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* {{Beat}}: Used in the final chapter, when King addresses the reader asking them not to go any further, accept that the story is over and that Roland got whatever happy ending he was looking for. Paragraph ends. The next paragraph follows with him asking if they're still insisting.
-->''[[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Very well.]]
-->''[[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Very well.]]
* BullyingADragon: The last man left at the Crimson King's castle encounters Mordred, and tries provoking him into attacking, partly because he hopes it'll give him a quicker death than Mordred stretching it out, but also because it'd trap him there. [[spoiler:Mordred doesn't take.]]
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* EatTheDog: When crossing a frozen wasteland, Susannah is so cold that she eventually considers killing Oy for his fur.
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* EvilTaintedThePlace: The Red King's evil has left the area around his castle burnt and lifeless, and this is after it's had however long it's been since then to recover. Roland grimly notes when he and Susannah first lay eyes up it that it used to be worse.
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* NoPartyLikeADonnerParty: When crossing a frozen wasteland, Susannah is so cold that she eventually considers killing Oy for his fur.
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-->--'''Robert Browning'''
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* BlatantLies: Nigel claims he was killing rats in Castle Discordia's basements, but Susannah is rightly suspicious, and even more so when he shows the ka-tet his sleeping quarters, which are completely rat free. She figures he ran into Morded and is keeping it from them. [[spoiler:She's right.]]
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* LoopholeAbuse: Dandelo was unable to directly force Stuttering Bill to give him his command codes, but he was able to order Bill to give him the manuals containing those codes.
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* ReducedToRatburgers: While chasing Roland and Susannah across the wastelands, Morded just barely gets by on half-poisoned insects, and later the crows as he gets closer to the Crimson King's castle. It's a good day for him when he finds a weasel to eat.
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* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: After the fall of Algul Siento, and the Crimson King's VillainousBreakdown, many of the people living around his castle run for it, either because he's gone completely insane or because they don't want to be around if he comes ''back''.
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* GoodIsNotSoft: Through the books, much is made of Gan's goodness and kindness. [[spoiler:As Roland learns at the very end, however, what Gan does not have is mercy. If Gan thinks Roland needs to relive his journey over and over again, no amount of pleading will save him.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: After Roland kills Mordred, the Crimson King wails at him for killing his son. Roland just retorts that the Crimson King forced him to go after Roland, and has no grounds for calling him out.
* MeaningfulEcho: Roland finds himself recalling Flagg's words from the first book ("may I be frank? You go on.") as he fights the Crimson King, though he doesn't recall who told him so. [[spoiler:Once he's inside the Tower, it repeats those words to him again.]]
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* SignsOfDisrepair: Inverted; Dandelo [[spoiler:(an emotion-eating vampire)]] must allow a street sign warning of his presence in anagram form to exist--but he can deface the sign to read "Odd's Lane", which means nothing, rather than "Odd Lane".
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* SignsOfDisrepair: SignsOfDisrepair:
** Inverted; Dandelo [[spoiler:(an emotion-eating vampire)]] must allow a street sign warning of his presence in anagram form to exist--but he can deface the sign to read "Odd's Lane", which means nothing, rather than "OddLane".Lane".
** On the front door of the Tower, Roland sees a sign that should say "unfound". However, the first two letters have faded away, just leaving it as "found".
** Inverted; Dandelo [[spoiler:(an emotion-eating vampire)]] must allow a street sign warning of his presence in anagram form to exist--but he can deface the sign to read "Odd's Lane", which means nothing, rather than "Odd
** On the front door of the Tower, Roland sees a sign that should say "unfound". However, the first two letters have faded away, just leaving it as "found".
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* {{Glamor}}: Dandelo uses one to trick Roland and Susannah, convincing them his house is a nice, cosy place where they can sit out the storm.
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* {{Glamor}}: {{Glamour}}: Dandelo uses one to trick Roland and Susannah, convincing them his house is a nice, cosy place where they can sit out the storm.
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* ChekhovsGun: After killing Dandelo, Roland also kills his horse, but doesn't bother doing anything with the corpse. Mordred soon discovers it, much to his regret.
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* DoAndroidsDream: Stuttering Bill admits he feels some small emotions, much as he can, and wonders if he'll go to an afterlife when he dies, since there's a lot of people he'd quite like to see again.
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* {{Glamor}}: Dandelo uses one to trick Roland and Susannah, convincing them his house is a nice, cosy place where they can sit out the storm.
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* PassThePopcorn: Some of the doors Susannah and Roland find lead to places like New York on September 11th, 2001, or the Ford Theatre the night Lincoln was assassinated. Susannah is baffled as to why anyone would go watch these things, but Roland knows there are people who would.
