While the themes of questing and moral responsibility in The Dark Tower series are not unique to King's oeuvre, neither is the setting. The dark environment and fall from a more technological past are reminiscent of The Stand. King includes an aside that Roland once before encountered a demon named Flagg, the antagonist of The Stand and The Eyes of the Dragon. In fact, Roland's childhood may have been in a kingdom similar to Delain in The Eyes of the Dragon.

The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three and The Wastelands are part of a projected seven-book series. The next book, Wizard and Glass (1997), hints of a "seduction" and Roland's beginning of the quest. King notes that he has committed to finishing the series, as four-year gaps between books make fans restless. A section of The Wastelands, called "The Bear" was published in The Magazine of...