The Gunslinger
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Is the Dark Tower series worth reading?
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If you get past first book in The Dark Tower series , the rest is a wonderful journey.
Personally, I loved the series.The story of Roland is far more complex than any other character in the Stephen King universe. While those of us who read them as they came out had some complaints regarding some of the story's continuity, it eventually opens up to be the most epic of stories.
I have found myself rereading the Gunslinger, as I enjoyed the tales of young Roland and the hardcase he eventually becomes.
People need to make up their own minds on this series. There are just as many who hate them as love them, hate some, love others, and every single person is right.. and wrong. You have to read them to judge them- each individual reader.. And for all that you hold dear, do NOT take anyone else's word on what is good, bad or ugly...right, bright or holy about ANY book, let alone any Stephen King book; and if you honestly expect others to tell you if an entire series is worth the investment of time- you deserve far worse than merely to be disappointed.
I found this series really terrible. The first book was slow, the 2nd and 3rd were ok, then it just fell apart from there. It's really weird and I wish I never started it. Bizarre ideas, boring characters, and slow writing permeate this series. Stay away is my advice.
Vince wrote: "I found this series really terrible. The first book was slow, the 2nd and 3rd were ok, then it just fell apart from there. It's really weird and I wish I never started it. Bizarre ideas, boring cha..."damn!! and you gave it four stars? I would be fascinated to hear what you think of books you've give one stars!
Benjamin wrote: "damn!! and you gave it four stars? I would be "Haha I guess I did. But just the first book, because it had me interested. I gave the other books in the series lower ratings.
If you generally like King's works and like tales of epic adventures, I highly suggest you read this series. I have never been a fan of westerns (though, I don't necessarily dislike them) and you'll find that this series doesn't firmly stick with the western genre and rather is a very bold and imaginative mixtures of many other genres (including apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, [dark] fantasy, horror, super natural, and sci-fi). I found the Gunslinger to be good enough, but not great (and would not have read all of the subsequent books if I thought they'd be of the same quality), and I found a subsequent book to be quite disappointing as it contains what I consider to be far too much flashback, but all together, this is a very good series, and most of the books in it range from very good to magnificent. Personally, I found the last book to be the best and I LOVED the ending.
I've read the first book and it was a mixed bag. The first story, The Gunslinger, was amazing. It is simply brilliant and original. King should have ended the series there. The other stories weren't as good and each one seemed worse then the previous. At the end of the book I decided I wasn't gonna continue reading the Dark Tower series. The souvenir of The Gunslinger was enough for me.
The simple answer is yes the DT series is well worth it. Like a few comments here, I struggled with the first book. Didn't like the tone and apart from a couple of decent scenes, the story didn't really go anywhere.The Drawing of the Three (second book) really kicked in with a more action adventure style, but then it kind of ground to a standstill at the start of book 3 (The Wastelands). It ended well with a decent cliffhanger, but I found parts were hard going.
I bought book 4 (Wizards & Glass) mainly because of the cliffhanger, and then WOW!!!! Although it's mainly a backstory tale, it sets up and solidifies the entire mythology. Books 5,6 & 7 are then truly fantastic reads (for me book 5 Wolves of the Calla is the standout).
It ended in style mixing in horror, fantasy, time-travel and pure action.
In short, get through book 1 and you are on a roll....
Wizard and Glass wasn't a big hit with me since it is a flashback part of the story, but the series as a whole Is very polished. The Gunslinger is rather slow in the first half, but the latter half is very indicative of what to expect from the series. Lots of weird stuff, adventure, monsters, and magic. I think it works great as a fantasy disguised as a western.
like it, love it or hate it... you should see it through to the end.
I enjoyed it, at first I think it takes some concentrating to get into the story, but once you do, it is worth it. I enjoyed The Talisman and then Black house, similar idea but only two in the series.
It's all pretty terrible. I got halfway through book three and just had to put it down. The characters are hollow, the writing is bad, and he refuses to keep the story in the interesting fantasy world he's created, rather than constantly jumping back to New York to bore the reader with pointless back story about uninteresting characters.
This series has quite a bit to recommend it. It's sort of a mix of horror, western, and fantasy, and it uses the tropes of all three genres in varying degrees of cheese and brilliance. As a King non-fan, I was pleasantly surprised with what he did with it, mostly. I stuck with it longer than I usually do with extended series but quit partway through the seventh book, at which point I was tired of the formula, and I felt like it had just got too ridiculous at that point.