* PerceptionFilter: Dandelo's glamor means Susannah sees nothing suspicious about the look of his house, which looks like something out of a fairy tale, even with the half-dead horse glaring at her and whinnying its head off outside. Not until it's a little too late.
* PerceptionFilter: Dandelo's glamor means Susannah sees nothing suspicious about the look of his house, which looks like something out of a fairy tale, even with the half-dead horse glaring at her and whinnying its head off outside. Not until it's a little too late.
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* SuddenlyShouting: When one of the Breakers tries defending what they were doing, it's Jake who suddenly bellows at them that they knew damn well what they were doing.
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* ThisWasHisTrueForm: After Dandelo dies, he reverts back to his natural form. Full details aren't given, but it's "bug-like" and makes Mordred look almost sightly.
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* WhatTheHellHero: When Roland thinks about leaving the Horn of Eld behind, an unknown voice (possibly the Tower) chides him for not taking the three seconds to pick it up. [[spoiler:Later on, the Tower does this again as he reaches the final door.]]
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** Susannah feels a small bout of pity for Mordred. While Roland claims he doesn't, and hasn't the luxury, his silent response indicates this isn't true.
* AnyLastWords: As they're finishing off the few guards at Algul Siento still standing, Eddie asks one if he has any last words. He uses it to curse the ka-tet.
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* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Callahan kills himself rather than let the vampires and can-toi take their time with him.
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* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: BetterToDieThanBeKilled:
** Callahan kills himself rather than let the vampires and can-toi take their time withhim.him.
** While running from the thing underground, Susannah decides she'll keep her last bullet in case it turns out to be ImmuneToBullets.
* BiggerOnTheInside: The Dark Tower.
** Callahan kills himself rather than let the vampires and can-toi take their time with
** While running from the thing underground, Susannah decides she'll keep her last bullet in case it turns out to be ImmuneToBullets.
* BiggerOnTheInside: The Dark Tower.
* CompellingVoice: The song of the Tower itself, which gets stronger and stronger the closer Roland gets. [[spoiler:Part of the drama in his confrontation with the Crimson King is the knowledge that if he doesn't kill the King soon, the compulsion will be too strong, and Roland will run right into his line of fire just to get to the Tower.]]
* CreepyCrows: The only animals Roland and Susannah see in their trek through the badlands are murders of crows. There's more of them at the Crimson King's castle, which Mordred sets on the last person living there.
* CreepyCrows: The only animals Roland and Susannah see in their trek through the badlands are murders of crows. There's more of them at the Crimson King's castle, which Mordred sets on the last person living there.
* EntitledBastard: Some of the Breakers, used to being pampered and looked after, get like this after the ka-tet take out their guards.
* EvilIsPetty: The Crimson King's whole attitude could be summed up as "destroy the Dark Tower so Roland can't have it". [[spoiler:Once inside, Roland finds he's destroyed some of Roland's belongings before he got trapped, for no reason.]]
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* FailedASpotCheck: The team sent out from Algul Siento to investigate the Door the Ka-Tet use don't notice Morded hiding in the shadows.
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* FailedASpotCheck: FailedASpotCheck:
** The team sent out from Algul Siento to investigate the Door the Ka-Tet use don't notice Morded hiding in theshadows.shadows.
** In the aftermath of taking out the guards, nobody notices Sheemie's sudden limp. If they had, they might've been able to save him.
* {{Fingore}}: Roland tries removing one of the roses surrounding the Dark Tower, which shreds his already mutilated right hand further, to the extent one of his fingers is barely holding on.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** As he lies dying, Eddie tries to tell Roland about Dandelo.
** Susannah promises Roland she'll accompany him all the way to the Tower, but they both know this isn't true. [[spoiler:And they're right.]]
** The team sent out from Algul Siento to investigate the Door the Ka-Tet use don't notice Morded hiding in the
** In the aftermath of taking out the guards, nobody notices Sheemie's sudden limp. If they had, they might've been able to save him.
* {{Fingore}}: Roland tries removing one of the roses surrounding the Dark Tower, which shreds his already mutilated right hand further, to the extent one of his fingers is barely holding on.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** As he lies dying, Eddie tries to tell Roland about Dandelo.
** Susannah promises Roland she'll accompany him all the way to the Tower, but they both know this isn't true. [[spoiler:And they're right.]]
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* GhostTown: Roland and Susannah start finding these as they get to the Crimson King's castle. With a possible emphasis on "ghost", since they find the buildings unspeakably creepy and refuse to sleep in them, and have the feeling they're being watched, and not by Mordred.
