Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F Kin
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Signet (1989), Edition: Reissue, 320 pages
Description
"An impressive work of mythic magnitude that may turn out to be Stephen King's greatest literary achievement" (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), The Gunslinger is the first volume in the epic Dark Tower Series. A #1 national bestseller, The Gunslinger introduces readers to one of Stephen King's most powerful creations, Roland of Gilead: The Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which mirrors our own in frightening ways, Roland tracks The Man in Black, encounters an enticing woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the boy from New York named Jake. Inspired in part by the Robert Browning narrative pum, "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," The Gunslinger is "a compelling whirlpool of a story that draws one irretrievable to its center" (Milwaukee Sentinel). It is "brilliant and fresh.and will leave you panting for more" (Booklist).… (more)
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User reviews
LibraryThing member Jenson_AKA_DL
In a world either past, future or parallel to our own a lone Gunslinger searches for the Man in Black in an effort to learn what he "Knows". During his journey he will encounter people destined to either assist or hinder him in his quest. The Gunslinger must be strong in his convictions and what he
It has been a REALLY long time since I've read any Stephen King stories (since high school). I never could remember quite why I finally gave up reading them, but I think I remember now. Although The Gunslinger is a fantasy, it is a very, very Dark Fantasy. The sense of futility which pesides over the story was prevelant enough to be a character by itself. Graphic descriptions of persons, places and violence were familiar to me from reading King's very popular early readings and bring a definite twist of horror into the fantasy. Although in the end this story isn't really anything I have any desire to pursue through the rest of this seven book series, I know that there are many people who have completed and enjoyed these Dark Tower books. Unfortunately I just wasn't one of them.
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knows he needs to do if he will make it to The Dark Tower of his destiny.It has been a REALLY long time since I've read any Stephen King stories (since high school). I never could remember quite why I finally gave up reading them, but I think I remember now. Although The Gunslinger is a fantasy, it is a very, very Dark Fantasy. The sense of futility which pesides over the story was prevelant enough to be a character by itself. Graphic descriptions of persons, places and violence were familiar to me from reading King's very popular early readings and bring a definite twist of horror into the fantasy. Although in the end this story isn't really anything I have any desire to pursue through the rest of this seven book series, I know that there are many people who have completed and enjoyed these Dark Tower books. Unfortunately I just wasn't one of them.
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LibraryThing member jseger9000
As much as I love Stephen King's books (and I do) I've just never grooved on that Jupiter in his Solar system, the series of books that make up The Dark Tower.
I'd read the first book, The Gunslinger, years ago and did not have good memories of it. For my re-read I decided to pick up the revised
The first sentence: “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed” is one of the most memorable opening lines I’ve ever read. It’s also the best thing that first story has. I liked the setting (a sort of post-apocalyptic take on the Spaghetti West), but unlike almost everything else King has written, I never felt connected to it. The gunslinger had no character and the tale wasn't especially interesting.
After the rocky start, each story got better and the overarching storyline got more interesting. We follow the gunslinger as he tracks the man in black. His reasons for tracking this man are (mostly) spelled out over the course of the novel, mainly through flashbacks to their previous life in Gilead, a sort of fantasy kingdom with cowboys in the place of knights. All is not well in Gilead. Revolution has started at the borderlands and is moving ever closer to the heart of the kingdom. I found I was more interested to the flashbacks to the kingdom of Gilead than I was in the gunslinger's pursuit of the man in black.
I think part of my problem with The Dark Tower is my general dislike for dark fantasy. And my issue with this book in particular is that it feels too stripped down. I know a number of people say they prefer the earlier, leaner King. I'm learning that I definitely prefer his later, denser 'word tapestries'.
The Gunslinger may be lean and mean, but it's also missing a lot of what I like about Stephen King.
I'd read the first book, The Gunslinger, years ago and did not have good memories of it. For my re-read I decided to pick up the revised
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edition King put out in 2003. Well, I don't remember enough of my previous read to tell you what is different, but going into the first of the five connected stories that make up the book was not a happy time.The first sentence: “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed” is one of the most memorable opening lines I’ve ever read. It’s also the best thing that first story has. I liked the setting (a sort of post-apocalyptic take on the Spaghetti West), but unlike almost everything else King has written, I never felt connected to it. The gunslinger had no character and the tale wasn't especially interesting.
After the rocky start, each story got better and the overarching storyline got more interesting. We follow the gunslinger as he tracks the man in black. His reasons for tracking this man are (mostly) spelled out over the course of the novel, mainly through flashbacks to their previous life in Gilead, a sort of fantasy kingdom with cowboys in the place of knights. All is not well in Gilead. Revolution has started at the borderlands and is moving ever closer to the heart of the kingdom. I found I was more interested to the flashbacks to the kingdom of Gilead than I was in the gunslinger's pursuit of the man in black.
I think part of my problem with The Dark Tower is my general dislike for dark fantasy. And my issue with this book in particular is that it feels too stripped down. I know a number of people say they prefer the earlier, leaner King. I'm learning that I definitely prefer his later, denser 'word tapestries'.
The Gunslinger may be lean and mean, but it's also missing a lot of what I like about Stephen King.
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LibraryThing member arouse77
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed
Stephen King~
And so begins one of the most powerfully lyrical pieces of fiction in the English language. The unrelenting harshness of the desert sun is somehow cast in tones of twilight, as we meet the Gunslinger about his
Stephen King wrote this novel as a young man and it is unquestionably his finest work. The Dark Tower series is his opus and anathema bound between covers and burned into pages. The cadence of his language resonates on a level that is difficult to articulate, but utterly manifest. The impact of his prose is subtle but profound; you look up from reading with the taste of dust in your mouth, squinting from the hard desert light burning at your eyes.
We are introduced to Roland The Gunslinger as he is in pursuit of The Man in Black. It is made evident in stark and grotesque terms that this Man must be called to account, but we do not know what started the chase to begin with. Roland haunts this figure for reasons that only become clear through the cracked and hazy window we are afforded into The Gunslinger’s memory.
Strewn in his path are obstacles and dilemmas cast there by The Man In Black with supernatural power and demonic glee. As the stakes of these complications mount, The Gunslinger is forced with increasing urgency and against his will to look inward to observe his nature, his actions, and his unswerving devotion to his ultimate end; The Dark Tower.
Within the greater context of the tale, there are constant echoes of a relentless progress toward an ineludible end. Under the mountains in the eye-aching darkness the pull of his ordained act is palpable, hideous, and necessary. When Roland makes the choice he is not at liberty to avoid, and in the service of his quest loses most of what remains of his soul. We must wonder if he can or even wishes to be redeemed if it cost him his aim.
I cannot recommend this novel highly enough. It should be required reading for any person of imagination and spirit. It will touch and open both beyond reckoning.
