If I were asked whether I liked The Gunslinger or not, my answer would be both. The Gunslinger book review is right in the middle.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King gave the impression of being a very long prologue to a much grander story. Indeed, the main plot (and I use that term rather liberally) is the Gunslinger trailing The Man in Black across the desert.

There are numerous flashbacks that enhance the narrative - often being the more captivating part of the story - but they serve to develop the main character rather than推动 the story forward (with one exception that comes to my mind).

I believe my enjoyment was somewhat diminished by the fact that this book was not what I had expected. I was informed that The Dark Tower series was a fantasy series, yet it seems like a hodgepodge of that classic style of fantasy written by Ursula K. Le Guin or C. S. Lewis, with some urban fantasy elements thrown in for good measure.

That's not to say that it didn't work, because it did (more on that shortly), but since I wasn't in the right frame of mind to read that style of fantasy, it just felt a bit strange.

However, the writing style was truly remarkable. If you love it when the words on the page seem to reach out and seize your mind, surround your vision, and transport you to a new and incredible world, observing from the sky like a bird, then you would adore this.

Stephen King's command of language in every sentence, his choice of every word, is exquisite, and it was what kept me reading even when I felt the story was dragging. It made the world come alive, and I immersed myself in it.

There is very little, if any, character development, and when the book concludes, it feels like the beginning of a larger narrative rather than the end of its own story. As I mentioned earlier, it's more of a prologue, an introduction, and I wish it had been presented to me as such rather than the first full book in a fantasy series.

I am actually looking forward to reading the next book, truly following a plot, learning more about the main character as an individual, being introduced to new characters, and delving deep into a world only hinted at in The Gunslinger.

View the full review at The Fantasy Review

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

This is my first encounter with Stephen King's work. I'm amazed that it's not a pure horror story. I had a hunch I'd explore the Dark Tower universe first. With an adaptation starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba, I decided to read the series before watching the movie. The first book, The Gunslinger, introduces two mysterious figures. Their motives and personalities are unclear at first, but as you follow their cruel and enchanting adventure, you quickly understand who they are. The story is driven by the gunslinger's pursuit of the man in black through a desolate universe. Poetic and enigmatic, it's a character-driven story that sets up a world yet to be fully understood.

Talk about a book that leaves you with more questions than answers. I started with high expectations, not just for the first installment but for the whole series. After reading, I was hooked, eager to find answers like Roland Deschain. What's happening? Where are they? Who are the Gunslinger and the Man in Black? I was intrigued by the concept of a world within a world and the stories within the story. The universe is fascinating, timeless, and mysterious. The fantasy elements add to the lore and world-building, making the reality they live in more complex.

The Gunslinger should not be the end of anyone's Dark Tower adventure. The first book, even the revised edition, is a prologue to something much bigger. It's an epic fantasy saga with bits of horror. The universe is spellbinding, showing that you don't need a lot of information to make readers fall in love with the world. All you need is to spark curiosity. I can't wait to see what The Drawing of the Three has in store. One thing's for sure: my first experience with Stephen King's work has been excellent.

P.S. Full review to come soon

Dear reader,

I am a die-hard Stephen King fan. I have delved into approximately a dozen of his remarkable works, encompassing not only his spine-chilling horror books but also his non-horror offerings and even his recent detective trilogy.

However, everyone seems to unanimously claim that The Dark Tower books are his magnum opus. Thus, I decided to pick up The Gunslinger with great anticipation.

People had cautioned me that the short book was slow-paced, confusing, and poorly written, and that the series truly began with the second book, The Drawing Of The Three. But I am a completist by nature. If I am even a minute late for a movie, I simply won't watch it. I also have the habit of staying until the end of the credits, as I enjoy reading the acknowledgements, learning about the filming locations, and listening to the score. I reasoned that if I was going to give this series a fair chance, I had to read this first book.

Well... WTF. It was so bad. So incredibly confusing. The plot was convoluted beyond belief. And the prose?

Here's an example:

“Land,” the man in Black invited, and there was; it heaved itself out of the water in endless, galvanic convulsions. It was red, arid, cracked and glazed with sterility. Volcanoes blurted endless magma like giant pimples on some ugly adolescent’s baseball head.