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* InadequateInheritor: Mordred is a child of prophecy, spoken for thousands of years, said to help bring about a new flood of chaos. The narration notes that what's resulted is considerably unimpressive; a child half-mad from starvation.
* ItCanThink: After getting out of the tunnel, Roland and Susannah ponder whether the creature is smart enough to come after them in the daylight. They decide to get out of there rather than stick around to find out.
* ItCanThink: After getting out of the tunnel, Roland and Susannah ponder whether the creature is smart enough to come after them in the daylight. They decide to get out of there rather than stick around to find out.
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* ItsProbablyNothing: In "Joe Collins" house, as there's a storm raging outside, Susannah hears a noise which she tries to convince herself is just the wind. She knows it isn't, and figures it might be Mordred. Then she realises the noise is coming from ''inside'' the house.
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* KickTheDog: Shortly before getting to the Dark Tower, Roland snaps at Oy for being quiet and reproachful. [[spoiler:It quickly turns into PartingWordsRegret, since Oy is killed the next day.]]
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* NearVillainVictory: The forces of the Crimson King only need to break one last beam and that'll be lights out for everyone everywhere. The ka-tet thwart them, and the beam itself reveals that three days more and that would've been it.
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* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Roland gets one when he gets to the top of the tower, and sees the door, and realises just what's about to happen to him.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Roland, who is generally TheStoic, starts laughing when he and Susannah run into "Joe Collins". It takes Susannah a while to realize this is wrong.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Roland, who is generally TheStoic, starts laughing when he and Susannah run into "Joe Collins". It takes Susannah a while to realize this is wrong.
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* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: In the second half of the book, Susannah starts having odd dreams of meeting Eddie and Jake in New York, which usually end with something trying to warn her of Dandelo.
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* RiddleForTheAges: Susannah figures she'll never know how Patrick Danville got into Mid-World, or wound up in Dandelo's basement. She doesn't, and the novel never feels the need to explain.
* RuinsForRuinsSake: Dotting the area around the Dark Tower are many strange and inexplicable ruins from all kinds of cultures.
* RuinsForRuinsSake: Dotting the area around the Dark Tower are many strange and inexplicable ruins from all kinds of cultures.
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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: At the very end, before he finishes his goal, Roland tells Patrick to turn back the way they came, and if at all possible find a door to America. Stephen King's narration states even he has no idea whether Patrick did or not.
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* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Callahan kills himself rather than let the vampires and can-toi take their time with him.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Ted's important to the Crimson King's goons because they've never met anyone as powerful as him, but after he ran away Trampas suggests not trying again in case he makes them reconsider.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Ted's important to the Crimson King's goons because they've never met anyone as powerful as him, but after he ran away Trampas suggests not trying again in case he makes them reconsider.
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* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: The Breakers know, or at least suspect, there's something up with what they're doing, but they try really hard not to think about it.
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* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Flagg loved Roland's mother, or lusted after her, which is about as the same in his eyes.
* EyeScream: The first thing Mordred does to Flagg once he gets fed up is make him rip his own eyes out.
* FailedASpotCheck: The team sent out from Algul Siento to investigate the Door the Ka-Tet use don't notice Morded hiding in the shadows.
* EyeScream: The first thing Mordred does to Flagg once he gets fed up is make him rip his own eyes out.
* FailedASpotCheck: The team sent out from Algul Siento to investigate the Door the Ka-Tet use don't notice Morded hiding in the shadows.
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* GildedCage: Algul Siento. It's a lovely, charming, idyllic little town, with all the best food and drink you could want, the best movies you could ask for, technology allowing you to act out any sexual desires you might have. And you can never, ''ever'' leave. Try, and you die.
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* ItIsDehumanizing: After a few moments of conversation about Mordred, Jake (suffering a bizarre resentment towards Roland's "son") shifts from calling Mordred "him" to "it" without noticing.
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* JustBeforeTheEnd: The Crimson King's forces are working to break the beams, at which point all reality will go with it. They've managed to get down to the last two, and those won't last very long. Meanwhile, while there's a lot of tech around, it's all on its last legs and no-one knows (or cares) how to fix it.
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* MakeAnExampleOfThem: Trampas is a genial, friendly, pleasant man who sees himself as a sort of father-figure to the Breakers. And just as he's seeming like a really swell guy, it's mentioned he also had a guard who bullied some of them lobotomized and allowed to wander around the town as an example.
* MakeWayForTheNewVillains: Flagg tries to buddy up to Mordred, who very quickly gets bored of him and kills him.
