, any chance your short stories will ever be collected?

Shannon
11-09-2012, 02:12 PM
Excellent cover! Looking forward to this.

Bev Vincent
11-09-2012, 02:16 PM
Will you be getting your own copies? Id like to get a signed copy if that was at all possible.

Also, any chance your short stories will ever be collected?

I'll be getting a few copies, but probably not enough to sell. I have a PO box where books can be sent to be signed -- see http://www.bevvincent.com/contact/

I'm hoping to get a novel or two published before I do a short story collection. But thanks for asking -- I've had offers to do one, but I've turned them down so far.

Bev Vincent
11-09-2012, 02:17 PM
Excellent cover! Looking forward to this.

I always open the file containing the cover art with trepidation, but so far I haven't been let down. I like this work a lot. Guy's name is Nekro: http://nekroxiii.deviantart.com/?rnrd=2470

Stockerlone
11-09-2012, 04:11 PM
Looks amazing !!!
(Are there any infos about a translated German version?):drool:

mae
11-09-2012, 04:19 PM
Why no hardcover? I believe the first one was also a paperback.

Bev Vincent
11-09-2012, 06:31 PM
Market analysis tells the publisher the best way to release books like these. Road to the Dark Tower sold very well as a trade paperback. That's not to say that there won't be SOME kind of hardcover edition...

Too early to say anything about foreign editions. Those publishers want to see the finished MS first and I'm still handling copy edits.

CRinVA
11-10-2012, 07:55 AM
A perfect edition to my ever growin Dark Tower Related Books Collection! If this book is half as good as "The Road..." then it will be a smash hit!

Congratulations Bev!

Bev Vincent
11-10-2012, 08:04 AM
Thanks! Here's an interview I did about the book for an Italian King fan page (http://www.stephenking.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=651%3Aintervista-escluva-a-bev-vincent-per-luscita-di-the-dark-tower-companion&catid=1&Itemid=2). Didn't know I spoke Italian so well, did you?!

Scoogs
11-10-2012, 03:54 PM
That's not to say that there won't be SOME kind of hardcover edition...


That's good to hear, I hope CD does a S/L for this one as well.
I'm looking forward to reading this one.

Wuducynn
11-11-2012, 08:59 AM
Very exciting news and looks great. I'm curious as to why the depiction of the Dark Tower as a cathedral for the cover? Or is that not supposed to be the Dark Tower?

Randall Flagg
11-11-2012, 09:08 AM
Bev can answer best, but I looked at a larger version of the image and it looks like the top of the Tower with the lower portion shrouded in clouds. Is is however very cathedral looking.

http://www.bevvincent.com/Companion/companion.jpg

Wuducynn
11-11-2012, 09:44 AM
Except that The Dark Tower's top is depicted as flat topped with a multicolored oriel window, not pointed. Eh, it's just a nit-picky curiosity of mine that's all. No big deal. I can't wait until this book comes out, I will be ordering it on Amazon.

Bev Vincent
11-11-2012, 09:55 AM
It is the top of the tower, but I told the publisher that I wasn't opposed to a stylized rendition rather than something that is absolutely literal. I provided the various descriptions from the text, but gave my blessing to create something representative instead.

I've never been able to wrap my head around the description of the oriel window.

Wuducynn
11-11-2012, 10:26 AM
The oriel window as I understand it is really multiple round windows of different colors.

Bev Vincent
11-11-2012, 11:09 AM
Yep, but I've never been able to visualize that. Is it a window that faces in only direction, or is it visible from any approach, for example? If so, how does that work. And are they concentric circles? Because one is described as "innermost."

Wuducynn
11-11-2012, 11:39 AM
I pictured it as going around the top of the tower so depending on which direction you're coming from you would see different colors. From Rolands direction the innermost one was the black window. Innermost meaning middle from his perspective.

pathoftheturtle
11-11-2012, 02:50 PM
... from his perspective.Doubtful, as this line reflects the central control shown by Black 13.