I can勉强 accept the land heaving itself out of the water. But the image of volcanoes blurting like pimples on an adolescent's head is just a terrible, terrible one, especially considering the point of view is from a man who lived in a courtly era, perhaps like the Renaissance. I highly doubt he would think of such a thing. No, this sounds like a very young Stephen King trying a little too hard to write fantasy and getting his metaphors all mixed up. (Also: this isn't just an adolescent's head but an adolescent's BASEBALL head? Yikes.)

I had to read this paragraph several times, scratching my head and wondering what on earth it meant:

The gunslinger’s legs carried him in a sudden leap, breaking the paralysis that held him; he took a true giant’s step above the dangling boy and landed in a skidding, plunging rush toward the light that offered the Tower frozen on his mind’s eye in a black still life...

“True giant’s step”? “... toward the light that offered the Tower frozen on his mind’s eye in a...”????

I still have no clue what that sentence is supposed to convey.

Besides the atrocious prose, the story is really perplexing. King doesn't invest much time in constructing his world, making it difficult for us to believe in it. And he frequently flashes back to earlier periods before we have truly gotten to know the present-day characters.

It's an uncomfortable blend of fantasy and western. Not surprisingly, one of the best sections involves a gang of mutants. Finally! Zombies! Something the master of horror is familiar with! (Alas, it's a really brief scene.) And there's a decent fight sequence featuring gunslinger Roland, his brutal former teacher, and a raven.

I've checked out The Drawing Of The Three from the library, so I suppose I will give it a try. But I promise you, Goodreads, if that book sucks, I'm not going anywhere near the others in the series.

I'll happily abandon my journey to The Dark Tower.

A fateful, Ka-filled return to one of my first and favorite series of all time.

I have an unwavering love for the Dark Tower.

Yes, indeed, I am a die-hard fanboy. Back in the day, I obtained the audiocassettes where none other than Stephen King himself read his own work. Over the years, I have dedicated countless hours to tracking down every reference to the Crimson King, the Man in Black, and Mid World across the majority of Stephen King's novels. In my mind, I have this vivid IDEA of the Dark Tower that outshines almost all other SF tales centered around multiple universes.

I am specifically referring to the SCALE.

Oh, and this seemingly simple Western that masquerades as a horror novel, nestled within a vast Science Fiction universe, also happens to be a literary and music-filled treasure trove, shining with stories within stories within stories.

Did I mention that I'm a fanboy? Rereading this series is like coming home. It's like returning to the words of Robert Browning:

There they stood, ranged along the hill-sides, met\\t
To view the last of me, a living frame\\t
For one more picture! in a sheet of flame\\t
I saw them and I knew them all. And yet\\t
Dauntless the slug-horn to my lips I set,\\t
And blew “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came.”

... And we shall not speak of that accursed movie.

This was an extremely cool story that truly captivated me.

I relished all of its elements, from the engaging characters to the thrilling plot. Stephen King has done an outstanding job in crafting a one-of-a-kind narrative.

It's a cowboy High Plains Drifter-style Western that ingeniously incorporates elements of fantasy, science fiction, and even has subtle ties to our perception of the world.

The world has "moved on," and now there is a distinct future set in an American "Wild West" backdrop. The story unfolds through time-lapses and flashback sequences, seamlessly blended with fantasy, magic, and science fiction.

The main character, Roland, a cowboy-like gunslinger, is on a pursuit after the mysterious man in black.

Who exactly is this man in black? Why did Roland become a gunslinger, and what compels him to embark on this mission to capture him?

The simplicity of the writing encourages you to use your imagination to fill in the blanks, which, for me at least, significantly enhanced the story.

Overall, this was a highly enjoyable story that kept me hooked from start to finish. I haven't seen the movie, and I have no other works to compare it to.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this to any Stephen King fan, and I eagerly anticipate reading the next book in the series. Thanks!

An epic that is ostensibly set in the Old West, yet it doesn't take long for the reader to soon discover otherwise. It is about a Gunslinger (a word invented in the 1920s), roaming the eternal, unearthly deserts. His never-ending search for the Man in Black is the driving force, and the reason will be revealed, but not too early.

