The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1)
by Stephen King
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Some Spoilers...
I’ve been craving an imaginative, mature, epic fantasy lately. Something without elves, dwarves, and the host of other post-Tolkien fantasy cliché. I’ve been craving something that is well-written, and not groan inducing, and something that is genrebusting in nature. All too often, I’ll pick up a fantasy book, read a few pages, and promptly return it to the shelf, shaking my head at the trite prose and tired exposition. Needless to say, I’ve been having trouble findi...more
I’ve been craving an imaginative, mature, epic fantasy lately. Something without elves, dwarves, and the host of other post-Tolkien fantasy cliché. I’ve been craving something that is well-written, and not groan inducing, and something that is genrebusting in nature. All too often, I’ll pick up a fantasy book, read a few pages, and promptly return it to the shelf, shaking my head at the trite prose and tired exposition. Needless to say, I’ve been having trouble findi...more
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Read in January, 1993
recommends it for:
everyone
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Taylor by:
Timrecommends it for: adventure seekers, people who like stories centered around a hero
Dear Stephen King,
I'd like to apologize for the times that I've made fun of you in any way, shape or form, including the kid in my English 2 class sophomore year who would not stop raving about you as if you were the only person to ever write a book.
It's not that I think that kid was justified for only ever reading your books and no-one else's, and it's not that I thought you were a horrible writer and now I think you're amazing.
But, this was really quite a pleasant surprise. I'm no...more
I'd like to apologize for the times that I've made fun of you in any way, shape or form, including the kid in my English 2 class sophomore year who would not stop raving about you as if you were the only person to ever write a book.
It's not that I think that kid was justified for only ever reading your books and no-one else's, and it's not that I thought you were a horrible writer and now I think you're amazing.
But, this was really quite a pleasant surprise. I'm no...more
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Read in January, 1994
(this is a review for the series as a whole)
I started reading The Dark Tower series when I was about 12, starting with Vol. 1: The Gunslinger and Vol. 2: The Drawing of the Three (published in 1982 and 1987, respectively). Not long after, I came into a copy of the fourth installment, Wizard and Glass (published 1997) and read it without having read the third. At that point, the next volume was at least five years away, so I quit it all. When King picked up the ...more
I started reading The Dark Tower series when I was about 12, starting with Vol. 1: The Gunslinger and Vol. 2: The Drawing of the Three (published in 1982 and 1987, respectively). Not long after, I came into a copy of the fourth installment, Wizard and Glass (published 1997) and read it without having read the third. At that point, the next volume was at least five years away, so I quit it all. When King picked up the ...more
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Read in January, 2007
"Only enemies speak the truth; friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty."
Admittedly, the only reason I was initially interested in reading the Dark Tower series was the alleged inspiration it provided for the minds behind the television show, Lost (yes, I am a huge Lost fan). At the end of this first book in the series, I can’t say I see much of a connection with the television show – although the show is only halfway through its run at the time of my reading...more
Admittedly, the only reason I was initially interested in reading the Dark Tower series was the alleged inspiration it provided for the minds behind the television show, Lost (yes, I am a huge Lost fan). At the end of this first book in the series, I can’t say I see much of a connection with the television show – although the show is only halfway through its run at the time of my reading...more
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Read in March, 2007
This is the book which first catapults us into Roland's world, introducing us to the enigmatic gunslinger and his rather strange world.
This revised edition was published in 2003, to coincide with the release of the final books in the Dark Tower series. In his introduction, King compares this to the expanded edition of The Stand, only on a smaller scale. Generally, a few alterations have been made so that the book, originally published back in 1982, ties in more nicely with the later books in...more
This revised edition was published in 2003, to coincide with the release of the final books in the Dark Tower series. In his introduction, King compares this to the expanded edition of The Stand, only on a smaller scale. Generally, a few alterations have been made so that the book, originally published back in 1982, ties in more nicely with the later books in...more
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Read in January, 1995
recommends it for:
anyone who's looking for an amazing saga
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
As a devotee to Stephen King's Dark Tower series, this first sentence of The Gunslinger (and ultimately the Dark Tower series) sends a tingle down my spine. From the starting of the series in 1970 to the finish, the publishing of The Dark Tower in 2004, King has crafted a universe arguably more diverse than that of Tolkien.
The Gunslinger starts as it states, with an unnamed protagonist following a strange ma...more
As a devotee to Stephen King's Dark Tower series, this first sentence of The Gunslinger (and ultimately the Dark Tower series) sends a tingle down my spine. From the starting of the series in 1970 to the finish, the publishing of The Dark Tower in 2004, King has crafted a universe arguably more diverse than that of Tolkien.
The Gunslinger starts as it states, with an unnamed protagonist following a strange ma...more
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I am glad that I have a new found appreciation for Stephen King. When I was younger, I used to love to scare myself silly with his novels. In my early 20's, after becoming a mother, I lost the desire (and constitution) to read horror and instead learned to love fantasy and scifi.
The Gunslinger is not for the beginning fantasy reader. I think that the majority of the YA crowd (thought not all by far) and those new to reading speculative fiction often expect to understand within a few cha...more
The Gunslinger is not for the beginning fantasy reader. I think that the majority of the YA crowd (thought not all by far) and those new to reading speculative fiction often expect to understand within a few cha...more
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Read in May, 2008
I'd heard of The Dark Tower from someone a long time ago, and I had always wanted to get one, but was usuallyt baffled by teh fact that I only ever managed to see Vol III onwards on the shelves. So when I finally saw Vols I and II at Landmark, my heart leapt up and I went ahead and shelled out hard eearned money for it. And did I like it? Was it worht the wait? Read on.