For those interested in reading the series, I have started a video review series/ book club reading through every Stephen King book! The Gunslinger will be one of the first books I read. Check out my show here:
https://youtu.be/sRVaUUQD_WY
If anyone wants to join me on my quest, I have started a Goodreads group here: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Yes and No. If you are a huge fan of Kings then yes because you like his writing style anyway and will enjoy it and no super King fan should miss out on it. The answer is NO if you aren't a big King fan. it is just too long and wanders too much. This series is almost like where he dumped all his more bizarro thoughts and ideas. It is a really weird trip to go on with him and I really enjoy having read it almost as a badge of honor. P.S. I hope you don't know the ending because knowing ruins the story to a great degree. I was lucky enough to read them along the way as they were produced. Whatever anyone says about the ending it is the ONLY way it could have ended because it was the whole point of why this was such a long journey.
Great series...absolutely terrible ending. Such a shame as I enjoyed them all.
Dan wrote: "Yes and No. If you are a huge fan of Kings then yes because you like his writing style anyway and will enjoy it and no super King fan should miss out on it. The answer is NO if you aren't a big Kin..."You don't have to be a big king fan at all to enjoy this series. It is a incredible journey with demons, heroes, love, loss, etc.
Personally I loved this series so much. I did try to read it years ago and couldn't get into it but the more of Kings other books you have read the more intoxicating the world is (we are revisited by Salem's Lot, It, ideas from 11/12/63, The Talisman, Black House, The Stand.. &&& )
The Gunslinger isn't the best of all the books, I liked Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla the most I think.
The writing does periodically fall back into Kings bad habits and crutches but it is still worth the read.
I also thought the ending was perfect!
The gunslinger was one of the first books I bought some 30 years ago. A first edition with the lovely illustrations and everything. Throughout my reading life I felt duty bound to read the next novel when it came out. And I was a big King fan back in the day, (reading "It" to U2's "The Joshua Tree" is one of my childhood memories fuzzy warm place).I'm convinced Mr King lost his way with this endeavour and it became a bit of a millstone around his neck.
However, like the author, I dutifully returned to reading each time as he had taken the time to write it.
Hard work reading as I'm sure it was hard work writing.
Just posted my thoughts on The Gunslinger here having read it for the first time! Very interesting book! Please take a look and let me know what you thought! https://youtu.be/LxtqkrQBpp0
Jon wrote: "Just posted my thoughts on The Gunslinger here having read it for the first time! Very interesting book! Please take a look and let me know what you thought! https://youtu.be/LxtqkrQBpp0"Glad you liked it. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th books + Wind Through the Keyhole are even better.
The Gunslinger is a unique type of story. The book certainly surprised me at the end. I enjoyed it, Mr King has a way of making you interested in the plot even if you reluctant at first. I have written my thoughts on the book on my blog: http://bit.ly/2qYSYO4
Jon wrote: "Just posted my thoughts on The Gunslinger here having read it for the first time! Very interesting book! Please take a look and let me know what you thought! https://youtu.be/LxtqkrQBpp0"Just watched the video. I also liked the book and thought it's worth reading the rest of the series. I love your channel, great stuff!
Mike, thanks for the input. Drawing of the three is the next book in my reading list!Louise, thanks so much! I am about a month behind on posting due to the insanity of teaching middle school in May, but I hope to catch up soon!
Individually, maybe not so much, but cumulatively - absolutely worth reading. The stories as a whole can be pretty uneven, and they do veer from westerns to horror and back again (sometimes in the same chapter), but taken all together, it's a pretty magnificent story and will add a lot of depth and perspective to most other Stephen King novels you read. It took me nearly a year to get through all of them, and I'm typically a fast reader, but in the end it was worth it (I'm not saying the ending itself was worth it, just the whole series!). But I'm also a huge fan/Constant Reader, so I was bound to like most of the books anyway...
Probably the most exciting books I have had the pleasure of enjoying!
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That's reassuring. I've committed to reading The Drawing of the Three as I see potential in the series, but I thought that The Gunslinger was very weak in places, and is the worst King book that I've read (to date).