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The Gunslinger
Librarian's note: This an alternate cover for: 9781501143519
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.
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.
251 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published May 3, 2016
229 people are currently reading
3374 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,387 books890k followersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 610 reviews
October 8, 2017
Please don't hate me. I know it seems sacrilegious to give a Stephen King anything less than 4 stars, but this one was SLOOOOWWWW for the first 75%. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but I did find this was an easy book to put down and not feel an urgency to jump back into for days at a time.
I've heard many folks describe this as a nice prologue to the series and that, in a sense, the action and story doesn't become investment worthy until book 2. That, coupled with the fact that I did become very involved in the final 25% or so of this book has me itching to continue on with Roland because DEAR GOD THAT ENDING!!! I was just coasting, coasting, coasting, and then then I had to reread the final couple of pages a few times to make sure I was following along properly.
All in all, I got the sense that this is a really special series and worthy of the high praise it has received for decades, and I expect my future reviews will hold more gushing and fangirling than this one did.
PS- my prim and proper mother (we lovingly refer to her as Nonni) is the one who initially convinced me to read this series and also invest in The Stand because she read both way back in her day. Who knew Nonni was so cool and hip and in the know?!
I've heard many folks describe this as a nice prologue to the series and that, in a sense, the action and story doesn't become investment worthy until book 2. That, coupled with the fact that I did become very involved in the final 25% or so of this book has me itching to continue on with Roland because DEAR GOD THAT ENDING!!! I was just coasting, coasting, coasting, and then then I had to reread the final couple of pages a few times to make sure I was following along properly.
All in all, I got the sense that this is a really special series and worthy of the high praise it has received for decades, and I expect my future reviews will hold more gushing and fangirling than this one did.
PS- my prim and proper mother (we lovingly refer to her as Nonni) is the one who initially convinced me to read this series and also invest in The Stand because she read both way back in her day. Who knew Nonni was so cool and hip and in the know?!
May 18, 2021
My wife will be pleased to know: she was right (As she often is), this is a great book and what an intro to the series.
Finally after a few years of both my wife and my friends looking at me going "You need to read the Dark Tower. Yes, we know you pretty much only read military history, but seriously you need to read this." I succumbed. This year actually I fell back in love with the world of fiction and I felt it was high time I got 'round to this epic.
The first book sets the stage, the tone, and in my limited experience with King it unusually focuses on a small key amount of characters. As the props and stage are being set there is a bit of down time so to speak a bit of endless deserts punctuated by short but intense bursts of action and philosophy.
I was not expecting such a philosophical bent to the ending, there's a lot of good meat here to chew and cogitate over mentally in the best way possible.
Long Days and Pleasant Nights Roland, I'll see you soon in #2.
Finally after a few years of both my wife and my friends looking at me going "You need to read the Dark Tower. Yes, we know you pretty much only read military history, but seriously you need to read this." I succumbed. This year actually I fell back in love with the world of fiction and I felt it was high time I got 'round to this epic.
The first book sets the stage, the tone, and in my limited experience with King it unusually focuses on a small key amount of characters. As the props and stage are being set there is a bit of down time so to speak a bit of endless deserts punctuated by short but intense bursts of action and philosophy.
I was not expecting such a philosophical bent to the ending, there's a lot of good meat here to chew and cogitate over mentally in the best way possible.
Long Days and Pleasant Nights Roland, I'll see you soon in #2.
January 25, 2026
I just finished my second read-through of The Gunslinger on this cold, snowy January morning and I loved it more this time than I did the first. I know it's because I already made the journey to The Dark Tower with Roland and his Ka-Tet. I know his character better than I did the last time I read The Gunslinger. While Roland's character grows immensely throughout the series, he always remains the same character at heart. I love this about Stephen King's writing. He is a master at character writing.
The stage is set. The journey has begun. I'm going to let Roland rest just a bit, but I don't know how long I can truly wait until I move on to The Drawing of the Three.
Of course my rating remains at 5 stars for this genre bending book.
The stage is set. The journey has begun. I'm going to let Roland rest just a bit, but I don't know how long I can truly wait until I move on to The Drawing of the Three.
Of course my rating remains at 5 stars for this genre bending book.
July 21, 2025
This was a really cool story. I enjoyed all the elements, the characters, and the plot. Stephen King did a great job of creating a unique story. It's a cowboy High Plains Drifter-type Western with elements of fantasy, science fiction, and subtle links to our understanding of the world.
The world has 'moved on' and now there is a different future centered around an American 'Wild West' setting. The story presents itself in time-lapses and flashback sequences blended with fantasy, magic, and science fiction while the main character, Roland (a cowboy-type gunslinger) 'chases after the man in black'. Who is the man in black? Why did Roland become a gunslinger and why is he on a mission to get him? The simplicity of the writing forces you to use you imagination to fill in the gaps and enhanced the story (for me at least).
Overall this was a fun story and I was hooked the entire time. I have not seen the movie and I have nothing else to compare this to. I would recommend this to any Stephen King fan and I look forward to reading the next book. Thanks!
The world has 'moved on' and now there is a different future centered around an American 'Wild West' setting. The story presents itself in time-lapses and flashback sequences blended with fantasy, magic, and science fiction while the main character, Roland (a cowboy-type gunslinger) 'chases after the man in black'. Who is the man in black? Why did Roland become a gunslinger and why is he on a mission to get him? The simplicity of the writing forces you to use you imagination to fill in the gaps and enhanced the story (for me at least).
Overall this was a fun story and I was hooked the entire time. I have not seen the movie and I have nothing else to compare this to. I would recommend this to any Stephen King fan and I look forward to reading the next book. Thanks!
October 20, 2025
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ebook format 📖
I would likely rate this higher if I knew a bit more about the world building and characters. I'm sure the upcoming books in this series will help with my questions.
I'm looking forward to continuing with this epic journey!
Ebook format 📖
I would likely rate this higher if I knew a bit more about the world building and characters. I'm sure the upcoming books in this series will help with my questions.
I'm looking forward to continuing with this epic journey!
Read
April 26, 2025You know things are going to be rough when the author admits in his forward to the revised version that his own book has problems! I'm glad I knew going in that The Gunslinger was not a great introduction to the series because I was prepared for it. I'm left with a mixed experience, but I can see the start of something I could be into so I do intend to read the next book and see how I get on with it.
This was weirdly structured, often intentionally opaque to the reader, and had many moments making think "wtf???" That said, the ideas and world are interesting and I'm curious to see how they get developed moving forward. Overall I can't say I enjoyed most of the book, but there were scenes toward the end that sucked me in and I'm hoping book 2 is more fun. This thing of having a multiverse where worlds overlap in unexpected ways is something I find intriguing.
