Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Dec 12, 2011

Dan rated it:

The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed.

Roland Deschain, the last of the Gunslingers, is on a quest for the Dark Tower, a mysterious edifice that is the axle of worlds and holds all existence together. In this, the first volume, Roland pursues his nemesis across the Mohaine Desert. He follows the man in black's trail to a little town called Tull, then through more desert, encountering a boy named Jake from our world, and then into the mountains. Will More...

14 comments like (36 people liked it)

Jan 27, 2012

Lou rated it:

The Gunslinger
"The Interloper, The Lord of Flies, The Man in Black cometh!"
Stephen King our modern day Charles Dickens takes you on beginning of an epic journey with Roland 'The Gunslinger' in this poignant tale. The story takes us through the past and future and the coming of age of a man and a boy in search of The Tower.
'The more you eat the more you toot!' or should I say the more you re-read it the more you will appreciate it, that's what I felt second tim More...

8 comments like (17 people liked it)

Jan 08, 2012

Mike (the Paladin) rated it:

King is a gifted writer and has constructed a sort of intertwined "multiverse" (thank you Albert Einstein and Michael Moorcock)for his novels. It is compelling, detailed, gritty, and flawed. I have observed before that I can't really call myself a King fan. He seems unable to conceive of what I might call "actual good" or "altruistic good". His protagonists are usually terribly (even fatally) flawed in some critical way. In this I don't mean the in the "I'm hu More...

6 comments like (11 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2011

mark rated it:

A Gunslinger, a Man in Black, a Child Out of Time & Space, the Beginning of a Cryptic Saga...

A Second Read. The First Time: unimpressed, bored, agitated, gave up. The Second Time: so much better, a lot to consider, An Enjoyable Experience...

A Strangely Sparse Narrative, perhaps too much Mystery, perhaps too much of a Tease and not enough Action, perhaps too much to think about, a Frustrating Lack of Detail & Meaning...

A Tarot Card: THE HANGED MAN...
Sacri More...

14 comments like (17 people liked it)

Apr 08, 2011

Stephen rated it:

INTRODUCTION:
A few things you should know before deciding how helpful this review will be for you.
………….
………….
………….

*** I think the Dark Tower series as a whole is a staggering achievement and belongs in any discussion without qualification of the “Greatest Fantasy Series of All Time.”

*** There are no spoilers in this review but I have read the series twice all the way through and am doing a third reading as part of a group read this More...

14 comments like (57 people liked it)

Apr 07, 2008

Taylor rated it:

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 p More...

12 comments like (35 people liked it)

Jan 26, 2011

D_Davis rated it:

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 findin More...

11 comments like (13 people liked it)

Apr 04, 2011

Kemper rated it:

The Dark Tower series was one of the great joys of my reading life. However, it also frustrated me to the point where I often wanted to bludgeon Stephen King with a hardback copy of It.

I was baffled by The Gunslinger when I first read it way back in my high school days. It had been an unobtainable limited edition that had popped up in the title card of King’s other books, and when it finally went into wide release I couldn’t wait to snatch it up. But then I couldn’t make sense More...

2 comments like (20 people liked it)

Oct 02, 2011

Lou rated it:

The Gunslinger
"The Interloper, The Lord of Flies, The Man in Black cometh!"

Stephen King our modern day Charles Dickens takes you on beginning of an epic journey with Roland 'The Gunslinger' in this poignant tale. The story takes us through the past and future and the coming of age of a man and a boy in search of The Tower.
'The more you eat the more you toot!' or should I say the more you re-read it the more you will appreciate it, that's what I felt second time More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

May 20, 2011

Angela rated it:

UPDATED REVIEW: I finally returned to the beginning of The Dark Tower and re-read The Gunslinger, and it is incredible. I stand by my review that it may be less incredible on first-reading, but as a completion to the cycle (as in read 1-7... and then 1 again), it's pure genius, as only King could manage.

Previous review:
My 3-star rating is based on what I remember thinking about the book when I read it nearly four years ago. I was not all that impressed by the Gunslinger nor by More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Zan rated it:

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 More...

8 comments like (15 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Darcy rated it:

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 wheth More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2009

Primrose rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Sep 29, 2011

Nicola rated it:

The Gunslinger is not my usual type of book so I wasn't really sure how much I would like it. However, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. The imagery is the one thing that really stuck out to me- King really succeeds at bringing the desolate world to life and I could picture every moment clearly which made the book really creepy at parts. Roland was a well developed character and I found it interesting to follow him through his journey. I liked all the interesting (often desperate) people he me More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 11, 2007

Josh rated it:

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 it a g More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jul 19, 2007

Nichole (Dirty H) rated it:

Well... the jury's still out on this one. But my overall impression was "Uh...."
I decided to read this book because one of the executive producers of Lost (which I love) loved this series. And I tend to like the fantasy quest type thing... so I had high expectations for Stephen King's Dark Tower series.
But this book was... weird. And icky. There was a lot of sex in this book that I found completely unnecessary, unenjoyable and kind of gross. And the protagonist is not parti More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2011

Cortney rated it:

So here I was thinking that I could handle Stephen King; even though I don't like horror. I can make an exception for Stephen King. I've seen Cujo, Pet Sematary, & Carrie (ok, so it was a long long time ago and my cousins forced me to watch them.) The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption are on my list of all time favorite movies. And plus The Gunslinger was supposed to be about a guy chasing another guy across the desert. I mean, what's so scary about that? So I was prepared for whatever Th More...