* MakeWayForTheNewVillains: Flagg tries to buddy up to Mordred, who very quickly gets bored of him and kills him.
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* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Two villainous versions.
** Flagg admits in his private monologue he couldn't really care about the Crimson King's cause. He's just in it for the chance of godhood.
** Mordred doesn't give a damn about what his "Red Father" wants, and is quite content to sit back and let the ka-tet scupper the Breakers. He's just hungry.
** Flagg admits in his private monologue he couldn't really care about the Crimson King's cause. He's just in it for the chance of godhood.
** Mordred doesn't give a damn about what his "Red Father" wants, and is quite content to sit back and let the ka-tet scupper the Breakers. He's just hungry.
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* ReadingsAreOffTheScale: When the workers at Algul tried taking readings on Ted, he broke the scales himself.
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* SanitySlippage: Mia goes completely insane when Mordred, her "chap", is born. Not that it matters much, since he then eats her.
* SceneryDissonance: The small town the Breakers live in looks like the idealized 50s American town. Not the place you'd expect people working to bring about the annihilation of all reality to live. And it's right next to the wastelands of a world that's moved on.
* SceneryDissonance: The small town the Breakers live in looks like the idealized 50s American town. Not the place you'd expect people working to bring about the annihilation of all reality to live. And it's right next to the wastelands of a world that's moved on.
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* UnderestimatingBadassery: Flagg believes his thinking cap will block out Mordred's telepathy. He is shown to be completely wrong, but Mordred's playing along for the moment. Then he gets fed up.
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* YourMindMakesItReal: A mind-trap left in the Dixie Pig, which Eddie nearly runs into. It summons an image from the minds of those nearby, then kills you with it. In Eddie's case, it's a cartoon T-Rex.
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* HeterosexualLifePartners: Pimli and Finli are described as being this.
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* NewGamePlus: At the end of the book, Roland begins a journey across the desert carrying the Horn of Eld (which he had not bothered to retreive from [[spoiler:Cuthbert's body]] previously). The presence of the horn is symbolic; over the course of the series, Roland learns some of the values of family, love and loss. This carries over to his new journey, where he spares the time to go back and retrieve the Horn. This also suggests that, with each new quest he undertakes, Roland grows as a person. And considering that the series is based in part on Robert Browning's poem, which ends "Dauntless the slug-horn to my lips I set, and blew "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came", the Horn is probably one of the most important PlotCoupons for him to be carrying.
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* NewGamePlus: At the end of the book, Roland begins a journey across the desert carrying the Horn of Eld (which he had not bothered to retreive retrieve from [[spoiler:Cuthbert's body]] previously). The presence of the horn is symbolic; over the course of the series, Roland learns some of the values of family, love and loss. This carries over to his new journey, where he spares the time to go back and retrieve the Horn. This also suggests that, with each new quest he undertakes, Roland grows as a person. And considering that the series is based in part on Robert Browning's poem, which ends "Dauntless the slug-horn to my lips I set, and blew "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came", the Horn is probably one of the most important PlotCoupons for him to be carrying.
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* TeleportationSickness: When Roland and friends go through a barely-working high-tech teleporter, they feel dizzy and start vomiting on the other side.
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* TakeAMomentToCatchYourDeath: [[spoiler: Eddie's]] death is of this kind. The ka-tet has just beaten tremendous odds and won a great victory unscathed - and then a downed, dying enemy manages to raise his gun and take one last shot.
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* SignsOfDisrepair: Inverted; Dandelo [[spoiler:(an emotion-eating vampire)]] must allow a street sign warning of his presence in anagram form to exist--but he can deface the sign to read "Odd's Lane", which means nothing, rather than "Odd Lane".
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* DeusExMachina: Used by the in-universe version of King to save everyone from [[spoiler:Dandelo]]
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* DeusExMachina: Used by Relying on the in-universe version of conceit that King himself was [[AuthorAvatar the author and an active character]], there are several instances in which King throws a bone to save the characters to get them out of a sticky situation, such as when he saves everyone from [[spoiler:Dandelo]][[spoiler:Dandelo]]. In one LampshadeHanging moment, a character finds a note from King reading "DON'T WORRY; HERE COMES THE DEUS EX MACHINA!"
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Trope applies when comparing Gunslinger to this volume, moved to series page.
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* BookEnds: [[spoiler:"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."]]
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''The Dark Tower'' is the last book of Creator/StephenKing's [[DoorStopper Epic]] {{Fantasy}} series ''Franchise/TheDarkTower''. It marks the end of the main series, at least in novel form. Mia forces Susannah to birth the demon child, Mordred Deschain, and AnyoneCanDie as Roland finally takes his last steps towards the [[CosmicKeystone Dark Tower]] itself.