I will say reading this reminded me why I've determined to avoid a lot of King's earlier work. Particularly given the hyper-sexualization of every single female character who appears, the casual references to things like incest and rape without it feeling earned or necessary to the story, and racial insensitivity on a couple of occasions. And while we're talking about things that might bother some readers, it's also worth noting there is a lot of graphic violence including the brutal death of a child.
This was weirdly structured, often intentionally opaque to the reader, and had many moments making think "wtf???" That said, the ideas and world are interesting and I'm curious to see how they get developed moving forward. Overall I can't say I enjoyed most of the book, but there were scenes toward the end that sucked me in and I'm hoping book 2 is more fun. This thing of having a multiverse where worlds overlap in unexpected ways is something I find intriguing.
I will say reading this reminded me why I've determined to avoid a lot of King's earlier work. Particularly given the hyper-sexualization of every single female character who appears, the casual references to things like incest and rape without it feeling earned or necessary to the story, and racial insensitivity on a couple of occasions. And while we're talking about things that might bother some readers, it's also worth noting there is a lot of graphic violence including the brutal death of a child.
February 26, 2018
First King book I've managed to finish and it was ... ok. 😕🤷
I didn't think it was bad but I wasn't really wowed.
Does this series get better or should I prepare myself for more of the same?
I didn't think it was bad but I wasn't really wowed.
Does this series get better or should I prepare myself for more of the same?
August 17, 2017
2nd read:
3.5 stars
review to come.
---------
I have mixed feelings on this book. Though I am happy that I started the series, it wasn't the best first book out there. The plot and the way the story was told was confusing at times. We would go between past and present, and I did not care for hearing about his past events, I found them quite dull to be honest. I liked the main character but didn't love him. I feel like I didn't form an attachment to him that well. I really liked the boy Jake though, he's such a cutie. I do like Roland and Jake's bond though!!
So the big thing with this book is he is trying to hunt down "The man in black." Which quite frankly we do not know why he is trying to find him till about page 100. I definitely will continue eventually but quite frankly didn't love this first installment. I did like the setting of the desert though!!
His romance with some girl named Alice, barley lasts, is stupid, came out of nowhere, and was just plain lust... That ending though (I'm not going to spoil it) but I was like damnnnn. plus it came out of nowhere...
3.5 stars
review to come.
---------
I have mixed feelings on this book. Though I am happy that I started the series, it wasn't the best first book out there. The plot and the way the story was told was confusing at times. We would go between past and present, and I did not care for hearing about his past events, I found them quite dull to be honest. I liked the main character but didn't love him. I feel like I didn't form an attachment to him that well. I really liked the boy Jake though, he's such a cutie. I do like Roland and Jake's bond though!!
So the big thing with this book is he is trying to hunt down "The man in black." Which quite frankly we do not know why he is trying to find him till about page 100. I definitely will continue eventually but quite frankly didn't love this first installment. I did like the setting of the desert though!!
His romance with some girl named Alice, barley lasts, is stupid, came out of nowhere, and was just plain lust... That ending though (I'm not going to spoil it) but I was like damnnnn. plus it came out of nowhere...
April 7, 2020
It's been a good eight or nine years since I first read The Gunslinger and back then I didn't think much of it. Mind you, this was back before I shed my pretentious about Stephen King. It was back in a time when I was in a fairly active book club and this one was put forward in the hopes that the series' seven books would form a sort of returning point of discussion. Unfortunately, I think the reaction was pretty mixed amongst most of us and the thread got as lost as that particular book club.
What I remembered of the whole experience was a dull trod through a desert, not a whole lot of plot, and kind of a poor excuse for something that claimed to be a fantasy novel. In the early days of Goodreads I threw three stars on it and moved on. Now, years later, I've come out the other end of The Gunslinger and found another half-a-star, maybe even a full one. So what changed?
A) Evolving Tastes
I think my capacity and inclination back in day would have been to more classical fantasy (think elves, swords, etc.), but the past decade has really broadened my horizons. We've got the new worlds of Brandon Sanderson, the strange and wonderful creativity and voice of N.K. Jemisin, and whatever we're classifying the insanity Marlon James is hatching with The Dark Star Trilogy. These books and many others have not only shown me what fantasy can do, but they tend to be more to my taste these days: give me something new rather than a story I already know.
All this to say, I actually vibed pretty hard with King's strange Western-influenced take on the fantasy genre. Roland is a kind of knight, or magician, or maybe more of a mercenary? It's all a bit confusing, but that's part of the fun here: there's the strange past where Roland trained at a castle, there's mutants, a dead child from New York is one of the supporting cast, people at bars sing "Hey Jude." It's a bit shaggy, but I gotta say that it's pretty compelling stuff.
B)I've Gotten to Known Stephen King
Starting with It three-or-so years ago I've developed a real appreciation for King's writing. I'm a fan of his spooky stories, but was equal parts impressed and surprised by his sci-fi and fantasy stories, and downright astonished at the cheerfully optimistic Elevation. His dialogue is occasionally cheesy, but more often feels down to earth and realistic. Perhaps most importantly, after reading It I know that King can play the long-game and it's worth allowing him his indulgences from time to time. Reading The Dark Tower, you gotta just trust that it's all gonna work out in the end.
To wit, I'm willing to give him a lot of the strange directions this story gets pulled into, and I'm even willing to let the prophetic psychedelia that is the last 30 pages slide. I mean, the trippy scenes from It were definitely tighter and I'm going to bet that his writing improves as we go along, so let's just give the man a pass? Sure, the book can seem a bit stitched together and doesn't always feel consistent, but I like a lot of the parts and have to trust he's going to make the ride smoother over the next few instalments.
C) The End of the Beginning
Taken on its own, I don't know that The Gunslinger is a slam dunk. In my mind, the first book in a series should set the tone, introduce the key players, establish a direction for the future novels, and with any luck be a good story in and of itself. Certainly, The Gunslinger doesn't really stand out on its own for me, but it does work as a prolonged prologue. What King introduces here is a world I'm interested in and a lead character I'd love to know more about.
Fortunately, I was gifted the ENTIRE DARK TOWER BOXED SET a few years back and this reading feels a lot more like a lead-up to something greater than did my previous reading. I guess having the books in front of me really does make some of the shortcomings a bit more tolerable. What's more, when I read the back of The Drawing of the Three (confusingly, book 2) I found that it takes place mere hours after the end of the first book.
Really, we're just getting started, but I'm in no rush. The Drawing of the Three...soon!