Stephen King~
And so begins one of the most powerfully lyrical pieces of fiction in the English language. The unrelenting harshness of the desert sun is somehow cast in tones of twilight, as we meet the Gunslinger about his
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end-times work. His quest is inimical, his progress inexorable. His intent dimly understood but utterly honorable. He is an archetype driven by a force truer than the shadow he casts on the hardpan beside him.Stephen King wrote this novel as a young man and it is unquestionably his finest work. The Dark Tower series is his opus and anathema bound between covers and burned into pages. The cadence of his language resonates on a level that is difficult to articulate, but utterly manifest. The impact of his prose is subtle but profound; you look up from reading with the taste of dust in your mouth, squinting from the hard desert light burning at your eyes.
We are introduced to Roland The Gunslinger as he is in pursuit of The Man in Black. It is made evident in stark and grotesque terms that this Man must be called to account, but we do not know what started the chase to begin with. Roland haunts this figure for reasons that only become clear through the cracked and hazy window we are afforded into The Gunslinger’s memory.
Strewn in his path are obstacles and dilemmas cast there by The Man In Black with supernatural power and demonic glee. As the stakes of these complications mount, The Gunslinger is forced with increasing urgency and against his will to look inward to observe his nature, his actions, and his unswerving devotion to his ultimate end; The Dark Tower.
Within the greater context of the tale, there are constant echoes of a relentless progress toward an ineludible end. Under the mountains in the eye-aching darkness the pull of his ordained act is palpable, hideous, and necessary. When Roland makes the choice he is not at liberty to avoid, and in the service of his quest loses most of what remains of his soul. We must wonder if he can or even wishes to be redeemed if it cost him his aim.
I cannot recommend this novel highly enough. It should be required reading for any person of imagination and spirit. It will touch and open both beyond reckoning.
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LibraryThing member eleanor_eader
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
This version of The Gunslinger has since be revised (added to, clarified and, on the whole, improved), but as this was my introduction to Roland's quest, this is the version that springs to mind when people ask me what I thought
'Arid', is what I tell them; 'stick with it, the whole tale is worth reading the first book for; and once you've read the others, you'll come back to this and realise how great it is'. There's no doubt that this is a tough to book to become absorbed in when you first pick it up, especially considering that there are (at last!) six books to follow it - are they all this dry, one wonders; does the monotony of the desert continue?
If you're used to reading King, then the answer is a no-brainer. The Dark Tower saga is as rich, characterful, deep and bizarre, wonderful and frightening as anything King has written before or since. It is a superior saga, it is clever and good; the reader would stand with the characters and die, if necessary, by the end of the third book.
But The Gunslinger stands alone, too; once it has taken it's place with the others, it stands out as the book that is imbued with Roland's character, that forged for us our sense of the Gunslinger's unstoppable purpose: we are introduced to dead fires in rings of stone, sun-baked leather, oiled gunbelts; symbols of tough, dry romanticism. It is almost 'arty', this book; dialogue is sparse and sweet, like water in the desert (this is less the case in the revised edition, and there, I think, King lets his old work down a little).
One thing is sure. Nothing else that King wrote (to date) reads like The Gunslinger. It's on its own, despite beginning an epic seven-book series. If for no other reason, every King fan should read it... and if you can, read the original. Nothing is lost in ignoring King's house-tidying and, perhaps, something is gained.
This version of The Gunslinger has since be revised (added to, clarified and, on the whole, improved), but as this was my introduction to Roland's quest, this is the version that springs to mind when people ask me what I thought
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of The Gunslinger.'Arid', is what I tell them; 'stick with it, the whole tale is worth reading the first book for; and once you've read the others, you'll come back to this and realise how great it is'. There's no doubt that this is a tough to book to become absorbed in when you first pick it up, especially considering that there are (at last!) six books to follow it - are they all this dry, one wonders; does the monotony of the desert continue?
If you're used to reading King, then the answer is a no-brainer. The Dark Tower saga is as rich, characterful, deep and bizarre, wonderful and frightening as anything King has written before or since. It is a superior saga, it is clever and good; the reader would stand with the characters and die, if necessary, by the end of the third book.
But The Gunslinger stands alone, too; once it has taken it's place with the others, it stands out as the book that is imbued with Roland's character, that forged for us our sense of the Gunslinger's unstoppable purpose: we are introduced to dead fires in rings of stone, sun-baked leather, oiled gunbelts; symbols of tough, dry romanticism. It is almost 'arty', this book; dialogue is sparse and sweet, like water in the desert (this is less the case in the revised edition, and there, I think, King lets his old work down a little).
One thing is sure. Nothing else that King wrote (to date) reads like The Gunslinger. It's on its own, despite beginning an epic seven-book series. If for no other reason, every King fan should read it... and if you can, read the original. Nothing is lost in ignoring King's house-tidying and, perhaps, something is gained.
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LibraryThing member MyopicBookworm
Having noticed that Stephen King is the most popular author on Library Thing not represented in our collection, I spotted this one on the shelf in the local library and thought I'd better see what I had been missing. I had always avoided King in the expectation that his fantasy was one step further
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towards the horror genre than I was comfortable with. It seems I was right. Although gratuitous violence is not pervasive, it is relished whenever it appears, and the odour of it lingers unpleasantly. The setting is an oppressive nightmare: a brown, bleak, and claustrophobic world of decay and despair in which motives and purposes are deliberately blurred. Using the American Western rather than the European mediaeval as the cultural background for a fantasy, with the consequent appearance of guns rather than swords as the weapon of the wandering warrior, is at least a novelty to me, but not enough to make me more curious. For a reader whose own nightmares are insufficiently disturbing and who desires the frisson of sharing someone else's, I guess this writer is appealing. After reading a few chapters, I had encountered some passages I considered striking or memorable in a good way, but nevertheless I found myself almost reluctant to pick the book up again in order to finish it. Not my thing. MB 12-i-2010 Show Less
LibraryThing member gaskella
It’s simply years since I read any Stephen King, and then I only read his horror stories. I was only vaguely aware that he had written a series which was a dark fantasy. Then Shelflove decided to launch a readalong of The Dark Tower, a series that King himself has described as his Magnum Opus. I
I have to say, it was not what I expected at all – it was far better! I think I was anticipating an overt homage to Lord of the Rings, but instead we got a mystical The Good, the Bad and the Ugly set in the post-apocalyptic territory of The Road in this first volume. There is a very dark, deep fantasy element which subtly creeps in from Arthurian legend. There are too, parallels with LOTR, particularly Frodo’s journey through the Mines of Moria; but there were also no hobbits or other mythical folk, unless you count a few zombie/lazarus and mutant types.
The first book splits into two main sections: – We meet Roland Deschain on his quest. He rests with a smallholder at the edge of the desert, and recounts the story of his days in the last town he passed – a place he came to and nearly began to feel part of. That wasn’t to be, and hounded from town the gunslinger leaves the townsfolk of Tull changed forever. Then he takes up his quest proper to hunt down the Man in Black and find the Dark Tower. After a long journey involving much hardship, and a friendship with a ten year old boy raised from the dead, Roland does catch up with the Man in Black, who has both revelations from the past to stir things up further, and prophesies for Roland’s future. Sprinkled in between is the story of Roland’s later adolescence and his coming of age initiation as one of the youngest gunslingers ever, in a society which emulated the Arthurian ideals of chivalry.