6 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 23, 2008

Kristin rated it:

I have a confession to make - this is the first time I have read a Steven King novel. Ever. Yes, I know he is reputed to be an excellent writer, but I don’t do horror. Period. But, I was talked into trying out this series and after reading the afterward (I tend to do things backwards), I was intrigued enough to read the book from the beginning.

I read it in one sitting.

Then I went and begged my friend for the rest.

In this book, we are introduced to Rola More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Sep 15, 2007

Robert rated it:

I have wanted to start this series for years now. The premise of a lone western gunslinger trekking a strange fantasy world in search of a dark tower has always been an intriguing one. King talks in his forward of a character reminiscent of Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "The Man With No Name" series. Even before purchasing the book I had already anticipated the archetype and was sadly disappointed. Though that may have served as a basis, it is juxtapositioned against a feudal wor More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jack rated it:

Here's the thing...

The Dark Tower is a culmination, a grand conjunction of Stephen King's literary world. It is his masterpiece. Most importantly, though it reminds us many times throughout that King is a horror writer at heart, these books are a work of modern literature.

King began this first book in 1970 and didn't finish it until 81' or 82. The next book came out in 87'... and the last three were published in 2003 and 2004. His writing style changes and grows as the se More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Nov 10, 2008

Sandi rated it:

I liked "The Gunslinger" well enough to read straight through in a couple of days. However, it really seemed too hard to be something, but I couldn't figure out what. I'm sure it's meant to be enigmatic, but a good enigma should never be pointed out. There were several points in the novel where the gunslinger wonders if he's really dead. I, for one, couldn't figure out whether this was a post-apocalyptic novel, a religious allegory, a fantasy quest or what. Why is there a dead kid More...

5 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 19, 2009

Autumn rated it:

I don't even want to write a review of this series until I've at least read book 2, but I will do something that I've never done before: review the Foreword.

Stephen King is revisiting a series that was the spark of his 19 year old imagination and in the decades since, he has grown both as a writer and a person. He has done more than write the finish that devoted fans of the series have been clamoring for, he has edited the original novels and released a "director's cut" if More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 24, 2011

Dawn rated it:

This was probably a 3.5 star book, with the potential to become a solid four or even a five depending on how the remaining books in the series play out. It was a little dry, but that was ok because it was also very short. I'll definitely be continuing on in the series, and depending on what I find there, I may very well come back and change my rating on this one.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 16, 2009

Patrick rated it:

This is for all the books in Stephen King's The Dark Tower. I believe it was an amazing body of work, and it has everything a dark fanasty had to offer, from awesome gun fights, standoffs, horrible and scary creatures, psychos with deadly intent, dead babies jokes, Kung Fu fighting, and a while not a great ending but a more fitting ending in which ironically, the quest becomes the actual story, not the end of the quest. Ultimately, his quest was the quest itself.

It is the greatest a More...

6 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 17, 2008

Brad rated it:

I am not a fan of Stephen King's writing (though I am a fan of the man), so I have purposefully stayed away from The Dark Tower series.

King's books always seem to follow a simple pattern with me.

The first third of the book I find myself excited, joyfully surfing the book on the wave of King's pure inventiveness (no matter how I feel about his books in the end, it is hard to deny that his crazy mind is full of interesting ideas). In the second third of the book, the wave More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2012

Sofia rated it:

Whew, what a way to start off 2012...

This is a relatively short book, but to me... it was an absolute CHORE to read.

King writes Roland perfectly, considering his character. His slow, steady, tenacious way of thinking and... everything really, comes through very well in the text. In addition, the action and horror-scenes are awesome to read. I expected no less from Stephen King.

Here's the thing, though: these kinds of stories really aren't for me. I'm talking a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 20, 2008

Sean rated it:

A decidedly odd epic, but one that drew me in quickly and completely. King's reputation as a writer -- not a storyteller -- is a tad mixed, but I was impressed by his deft stylistic touch here. His writing is neither terse nor flowery, his diction is varied and challenging but not distracting, and the structure of the book is taut and well-paced.

I read this based on a recommendation and wasn't sure what to expect; I've already started the second volume in the series and look forw More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 15, 2011

Books-treasureortrash rated it:

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes

During Roland's travels we get glimpses into his past and so we are slowly introduced to the character. The writing draws us and makes us care about him and his quest and in typical Steven King style the writing is very descriptive. There is a very gory part where the gunslinger is defending himself against an entire town. During his defence we get an idea of how and why he is a gunslinger. There are also sad parts throughout the book. Stephen King drops More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 20, 2011

Jan rated it:

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I’ve been meaning to read the Dark Tower series ever since I saw how many people loved Roland in the Suvudublog Cagematches, and even though the friends who tried them didn’t like them, I was stubborn and brought all 7 of them with me on vacation. I’m not sure if I’ll like them enough to not get tired of them when reading them so fast in sequence, but so far, I’m positively inclined.

However, now I’m going to throw away any street cred I have b More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2010

Moody rated it:

I finished this book over a weekend...so for what that's worth. For what it is, it’s great, lots of fun, and touching on large, exciting themes. It’s the kind of story that gets my blood pumping. I was captivated for long stretches and I’d look up and find that three hours and a hundred pages had slipped by. I found myself skipping over the text and stealing ahead on the page trying to get a glimpse of what was coming, devouring the pages like that, the blood and bullets and magic. These ar More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

reviews