[3.5 Stars]
What I remembered of the whole experience was a dull trod through a desert, not a whole lot of plot, and kind of a poor excuse for something that claimed to be a fantasy novel. In the early days of Goodreads I threw three stars on it and moved on. Now, years later, I've come out the other end of The Gunslinger and found another half-a-star, maybe even a full one. So what changed?
A) Evolving Tastes
I think my capacity and inclination back in day would have been to more classical fantasy (think elves, swords, etc.), but the past decade has really broadened my horizons. We've got the new worlds of Brandon Sanderson, the strange and wonderful creativity and voice of N.K. Jemisin, and whatever we're classifying the insanity Marlon James is hatching with The Dark Star Trilogy. These books and many others have not only shown me what fantasy can do, but they tend to be more to my taste these days: give me something new rather than a story I already know.
All this to say, I actually vibed pretty hard with King's strange Western-influenced take on the fantasy genre. Roland is a kind of knight, or magician, or maybe more of a mercenary? It's all a bit confusing, but that's part of the fun here: there's the strange past where Roland trained at a castle, there's mutants, a dead child from New York is one of the supporting cast, people at bars sing "Hey Jude." It's a bit shaggy, but I gotta say that it's pretty compelling stuff.
B)I've Gotten to Known Stephen King
Starting with It three-or-so years ago I've developed a real appreciation for King's writing. I'm a fan of his spooky stories, but was equal parts impressed and surprised by his sci-fi and fantasy stories, and downright astonished at the cheerfully optimistic Elevation. His dialogue is occasionally cheesy, but more often feels down to earth and realistic. Perhaps most importantly, after reading It I know that King can play the long-game and it's worth allowing him his indulgences from time to time. Reading The Dark Tower, you gotta just trust that it's all gonna work out in the end.
To wit, I'm willing to give him a lot of the strange directions this story gets pulled into, and I'm even willing to let the prophetic psychedelia that is the last 30 pages slide. I mean, the trippy scenes from It were definitely tighter and I'm going to bet that his writing improves as we go along, so let's just give the man a pass? Sure, the book can seem a bit stitched together and doesn't always feel consistent, but I like a lot of the parts and have to trust he's going to make the ride smoother over the next few instalments.
C) The End of the Beginning
Taken on its own, I don't know that The Gunslinger is a slam dunk. In my mind, the first book in a series should set the tone, introduce the key players, establish a direction for the future novels, and with any luck be a good story in and of itself. Certainly, The Gunslinger doesn't really stand out on its own for me, but it does work as a prolonged prologue. What King introduces here is a world I'm interested in and a lead character I'd love to know more about.
Fortunately, I was gifted the ENTIRE DARK TOWER BOXED SET a few years back and this reading feels a lot more like a lead-up to something greater than did my previous reading. I guess having the books in front of me really does make some of the shortcomings a bit more tolerable. What's more, when I read the back of The Drawing of the Three (confusingly, book 2) I found that it takes place mere hours after the end of the first book.
Really, we're just getting started, but I'm in no rush. The Drawing of the Three...soon!
[3.5 Stars]
May 8, 2024
I rated this four stars the first time I read it. I think that was because I hadn't read the rest of the series yet, and now that I have in my head what this series can really do when it's going, this one just feels a little anemic in comparison. Also, it's such a weird book that I didn't know what to make of it at the time, but I can see what he's doing now that I've read the rest of it. In fact, there were SO many little lines in here that hint towards things to come, in the opening scenes of the second book, even, I almost couldn't believe it. He wrote the first chapter of this back in 1978, so he really must have outlined the shit out of it to foreshadow things he wouldn't get around to writing for another twenty-five years.
This book was infamously inspired by the poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning, but also King just let his inner self go. This series is chock full of allusions to other works, Arthurian legend, science fiction, horror, and ties in to many of King's other books, including It and The Stand. So it's one of those where you can go along for the story--in this case, Roland is chasing a man wearing black through a desert for as some yet unknown purpose and reason--or you can go down the rabbit hole. I have chosen the rabbits.
I've really got two reasons for my lowered rating. One, the characters and worldbuilding are much more fleshed out later. This book acts as a prologue to Roland's journey (and if you've read the last book, a little something else), hinting at things to come but not really giving up much information otherwise. It can't really stand on its own, in that it doesn't make full sense, and also that it isn't a full story. It does have a mini-arc of Roland crossing a line that means he has fully committed to finding the Dark Tower, but as we don't yet know what any of that means, the narrative satisfaction of it is minimal. Roland, the man in black, and Jake feel more like prototypes here, as if they appeared to King and he himself is still trying to figure out a bit what's going on with them.
The second reason for my lowered rating is that I had truly forgotten how unpleasant the first third of this book is. I hate apocalyptic stories with very few exceptions, and that first section is an apocalyptic western that is full of nastiness and horror, and it was a lot. Later, the storytelling and the characters King creates makes the nasty moments more bearable and gives them more context, but starting out the story with all that brutal unpleasantness isn't personally my favorite.
Anyway, this is definitely a key part of the series, but it's not ever going to be my favorite. I'm so excited to get to revisit my favorites now, hopefully very soon.
[3.5 stars]
This book was infamously inspired by the poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning, but also King just let his inner self go. This series is chock full of allusions to other works, Arthurian legend, science fiction, horror, and ties in to many of King's other books, including It and The Stand. So it's one of those where you can go along for the story--in this case, Roland is chasing a man wearing black through a desert for as some yet unknown purpose and reason--or you can go down the rabbit hole. I have chosen the rabbits.
I've really got two reasons for my lowered rating. One, the characters and worldbuilding are much more fleshed out later. This book acts as a prologue to Roland's journey (and if you've read the last book, a little something else), hinting at things to come but not really giving up much information otherwise. It can't really stand on its own, in that it doesn't make full sense, and also that it isn't a full story. It does have a mini-arc of Roland crossing a line that means he has fully committed to finding the Dark Tower, but as we don't yet know what any of that means, the narrative satisfaction of it is minimal. Roland, the man in black, and Jake feel more like prototypes here, as if they appeared to King and he himself is still trying to figure out a bit what's going on with them.
The second reason for my lowered rating is that I had truly forgotten how unpleasant the first third of this book is. I hate apocalyptic stories with very few exceptions, and that first section is an apocalyptic western that is full of nastiness and horror, and it was a lot. Later, the storytelling and the characters King creates makes the nasty moments more bearable and gives them more context, but starting out the story with all that brutal unpleasantness isn't personally my favorite.