Well, the setting is damn different, I must admit, it's the Wild West meets the plains of Rohan meets Dune. The book starts ...more
Well, the setting is damn different, I must admit, it's the Wild West meets the plains of Rohan meets Dune. The book starts ...more
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recommends it for:
anyone and everyone
Let me say something first. There's really no point in reading any Stephen King story if you don't read "The Dark Tower" series first. I'm very serious about this. Every short story, every sentence in one of his huge novels will resonate so much more if you read these novels outright. Because King is a geek of the best kind - he writes for his fans, who are as obsessed, if not more, with the world of the Dark Tower. And so every story has a shout-out, whether it be momentary, or whethe...more
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Read in October, 2004
recommends it for:
Fantasy and Horror readers in search of a change, Western readers with imagination
This reviews the REVISED AND EXPANDED edition of the first book. New readers should be careful to see if they are reading impressions of one or the other, as they are quite different.
Wow, does the revised edition ever read smoother. It took King decades to write this whole series, so it stands to reason he would have a better understanding of the opening chapters later. The culture of his world seems far more accessible this time, while the sense of Roland's purpose is as salient as ever. I ...more
Wow, does the revised edition ever read smoother. It took King decades to write this whole series, so it stands to reason he would have a better understanding of the opening chapters later. The culture of his world seems far more accessible this time, while the sense of Roland's purpose is as salient as ever. I ...more
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I have heard a lot of hype about this book and a lot of my friends are really into it. I saw the paperback cheap at a used book store and decided to pick up the first two in the series. I am probably never going to touch the second book.
I have never been a fan of Stephen King, I don't really like horror books and I really don't understand how many times you can read about a car killing people before you get bored of the man. The reason I read this is because the Marvel comic version of this ...more
I have never been a fan of Stephen King, I don't really like horror books and I really don't understand how many times you can read about a car killing people before you get bored of the man. The reason I read this is because the Marvel comic version of this ...more
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recommends it for:
dorks everywhere
So here's the thing: I've never thought Stephen King was that great of a writer. Maybe that's a snobby thing to say, but it's nevertheless true (besides, I'm pretty arrogant when I want to be). Since it's the first in the series written close to 20 years ago, I can sorta forgive the fact that it's not particularly well written. It's breezy, it's easy, but there's nothing interesting or challenging in the language, sentence structure, character insights, etc.
That said, I am SO hooked on the j...more
That said, I am SO hooked on the j...more
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Read in December, 2004
Read the first book in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series (thanks Van) and I must say, although I don’t usually find King’s books all that interesting to me (I’ll wait for the miniseries, thanks), The Gunslinger (revised edition) was a great read and has compelled me to read the rest of the series. It’s an interesting work of fiction in several ways. If you don’t know already, the thing about his Dark Tower series is that each book in the series has connections and parallels with t...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of the awesome
this was the first Stephen King book I ever read, and I read it about 6 months ago. King wrote the intro to one of the volumes of Neil Gaiman's nothing-short-of-epickly-awesome Sandman series, and I always wondered why. That probably sounds stupid to avid King fans. I just always assumed he was a schlocky writer, having more in common with John Grisham than Alan Moore. but after having a few friends rave about this series (even to the point of tattoodles ref'ing it), I decided to give...more
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Read in June, 2006
In the new preface to this novel, King talks about the germination of this series. One strand of inspiration was J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, even though the two have very little in common. He didn’t really know what he wanted to do until another strand of inspiration came: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Whereas Tolkien’s fantasy epic finds its inspiration in the mythology of the Anglo-Saxons et al, King’s fantasy epic (and it certainly is that) is inspired by the American mytho...more
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Read in November, 2007
I have heard good things about this series for years and was a bit leary of reading about a fantasy/sci fi western.
"That's no moon, Cleedus! That there zah Spayse Station! Yeee Haw, Lets Ride!"
I'm glad I gave in and gave it a try.
One thing that I like is that this has the feel of a Spaghetti Western but it isn't a western. It is real more of a post-apocalyptic story with a character who is similar to archetypal western gunfighters. Judging from this first novel. Roland is...more
"That's no moon, Cleedus! That there zah Spayse Station! Yeee Haw, Lets Ride!"
I'm glad I gave in and gave it a try.
One thing that I like is that this has the feel of a Spaghetti Western but it isn't a western. It is real more of a post-apocalyptic story with a character who is similar to archetypal western gunfighters. Judging from this first novel. Roland is...more
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Read in May, 1994
I'm going to review the entire series from this first book. King is an anomoly in the world of literature. I know many readers who call him a hack and won't touch a tale with his name on the jacket with a ten foot pole. However, even the most vehement King-haters mostly agree that the guy can spin a tale. For me, the darktower series has been been a part of my entire adult life. I read the first three three books in the summer of 1994, well after their first publishing. For the next 12 yea...more
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Read in January, 2006
Excellent series! This books speaks to you on so many different levels it's hard to put into words.
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." So starts Stephen King's Dark Tower series, which has become a modern fantasy classic. This raw dark fantasy series starts off in "The Gunslinger," a fragmented but compelling story of the last gunslinger, Roland.
As the story opens, the last gunslinger Roland is traveling across a world that has &quo...more
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." So starts Stephen King's Dark Tower series, which has become a modern fantasy classic. This raw dark fantasy series starts off in "The Gunslinger," a fragmented but compelling story of the last gunslinger, Roland.
As the story opens, the last gunslinger Roland is traveling across a world that has &quo...more