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''The Dark Tower'' is the last book of Creator/StephenKing's [[DoorStopper Epic]] {{Fantasy}} series ''Franchise/TheDarkTower''.''Literature/TheDarkTower''. It marks the end of the main series, at least in novel form. Mia forces Susannah to birth the demon child, Mordred Deschain, and AnyoneCanDie as Roland finally takes his last steps towards the [[CosmicKeystone Dark Tower]] itself.
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moved from Literature.The Dark Tower
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->''Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came.''
-->--'''Robert Browning'''
Preceded by ''Literature/SongOfSusannah''.
''The Dark Tower'' is the last book of Creator/StephenKing's [[DoorStopper Epic]] {{Fantasy}} series ''Franchise/TheDarkTower''. It marks the end of the main series, at least in novel form. Mia forces Susannah to birth the demon child, Mordred Deschain, and AnyoneCanDie as Roland finally takes his last steps towards the [[CosmicKeystone Dark Tower]] itself.
To see the character sheet for the whole book series, go [[Characters/TheDarkTower here]].
Followed by the {{interquel}} novel ''Literature/TheWindThroughTheKeyhole''.
----
!!''The Dark Tower'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* AffablyEvil: Some of the Devar-Toi guards, especially Trampas, are pretty nice and seem like good guys. It's easy to forget that their job is to essentially ''destroy the universe''.
* AlasPoorVillain:
** After Mordred kills Flagg/Walter/Marten, finally eliminating one of King's great villains, the narration briefly runs through Flagg's life. It gives him a FreudianExcuse (he was raped as a teenager) and manages to wring some small amount of sympathy from Flagg's death.
** The death of Trampas, one of the {{Mooks}} guarding the Devar-Toi, is rather sad. He works for the BigBad, but he's actually a pretty decent guy once you get to know him. It's made pretty clear that Ted really doesn't want to kill him and even yells at him to get out of their way, although he is forced to eventually resort to throwing a mind-spear at him, killing Trampas in the process.
* {{Angrish}}: The Crimson King keeps screaming "EEEEEEE!" in wordless rage.
* AuthorAvatar: Like in ''Literature/SongOfSusannah'', King himself appears again.
* BookEnds: [[spoiler:"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."]]
* ComedyAsAWeapon: [[spoiler:Dandelo]] tries this with Roland.
* DeusExMachina: Used by the in-universe version of King to save everyone from [[spoiler:Dandelo]]
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The title ''The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower''.
* DoorToBefore: Within the Dark Tower, [[spoiler: doors open on various stages of Roland's life until at the top, the final door returns Roland to just before the events of Literature/TheGunslinger and curses him to repeat his quest.]]
* DwindlingParty: Only Roland is left to climb the tower at the end.
* EatTheDog: When crossing a frozen wasteland, Susannah is so cold that she eventually considers killing Oy for his fur.
* EnfanteTerrible: Mordred, until he turns into a teenager about two-thirds into the story anyway.
* FreudianTrio: Within the ruins of the Castle of the Red King, Roland and Susannah come upon three versions of Stephen King corresponding to these roles.
* HappilyEverAfter: Played with. "Will I tell you that these three lived happily ever after? I will not, for no one ever does. But there was happiness. And they did live."
* HappilyEverBefore: After the scene of Roland entering the tower but before the narrative shifts inside, King suggests the reader pull this by putting down the book and considering it to have ended happily.
* HellIsThatNoise: [[invoked]] The chewing sounds made by ''something'' behind a door with an undecipherable symbol. Also, the todash chimes.
* HeroicAmbidexterity: After Roland's right hand is mutilated by some mutant lobster creatures in the second book, it is revealed that the ambidexterity required by Roland's GunsAkimbo fighting style is the result of long training. He has trained so hard and fought that way for so long that he really ''is'' just as adept at shooting with his naturally non-dominant left hand as his right, but [[DownplayedTrope his right hand is the stronger at almost everything else]]. Near the end, Roland loses another finger on his right hand and feeling altogether in the extremity from [[spoiler: tearing a rose from the field outside the Tower]].
* ImpossibleTask: Suddenly subverted. In the first four volumes, The Tower is an impossibly distant, probably mythical location that not even Roland is sure really exists. It is also implied that he has been questing for it for ''over a hundred years''. It takes the Ka-Tet until the third volume to find a path which could potentially lead them in the right direction and even then, it is suggested that it will take many years of dangerous WalkTheEarth travel to get there, if they make it at all. From ''The Wolves of Calla'' onwards, Roland and co. are at least hinted to be getting nearer to The Tower, but it still retains its near-mythical status. Towards the end of volume VII, they reach Odd's Lane, where an occupant invites them into his home; He has a picture of The Tower on his wall, drawn on a visit to the field where it stands, which is more or less ''just up the road''. Even Roland is shocked by how casually this is mentioned by the character in question.