Anyway, this is definitely a key part of the series, but it's not ever going to be my favorite. I'm so excited to get to revisit my favorites now, hopefully very soon.
[3.5 stars]
July 1, 2023
Oh dear, I'm afraid this review might get me cancelled.
I know a ton of people who absolutely love Stephen King. Several Booktubers I follow list him as their favorite author of all time. My brother-in-law talks about all of King's books and really loves his writing, including the Dark Tower series. I picked up this book as my first Stephen King novel, because it was branded as a Western-Fantasy (which I like that genre), and also because its fairly short and should be easy to get into.
Unfortunately, I have very little about this book that I enjoyed.
For one thing, this book is very slow moving and very "cerebral" and "ominous". As such, it wasn't fast moving or entertaining, and I found myself having to be forced to read through. There were individual sections, a few pages at a time that were interesting (the time in Tull, meeting Jake, and the conversation with the Man in Black at the end). However, the remainder of the book was just dull for me. Western stories can be slow and still be good (Kenobi by JJM as an example). However, because there weren't many characters besides "The Gunslinger/Roland", there wasn't any dialogue to hold my attention. And King spends several paragraphs at a time describing the layout of the desert, but doesn't balance it well with the story. Had this been a novella of 70-90 pages, where King told the same story but cut out the descriptions and the slower aspects of the book, it could have been much better.
Even reaching the end of the book, I understand why the Dark Tower itself is important, but I'm still uncertain why Roland is going to it. Even Roland himself admits that he knows he must reach the tower but doesn't know why. That's a trope I really don't like in storytelling, where the main character knows they must do something, but have no earthly idea why.
I think the book would have been better coming from Jake's point of view, as he's a little more interesting personality and would have helped readers acclimate to the world of the Dark Tower, as its all new to him as well. However, because the book is from the Gunslinger/Roland's perspective, things aren't explained well and it takes forever just to recieve a piece of information.
Overall, I didn't enjoy my time with this book. There wasn't enough to hold my attention, and the things some people praise the series for really aren't present in this book. I've been told Book 2 "The Drawing of the Three" is significantly better, and I do have a copy of it, so I'll probably pick it up at some point. But Stephen King is not exactly shooting up my list of favorite authors with this book. 3.5 out of 10.
I know a ton of people who absolutely love Stephen King. Several Booktubers I follow list him as their favorite author of all time. My brother-in-law talks about all of King's books and really loves his writing, including the Dark Tower series. I picked up this book as my first Stephen King novel, because it was branded as a Western-Fantasy (which I like that genre), and also because its fairly short and should be easy to get into.
Unfortunately, I have very little about this book that I enjoyed.
For one thing, this book is very slow moving and very "cerebral" and "ominous". As such, it wasn't fast moving or entertaining, and I found myself having to be forced to read through. There were individual sections, a few pages at a time that were interesting (the time in Tull, meeting Jake, and the conversation with the Man in Black at the end). However, the remainder of the book was just dull for me. Western stories can be slow and still be good (Kenobi by JJM as an example). However, because there weren't many characters besides "The Gunslinger/Roland", there wasn't any dialogue to hold my attention. And King spends several paragraphs at a time describing the layout of the desert, but doesn't balance it well with the story. Had this been a novella of 70-90 pages, where King told the same story but cut out the descriptions and the slower aspects of the book, it could have been much better.
Even reaching the end of the book, I understand why the Dark Tower itself is important, but I'm still uncertain why Roland is going to it. Even Roland himself admits that he knows he must reach the tower but doesn't know why. That's a trope I really don't like in storytelling, where the main character knows they must do something, but have no earthly idea why.
I think the book would have been better coming from Jake's point of view, as he's a little more interesting personality and would have helped readers acclimate to the world of the Dark Tower, as its all new to him as well. However, because the book is from the Gunslinger/Roland's perspective, things aren't explained well and it takes forever just to recieve a piece of information.
Overall, I didn't enjoy my time with this book. There wasn't enough to hold my attention, and the things some people praise the series for really aren't present in this book. I've been told Book 2 "The Drawing of the Three" is significantly better, and I do have a copy of it, so I'll probably pick it up at some point. But Stephen King is not exactly shooting up my list of favorite authors with this book. 3.5 out of 10.
August 22, 2017
2017: Hey, what do you know, I actually enjoyed The Gunslinger much more the second time around. Perhaps the details that seemed a little jumbled at first made more sense on a reread, or perhaps I just got used to King's stylistic choices. I still can't force myself to add another star, even though I toyed with the idea, but the first Dark Tower book finally convinced me that it is a solid, albeit brief, introduction into a fascinating series.
I really liked Roland's world with all the accompanying monsters, demons, and relics of the past. Once the story shifted to his childhood, or to Jake's memories, I got a little bored, however. The conclusion is also rather anti-climatic, considering the entire book's stakes are placed on the meeting between the gunslinger and the man in black. I guess there won't be any sequels otherwise. I'm looking forward to continuing with the rest of the volumes in due time.
I really liked Roland's world with all the accompanying monsters, demons, and relics of the past. Once the story shifted to his childhood, or to Jake's memories, I got a little bored, however. The conclusion is also rather anti-climatic, considering the entire book's stakes are placed on the meeting between the gunslinger and the man in black. I guess there won't be any sequels otherwise. I'm looking forward to continuing with the rest of the volumes in due time.
January 11, 2022
Leaning on 4.5 stars 🌟 , still thinking about that ending !
August 2, 2020
I have been recommended this series by SO many people and honestly, even I wonder why I haven't read these yet. Then I remember I read The Gunslinger about three years ago and my memories included that I was meh about the whole thing and it felt like some strange acid flashback. BUT, since I am doing #chronologicallyking for my King journey... I decided that I'm clearly going to continue the series so may as well give this another go. Also, I need to talk to my 2017 self, because I don't quite understand why I rated it a 4... and then was excited that these last couple chapters must make up for the extremely slow first hundred pages or so like my young self was so adamant to tell everyone. Nope. I was wrong. 🤣
To be honest, I did enjoy this second read a bit more because I at least knew I was going to go in probably getting confused again. Things did make more sense to me but I still did find it a bit slow and I suppose it's a starter book so we get to start knowing characters as the journey just gets longer and more epic as I have been told. If I'm being completely transparent, I went to wikipedia after I turned the last page and read about it there just to make sure I got everything correct. And I'm happy to report that I did. Don't get me wrong, it's not like this is truly that hard of a read to follow. There's just a lot going on and the imagery is gorgeous so my mind would start daydreaming.
