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Summary: Not your usual King
Review: This novel is an expansion of a short story of the same name. The gunslinger Roland, is on a quest. The bad guy is none other than Randall Flag (The Stand), a truly evil character, King's best villian. The story, though is rambling and unstructured. There is the feeling that the fleshing out of this excellent short work into novel form was rushed. A few more revisions prior to release and this would have been work worthy of standing with King's best. All in all, a good read for King fans. If you are going to try him for the first time, (Where have you been, in a cave?) then try The Night Shift, his best short story collection
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Summary: The Dark Tower I\The Gunslinger
Review: The Gunslinger in my opion is one of Kings best written novels. In this book you are taken to a mythical world where "the world has moved on." While reading this book you meet up with Roland. Roland is the last of the gunsligners in his world. He is on a quest to find the dark tower and set his world right. Then theres Jake, A boy from our world voilently thrust into the Rolands. Jake is the key to the man in black. The man in black is a mysterious man whom Roland has been chasing for a long time. The man in black is a magiacan of sorts and was behind Rolands tormenter in a way. All in all, this book(one of Kings best) is worth the reading
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Summary: King reads the first volume of his epic fantasy
Review: Most of Stephen King's books fall into the category of horror, but he has also touch on fantasy elements. In addition, many of his works have an epic quality to them; The Stand is one of the best examples of this.
The Gunslinger is the first volume of Stephen King's Dark Tower. The book first appeared as stories in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction before being collected in a limited edition by Donald M. Grant. The book eventually appeared as a trade paperback available to all. The series is ongoing, with the latest volume to appear in either 1997 or 1998.
The story takes place in a strange world that contains familiar elements (patrons in a bar at one point sing Hey Jude). The focal point of the tale is Roland, the last of the gunslingers. His quest for the Dark Tower becomes his reason for living. Stephen King is the reader of this audiobook. I have also felt that Stephen King writes as if he was talking out loud. This makes his reading more interesting and illuminating. While his voice is not trained, he more than anyone else is able to illustrate the world he created. He also is the reader on the other two volumes.
I enjoy listening to audiobooks, but I normally don't buy them. Stephen King's unabridged works are exceptions and his own readings are at the top of my list and the Dark Tower series is his most interesting work.
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Summary: A wonderful masterpiece, one of Stephen Kings best works yet
Review: The Gunslinger is one of Stepehn Kings greatest novels written to date. It is an epic saga of good versus evil. Roland the last of the Gunslingers fills us with awe as we join him in his journey to the Dark Tower to save his dying world. Throughout his journey Roland is searching for the ominous Man in Black, who supposedy knows the direction to the Dark Tower. To meet The Man in Black Roland has to look at his past and defeat his inner demons
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Summary: The most dazzling story ever wrirren.
Review: An epic adveture through parallel worlds. Mind boggling action and suspense. Everyone should read the Dark Tower series. I myself am awaiting the Dark Tower book IV. Hopefully will be as great as the last three
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Summary: Much better then normal horror by king - bounders on sci fi
Review: The gunslinger is a hero with a moral and ethical code that guides him on the path of his quest. While not a fan of most of Stephan King's other horror type book, I found this very enjoyable, bringing in science fiction type view of a future world and one man's quest to reverse/repair what has caused his world to 'move on'. Main problem is that the next book in the series has not come out yet
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Summary: It's the beginning of a fascinating tale.
Review: Stephen King embarks in a very long tale that only begins in this book and is supposed to take 5 or 6 other books to finish. Reading this book you have to understand that it is merely the beginning, and yet it is a very good book in itself. In "The Gunslinger" you enter the life of the last gunslinger in a world that has "moved on", in his quest for the "Dark Tower" which in my opinion symbolizes the domain of the universe, some form of heaven. In this first book the gunslinger follows the man in black, who is his enemy. It takes you a while to understand and identify yourself with the gunslinger's world, but when you do, you can't get enough of it. I recommend it if you are planning on reading the others that follow. I am currently reading the third (The Waste Lands), and I have to say that you really get hooked when you are reading the second book
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Summary: King, but not entirely like King. One of the 10 best
Review: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." For whatever reason, it's the most memorable opening line I've read. This is the first book in King's post-apocalyptic/parallel worlds Dark Tower series. The gunslinger is a character inspired by the Man with No Name that Eastwood played in the cinema. Certainly he is one of King's best characters. This story melds magic and firearms in an unforced, entertaining way. It's written in a dry, dusty style that suits the gunslinger perfectly. Aside from the fact that the book is very entertaining in its own right, King fans simply MUST read the Dark Tower books, because these days, ALL his other books at least make reference to the Tower, if they aren't extremely intertwined, like Hearts in Atlantis and Black House. These references in other books are like big fat Easter Eggs; you're finding unexpected rewards everywhere! This book is one I'd never do without. Go get it!
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Summary: Way to weird
Review: There have only been a few books that i never finished, but the Dunslinger was one of them. It was just so weird. King never told you what was happening. it's kinda like if you go into a movie halfway though it. Especially a fantasy one. I never got into it. i had no idea what was happening. read IT instead.
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Summary: Director's Cut
Review: I get nervous when things that are important to me get the "Director's Cut" treatment. George Lucas's relentless tinkering with the original Star Wars trilogy, not to mention those awful prequels, have managed to tarnish my love for that saga. I hold Stephen King's Dark Tower series in similar regard, so when I heard he was revising the first book, I was a bit apprehensive. At the same time, I was pretty curious. I'm a complete Tower junkie, so I knew there was no way I was going to be able to resist an updated Gunslinger.
The Gunslinger was a tough read for me. I thought the original language was a bit too flowery and I had a hard time sustaining an interest throughout the book. I don't know what made me pick up the second book, Drawing of the Three, but I'm so glad I did. That book hooked me from page 1 and had me totally enthralled until the end. Since then I've been hooked. Apparently King had encountered this situation before. In the introduction to this book he described telling people that if they could get through the Gunslinger, the series got a lot better. So with this revised version, he has taken some steps to fix things.
The essential story is unchanged. The characters, events, and timeline are all unchanged. At the same time, it was almost like reading an entirely new tale. The language was more in line with the rest of the saga, which made the book much easier to read, and there were several revisions that cleaned up the continuity and tied it in to later volumes. These revisions were understandable. King didn't have as clear an idea where the story would take him when he originally started the saga, and some of the supporting characters, locations, and events had changed since being mentioned in that first book..
All in all, I think King accomplished his goal. The book is easier to read, makes more sense in context with the rest of the saga, and should be much more accessible to new readers. Some purists may be disappointed. Much of the mystery and promise present in the first version seems missing from the new one, and the original language, while overly poetic, did add a romantic aspect to the book. So I'll hang on to my worn-out paperback of the original, while at the same time enjoying the "Director's Cut".
One more thing. Am I alone in wanting to hear the full Jericho Hill story? It sounds like an epic, "blaze of glory" kind of tale.
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