The Dark Tower, (PtII), The Drawing of the Three, book review. (Stephen King)

So, the gunslinger, Roland Deschain, has survived the desert and parlayed with the Man in Black, but seeing the birth of the universe has taken its toll. (Book 1: The Gunslinger. Blog post: 22/10/17).

He lies on a beach, exhausted; days, weeks, years, millennia might have passed, he doesn't know, but when ancient lobster like creatures come with the tide and take his figures, he knows it's bad, and as their poison creeps slowly through his body, he knows it could be the end.

In desperation, he crawls along the deserted beach, and on encountering his first door, he steps across that threshold and becomes: Eddie Dean - drug addict, petty criminal, bad seed - flying back to America with thousands of dollars of Class-A drugs strapped to his body. After Eddie is acquired by the FBI, released and then picked up by the mob, (the drugs having mysteriously disappeared), there's a fantastic shootout with the drug boss and his goons, which for me, is one of the highlight of the book, but, all is not well, Eddie needs a fix. No longer being in New York, (he is in Roland's world now), his drugs are somewhat harder to come by, but what lengths will he go to, to get them?

Door two, and a disabled schizophrenic. Odetta and Detta Holmes, have occupied the same space for years, each with little idea that the other exists, and what a ride. 1960's New York, thief, wheelchair bound, (she was pushed beneath a train by the man who killed Jake in book one), and with serious attitude, and, as soon as she's in Roland's world, she's of murderous intent.

Behind the third and final door, Roland becomes the man who pushed Jake and Odetta to their fates, but with Roland at the helm, Jake survives, which is really weird.

They enter a gun shop to replenish Roland's stocks, and then a pharmacy for the drugs that Roland hopes will cure the lobstrosity infection, and again, this part of the book is exceptional, but has he done enough? Will the drugs work? Or will Odetta/Detta and Eddie kill him first?

All in all, this book is about a journey along a beach, but what Roland encounters as he crawls and walks, the issues the author puts in his way, a disabled schizophrenic being just the tip of the iceberg, makes for a thoroughly entertaining journey.

In isolation, I'd say this is very nearly a five star book, but, as it is part of a series, I'm going with four and a half stars for the time being.
Book three, The Waste Lands, awaits.