I'm not mad I reread it but I don't think I'd ever read it again. I realize this is a start to something truly phenomenal and all that.... I just wasn't wowed with it and am grateful there are many books afterwards in this journey that will make this foundation more appreciative down the road. I can't NOT read them, that much I do know. The more you read King, and especially in order, you start to really appreciate the nods to his other books... and big applause to King for giving just one more reason why you really just have to read them all.
To be honest, I did enjoy this second read a bit more because I at least knew I was going to go in probably getting confused again. Things did make more sense to me but I still did find it a bit slow and I suppose it's a starter book so we get to start knowing characters as the journey just gets longer and more epic as I have been told. If I'm being completely transparent, I went to wikipedia after I turned the last page and read about it there just to make sure I got everything correct. And I'm happy to report that I did. Don't get me wrong, it's not like this is truly that hard of a read to follow. There's just a lot going on and the imagery is gorgeous so my mind would start daydreaming.
I'm not mad I reread it but I don't think I'd ever read it again. I realize this is a start to something truly phenomenal and all that.... I just wasn't wowed with it and am grateful there are many books afterwards in this journey that will make this foundation more appreciative down the road. I can't NOT read them, that much I do know. The more you read King, and especially in order, you start to really appreciate the nods to his other books... and big applause to King for giving just one more reason why you really just have to read them all.
April 17, 2023
2.5
This book is the first novel and kings acclaimed The Dark Tower series. Before starting it, I was told to be careful because it would be a slog to get through. Although it wasn't the most exciting book to read, I still think it provided an interesting character study and acted as a nice prologue to the actual action. We follow Roland as he travels through the desert chasing the Man in Black as he recounts different tales surrounding his past and the man he seeks. Despite not enjoying the lack of action, I came in expecting this to be much worse and found that I actually enjoyed part of the character studies.
The Gunslinger is best seen, in my opinion, as a series of short stories with an interlocking narrative. This sort of coincides with how this book was originally published in a science-fiction magazine in different segments which were then revised by King to interlock. I enjoyed the flashbacks much more than what was occurring in the present timeline. I think the first story of the man in black and Roland arriving in a town in the town being affected by those two individuals very differently and very chaotically set a nice tone for the series. Likewise, I enjoyed seeing Roland's Arthurian backstory play out in a retelling-esque fashion (I really enjoyed the scenes with David the hawk).
Another thing that is the main driver for my interest in the series is the mystery surrounding the setting. We seem to exist in a land that must be in the future yet is very reminiscent of the past. Time does not really matter because the sun rises and sets at random intervals. However there are many sins of serial typical Arthurian England as well as modern day in New York and I'm curious if this land that we're in is almost like a different but parallel universe. There is a lot of theological symbolism so I also kind of wonder if this might be Purgatory. But overall, this mystery really is with driving me to continue on with the series.
I found the present sequences to really function as getting you from point A to point B and I didn't really enjoy them. Even the final encounters I just didn't really care about that much, even though it was nice to see our boy Randall Flagg from The Stand which is my favourite Stephen King book so far. What I heard, the next folks take on slightly a different approach to action and tone so I'm hoping the suspect which really lowered my rating will be rectified.
Overall, I don't think this book deserves the slander it gets. That being said, the flashback sequences are much more interesting than the present timeline which becomes more relevant towards the end of the book making the finale seem not very impactful. I wonder where the fuck goes and I'm interested to finally be "in" on the controversial ending ha ha.
“They were close to the end of the beginning . . .”
This book is the first novel and kings acclaimed The Dark Tower series. Before starting it, I was told to be careful because it would be a slog to get through. Although it wasn't the most exciting book to read, I still think it provided an interesting character study and acted as a nice prologue to the actual action. We follow Roland as he travels through the desert chasing the Man in Black as he recounts different tales surrounding his past and the man he seeks. Despite not enjoying the lack of action, I came in expecting this to be much worse and found that I actually enjoyed part of the character studies.
The Gunslinger is best seen, in my opinion, as a series of short stories with an interlocking narrative. This sort of coincides with how this book was originally published in a science-fiction magazine in different segments which were then revised by King to interlock. I enjoyed the flashbacks much more than what was occurring in the present timeline. I think the first story of the man in black and Roland arriving in a town in the town being affected by those two individuals very differently and very chaotically set a nice tone for the series. Likewise, I enjoyed seeing Roland's Arthurian backstory play out in a retelling-esque fashion (I really enjoyed the scenes with David the hawk).
Another thing that is the main driver for my interest in the series is the mystery surrounding the setting. We seem to exist in a land that must be in the future yet is very reminiscent of the past. Time does not really matter because the sun rises and sets at random intervals. However there are many sins of serial typical Arthurian England as well as modern day in New York and I'm curious if this land that we're in is almost like a different but parallel universe. There is a lot of theological symbolism so I also kind of wonder if this might be Purgatory. But overall, this mystery really is with driving me to continue on with the series.
I found the present sequences to really function as getting you from point A to point B and I didn't really enjoy them. Even the final encounters I just didn't really care about that much, even though it was nice to see our boy Randall Flagg from The Stand which is my favourite Stephen King book so far. What I heard, the next folks take on slightly a different approach to action and tone so I'm hoping the suspect which really lowered my rating will be rectified.
Overall, I don't think this book deserves the slander it gets. That being said, the flashback sequences are much more interesting than the present timeline which becomes more relevant towards the end of the book making the finale seem not very impactful. I wonder where the fuck goes and I'm interested to finally be "in" on the controversial ending ha ha.
January 27, 2019
Okay, I’m not willing to give this that 4th star just because this one was so slow for the majority of it. I get that it was more of a prequel than anything and sort of set stuff up for the future, but I found myself bored most of the time.
The ending of this book was really really good though and it definitely made me that much keener to finish the rest of the series. I knew that this one wasn’t going to be the best of the series by any means, but I expected a bit more to it.
I love Roland and I think that I’m going to end up loving him more and more with each book. He’s a very complex character and I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface of who he is or what he’s been through and I’m excited to see what happens.
I do like the whole western take on a fantasy world and I’m excited to see more of it as the series goes on. I do wish that we’d gotten a bit more world building in this one because it wasn’t nearly enough to get a good idea of what the world is really like.
I’m definitely going to read the next book in this series and I’m hoping that I’ll enjoy them more as the series goes.
The ending of this book was really really good though and it definitely made me that much keener to finish the rest of the series. I knew that this one wasn’t going to be the best of the series by any means, but I expected a bit more to it.
I love Roland and I think that I’m going to end up loving him more and more with each book. He’s a very complex character and I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface of who he is or what he’s been through and I’m excited to see what happens.