Wuducynn
11-12-2012, 09:39 AM
... from his perspective.Doubtful, as this line reflects the central control shown by Black 13.

Hunh?

Wuducynn
11-12-2012, 09:53 AM
Let me make sure I understand you. Are you saying when he says "Innermost" when describing the black oriel window that you don't think he is describing it from his perspective walking towards the Tower? What else would he be meaning?

pathoftheturtle
11-12-2012, 10:07 AM
The different balls of the Wizard's Rainbow correspond to the thirteen colors of the window. And Black 13 is the most powerful of those, controlling the others, like the lord of the rings. Also, there's a parallel to the Dark Tower itself, sitting at the center of the twelve beams, with their twelve guardians. So I think the black innermost window is objectively innermost, rather than just appearing that way from a particular viewpoint. Though I also doubt the others are concentric; they'd probably just somehow ring around that one, basically side by side. How it works, exactly, I don't know, but that is the symbolism, I believe.

Bev Vincent
11-12-2012, 10:20 AM
"At the top was an oriel window of many colors—each, Roland knew, corresponding to one of the Wizard’s glasses. The inmost circle but one was the pink of the ball that had been left for awhile in the keeping of a certain witch-woman named Rhea; the center was the dead ebony of Black Thirteen."

"he could see the oriel window at the top, its many colors blazing in the spring sunshine, the black center seeming to peer back down the binoculars at him like the very Eye of Todash."

The tower is round, so the notion of a central window can only mean that they are somehow concentric. Concentric rings, perhaps. But how can that fit on the face of a circular Tower unless it points in only one direction. That's always been my problem. That suggests that the tower has a preferential orientation. Maybe it does -- in the direction of the door. That's one reason why I didn't get too hung up on an absolutely literal drawing of the tower for the cover.

Wuducynn
11-12-2012, 10:27 AM
Well it looks like it's once in a blue moon day because I was wrong... :wink:
Here is a picture of an oriel window - http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/21/16/211698_a439d96a.jpg

So the corresponding window to Black Thirteen would be the center of the oriel window like above. Of course it doesn't sound like it's identical to the above window with circular inside windows instead of square.

Bev Vincent
12-03-2012, 12:30 PM
The cover art was done by a Spanish artist named Nekro. He posted his concept art on Facebook:

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/73292_10151340457710586_322742870_n.jpg

Bev Vincent
12-10-2012, 04:50 PM
Page proofs are here:

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/251122_10151236363762483_1855397039_n.jpg

jhanic
12-10-2012, 07:08 PM
:thumbsup:

John

noal
12-11-2012, 01:56 PM
Pre-ordered on Amazon, best of luck with the book Bev!

Bev Vincent
12-11-2012, 02:01 PM
Thanks!

Bev Vincent
01-01-2013, 10:07 AM
Part 1 of an interview (http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2013/01/interview-with-bev-vicent-part-1.html) I did with Talk Stephen King about The Dark Tower Companion.

WeDealInLead
01-01-2013, 11:28 AM
Good interview. I'm glad it's all new text.

I checked out your review webpage too. I was pleasantly surprised to see Last Kind Words by Tom Piccirilli. That one was one of my favourite reads this year.

Bev Vincent
01-01-2013, 12:06 PM
Tom's a good buddy of mine -- he's been going through a really tough time lately because of medical problems.

ChristineB
01-01-2013, 12:11 PM
Good interview Bev.

I still think of you every time I see a stick of butter. haha

Bev Vincent
01-02-2013, 03:06 AM
Part 2 (http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2013/01/interview-with-bev-vincent-part-2.html)

Bev Vincent
01-23-2013, 02:04 PM
I received a boxload of these today:

http://bevvincent.com/Companion/ARC1.jpg

http://bevvincent.com/Companion/ARC2.jpg

Scoogs
01-23-2013, 04:51 PM
Nice, looking forward to April.

jhanic
01-23-2013, 05:27 PM
I received a boxload of these today:

http://bevvincent.com/Companion/ARC1.jpg

http://bevvincent.com/Companion/ARC2.jpg

How do I get one?