I was never quite sure whether this dystopia was set on our Earth, or an alternate one. References to earthly things abound, notably The Beatles’ song Hey Jude, the chorus of which wafts through early chapters. It was never quite as obvious as in Planet of the Apes, where they eventually discover a half buried Statue of Liberty in the sand. I liked that ambiguity which added to the mystical feel of the novel. The landscape may be sprawling, but this novel moves on at a fair pace despite all the thinking that Roland does.
This made for a good read although, for me, King sometimes likes to stick in an occasional elaborate word that seems out of place – ‘Neither of them had any means of telling the clock, and the concept of hours became meaningless, abnegate. In a sense, they stood outside of time.’ But minor stylistic quibbles apart, King’s writing was full of strong descriptions, and Roland will surely evolve into a character to be really reckoned with. I read the 2003 revised and expanded version – King revisited this novel to iron out inconsistencies, tweak the plot into a more linear form and make slightly less dry for new readers. King explains this in a new introduction and foreword to the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Western-style dystopia in which the chivalric order no longer has a place. King has created a frightening yet thrilling vision, with plenty of questions to be answered and room for dark magic in the following books. Yes, I shall be carrying on with this readalong, book 2 is on order! (8.5/10)
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decided that if my friends loved it, I probably would too. I duly ordered book one, The Gunslinger, and was quickly immersed in the strange world of Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger.I have to say, it was not what I expected at all – it was far better! I think I was anticipating an overt homage to Lord of the Rings, but instead we got a mystical The Good, the Bad and the Ugly set in the post-apocalyptic territory of The Road in this first volume. There is a very dark, deep fantasy element which subtly creeps in from Arthurian legend. There are too, parallels with LOTR, particularly Frodo’s journey through the Mines of Moria; but there were also no hobbits or other mythical folk, unless you count a few zombie/lazarus and mutant types.
The first book splits into two main sections: – We meet Roland Deschain on his quest. He rests with a smallholder at the edge of the desert, and recounts the story of his days in the last town he passed – a place he came to and nearly began to feel part of. That wasn’t to be, and hounded from town the gunslinger leaves the townsfolk of Tull changed forever. Then he takes up his quest proper to hunt down the Man in Black and find the Dark Tower. After a long journey involving much hardship, and a friendship with a ten year old boy raised from the dead, Roland does catch up with the Man in Black, who has both revelations from the past to stir things up further, and prophesies for Roland’s future. Sprinkled in between is the story of Roland’s later adolescence and his coming of age initiation as one of the youngest gunslingers ever, in a society which emulated the Arthurian ideals of chivalry.
I was never quite sure whether this dystopia was set on our Earth, or an alternate one. References to earthly things abound, notably The Beatles’ song Hey Jude, the chorus of which wafts through early chapters. It was never quite as obvious as in Planet of the Apes, where they eventually discover a half buried Statue of Liberty in the sand. I liked that ambiguity which added to the mystical feel of the novel. The landscape may be sprawling, but this novel moves on at a fair pace despite all the thinking that Roland does.
This made for a good read although, for me, King sometimes likes to stick in an occasional elaborate word that seems out of place – ‘Neither of them had any means of telling the clock, and the concept of hours became meaningless, abnegate. In a sense, they stood outside of time.’ But minor stylistic quibbles apart, King’s writing was full of strong descriptions, and Roland will surely evolve into a character to be really reckoned with. I read the 2003 revised and expanded version – King revisited this novel to iron out inconsistencies, tweak the plot into a more linear form and make slightly less dry for new readers. King explains this in a new introduction and foreword to the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Western-style dystopia in which the chivalric order no longer has a place. King has created a frightening yet thrilling vision, with plenty of questions to be answered and room for dark magic in the following books. Yes, I shall be carrying on with this readalong, book 2 is on order! (8.5/10)
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LibraryThing member edgeworth
Stephen King is a strange beast. His wild deviation between quality and crap is a matter of public record. Here is a man who can produce brilliant novels such as "The Stand" or "The Mist," mediocre novels such as "Cujo" and terrible novels such as "Rose Madder." I'll admit that I haven't actually
That sounds pretty harsh. I actually like Stephen King quite a lot - when he writes well, he writes really well, and from reading his various forewords, non-fiction pieces and his EW blog he seems like a pretty cool guy. And while his writing may not always be top-notch, there's a certain quiet wisdom in it that elevates it above typical popular fiction; something that goes beyond an entertaining story and embeds itself in the zeitgest. If I had to pick a 20th century writer who best represents American culture, I would name Stephen King in a heartbeat.
Rambling. Anyway, I figured it was about time to give the Dark Tower series a chance, so I read the first book, "The Gunslinger." It traces the journey of the eponymous gunslinger (only named as "Roland" in flashbacks to his youth) as he pursues a mysterious man in black across a desert, into mountains and through a massive cave and tunnel system. Roland faces various challenges along the way, such as a town of people enchanted by the dark man to destroy him, a young boy who died in New York and found himself in Roland's world, and a strange oracle spirit in the mountains.
This book is fantasy, a term which has come to mean "Tolkien-derived rubbish." "The Gunslinger" is the good kind of fantasy, a fable that creates its own worlds and cultures and creatures. More fascinating by far than Roland or any of his friends and enemies is the land he moves through - a strange place, similar to the American West, yet entirely different. There are suggestions it is post-apocalyptic; "the world has moved on," as the characters say. Roland is clearly a cowboy figure, yet the clan and culture he hails from is unmistakably Arthurian. The people he meets in the desert towns sing "Hey Jude" and worship God. When travelling through the mountain caves, he comes upon an abandoned railway network, where long-dead station attendents crumble to dust at his touch, victims of chemical weapons in a forgotten war. This world, it seems, it both an alternate universe and a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
King describes "The Gunslinger" as "almost (but not quite!) complete in itself," and I agree. At the end of the book there are far too many unanswered questions, Roland's story is clearly not over, and it is obvious that this is merely the first book in a larger series. That's fine by me. I look forward to reading the rest of the series, because I expect it to be pretty good. "The Gunslinger" isn't a particularly great book on its own - plotwise it's quite sparse, it suffers from a lack of characters, and as King himelf said it's not a stand-alone book. But it's very readable, and enjoyable, particularly when King reaches near-poetic heights of storytelling, which I've never seen him do before.
"The Gunslinger" is clearly a set-up. It exists to lay a foundation stone for a larger epic story, and is only worth reading if you plan to read the rest of that story. So is the Dark Tower series as a whole worth reading? I suppose I'll have to wait and see.
