I've finished the first two books in Steven King's "Dark Tower" series and enjoyed them. Before I continue onward with the Gunslinger into the remaining five books in the series, I decided to take a break and so am now reading "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy. It's eerie how similar "Dark Tower" and "Blood Meridian" are. Both tell the story of a journey and are set in violent, dusty times. Meridian is like a photograph though with none of the cliches with which Dark Tower abounds.