John

Dan
01-23-2013, 06:39 PM
If you are looking for people to review, I wouldn't mind helping.

fernandito
01-24-2013, 02:01 PM
Nice! Looking forward to it, Bev! :D

Bev Vincent
02-06-2013, 07:28 AM
I will be receiving a second batch of galleys to hand out to bloggers/reviewers. Not a ton, but several.

If you are interested in receiving one of these (US only), please send me a PM with the following info:

1) Your name, e-mail address and mailing address
2) The venue where you would submit or post a review if you felt inclined to review it after reading it

Note that if you are selected to receive one, I will also be submitting your information to my publicist at NAL, who will send you press releases and other promotional material closer to pub date (April 2)

Bev Vincent
02-18-2013, 06:58 AM
Rocky Wood's review (http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/read-horror/book-reviews/dark-tower-companion-guide-stephen-kings-epic-fantasy-bev-vincent/).

ChristineB
02-18-2013, 09:35 AM
Will this be available in any brick and mortar stores Bev?

Bev Vincent
02-18-2013, 09:38 AM
It should be available in all of them, assuming there are any left by April 2!

ChristineB
02-18-2013, 10:05 AM
Yeh I hear you on that one Bev. Thanks for the info.

Bev Vincent
03-13-2013, 01:28 PM
Cemetery Dance Publications just announced that they are doing the limited edition of my forthcoming book (http://www.cemeterydance.com/page/CDP/PROD/vincent03), The Dark Tower Companion.

Signed Limited Edition OVERSIZED Hardcover ($60.00)
Deluxe Signed & Traycased Lettered Edition ($200)

Dan
03-13-2013, 01:46 PM
Congrats Bev! I ordered my S/L earlier this week!

jhanic
03-13-2013, 01:49 PM
I ordered the signed limited yesterday. Looking forward to it!

John

biomieg
03-13-2013, 02:47 PM
I ordered one too (with a 20% discount coupon from CD, which somewhat mitigates the shipping costs to Europe ;))

divemaster
03-14-2013, 03:29 AM
Cemetery Dance Publications just announced that they are doing the limited edition of my forthcoming book (http://www.cemeterydance.com/page/CDP/PROD/vincent03), The Dark Tower Companion.

Signed Limited Edition OVERSIZED Hardcover ($60.00)


I got one!

Bev Vincent
03-27-2013, 06:34 AM
Blu Gilliand interviews me at October Country (http://theoctobercountry.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/interview-bev-vincent-on-the-dark-tower-companion/). He'll have a review of The Dark Tower Companion tomorrow.

ChristineB
03-27-2013, 07:01 AM
Great interview Bev. Thanks

noal
03-27-2013, 12:28 PM
I just got my paperback today from Amazon.

A nice surprise as I had forgotten I'd pre-ordered it!

Looking good Bev, I'm sure I will enjoy getting stuck into this later.

Bev Vincent
03-27-2013, 01:18 PM
Delivered already? That's pretty cool -- publication day is April 2. I guess it's not a hard and fast pub date.

jon10g
03-27-2013, 01:52 PM
Mine is on its way to me from Amazon as well.

Bev Vincent
03-28-2013, 08:54 AM
Here is Blu Gilliand's review (http://theoctobercountry.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/vincents-new-dark-tower-book-is-a-worthy-companion/)

Bev Vincent
04-02-2013, 12:49 AM
Today is publication day. To celebrate, I went to the other side of the planet!

herbertwest
04-02-2013, 02:40 AM
Congratulations! A commercial deal for japan? :)

Bev Vincent
04-02-2013, 03:20 AM
I wish. Day job business trip.

ChristineB
04-02-2013, 07:49 AM
Should get mine today!! Yay.

Thorin Oakenshield
04-02-2013, 10:24 AM
I will eagerly be waiting for my copy today. Can't wait.