* TheJeeves: Nigel the robot behaves like a classic British butler.
* LastBreathBullet: [[spoiler:Eddie]] is killed by the Devar-Toi's warden, Pimli Prentiss, doing this.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: The ending is highly talked about, which may prove unfortunate for many prospective readers.
* MacGuffinLocation: Invoked with the titular Tower towards the end of the book. By the time he reaches it, Roland has completed his actual objective. There's no need for him to carry on, but he does so anyway, prompting [[spoiler: Susannah]] to leave him alone to complete the quest.
* NeverMyFault: Ted is livid when he sees a Breaker child dying during the attack on the Devar-Toi and it's implied that this is part of the reason why he kills Trampas. Nevermind that the child wouldn't have died if he and Roland's group didn't decide to set some buildings on fire to cause a stir.
* NewGamePlus: At the end of the book, Roland begins a journey across the desert carrying the Horn of Eld (which he had not bothered to retreive from [[spoiler:Cuthbert's body]] previously). The presence of the horn is symbolic; over the course of the series, Roland learns some of the values of family, love and loss. This carries over to his new journey, where he spares the time to go back and retrieve the Horn. This also suggests that, with each new quest he undertakes, Roland grows as a person. And considering that the series is based in part on Robert Browning's poem, which ends "Dauntless the slug-horn to my lips I set, and blew "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came", the Horn is probably one of the most important PlotCoupons for him to be carrying.
* NothingIsScarier
** A lot of this inside the Dogan.
** Many of the things behind the doors.
** The Tunnel Demon that goes after Roland, Susannah, and Oy beneath [[EldritchLocation Castle Discordia]]. While they can't see it, the mere ''thump'' noises are enough to convince them to run. [[spoiler:It is equally terrifying when they ''do'' see it.]]
* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: A few chapters before TheClimax, right before Roland is to meet up with [[BigBad The Crimson King]] and end his [[TheQuest quest]] to find The Dark Tower, [[spoiler:Susannah,]] the last of his [[TrueCompanions ka-tet]] still with him by this point, decides to leave Roland, citing his obsession with the tower and the quest over the health of his friends. Notable in that [[spoiler:she]] doesn't [[ChangedMyMindKid come back to assist him at the last moment]] to help him defeat the BigBad.
* PragmaticVillainy: Prentiss treats the Breakers well and wants his subordinates to do the same. Not because he particulary cares about them (though to be fair, he ''is'' shown to be sympathetic towards them in a few occasions), but because they're less likely to revolt or try to escape if they're happy and well.
* RageAgainstTheAuthor: The villains want King dead. And while the heroes have to protect him, they're not happy about it at all.
* ResetButton: [[spoiler:Roland is forced to restart his quest.]] The reasons for this are unclear, but it's implied that his willingness to abandon his friends to reach the Tower is part of the reason why. That he didn't have the Horn of Eld with him could be a reason as well. It's implied that he's had to do this many times before because he never got it right. The afterword by King implies that he might get it right the next time.
* ShooOutTheClowns: [[spoiler:Eddie,]] the jokester of the group, is the first to die.
* SympathyForTheDevil: Mordred is occasionally described with sympathy as his situation becomes increasingly pathetic. A few times he's described as an abandoned child.
-->Look, if you would. Here sits a baby with blood streaking his fair skin. Here sits a baby weeping his silent, eerie tears. Here sits a baby that knows both too much and too little, and although we must keep our fingers away from his mouth (he snaps, this one; snaps like a baby crocodile), we are allowed to pity him a little.
* SnicketWarningLabel:
** Right before [[spoiler: Eddie's death.]]
-->I'd have you see them like this; I'd have you see them very well. Will you? They are clustered around Suzie's Cruisin Trike, embracing in the aftermath of their victory. I'd have you see them this way not because they have won a great battle- they know better than that, every one of them- but because now they are ka-tet for the last time. The story of their friendship ends here, on this make-believe street and beneath this artificial sun; the rest of the tale will be short and brutal compared to all that's gone before. Because when ka-tet breaks, the end always comes quickly.