Poor Roland. In the war's aftermath, the unknown planet was pulverized. The so-called civilization was lost. There are no roads, no train tracks, nothing. All is dilapidated, with homes disintegrating before your eyes. The sad lands are a testament to human's abysmal conduct or their equivalent here. Maybe Stephen King's characters, some say, have no depth, but still waters run very deep.

The main interest in these genre novels is the morbid atmosphere and the struggles of individuals in many dangerous situations as they try to escape total destruction. The ugly views strangely become beautiful. The territories are so bleak, with sparse vegetation lacking much in substance. There is no water, just a vast sandy, rocky, empty terrain of little value, slowly dying without notice if anyone cared. The creepy sights will give all nightmares. Can this be our future?

Roland, the mysterious unfeeling gunfighter, is relentless. Revenge with a capital R is constantly on his mind. Nothing else matters. The brief encounters will be short and deadly, which is the reason the book is so popular, like a Clint Eastwood film. He is an unstoppable man, more robot than human, unafraid and knowing no limits.

In a small town, the inhabitants seem quite friendly, and he even meets a girl in a saloon. The gunfighter isn't picky. A boy, Jake, arranged by the Man in Black apparently to stifle the hot pursuer, nevertheless, the fierce Gunslinger unexpectedly grows to love the kid. Does the killer have a good heart? The best part indeed is the relationship of this seemingly odd couple becoming friends.

Other major highlights of this somber tale are the long walks, seeing the cloudless skies, the tall treacherous, ghostly mountains always close by yet never reached, bones scattered everywhere, and the animals they think and hope for. Flashbacks are written to fill in the sketchy background stories, years old and not pleasant, yet facts, and undoubtedly necessary.

Onwards, the peculiar couple travel west as the sun brings the sizzle down. The tongues are dry, the mouth feels the pain, the throat thickens, and the intense sun rays dry the skin until the face cracks. The climb above the freaky mountains is not memorable but still an important phase in the ultimate surprise denouncement of the tale. This is the first of the famous Dark Tower series that have acquired a rather high reputation and deservedly so.

Opening this book and returning to this world was like slipping on my oldest, comfiest and most loved sweater.

It felt like coming back home after being away for entirely too long. And this time around was just as magical, if not more so.

There's so much to take in and absorb from this story on your first read through that you miss certain small things without even realizing it.

I really loved all the extra little bits that popped out at me this time around.

I know a lot of people enjoy this book a lot less than the rest of the series, but it will always hold a special place in my heart.

It really is what started it all and introduced us to this magnificent world that King created!

Sure, the writing is a little less polished than later books in the series, but that doesn't diminish the fact that it is a fantastic beginning to a truly epic story.

It sets the stage for all the adventures and characters that are to come, and it does so in a way that grabs your attention from the very first page.

The world-building is rich and detailed, and you can't help but get lost in it.

Overall, this book is a must-read for any fan of the series or anyone who loves a good fantasy story.

Bueno, ya era hora… Comenzamos la aventura, casi sin querer una noche sin sueño y sin querer pensar mucho en que libro comenzar.

The beginning, as it couldn't be otherwise, has been fantastic. In this work of the great King, we meet Roland (the gunslinger) who is in pursuit of the man in black. Basically, this first book consists of the pursuit of our protagonist after the mysterious man in black. Along the way, we get to know a little about the overall setting that the author will be presenting to us. It seemed like a good start to me and it has left me with a great desire to continue the saga.

The arrival of the three is at hand. As the story unfolds, we are drawn deeper into the world that King has created. The characters are vivid and the plot is full of twists and turns. I can't wait to see what happens next in this thrilling adventure.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good adventure story. It will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. So, what are you waiting for? Dive into the world of "The Dark Tower" and experience the adventure for yourself!

I started reading this book without having the pretension to understand everything. That's what my friends who have read the series advised me. But I really liked the book very much.

At first, I was a bit hesitant as I didn't know what to expect. However, as I delved into the story, I found myself getting more and more engaged. The author's writing style is captivating, and the characters are well-developed.

Even though there were some parts that I didn't fully understand, it didn't stop me from enjoying the overall experience. In fact, it made me more curious to keep reading and discover more. I'm looking forward to reading the next books in the series to see how the story progresses.

I’m just going to be completely honest. Stephen King’s writing simply isn’t to my taste. I have now read two different novels of his, and I find myself getting bored by his writing. The stories are legitimate, and he is indeed a great storyteller. However, his writing style just doesn’t resonate with me.