I do like the whole western take on a fantasy world and I’m excited to see more of it as the series goes on. I do wish that we’d gotten a bit more world building in this one because it wasn’t nearly enough to get a good idea of what the world is really like.
I’m definitely going to read the next book in this series and I’m hoping that I’ll enjoy them more as the series goes.
December 31, 2020
Rating: 2.5 stars
The Gunslinger, the start of Stephen King's magnum opus The Dark Tower, is such a strange read. It's broken into 5 parts that read sort of like inter-related short stories that is also a semi-cohesive whole. The plot can be summarized by the book's opening line:
The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.
Such a catchy opener! Too bad I had a hard time getting into the story. The reader is dropped into the middle of a weird, post-apocalyptic western-style world with very little explanation of who our characters are, what their motivations are or what's going on at all. As more of the gunslinger's background is revealed in flashbacks there are hints that there is some great purpose to this relentless hunt across the desert though this reader is still left wondering what that purpose is. The gunslinger not a likable or sympathetic character, being ruthless in his pursuit of the man in black, making for a frustrating read. The most enjoyable part of the book are the world that is similar to ours yet different enough to be unsettling in a way I ended up liking.
I have been told that this is the weakest book in the series and encouraged to give the second book a try before deciding if I want to stop. I admit I am curious to see where the story goes next though I'm in no great rush to continue.
The Gunslinger, the start of Stephen King's magnum opus The Dark Tower, is such a strange read. It's broken into 5 parts that read sort of like inter-related short stories that is also a semi-cohesive whole. The plot can be summarized by the book's opening line:
The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.
Such a catchy opener! Too bad I had a hard time getting into the story. The reader is dropped into the middle of a weird, post-apocalyptic western-style world with very little explanation of who our characters are, what their motivations are or what's going on at all. As more of the gunslinger's background is revealed in flashbacks there are hints that there is some great purpose to this relentless hunt across the desert though this reader is still left wondering what that purpose is. The gunslinger not a likable or sympathetic character, being ruthless in his pursuit of the man in black, making for a frustrating read. The most enjoyable part of the book are the world that is similar to ours yet different enough to be unsettling in a way I ended up liking.
I have been told that this is the weakest book in the series and encouraged to give the second book a try before deciding if I want to stop. I admit I am curious to see where the story goes next though I'm in no great rush to continue.
May 18, 2025
It took a while for me to start my journey to the Dark Tower. I picked this book up a couple of years ago and bounced off of it after probably less than 50 pages. It just seemed a little boring and confusing and didn't catch my interest. This time I tried it after reading a bunch of other Stephen King books over the last year and that made a big difference. This time I had a pretty good feel for King's writing and trusted him to tell a good story.
This was a crazy mix of genres and timelines. King has a way of writing in a very mysterious yet important kind of foreshadowing. It makes you want to keep reading to try and figure out what happened and what is going to happen. Here he blends flashbacks with flashes from other worlds with other clues to keep his constant readers continuously looking for hidden meanings. In the final scene between the gunslinger and the man in black it reminded me of the scene in the Matrix movies when Neo talks to the architect and finds out what is going on. And the audience is like wait... can you say that again now?
I really liked this book. It was very close to a 5-star read. It was definitely not what I was expecting but in a good way. It seems like King's works of fantasy are what I like best because I also loved The Talisman and this felt very similar to that. I was also surprised at the choice that Roland made at the end of the book and am happy that King is not afraid to take the story where he wants it to be, where many other writers would stick to cliches.
This was a crazy mix of genres and timelines. King has a way of writing in a very mysterious yet important kind of foreshadowing. It makes you want to keep reading to try and figure out what happened and what is going to happen. Here he blends flashbacks with flashes from other worlds with other clues to keep his constant readers continuously looking for hidden meanings. In the final scene between the gunslinger and the man in black it reminded me of the scene in the Matrix movies when Neo talks to the architect and finds out what is going on. And the audience is like wait... can you say that again now?
I really liked this book. It was very close to a 5-star read. It was definitely not what I was expecting but in a good way. It seems like King's works of fantasy are what I like best because I also loved The Talisman and this felt very similar to that. I was also surprised at the choice that Roland made at the end of the book and am happy that King is not afraid to take the story where he wants it to be, where many other writers would stick to cliches.
September 14, 2020
I first began my journey to the Dark Tower three years ago, but I fell off very early on without meaning to. Because of that, THE GUNSLINGER ended up being the only volume of the series I'd ever read.
Now I've read it again.
As I expected going into it, I didn't love the writing here, but I didn't hate it either. This volume felt like an overly-extended prologue, setting up main character Roland Deschain's backstory as well as the series' basic premise. I wanted reread it as a prerequisite to finally continue on with the series. Given the generally positive consensus for the remaining volumes, I'm hoping to finally make it to the end this time and enjoy my journey along the way.
Now I've read it again.
As I expected going into it, I didn't love the writing here, but I didn't hate it either. This volume felt like an overly-extended prologue, setting up main character Roland Deschain's backstory as well as the series' basic premise. I wanted reread it as a prerequisite to finally continue on with the series. Given the generally positive consensus for the remaining volumes, I'm hoping to finally make it to the end this time and enjoy my journey along the way.
July 8, 2021
"You cannot friend a hawk, they said unless you are half hawk yourself, alone and only a sojourner in the land, without friends or need of them. The hawk pays no coinage to love or morals."
There are so many great quotes from this book but this one struck me extra hard, this one is the essence of Roland in this installment specifically.
In this installment was get the very introduction to Roland, we learn that he is chasing a man and has been for a very long time. We learn that though this man has been illusive Roland has never given up, he has traveled through the absolute worst of circumstances to get to this man and as we go along we learn that this man has used many magics against Roland to bar his path but Roland has always fought through because once Roland captures this man he will truly begin his quest, the final steps to reaching the Dark Tower. As the book begins we get the distinct feeling that we are closer than ever before to this magician that Roland follows and thus we are compelled to keep following Roland following the man.
Alright, so that paragraph above is how I felt reading the book this time. I definitely didn't feel this way reading this installment of The Dark Tower the first time around and I know a lot of others don't feel as much love for The Gunslinger especially their first time through either. As a first time reader this book is very ambiguous and quite frankly confusing, I can acknowledge that, I'm not going to try to stick up for it too hard because I remember how I felt the first time reading this book. I can also say that, in my third journey down the path of the beam, I loved this book more than I ever have before.