** And in the penultimate chapter of the book, after the HappilyEverAfter ending, the narration explicitly warns the reader to close the book there and then, and let that be the end of the tale.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Brautigan and Nozz-a-la.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Prentiss genuinely believes that ending the universe is the right thing to do, as he thinks a new improved universe will take the old one's place. Some of the other Devar-Toi guards are implied to think so as well.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Susannah never actually feels remorseful for blinding and ultimately killing Nigel the robot.
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->''"The Man In Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed."''
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->''Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came.''
-->--'''Robert Browning'''
Preceded by ''Literature/SongOfSusannah''.
''The Dark Tower'' is the last book of Creator/StephenKing's [[DoorStopper Epic]] {{Fantasy}} series ''Franchise/TheDarkTower''. It marks the end of the main series, at least in novel form. Mia forces Susannah to birth the demon child, Mordred Deschain, and AnyoneCanDie as Roland finally takes his last steps towards the [[CosmicKeystone Dark Tower]] itself.
To see the character sheet for the whole book series, go [[Characters/TheDarkTower here]].
Followed by the {{interquel}} novel ''Literature/TheWindThroughTheKeyhole''.
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!!''The Dark Tower'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* AffablyEvil: Some of the Devar-Toi guards, especially Trampas, are pretty nice and seem like good guys. It's easy to forget that their job is to essentially ''destroy the universe''.
* AlasPoorVillain:
** After Mordred kills Flagg/Walter/Marten, finally eliminating one of King's great villains, the narration briefly runs through Flagg's life. It gives him a FreudianExcuse (he was raped as a teenager) and manages to wring some small amount of sympathy from Flagg's death.
** The death of Trampas, one of the {{Mooks}} guarding the Devar-Toi, is rather sad. He works for the BigBad, but he's actually a pretty decent guy once you get to know him. It's made pretty clear that Ted really doesn't want to kill him and even yells at him to get out of their way, although he is forced to eventually resort to throwing a mind-spear at him, killing Trampas in the process.
* {{Angrish}}: The Crimson King keeps screaming "EEEEEEE!" in wordless rage.
* AuthorAvatar: Like in ''Literature/SongOfSusannah'', King himself appears again.
* BookEnds: [[spoiler:"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."]]
* ComedyAsAWeapon: [[spoiler:Dandelo]] tries this with Roland.
* DeusExMachina: Used by the in-universe version of King to save everyone from [[spoiler:Dandelo]]
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The title ''The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower''.
* DoorToBefore: Within the Dark Tower, [[spoiler: doors open on various stages of Roland's life until at the top, the final door returns Roland to just before the events of Literature/TheGunslinger and curses him to repeat his quest.]]
* DwindlingParty: Only Roland is left to climb the tower at the end.
* EatTheDog: When crossing a frozen wasteland, Susannah is so cold that she eventually considers killing Oy for his fur.
* EnfanteTerrible: Mordred, until he turns into a teenager about two-thirds into the story anyway.
* FreudianTrio: Within the ruins of the Castle of the Red King, Roland and Susannah come upon three versions of Stephen King corresponding to these roles.
* HappilyEverAfter: Played with. "Will I tell you that these three lived happily ever after? I will not, for no one ever does. But there was happiness. And they did live."
* HappilyEverBefore: After the scene of Roland entering the tower but before the narrative shifts inside, King suggests the reader pull this by putting down the book and considering it to have ended happily.
* HellIsThatNoise: [[invoked]] The chewing sounds made by ''something'' behind a door with an undecipherable symbol. Also, the todash chimes.
* HeroicAmbidexterity: After Roland's right hand is mutilated by some mutant lobster creatures in the second book, it is revealed that the ambidexterity required by Roland's GunsAkimbo fighting style is the result of long training. He has trained so hard and fought that way for so long that he really ''is'' just as adept at shooting with his naturally non-dominant left hand as his right, but [[DownplayedTrope his right hand is the stronger at almost everything else]]. Near the end, Roland loses another finger on his right hand and feeling altogether in the extremity from [[spoiler: tearing a rose from the field outside the Tower]].
* ImpossibleTask: Suddenly subverted. In the first four volumes, The Tower is an impossibly distant, probably mythical location that not even Roland is sure really exists. It is also implied that he has been questing for it for ''over a hundred years''. It takes the Ka-Tet until the third volume to find a path which could potentially lead them in the right direction and even then, it is suggested that it will take many years of dangerous WalkTheEarth travel to get there, if they make it at all. From ''The Wolves of Calla'' onwards, Roland and co. are at least hinted to be getting nearer to The Tower, but it still retains its near-mythical status. Towards the end of volume VII, they reach Odd's Lane, where an occupant invites them into his home; He has a picture of The Tower on his wall, drawn on a visit to the field where it stands, which is more or less ''just up the road''. Even Roland is shocked by how casually this is mentioned by the character in question.