ChristineB
04-03-2013, 07:05 AM
And did get it yesterday afternoon. Looking forward to diving into it later today.

herbertwest
04-09-2013, 02:36 AM
Except from my review about Bev's book : "You will simply not find a better book about THE DARK TOWER [...] written by a recognized & great specialist es Stephen King."
>>> http://www.amazon.com/review/R2FC1QZ2VXFEXU/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0451237994&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=

Bev Vincent
04-09-2013, 05:57 AM
Thanks!

Bryant Burnette
04-09-2013, 12:19 PM
Finished my copy last night. Terrific book! Any hardcore Dark Tower fan should have it.

My favorite sections were probably the ones dealing with the comics. I'm not a huge fan of the comics on the whole, but it was terrific to read more about the process behind making them.

Bev Vincent
04-09-2013, 03:07 PM
Glad to hear it. I was fascinated by that too but was worried that I might be the only one!

Bryant Burnette
04-09-2013, 11:02 PM
Glad to hear it. I was fascinated by that too but was worried that I might be the only one!

Definitely not. I was especially interested in the sections in which the various interviewees discussed how the art evolved in relation to the scripts. I read a good many comics; nowhere near enough to even consider calling myself an expert, but enough so that I feel like I've got more than a layman's grasp on how they work. So I'd been assuming that the DT comics worked basically the same way: the writer writes a script, and serves basically as the director for the artist. Some artists will have more control/input than others, and some comics are more collaborative than others; but in many cases, it really is a case of the artist following the writer's lead.

So finding out that the DT comics haven't entirely worked that way was highly interesting to me.

Well done!

Bev Vincent
04-10-2013, 03:43 AM
Thanks!

Bev Vincent
05-01-2013, 07:24 AM
Another nice review, which says in part: Bev Vincent is able to speak with authority on the subject without talking down to the readers. In fact, he is so fluent in Mid-World, one gets the feeling he has gone through a doorway and visited. Really, you have the sense that he’s been there. -- David Squyres, Talk Stephen King (http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-review-dark-tower-companion-by-bev.html?spref=fb)

jhanic
05-01-2013, 11:51 AM
Another nice review, which says in part: Bev Vincent is able to speak with authority on the subject without talking down to the readers. In fact, he is so fluent in Mid-World, one gets the feeling he has gone through a doorway and visited. Really, you have the sense that he’s been there. -- David Squyres, Talk Stephen King (http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-review-dark-tower-companion-by-bev.html?spref=fb)

I like that! When were you able to go through the doorway? :P

John

Bev Vincent
05-01-2013, 11:52 AM
Next week.

jon10g
05-01-2013, 12:07 PM
Could you tell us what additional material is in the limited edition as compared to other editions. The latest CD email states that there is additional text.
Thanks.

Bev Vincent
05-01-2013, 12:21 PM
It's in the Marvel section -- discussion of issues that weren't available yet when I had to turn the book in to my publisher.

jon10g
05-01-2013, 12:43 PM
Thanks. I will have to get a copy if PS Publishing are getting any for sale. Postage from the US is prohibitively expensive these days.

Bev Vincent
05-01-2013, 12:47 PM
Tell me about it -- I sent contributor copies to two people in the UK and I think the postage was nearly $20 each.

biomieg
05-01-2013, 12:49 PM
And those were paperbacks I presume - having hardcovers shipped from the US costs me at least $35 nowadays.

Bev Vincent
05-01-2013, 01:46 PM
Yes, trade paperbacks that cost less than $3 to ship within the US.

pathoftheturtle
05-02-2013, 12:35 AM
@
Talk Stephen King (http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-review-dark-tower-companion-by-bev.html?spref=fb)
"Bev Vincent is able to speak with authority on the subject without talking down to the readers."Good line. I've always liked that about you.

Randall Flagg
05-02-2013, 01:00 PM
Next week.
Positive rep for that response!