I am excited for the movie, though. I am a fan of Stephen King’s stories and their film adaptations. Have you seen that beautiful trailer? It looks amazing and has me really pumped.

Like I said, I just can’t seem to get into his writing. I’m at a point where I feel like 50% of the time, King and I are just not meant to get along. I really hate his writing style. I can’t force myself to get through this book like I did with IT.

RTC.

Popsugar Reading Challenge 47. A book on your TBR list that you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing

This book reminds me of a game that I played with my brother for many years. In the game, there is a tower, a hooded wizard, a gunslinger, and a time traveler, among other characters. Although the book and the game don't have many things in common, when I read the synopsis and started the book, it brought back memories of the game.

Last year, I wanted to start reading "The Dark Tower" but didn't because of an annual challenge and I was already well into the year. Now, I really want to read it, but it's one of the complementary books of "The Dark Tower" and I'm sometimes a bit slow. So I was wondering if I read it now and then read "The Dark Tower", would I miss something important? I asked for advice and some people told me to just read it, but I wanted to read them together.

Overall, I really liked this book. It was very introductory, but not in the way that shows you all the laws of the world and introduces the characters step by step. Instead, it was introductory in the sense that it only answered a few things, leaving you with more questions at the end.

The book starts with the gunslinger pursuing the dark man. At first, you only know this much. You don't know the names and maybe you know that they are in a desert. Gradually, the gunslinger starts remembering things, but it doesn't really help because he just names them without going into detail. So you're left wondering who that is or what happened here. You really need to pay attention and take notes. I took a lot of notes and I'm sure I marked a lot of unnecessary things, but I'd rather do that than miss something important.
One good thing about the book, in part because it leaves you with doubts, is that as you progress, there are flashbacks that tell you certain parts of the past history, of characters or situations that the gunslinger mentioned before. I really liked this way of narrating the book. I can't explain it, but it was like a matter of sensations. I felt great while reading it, even though everything was so complicated and they only told me a little bit at a time. I think it was because of the possibility of inferring things and then seeing if I was right when they told me more. The ending was one of my favorites.
I don't know if all versions of the book have it, but mine had an epilogue by Stephen King where he talked about how "The Dark Tower" came to be. I liked what he said about not knowing certain parts of the gunslinger's story, except for what he had already written, but that when the time comes, these things and their relationship with the gunslinger's search will flow as naturally as tears or laughter. That's exactly how the book was. As the gunslinger pursued the dark man and went through what he did, that's what he was telling about his past.

The fastest way to get me to start a series is by creating a Hollywood movie of it and then coming up with a trailer filled with cool, slow-motion-like action scenes.

However, it's important to note that I said "fastest," not "surefire." For instance, in the case of "Mortal Instruments," I was quite content to laugh at its cheesiness in the movies without feeling the need to further torture myself. Then again, who in their right mind would compare Stephen King and Cassandra Clare? No need to answer that.

The world-building in this series, along with the character development of Roland and Jake, was truly brilliant. Their thought processes in a brutally unforgiving dystopian universe, where nothing is sacred, left me speechless. Jake's scornful desperation upon realizing Roland's plans for him was unexpectedly deep, haunting, and riveting.

But, as with any dystopian world, it needs a detailed description of its desolation. Unfortunately, Stephen King's descriptive sequences just don't do it for me. I had the same issue with "Salem's Lot," having to reread several paragraphs because my mind kept wandering.

Maybe there's something wrong with my sense of aesthetics, but I find passages like this one boring: "The desert was the apotheosis of all deserts, huge, standing to the sky for what looked like eternity in all directions. It was white and blinding and waterless and without feature save for the faint, cloudy haze of the mountains which sketched themselves on the horizon and the devil-grass which brought sweet dreams, nightmares, death."

After watching the movie, I realized that reading the book didn't really add much, other than mentions of the world moving on and a mysterious dark tower. That being said, the characterization and world building are exciting enough to make me want to keep reading. In hindsight, the book was actually quite good. I hope the rewrite has improved the descriptions in the following book.

Score: 3.3/5 stars

Review of book 2: The Drawing of Three

Review of book 3: The Waste Lands