* TheJeeves: Nigel the robot behaves like a classic British butler.
* LastBreathBullet: [[spoiler:Eddie]] is killed by the Devar-Toi's warden, Pimli Prentiss, doing this.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: The ending is highly talked about, which may prove unfortunate for many prospective readers.
* MacGuffinLocation: Invoked with the titular Tower towards the end of the book. By the time he reaches it, Roland has completed his actual objective. There's no need for him to carry on, but he does so anyway, prompting [[spoiler: Susannah]] to leave him alone to complete the quest.
* NeverMyFault: Ted is livid when he sees a Breaker child dying during the attack on the Devar-Toi and it's implied that this is part of the reason why he kills Trampas. Nevermind that the child wouldn't have died if he and Roland's group didn't decide to set some buildings on fire to cause a stir.
* NewGamePlus: At the end of the book, Roland begins a journey across the desert carrying the Horn of Eld (which he had not bothered to retreive from [[spoiler:Cuthbert's body]] previously). The presence of the horn is symbolic; over the course of the series, Roland learns some of the values of family, love and loss. This carries over to his new journey, where he spares the time to go back and retrieve the Horn. This also suggests that, with each new quest he undertakes, Roland grows as a person. And considering that the series is based in part on Robert Browning's poem, which ends "Dauntless the slug-horn to my lips I set, and blew "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came", the Horn is probably one of the most important PlotCoupons for him to be carrying.
* NothingIsScarier
** A lot of this inside the Dogan.
** Many of the things behind the doors.
** The Tunnel Demon that goes after Roland, Susannah, and Oy beneath [[EldritchLocation Castle Discordia]]. While they can't see it, the mere ''thump'' noises are enough to convince them to run. [[spoiler:It is equally terrifying when they ''do'' see it.]]
* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: A few chapters before TheClimax, right before Roland is to meet up with [[BigBad The Crimson King]] and end his [[TheQuest quest]] to find The Dark Tower, [[spoiler:Susannah,]] the last of his [[TrueCompanions ka-tet]] still with him by this point, decides to leave Roland, citing his obsession with the tower and the quest over the health of his friends. Notable in that [[spoiler:she]] doesn't [[ChangedMyMindKid come back to assist him at the last moment]] to help him defeat the BigBad.
* PragmaticVillainy: Prentiss treats the Breakers well and wants his subordinates to do the same. Not because he particulary cares about them (though to be fair, he ''is'' shown to be sympathetic towards them in a few occasions), but because they're less likely to revolt or try to escape if they're happy and well.
* RageAgainstTheAuthor: The villains want King dead. And while the heroes have to protect him, they're not happy about it at all.
* ResetButton: [[spoiler:Roland is forced to restart his quest.]] The reasons for this are unclear, but it's implied that his willingness to abandon his friends to reach the Tower is part of the reason why. That he didn't have the Horn of Eld with him could be a reason as well. It's implied that he's had to do this many times before because he never got it right. The afterword by King implies that he might get it right the next time.
* ShooOutTheClowns: [[spoiler:Eddie,]] the jokester of the group, is the first to die.
* SympathyForTheDevil: Mordred is occasionally described with sympathy as his situation becomes increasingly pathetic. A few times he's described as an abandoned child.
-->Look, if you would. Here sits a baby with blood streaking his fair skin. Here sits a baby weeping his silent, eerie tears. Here sits a baby that knows both too much and too little, and although we must keep our fingers away from his mouth (he snaps, this one; snaps like a baby crocodile), we are allowed to pity him a little.
* SnicketWarningLabel:
** Right before [[spoiler: Eddie's death.]]
-->I'd have you see them like this; I'd have you see them very well. Will you? They are clustered around Suzie's Cruisin Trike, embracing in the aftermath of their victory. I'd have you see them this way not because they have won a great battle- they know better than that, every one of them- but because now they are ka-tet for the last time. The story of their friendship ends here, on this make-believe street and beneath this artificial sun; the rest of the tale will be short and brutal compared to all that's gone before. Because when ka-tet breaks, the end always comes quickly.
** And in the penultimate chapter of the book, after the HappilyEverAfter ending, the narration explicitly warns the reader to close the book there and then, and let that be the end of the tale.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Brautigan and Nozz-a-la.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Prentiss genuinely believes that ending the universe is the right thing to do, as he thinks a new improved universe will take the old one's place. Some of the other Devar-Toi guards are implied to think so as well.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Susannah never actually feels remorseful for blinding and ultimately killing Nigel the robot.
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->''"The Man In Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed."''
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