Reddit mentions of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance, Revised and Updated

The inclusion of SK in the series will make more sense when you read book 7. Also, I highly recommend reading Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance after you're done as well. This book helped me understand and appreciate the books moreso. SK's inclusion in the series is quite fitting and one of the reasons I like the series so much.

eta: OP quote for larification

>Will I enjoy the Dark Tower Series if I am not a Stephen King fan?

You will. I read a few King novels in the long ago and then, probably unwisely, wrote him off. Years later I was coerced into reading The Gunslinger and tore through the other three available at the time. He actually makes some of the more significant references obvious. So, if they're interesting as you read The Dark Tower, you can self select which ones you want to explore further.

There's also Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance, Revised and Updated and this wiki page if you just want some clarification.

I have three things to say in response to anyone's disdain for this series:

1.) Stephen King's self-inclusion was more critical to the theme of this series than almost anything else. You cannot have a story that transcends space and time (read: where and when) like DT does, without acknowledging the fact that the person writing the stories is from one of those specific spaces/times.

2.) One of the key concepts reiterated throughout all 7 books was that of Ka, the always turning wheel of fate. Keyword there: WHEEL. It would stand to reason that any ending, would only recycle to the "beginning" of the wheel. Therefore the ending could have been nothing other than to reset and start over. Although this time one thing is different, which may very well change certain things on the next cycle, but inevitably he will face the same rotation again, and again.

3.) I fortunately was able to read all 7 books without having to wait for any to be released. This afforded be the ability to read it all within the guise of an entire series, rather than one at a time which applies a different conceptualization of each part. Even having read it all only once, I was certain I would have picked up on a lot more had I known where it was all heading. Re-reading it was an incredible experience for it. I've since re-read it several times over, including Robin Furth's Concordance, which guided me through the various characters, times and themes throughout. My most recent re-read included the Marvel comic series, which also helped illustrate several things I had been missing.

TL;DR - If you find any issue with how King completed his magnum opus, than a re-read is imperative. Like the wheel of Ka, everything will be the same, save for anything you find different.