The King Has Left the Tower

by Daisy Maryles -- Publishers Weekly, 10/4/2004

For only the second time this year, the top spots on both our fiction and nonfiction lists are held by books making their first appearances. (For trivia fans, the earlier instance was on July 5, when Bill Clinton's memoirs and Janet Evanovich's newest crime caper grabbed the #1 positions.) Tops on the fiction side this week is The Dark Tower VII, Stephen King's final installment in his much lauded Dark Tower saga, which has been 30 years in the making. Among the latest of the many encomiums along the way is PW's boxed starred review ("With the conclusion of this tale... King has certainly reached the top of his game"). King's recent New York media blitz wasn't all work—he got to attend a Red Sox/Yankees game, and the NBC folks baked him a birthday cake for his Today appearance (the book's September 21 laydown date was also King's 57th birthday). Scribner publisher Donald M. Grant reports 775,000 copies in print after two trips to press.