I can say with confidence that this book better serves re-readers because it is filled to the brim with foreshadowing. This book has a nugget to put a twinkle in a re-reader's eye on just about every page. I have an old mass market paperback copy that I allowed myself to write in during my last re-read and I ended up highlighting all the foreshadowing and almost the whole book was highlighted, I'm not even joking. So, yea, I can empathize with those first time readers in saying that it is by far the weakest installment, though still not a bad book, but it really is much more fun to read this book the second, third, fourth and more times around.
I had a great time with this one and I cannot wait to keep traveling toward the Tower!
There are so many great quotes from this book but this one struck me extra hard, this one is the essence of Roland in this installment specifically.
In this installment was get the very introduction to Roland, we learn that he is chasing a man and has been for a very long time. We learn that though this man has been illusive Roland has never given up, he has traveled through the absolute worst of circumstances to get to this man and as we go along we learn that this man has used many magics against Roland to bar his path but Roland has always fought through because once Roland captures this man he will truly begin his quest, the final steps to reaching the Dark Tower. As the book begins we get the distinct feeling that we are closer than ever before to this magician that Roland follows and thus we are compelled to keep following Roland following the man.
Alright, so that paragraph above is how I felt reading the book this time. I definitely didn't feel this way reading this installment of The Dark Tower the first time around and I know a lot of others don't feel as much love for The Gunslinger especially their first time through either. As a first time reader this book is very ambiguous and quite frankly confusing, I can acknowledge that, I'm not going to try to stick up for it too hard because I remember how I felt the first time reading this book. I can also say that, in my third journey down the path of the beam, I loved this book more than I ever have before.
I can say with confidence that this book better serves re-readers because it is filled to the brim with foreshadowing. This book has a nugget to put a twinkle in a re-reader's eye on just about every page. I have an old mass market paperback copy that I allowed myself to write in during my last re-read and I ended up highlighting all the foreshadowing and almost the whole book was highlighted, I'm not even joking. So, yea, I can empathize with those first time readers in saying that it is by far the weakest installment, though still not a bad book, but it really is much more fun to read this book the second, third, fourth and more times around.
I had a great time with this one and I cannot wait to keep traveling toward the Tower!
October 2, 2017
I literally have no idea what just happened.
December 11, 2021
Very boring around 80%, but the last 20% nails it and the ending is a beast, which makes me to continue with book 2.
December 18, 2025
2025: Starting run #4. Bumping to 5 stars because I just love this series. Next!
2019: I'm starting my third journey along the path of the beam.
I'm bumping up my original 2013 3-star rating to a 4-star - it's grown on me. I love all of the details and foreshadowing that didn't quite make sense on the first read-through(s).
(I've only read the 2000s version that King cleaned up a bit to ensure consistency with the last 3 books, released in the mid-2000s.)
This is probably my favourite book series of all time (thank-you Joel for the original recommendation). I would especially recommend this series to King fans who liked the journey in The Stand (the ending - meh!).
2019: I'm starting my third journey along the path of the beam.
I'm bumping up my original 2013 3-star rating to a 4-star - it's grown on me. I love all of the details and foreshadowing that didn't quite make sense on the first read-through(s).
(I've only read the 2000s version that King cleaned up a bit to ensure consistency with the last 3 books, released in the mid-2000s.)
This is probably my favourite book series of all time (thank-you Joel for the original recommendation). I would especially recommend this series to King fans who liked the journey in The Stand (the ending - meh!).
March 10, 2025
3.5⭐️ I’m a little conflicted with this one but overall I did enjoy the story. I found the world building to be pretty interesting but also a bit convoluted. Even though I read this in one sitting the pacing felt a bit off at times. This can probably be attributed to the flashback scenes, while I felt like they were necessary they did kind of drag on for too long. Again as is the case for me with King at times I did not love the ending. I feel like I’m walking away with more questions than answers but this time around I’m also excited to dive into book 2.
July 20, 2017
EDIT: For those that have read the entire series, if you're planning on watching the movie after it releases... Let me know if there are spoilers in it past the first book please? =X
This is definitely going to be one of those series that I have to reread once I'm done. There are so many minuscule details that he includes that don't make any sense right now, but I know everything will come together in the end. Very intricate, detailed story telling. King knows how to hook and reel me.
This is definitely going to be one of those series that I have to reread once I'm done. There are so many minuscule details that he includes that don't make any sense right now, but I know everything will come together in the end. Very intricate, detailed story telling. King knows how to hook and reel me.
December 23, 2025
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✧｡･ﾟﾟ･☾ Review ☾･ﾟﾟ･｡✧
3.5 stars!!
Not my favorite Stephen King book. I don’t usually like westerns but I thought this was an interesting one since it’s mixed with other genres. It seemed like a typical start book to a series so it did get boring at times.
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✧｡･ﾟﾟ･☾ Quotes ☾･ﾟﾟ･｡✧
"ᴛɪᴍᴇ'ꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜɪᴇꜰ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀʏ”
"ᴛʜᴇ ᴍʏꜱᴛᴇʀʏ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱᴇ ɪꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ꜱɪᴢᴇ.”
“'ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴ ɪɴ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ꜱᴍɪʟᴇᴅ. "ꜱʜᴀʟʟ ᴡᴇ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇɴ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ? ɴᴏ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ʟɪᴇꜱ?'
'ɪ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ᴡᴇ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ.'
'ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴ ɪɴ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴘᴇʀꜱɪꜱᴛᴇᴅ ᴀꜱ ɪꜰ ʀᴏʟᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀᴅɴ'ᴛ ꜱᴘᴏᴋᴇɴ. "ꜱʜᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ʙᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴜꜱ, ᴀꜱ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴍᴇɴ? ɴᴏᴛ ᴀꜱ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴀꜱ ᴇQᴜᴀʟꜱ? ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀɴ ᴏꜰꜰᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ɢᴇᴛ ʀᴀʀᴇʟʏ, ʀᴏʟᴀɴᴅ. ᴏɴʟʏ ᴇQᴜᴀʟꜱ ꜱᴘᴇᴀᴋ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ᴏɴ'ᴛ. ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ ʟɪᴇ ᴇɴᴅʟᴇꜱꜱʟʏ, ᴄᴀᴜɢʜᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴇʙ ᴏꜰ ʀᴇɢᴀʀᴅ. ʜᴏᴡ ᴛɪʀᴇꜱᴏᴍᴇ!'”
"ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ʜᴀꜱ ᴍᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴏɴ,' ᴡᴇ ꜱᴀʏ... ᴡᴇ'ᴠᴇ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ꜱᴀɪᴅ. ʙᴜᴛ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴍᴏᴠɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ꜰᴀꜱᴛᴇʀ ɴᴏᴡ. ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ʜᴀꜱ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛɪᴍᴇ.”