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read much of his canon, but the rule of thumb I've picked up from others is that his works start to decline around the 1990s. Since The Dark Tower series, his self-professed magnum opus, begins in the early stages of his career and progresses into the 2000s, I was wary of reading it.That sounds pretty harsh. I actually like Stephen King quite a lot - when he writes well, he writes really well, and from reading his various forewords, non-fiction pieces and his EW blog he seems like a pretty cool guy. And while his writing may not always be top-notch, there's a certain quiet wisdom in it that elevates it above typical popular fiction; something that goes beyond an entertaining story and embeds itself in the zeitgest. If I had to pick a 20th century writer who best represents American culture, I would name Stephen King in a heartbeat.
Rambling. Anyway, I figured it was about time to give the Dark Tower series a chance, so I read the first book, "The Gunslinger." It traces the journey of the eponymous gunslinger (only named as "Roland" in flashbacks to his youth) as he pursues a mysterious man in black across a desert, into mountains and through a massive cave and tunnel system. Roland faces various challenges along the way, such as a town of people enchanted by the dark man to destroy him, a young boy who died in New York and found himself in Roland's world, and a strange oracle spirit in the mountains.
This book is fantasy, a term which has come to mean "Tolkien-derived rubbish." "The Gunslinger" is the good kind of fantasy, a fable that creates its own worlds and cultures and creatures. More fascinating by far than Roland or any of his friends and enemies is the land he moves through - a strange place, similar to the American West, yet entirely different. There are suggestions it is post-apocalyptic; "the world has moved on," as the characters say. Roland is clearly a cowboy figure, yet the clan and culture he hails from is unmistakably Arthurian. The people he meets in the desert towns sing "Hey Jude" and worship God. When travelling through the mountain caves, he comes upon an abandoned railway network, where long-dead station attendents crumble to dust at his touch, victims of chemical weapons in a forgotten war. This world, it seems, it both an alternate universe and a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
King describes "The Gunslinger" as "almost (but not quite!) complete in itself," and I agree. At the end of the book there are far too many unanswered questions, Roland's story is clearly not over, and it is obvious that this is merely the first book in a larger series. That's fine by me. I look forward to reading the rest of the series, because I expect it to be pretty good. "The Gunslinger" isn't a particularly great book on its own - plotwise it's quite sparse, it suffers from a lack of characters, and as King himelf said it's not a stand-alone book. But it's very readable, and enjoyable, particularly when King reaches near-poetic heights of storytelling, which I've never seen him do before.
"The Gunslinger" is clearly a set-up. It exists to lay a foundation stone for a larger epic story, and is only worth reading if you plan to read the rest of that story. So is the Dark Tower series as a whole worth reading? I suppose I'll have to wait and see.
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LibraryThing member philae_02
The first book in the Dark Tower series, and written when King was 19 years old. Reading/listening to the book, readers can begin to witness the brilliant storytelling that King is best known for. I'm told that the series only gets better, and can't wait to dive into the second book.
LibraryThing member br14emmu
With the dryness of the dessert almost consuming him with his lack of water, he walks alone. When The Gunslinger comes upon a lonesome man and his raven he's trying to locate his one sworn enemy The Man In Black. When The Gunslinger is sent off to a town that, like everyplace else, is in the middle
The Gunslinger by Stephen King was deffinetly NOT what I expected. I mostly know Stephen King for his horror works such as The Shining, or Rose Red. This story, in my opinion, was very slow paced and a little boring. To add to that the fact at how hard it is to relate to the characters makes this book one I would never recommend to anyone looking for a good read. But if you enjoy long winded, dragged out story lines that don't seem to go anywhere this is a book for you.
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of no-where he resides with the bar maid Alice until the tragedy strikes the town. The Gunslinger never seems to be able to escape all the death and heartache that one man single handedly caused. Will the Gunslinger ever catch The Man In Black, or will he be left wondering about the mystery of The Dark Tower?The Gunslinger by Stephen King was deffinetly NOT what I expected. I mostly know Stephen King for his horror works such as The Shining, or Rose Red. This story, in my opinion, was very slow paced and a little boring. To add to that the fact at how hard it is to relate to the characters makes this book one I would never recommend to anyone looking for a good read. But if you enjoy long winded, dragged out story lines that don't seem to go anywhere this is a book for you.
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LibraryThing member branimal
In the last 3 years, I've begun to read pretty much constantly. I've always got one or two novels on the go but recently, I've realized that I had never read anything written by Stephen King. On a recommendation from the internetz, I decided to give the Dark Tower series a go. A pretty ambitious
Early after deciding that he wanted to pursue a career as an author, King decided that he wanted to write an epic - something akin to Tolken's Lord of the Rings series. Writing "The Gunslinger" in 5 parts, King had them published in "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction". In total, it took King 12 and a half years to finish the first novel when it became published in 1988. Since then, most specifically in 2003, King reissued the novel "revised and expanded" which included several edits and an additional 9000 words. King did this in an effort to make the book more accessible to a new audience as well as clear up some inconsistencies in regards to the later novels.
Taking place in an alternate universe similar to the Old West, Roland of Gilead continues his quest to catch "The Man in Black". Roland pursues "The Man in Black" as he believes the Man holds the key to his destiny in reaching The Dark Tower itself; his ultimate destination. Along the way, Roland meets various characters that will shape his journey in ways both good and bad.
I'm not actually aware of what King has changed from the original; I couldn't seem to find many glaring changes online in terms of differences from the original story other than the fate of a major character. It seems to be mostly due to what he considered an amateurish writing style in his early days.
I will say this; I loved "The Gunslinger". I did find the writing style a little challenging at first. I've got limited experience when it comes to works of fantasy and science fiction, so a lot of the places and characters were a bit strange and hard to pin down. However, after really getting into the novel, I found it hard to put down and a pretty quick read.
King does a masterful job painting a picture of Roland's world; his descriptive nature is pretty impressive. He gives you the ability to develop a detailed mental picture without going overboard - which is pretty important. As someone who's never read a King novel, it's hard to believe that I somehow avoided him for so long. Roland's battle in the city of Tull around the middle of the novel was riveting, King is easily able to control a battle involving dozens of townsfolk - it's clear why he's so respected and revered, even this early in his career.
It's hard to imagine this successfully transitioning into a movie; it seems too big for film. Then again, you have Peter Jackson's adaptation of Lord of the Rings and James Cameron's recent epic, Avatar. It's pretty clear that we're living in an age where entire worlds can be created out of nothing; it could work. Despite saying that he would rather keep The Dark Tower series within the literary world, King sold the rights to Star Trek director, J.J. Abrams recently and the project is in its beginning stages. It'll be interesting to say the least.
I'm very intrigued to take on the other 6 parts in the 7 part series. Sooner than later, they'll be sitting on my book shelf ready to go. I kind of wish I had purchased the box set; it would have been a lot cheaper.