Randall Flagg
05-02-2013, 01:03 PM
And those were paperbacks I presume - having hardcovers shipped from the US costs me at least $35 nowadays.
International (from the USA) shipping has become very expensive. A 4LB. package might cost $70+ to send.

jhanic
05-03-2013, 03:48 AM
I just sent a slightly less than four pound package to The Netherlands for $25.

John

Randall Flagg
05-04-2013, 12:30 PM
I mailed a 5.0 LB. package to Germany yesterday and it was $50. Ouch.

Bev Vincent
11-01-2013, 04:35 AM
Mark Justice interviews me about The Dark Tower Companion in Pod of Horror #70 (http://horrorworld.org/poh.htm). My part starts at the 41 minute mark.

stroppygoblin
11-09-2013, 11:42 AM
Mr Vincent, (we haven't yet been introduced, so I wouldn't be so informal as to call you Bev... :redface:)

Do you have a publishing date for the S/L version of the book from CD yet?

Oh and pleased to meet you - I'm Simon :cowboy:

Bev Vincent
11-09-2013, 01:27 PM
I finished proofing the electronic copy last week. Not sure what happens next--you'd have to check with CD.

By the way, I far prefer Bev to Ms, since I'm a guy!

stroppygoblin
11-14-2013, 03:55 PM
I finished proofing the electronic copy last week. Not sure what happens next--you'd have to check with CD.

By the way, I far prefer Bev to Ms, since I'm a guy!

OMG - that was supposed to say MR Vincent! SO sorry :panic::redface: I'm well aware that you are a man.

Bev Vincent
04-23-2015, 02:26 AM
Per CD: We're pleased to announce that our signed Limited Edition hardcover of The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King's Epic Fantasy (http://www.cemeterydance.com/page/CDP/PROD/vincent03) by Bev Vincent will have updates and bonus material NOT FOUND in any other editions! This special hardcover edition will be published in July and this week marks your LAST CHANCE for FREE US SHIPPING!

Bev Vincent
07-31-2015, 09:25 AM
Per CD: We're pleased to report that our signed Limited Edition hardcover of The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King's Epic Fantasy by Bev Vincent, which has updates and bonus material NOT FOUND in any other editions, is almost done at the printer and will begin shipping in late August!

racerx45
07-31-2015, 10:07 AM
That is good to hear, looking forward to this one.

jhanic
07-31-2015, 11:42 AM
Yes!!!

John

craigobau
07-31-2015, 11:53 AM
I'm currently reading Song of Susannah and expect to have read book 7 by the time this book is published (and no doubt I'll be looking for something to fill the DT void left after I finish book 7).

Bev - what can I expect from this latest edition of The Dark Tower Companion? Is it focused on analysing the DT books or does it cover a wider gambit of DT-related topics?

Thanks.

Bev Vincent
07-31-2015, 11:57 AM
The Road to the Dark Tower was more analytical -- this is a broader book that encompasses as much as I could of the DT Universe.

Here's the cover copy: 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.

I do wax philosophical a bit at the end.

craigobau
08-01-2015, 12:52 PM
The Road to the Dark Tower was more analytical -- this is a broader book that encompasses as much as I could of the DT Universe.

Here's the cover copy: 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.

I do wax philosophical a bit at the end.


Thanks Bev.

Any plans for a regular retail release in the near future?

Bev Vincent
08-02-2015, 06:00 AM
only the original trade paperback, which is still available.

Bev Vincent
12-30-2015, 01:45 PM
I received my first copy of the CD limited edition today. It looks amazing!

Bev Vincent
01-14-2016, 08:26 AM
Here are a couple of photos of the lettered edition from CD:

http://www.bevvincent.com/images/dtc-letter1.jpg

http://www.bevvincent.com/images/dtc-letter2.jpg

jhanic
01-14-2016, 06:05 PM
WOW!!!

John

jsmcmullen92
01-15-2016, 06:43 AM
That looks awesome now we just need a whole set of DT books like that to match! I think that would look very sharp lined up on the shelf