"ɪᴛ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙᴜʟʟᴇᴛꜱ ɪ ꜰᴇᴀʀ, ʀᴏʟᴀɴᴅ. ɪᴛ'ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɪᴅᴇᴀ ᴏꜰ ᴀɴꜱᴡᴇʀꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇꜱ ᴍᴇ.”
✧｡･ﾟﾟ･☾ Review ☾･ﾟﾟ･｡✧
3.5 stars!!
Not my favorite Stephen King book. I don’t usually like westerns but I thought this was an interesting one since it’s mixed with other genres. It seemed like a typical start book to a series so it did get boring at times.
✦⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆✦
✧｡･ﾟﾟ･☾ Quotes ☾･ﾟﾟ･｡✧
"ᴛɪᴍᴇ'ꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜɪᴇꜰ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀʏ”
"ᴛʜᴇ ᴍʏꜱᴛᴇʀʏ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱᴇ ɪꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ꜱɪᴢᴇ.”
“'ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴ ɪɴ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ꜱᴍɪʟᴇᴅ. "ꜱʜᴀʟʟ ᴡᴇ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇɴ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ? ɴᴏ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ʟɪᴇꜱ?'
'ɪ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ᴡᴇ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ.'
'ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴ ɪɴ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴘᴇʀꜱɪꜱᴛᴇᴅ ᴀꜱ ɪꜰ ʀᴏʟᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀᴅɴ'ᴛ ꜱᴘᴏᴋᴇɴ. "ꜱʜᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ʙᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴜꜱ, ᴀꜱ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴍᴇɴ? ɴᴏᴛ ᴀꜱ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴀꜱ ᴇQᴜᴀʟꜱ? ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀɴ ᴏꜰꜰᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ɢᴇᴛ ʀᴀʀᴇʟʏ, ʀᴏʟᴀɴᴅ. ᴏɴʟʏ ᴇQᴜᴀʟꜱ ꜱᴘᴇᴀᴋ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ᴏɴ'ᴛ. ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ ʟɪᴇ ᴇɴᴅʟᴇꜱꜱʟʏ, ᴄᴀᴜɢʜᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴇʙ ᴏꜰ ʀᴇɢᴀʀᴅ. ʜᴏᴡ ᴛɪʀᴇꜱᴏᴍᴇ!'”
"ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ʜᴀꜱ ᴍᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴏɴ,' ᴡᴇ ꜱᴀʏ... ᴡᴇ'ᴠᴇ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ꜱᴀɪᴅ. ʙᴜᴛ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴍᴏᴠɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ꜰᴀꜱᴛᴇʀ ɴᴏᴡ. ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ʜᴀꜱ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛɪᴍᴇ.”
"ɪᴛ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙᴜʟʟᴇᴛꜱ ɪ ꜰᴇᴀʀ, ʀᴏʟᴀɴᴅ. ɪᴛ'ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɪᴅᴇᴀ ᴏꜰ ᴀɴꜱᴡᴇʀꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇꜱ ᴍᴇ.”
May 18, 2017
Welp.
This was alright, I guess. Stephen King opens the novel himself with a new forward saying the book is not that good. And it really isn't all that great, to be honest. There is this cool myth of creation angle, which mirror our own and the mythology that inhabits the Far West folklore, but it feels a little hollow like it was deliberately meant to be an origin story? Any form of answer and/or major development is avoided outside of the setting of the fantasy universe and the light/dark duality between the gunslinger and the man in black. I know I'm supposed to yearn for the next novel, but I really don't.
This was alright, I guess. Stephen King opens the novel himself with a new forward saying the book is not that good. And it really isn't all that great, to be honest. There is this cool myth of creation angle, which mirror our own and the mythology that inhabits the Far West folklore, but it feels a little hollow like it was deliberately meant to be an origin story? Any form of answer and/or major development is avoided outside of the setting of the fantasy universe and the light/dark duality between the gunslinger and the man in black. I know I'm supposed to yearn for the next novel, but I really don't.
July 4, 2021
I absolutely loved the world building and theme of this book. The characterization was great, just like most of King’s novels.
However...many parts in the middle kind of dragged, and were just hard to follow. There were several intense scenes though (e.g the description of Tull, etc).
I’m really excited to continue this series! This was a great intro that left me looking forward to more
However...many parts in the middle kind of dragged, and were just hard to follow. There were several intense scenes though (e.g the description of Tull, etc).
I’m really excited to continue this series! This was a great intro that left me looking forward to more
January 18, 2026
OH MY GOD, I JUST FINISHED THE GUNSLINGER AND IT WAS... TOTALLY TRIPPY! 4 STARS because while it’s a little weird and confusing, the dark western vibes are officially 10/10! 🤠🌵📈 I was literally screaming at the pages when I realized how huge the world actually is!
This book introduces us to Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger, and his obsessed chase after the Man in Black. The atmosphere is so bleak and mysterious—it’s like a fever dream in a desert! 🌑🏜️ The highlight was definitely the "Way Station" and meeting Jake Chambers. Their relationship gave the story the heart it needed, and that "Go then, there are other worlds than these" moment?! ABSOLUTELY ICONIC. 🚪✨
It’s a solid 4-star because the world-building is PEAK, but the writing is a bit abstract and slow at times! 💤🔫 I spent a lot of the book wondering what was actually going on, but that final conversation with the Man in Black at the Golgotha made my brain explode! If you're ready to start Stephen King’s magnum opus in 2026, you can grab it at Simon & Schuster or Amazon. THE MAN IN BLACK FLED ACROSS THE DESERT. SET SAIL FOR THE DRAWING OF THE THREE! ✨🤠🌵🔥📈🗺️
This book introduces us to Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger, and his obsessed chase after the Man in Black. The atmosphere is so bleak and mysterious—it’s like a fever dream in a desert! 🌑🏜️ The highlight was definitely the "Way Station" and meeting Jake Chambers. Their relationship gave the story the heart it needed, and that "Go then, there are other worlds than these" moment?! ABSOLUTELY ICONIC. 🚪✨
It’s a solid 4-star because the world-building is PEAK, but the writing is a bit abstract and slow at times! 💤🔫 I spent a lot of the book wondering what was actually going on, but that final conversation with the Man in Black at the Golgotha made my brain explode! If you're ready to start Stephen King’s magnum opus in 2026, you can grab it at Simon & Schuster or Amazon. THE MAN IN BLACK FLED ACROSS THE DESERT. SET SAIL FOR THE DRAWING OF THE THREE! ✨🤠🌵🔥📈🗺️
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