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first attempt, I thought where better to start than one of the most widely acclaimed series of all time? Early after deciding that he wanted to pursue a career as an author, King decided that he wanted to write an epic - something akin to Tolken's Lord of the Rings series. Writing "The Gunslinger" in 5 parts, King had them published in "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction". In total, it took King 12 and a half years to finish the first novel when it became published in 1988. Since then, most specifically in 2003, King reissued the novel "revised and expanded" which included several edits and an additional 9000 words. King did this in an effort to make the book more accessible to a new audience as well as clear up some inconsistencies in regards to the later novels.
Taking place in an alternate universe similar to the Old West, Roland of Gilead continues his quest to catch "The Man in Black". Roland pursues "The Man in Black" as he believes the Man holds the key to his destiny in reaching The Dark Tower itself; his ultimate destination. Along the way, Roland meets various characters that will shape his journey in ways both good and bad.
I'm not actually aware of what King has changed from the original; I couldn't seem to find many glaring changes online in terms of differences from the original story other than the fate of a major character. It seems to be mostly due to what he considered an amateurish writing style in his early days.
I will say this; I loved "The Gunslinger". I did find the writing style a little challenging at first. I've got limited experience when it comes to works of fantasy and science fiction, so a lot of the places and characters were a bit strange and hard to pin down. However, after really getting into the novel, I found it hard to put down and a pretty quick read.
King does a masterful job painting a picture of Roland's world; his descriptive nature is pretty impressive. He gives you the ability to develop a detailed mental picture without going overboard - which is pretty important. As someone who's never read a King novel, it's hard to believe that I somehow avoided him for so long. Roland's battle in the city of Tull around the middle of the novel was riveting, King is easily able to control a battle involving dozens of townsfolk - it's clear why he's so respected and revered, even this early in his career.
It's hard to imagine this successfully transitioning into a movie; it seems too big for film. Then again, you have Peter Jackson's adaptation of Lord of the Rings and James Cameron's recent epic, Avatar. It's pretty clear that we're living in an age where entire worlds can be created out of nothing; it could work. Despite saying that he would rather keep The Dark Tower series within the literary world, King sold the rights to Star Trek director, J.J. Abrams recently and the project is in its beginning stages. It'll be interesting to say the least.
I'm very intrigued to take on the other 6 parts in the 7 part series. Sooner than later, they'll be sitting on my book shelf ready to go. I kind of wish I had purchased the box set; it would have been a lot cheaper.
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LibraryThing member paghababian
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." It's such a simple sentence, yet so iconic. This is the sentence that sets the reader on the path of the Beams, following the footsteps of Roland, last of the gunslingers, on his quest for the Dark Tower.
At first, the story
This is probably the weakest of all the books in the series, which is a shame, because many people get turned away by it. Luckily, the revised edition (rereleased when books 5, 6, and 7 came out) is reworked to be a little more approachable and understandable. I enjoyed this book much more the second time through, knowing what I know about the rest of the series.
At first, the story
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seems like a straight Western. But hints of other worlds and strange events seep in. Roland begins telling the story of his past, about how the world used to be before it "moved on," all the while chasing that man in black across the harsh desert.This is probably the weakest of all the books in the series, which is a shame, because many people get turned away by it. Luckily, the revised edition (rereleased when books 5, 6, and 7 came out) is reworked to be a little more approachable and understandable. I enjoyed this book much more the second time through, knowing what I know about the rest of the series.
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LibraryThing member angeljmartin
I'd been looking forward to starting this series since reading Little Sisters of Eluria from Everything's Eventual. Unfortunately, I personally couldn't bring myself to enjoy this book. I love Stephen King, and I can usually fall right into the plot. However, for the majority of the time I read
The writing itself wasn't necessarily the issue; even in my least favorite King novels, the writing is still phenomenal. My main problem with the book was the plot. Though it was unique, I was bored almost immediately. Out of the entire book, the one part that kept me on edge. The characters were well-written, but ultimately they didn't interest me as much as most of King's characters do.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this book. I will finish the series (probably not for a while, but eventually) simply because I've already started it. I highly doubt I'll spend too much time on it in general.
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this one, I just wanted it to end.The writing itself wasn't necessarily the issue; even in my least favorite King novels, the writing is still phenomenal. My main problem with the book was the plot. Though it was unique, I was bored almost immediately. Out of the entire book, the one part that kept me on edge. The characters were well-written, but ultimately they didn't interest me as much as most of King's characters do.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this book. I will finish the series (probably not for a while, but eventually) simply because I've already started it. I highly doubt I'll spend too much time on it in general.
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LibraryThing member Algybama
This would be 2-star maximum if it weren't for the shootout in Tull. Admit it.
LibraryThing member Edward.Lorn
THE GUNSLINGER Review The Man Called Noon meets The Fellowship of the Ring, by a nineteen-year-old horror author.
This is the third time I've read THE GUNSLINGER. The first time, I was young, younger than I like to remember, and a great deal of this book was lost on me. The second time I read it
You've either read this book, or you haven't. You're either going to read it, or you're not. There's nothing I can say about book one to change your mind. King curb-stomps George R. R. Martin in the writing department, and honors Tolkien where world building is concerned. Sorry, but those are the only two fantasy authors I have read, so I don't have much to go on. One stone-cold fact remains: This is the ONLY fantasy series I've been able to reread. I have read THE HOBBIT several times, but I have no need to delve back into LORD OF THE RINGS again in this lifetime.
THE GUNSLINGER has always been a four-star read for me. It's a wild trip which bounces all over the place between young Roland and middle-aged Roland. The ending is about as anti-climactic as erectile dysfunction, but that's King for you. He knew, even back in 1970, that he had six more volumes to write, and THE GUNSLINGER wears that fact on its sleeve. Still, although I have issues with some of the storytelling elements herein, THE GUNSLINGER has one of the most intense, action packed scenes I've ever read. The battle of Tull is exquisite in its brutality, and I never fail to weep for Allie, or perhaps I'm crying for Roland and what he must do to "save" the bartender/whore.
19...
Knowing what I know about the rest of the series, I find that what happens to Jake never really struck a chord with me. Even before I read THE DRAWING OF THE THREE and later books in the series, I figured Jake's story was not finished.
God damn, it's hard to write a review of this book without giving away spoilers...
Anyway, what makes this book good is the world building. The reader feels as if they've lived in In-World and Mid-World all their lives. You know Roland. He's your long-time friend, and you root for him. Even when he disappoints you, you still care for him. Even while he's massacring an entire town to save his own hide, or betraying the trust of his companion, you can sympathize with him.
In summation, you should only read THE GUNSLINGER if you plan on reading the next six books (seven if you count THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE) in The Dark Tower series. It's nothing more than a 300 page prologue to a grand adventure filled with dark secrets, thrilling adventure, and a massive world populated by flesh and blood characters. The ending is gorgeous, but lacks finality, as one would expect from a first in a series.
This is the third time I've read THE GUNSLINGER. The first time, I was young, younger than I like to remember, and a great deal of this book was lost on me. The second time I read it
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was in 2004, after King finished the series by releasing the final three books in a marathon sprint. My views of the second read and this read-through are about the same. I have a clear favorite in this series, and one book in particular that I loathe, but those two books will remain a secret until I reread and review them.You've either read this book, or you haven't. You're either going to read it, or you're not. There's nothing I can say about book one to change your mind. King curb-stomps George R. R. Martin in the writing department, and honors Tolkien where world building is concerned. Sorry, but those are the only two fantasy authors I have read, so I don't have much to go on. One stone-cold fact remains: This is the ONLY fantasy series I've been able to reread. I have read THE HOBBIT several times, but I have no need to delve back into LORD OF THE RINGS again in this lifetime.
THE GUNSLINGER has always been a four-star read for me. It's a wild trip which bounces all over the place between young Roland and middle-aged Roland. The ending is about as anti-climactic as erectile dysfunction, but that's King for you. He knew, even back in 1970, that he had six more volumes to write, and THE GUNSLINGER wears that fact on its sleeve. Still, although I have issues with some of the storytelling elements herein, THE GUNSLINGER has one of the most intense, action packed scenes I've ever read. The battle of Tull is exquisite in its brutality, and I never fail to weep for Allie, or perhaps I'm crying for Roland and what he must do to "save" the bartender/whore.
19...
Knowing what I know about the rest of the series, I find that what happens to Jake never really struck a chord with me. Even before I read THE DRAWING OF THE THREE and later books in the series, I figured Jake's story was not finished.
God damn, it's hard to write a review of this book without giving away spoilers...
Anyway, what makes this book good is the world building. The reader feels as if they've lived in In-World and Mid-World all their lives. You know Roland. He's your long-time friend, and you root for him. Even when he disappoints you, you still care for him. Even while he's massacring an entire town to save his own hide, or betraying the trust of his companion, you can sympathize with him.
In summation, you should only read THE GUNSLINGER if you plan on reading the next six books (seven if you count THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE) in The Dark Tower series. It's nothing more than a 300 page prologue to a grand adventure filled with dark secrets, thrilling adventure, and a massive world populated by flesh and blood characters. The ending is gorgeous, but lacks finality, as one would expect from a first in a series.
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LibraryThing member bookwyrmm
Some of this seems disjointed, but some was brilliant. Definitely left me with mixed feelings.
LibraryThing member wvlibrarydude
Really good book! I was pleasantly surprised after other reads by King. I have good and bad with him in the past. Skeleton Crew was good, but my next Salem's Lot was really disappointing. The last one I read was The Stand, which I thought was a little dragged out.
This had a good blend of the
This had a good blend of the
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western motif, Americana, and King Arthur quest epic. I look forward to the rest of the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member jeff.maynes
I hesitated before writing a review of The Gunslinger, the first volume of King's epic. It feels a bit like writing a review of a prologue, perhaps as it should be in a multi-volume story that really is one novel bound in seven parts. Nevertheless, I do think it is worth reflecting on a bit,
The opening line is famous, and justly so: "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed." It's both stark and mysterious, and that combination really plays together nicely. On one hand, it sets up the basic plotline of the book immediately. We know quickly that the novel belongs to this gunslinger, and we know that the plot is built around a chase. Yet, as clear as the basic structure is, we know nothing about the parts. The phrase "the man in black" hits you over the head with its mysteries, but so too are we left to wonder immediately: what is he fleeing from? Is it the gunslinger? Why must he flee? Who (and what) is the gunslinger? The book also contains prophecies, and the comparison is instructive. I find prophecies rather dull and uninteresting in these sorts of novels. They are so elusive and cryptic, that it is difficult to become invested in the questions they raise. They don't provide enough of a foothold, speculation feels fruitless, and it simply feels like one waits for the events to transpire (they are, in a sense, retrospective for the reader - an event happens and our realization is how it fit the prophecy, rather than the prophecy giving us sufficient grounds for speculation and wonder). The opening line, however, is engimatic but not cryptic, and it immediately invests the reader in the questions it naturally raises.
It is vital that one is interested in these questions though. The book is thoroughly mysterious. We get glimpses of past events, and occasional movements in the main plot, which suggest a rich depth of material lying beneath the surface. The primary interest in the novel is from this depth, moreso than the main plot. Indeed, I found a number of the key instances in the plot relatively uninteresting (the visit to the Oracle is the prime example), but I did become quickly immersed in questions about the gunslinger's past, the insights that Jake's origins provide to the nature of the world, etc. If one is not absorbed into these big mysteries, the novel simply would not come off.
Yet, King nicely weaves these mysteries into the plot to help the reader become engaged in them. While I find the prophecies dull and hackneyed, the slivers of the gunslinger's origins are elegantly crafted. King's work here shares a similarity with Tolkien, who he credits as an inspiration in the forward. He writes on the assumption that the deep backstory is there, and that it informs events in the novel, without feeling the need to hold the reader's hand through all of it. Sometimes we'll simply be overwhelmed with details that are left unremarked and unexplained, but this also is immersive. The world is there anyway, it does not lie waiting for us. Key events are mentioned without explanation, details fly past us which may or may not be relevant. Yet, it is engaging because it sets up clear mysteries to be resolved (what happened to the gunslinger's mother? who is the good man?) while at the same time giving us the sense that the world here is deep and the answers will be worth hearing.
If one is not invested in these questions in the same way, the novel is likely to frustrate. Events move slowly, and the narrator's single-minded, unreflective drive is a common trope. The most momentous and engaging decision in the book is made from the offing, and the doubts about it feel superficial. It seems clear that the gunslinger's way of thinking about the world will become an important plot element, but it can pull some of the drama out of the early book. Fortunately, the novel is such a short and quick read (approximately 300 pages in mass market paperback with a medium size font) that one can very easily see if these mysteries are enough to sustain interest in the remainder of the series.
The novel is also worth trying because King is a very strong writer. The Gunslinger is one of his earlier works, and it is not quite as polished as his later writing, but it shows his engaging style throughout. He deftly weaves together grand and poetic descriptions with the blunt and to the point, and he has a wonderful touch for the evocative description. He's a far stronger writer than stereotypes about his genres would suggest, and that alone makes The Gunslinger a worthy read.
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especially since it is the book which asks you to commit to the rest of the series. The opening line is famous, and justly so: "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed." It's both stark and mysterious, and that combination really plays together nicely. On one hand, it sets up the basic plotline of the book immediately. We know quickly that the novel belongs to this gunslinger, and we know that the plot is built around a chase. Yet, as clear as the basic structure is, we know nothing about the parts. The phrase "the man in black" hits you over the head with its mysteries, but so too are we left to wonder immediately: what is he fleeing from? Is it the gunslinger? Why must he flee? Who (and what) is the gunslinger? The book also contains prophecies, and the comparison is instructive. I find prophecies rather dull and uninteresting in these sorts of novels. They are so elusive and cryptic, that it is difficult to become invested in the questions they raise. They don't provide enough of a foothold, speculation feels fruitless, and it simply feels like one waits for the events to transpire (they are, in a sense, retrospective for the reader - an event happens and our realization is how it fit the prophecy, rather than the prophecy giving us sufficient grounds for speculation and wonder). The opening line, however, is engimatic but not cryptic, and it immediately invests the reader in the questions it naturally raises.
It is vital that one is interested in these questions though. The book is thoroughly mysterious. We get glimpses of past events, and occasional movements in the main plot, which suggest a rich depth of material lying beneath the surface. The primary interest in the novel is from this depth, moreso than the main plot. Indeed, I found a number of the key instances in the plot relatively uninteresting (the visit to the Oracle is the prime example), but I did become quickly immersed in questions about the gunslinger's past, the insights that Jake's origins provide to the nature of the world, etc. If one is not absorbed into these big mysteries, the novel simply would not come off.
Yet, King nicely weaves these mysteries into the plot to help the reader become engaged in them. While I find the prophecies dull and hackneyed, the slivers of the gunslinger's origins are elegantly crafted. King's work here shares a similarity with Tolkien, who he credits as an inspiration in the forward. He writes on the assumption that the deep backstory is there, and that it informs events in the novel, without feeling the need to hold the reader's hand through all of it. Sometimes we'll simply be overwhelmed with details that are left unremarked and unexplained, but this also is immersive. The world is there anyway, it does not lie waiting for us. Key events are mentioned without explanation, details fly past us which may or may not be relevant. Yet, it is engaging because it sets up clear mysteries to be resolved (what happened to the gunslinger's mother? who is the good man?) while at the same time giving us the sense that the world here is deep and the answers will be worth hearing.
If one is not invested in these questions in the same way, the novel is likely to frustrate. Events move slowly, and the narrator's single-minded, unreflective drive is a common trope. The most momentous and engaging decision in the book is made from the offing, and the doubts about it feel superficial. It seems clear that the gunslinger's way of thinking about the world will become an important plot element, but it can pull some of the drama out of the early book. Fortunately, the novel is such a short and quick read (approximately 300 pages in mass market paperback with a medium size font) that one can very easily see if these mysteries are enough to sustain interest in the remainder of the series.
The novel is also worth trying because King is a very strong writer. The Gunslinger is one of his earlier works, and it is not quite as polished as his later writing, but it shows his engaging style throughout. He deftly weaves together grand and poetic descriptions with the blunt and to the point, and he has a wonderful touch for the evocative description. He's a far stronger writer than stereotypes about his genres would suggest, and that alone makes The Gunslinger a worthy read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member regularguy5mb
This is my second time reading The Gunslinger, and I believe I enjoyed it more than I did the first time.
The Dark Tower series was recommended to me when there were only three books written, and I picked up a box set of those three just before the fourth was released. I read them all in short order
It's taken a long time and a lot of other books in between, but I'm finally back at the start, with Roland the gunslinger chasing across the desert after the Man in Black. Roland's tale is quite a journey, both for him and the reader, as the world he resides is fleshed out in the telling, things are just off kilter enough for anyone to keep reading just in the hope of answering the questions that are sure to crop up in the reader's mind.
Roland's world has "moved on," but it seems that at one time it was very much just like ours. It even had the Beatles, if the piano player's rendition of "Hey Jude" is any indication. But we quickly learn that this world is not our world, or it's not anymore. Then the boy comes and complicates things further.
The Gunslinger is a slow burn, taking its time building up to the inevitable confrontation between Roland and the Man in Black after a merry chase across the remains of this world, both strange and familiar at the same time. King's afterword explaining his plans for the rest of the series is just as fascinating as the book itself, and I can't wait to revisit the next three books in the series before jumping into uncharted territory yet again in book 5. This was the first step into a much, much larger world.
"Go then. There are other worlds than these."
The Dark Tower series was recommended to me when there were only three books written, and I picked up a box set of those three just before the fourth was released. I read them all in short order
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because I was quickly pulled into the world and the story and just couldn't stop. Then I finished Wizard and Glass only to learn that there were more coming, but with no idea when. Then, as happens, other books got in the way. I remember excitedly getting book five, Wolves of the Calla, when it was released, but it had been a while and I wanted to refresh my memory on Roland's quest for the Tower before I jumped back in.It's taken a long time and a lot of other books in between, but I'm finally back at the start, with Roland the gunslinger chasing across the desert after the Man in Black. Roland's tale is quite a journey, both for him and the reader, as the world he resides is fleshed out in the telling, things are just off kilter enough for anyone to keep reading just in the hope of answering the questions that are sure to crop up in the reader's mind.
Roland's world has "moved on," but it seems that at one time it was very much just like ours. It even had the Beatles, if the piano player's rendition of "Hey Jude" is any indication. But we quickly learn that this world is not our world, or it's not anymore. Then the boy comes and complicates things further.
The Gunslinger is a slow burn, taking its time building up to the inevitable confrontation between Roland and the Man in Black after a merry chase across the remains of this world, both strange and familiar at the same time. King's afterword explaining his plans for the rest of the series is just as fascinating as the book itself, and I can't wait to revisit the next three books in the series before jumping into uncharted territory yet again in book 5. This was the first step into a much, much larger world.
"Go then. There are other worlds than these."
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LibraryThing member sturlington
If you didn’t read the Dark Tower books as they came out, entering the series now can seem daunting. While the first book in the series, The Gunslinger, is relatively slim, the books just keep getting thicker and thicker — and there are seven of them to get through. But I think the journey
The Gunslinger was first published in 1982, but a revised and expanded edition was released in 2003 that restores a few cut scenes, adds some important foreshadowing and cleans up some inconsistencies with the later novels. The slimmest volume in the series, and the best written, The Gunslinger has one of the truly great opening lines: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
In The Gunslinger, we meet Roland, King’s antihero, and enter his world, a “world that has moved on.” We also learn of his quest to reach the Dark Tower, Roland’s obsessive goal that drives the entire series. The book is haunting and spare, and if you were only going to read one Dark Tower book, this would be the one. Just try not to continue, though, when you reach the end.
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through King’s epic is well worth your time, especially if you enjoy novels that mix genres (science fiction, fantasy, western, horror), present a new spin on old tropes (the quest story, parallel worlds), and even experiment with metafiction. The Dark Tower is the pinnacle of King’s writing career, and I think the series incorporate the best of his ideas and themes (as well as some failures). The Gunslinger was first published in 1982, but a revised and expanded edition was released in 2003 that restores a few cut scenes, adds some important foreshadowing and cleans up some inconsistencies with the later novels. The slimmest volume in the series, and the best written, The Gunslinger has one of the truly great opening lines: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
In The Gunslinger, we meet Roland, King’s antihero, and enter his world, a “world that has moved on.” We also learn of his quest to reach the Dark Tower, Roland’s obsessive goal that drives the entire series. The book is haunting and spare, and if you were only going to read one Dark Tower book, this would be the one. Just try not to continue, though, when you reach the end.
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LibraryThing member ecataldi
This epic fantasy classic has been on my to read list for ages and I'm finally motivated to read it after seeing the movie preview. I know this is only the first book in the dark tower series but based off the movie preview there must combine quite a few of the books to get the first movie.
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Basically The Gunslinger introduces the two main characters to the series: The Gunslinger (Roland) and The Man in Black. The gunslinger is following the man in black across a long wasteland of a desert and trying to avoid the traps left behind by the man in black (quite unsuccessfully). The gunslinger is determined to track down and kill the man in black, but not before he gets answers. The two are from another world in another time, and besides the dark tower they are the only remnants of where they are from. As the gunslinger follows the man in blacks trail readers get a little back story on his past as he tells it to the people he encounters. He eventually finds a kid in the desert and together they set off to cross the mountains, right on the man in black's trail. It's kinda heavy, very literary, and leaves you with lots of questions. I guess I'll have to read the next one in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member pauliharman
Um. Well, I got to the end, but frankly I'm not really sure what that was all about. Maybe it will become clear when I read other books in the series, but frankly if it wasn't by someone of the calibre of Stephen King, and I didn't already own books 2-4, I probably wouldn't bother continuing. But
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hey, I didn't like Lord of the Rings either, so obviously I have no taste. It's not that this is badly written - some of the sentences and paragraphs are quite poetic - but they don't seem to string together into a cohesive narrative. I can see there's probably a story buried in there somewhere, but it's extremely elusive. Show Less
LibraryThing member endersreads
King's Magnum Opus was revised in 2003 so that it may be in sync with the later books in the series. From what I can remember, the book was like roving in a strange parallel universe where familiarity is something dead, like a strange dream world inhabited by ghosts of our world. Roland meets the
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boy Jake, who is from a different world and eventually sacrifices Jake to further pursue the man in black. This strange nightmare world is quite distinctive and I believe the novel's popularity is due to it's unique atmosphere. It is the reason we come to King, to see his strange universe that reminds us of the strangeness of our own. King's inspiration for "The Gunslinger" was "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning. I can't help but think of "The Song of Roland" as well--the oldest major work of French literature. I believe I will purchase the revised edition and refresh myself to the world of the Gunslinger. Show Less
LibraryThing member Bridgey
This is the first book of the ‘Dark Tower’ series. Been meaning to read these for ages but never got around to it.
The book features ‘The man in Black’, and no, it’s not Johnny Cash, it’s Flagg. Also known from the other King book’s ‘Eyes of the Dragon’ and ‘The Stand’.
Roland,
Along the way we are allowed into a little of Roland’s past and the tale of how he came into manhood.
I don’t want to say much about the story line for fear of showing some spoilers that may ruin it for someone else. All I can say is that this is classic King as his very nearly best. This was one of those novels where I found myself daydreaming in work and wondering what would happen next. When I’d finished I went and bought the other 6 books in the series.
In this first book, we are also introduced to Jake, a boy pushed into Roland’s dimension to befriend him and test his strength of character. Roland’s world has ‘moved on’ and although there are many things we recognise, most would seem at home in the Old Wild West, including the town of Tull. Expect demons, oracles, talking crows called Zoltan and of course the formidable Man in Black.
Enjoy!
The book features ‘The man in Black’, and no, it’s not Johnny Cash, it’s Flagg. Also known from the other King book’s ‘Eyes of the Dragon’ and ‘The Stand’.
Roland,
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the last gunslinger, is tracking the man in black. We are not told how long this has gone on for, but we join them as the chase gets very close. Along the way we are allowed into a little of Roland’s past and the tale of how he came into manhood.
I don’t want to say much about the story line for fear of showing some spoilers that may ruin it for someone else. All I can say is that this is classic King as his very nearly best. This was one of those novels where I found myself daydreaming in work and wondering what would happen next. When I’d finished I went and bought the other 6 books in the series.
In this first book, we are also introduced to Jake, a boy pushed into Roland’s dimension to befriend him and test his strength of character. Roland’s world has ‘moved on’ and although there are many things we recognise, most would seem at home in the Old Wild West, including the town of Tull. Expect demons, oracles, talking crows called Zoltan and of course the formidable Man in Black.
Enjoy!
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LibraryThing member bigorangemichael
It's interesting to go back and read the first installment of Stephen King's magnum opus now that I know how the series all plays out in the other seven novels.
I read "The Gunslinger" when it was first released to the mass market in the 80s and recall being a bit perplexed by it. At the time, it
Little did I know I'd be devoting twenty or so years to the series and that I'd re-read the first installment multiple times. (I think I've re-read it at least once per new installment coming out and that doesn't even count the revised edition King released when he finally got around to finishing the Dark Tower novels a few years ago).
Yes, I'm an admitted Stephen King fan and his "Dark Tower" novels are among my favorite works by the author. And while "The Gunslinger" is a favorite book of mine, this re-read only helped convince me further that this is a strong prologue, but the real meat of the story is to come. In many ways, "The Drawing of the Three" is a better book, but you can't replace the raw edge of "The Gunslinger."
The story is an entry into the world, setting up the character of Roland and giving us a taste of what's to come. Reading the story now, it's fascinating to catch various elements and threads King will pick up on and run with in later installments of the series. And it's easy to forget that while King expands the cast list in later books that the series began with the long figure of Roland on an epic quest.
The novel is a fascinating blend of King's usual elements and yet also stands alone in the King oeuvre. It's a fascinating, compelling character piece that is the entry point into the larger, more complex and ultimately extremely rewarding story of the quest for the Dark Tower.
I read "The Gunslinger" when it was first released to the mass market in the 80s and recall being a bit perplexed by it. At the time, it
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was like nothing else King had written. And yet, as I read about the tale of the Gunslinger pursuing the Man in Black across a vast wasteland, I couldn't help but be intrigued and want more.Little did I know I'd be devoting twenty or so years to the series and that I'd re-read the first installment multiple times. (I think I've re-read it at least once per new installment coming out and that doesn't even count the revised edition King released when he finally got around to finishing the Dark Tower novels a few years ago).
Yes, I'm an admitted Stephen King fan and his "Dark Tower" novels are among my favorite works by the author. And while "The Gunslinger" is a favorite book of mine, this re-read only helped convince me further that this is a strong prologue, but the real meat of the story is to come. In many ways, "The Drawing of the Three" is a better book, but you can't replace the raw edge of "The Gunslinger."
The story is an entry into the world, setting up the character of Roland and giving us a taste of what's to come. Reading the story now, it's fascinating to catch various elements and threads King will pick up on and run with in later installments of the series. And it's easy to forget that while King expands the cast list in later books that the series began with the long figure of Roland on an epic quest.
The novel is a fascinating blend of King's usual elements and yet also stands alone in the King oeuvre. It's a fascinating, compelling character piece that is the entry point into the larger, more complex and ultimately extremely rewarding story of the quest for the Dark Tower.
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LibraryThing member les121
This is one of the strangest stories I've ever read. The entire time I was reading I just kept thinking, "What the heck?" It's weird, but unforgettable and thought provoking.
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320