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Summary: Review for Unabridged Audiotape version
Review: 1) Too bad King read his own book. A professional actor/reader would have made this so much more interesting than King's droning voice. The Insomnia auidobook was much more interesting to listen to.2) I quite midstream as the story just was confusing at times with little or no information on the world created. Some parts mirror our world and others don't. 3) The one thing I did like is that there was a real sense of dread around each bend. You didn't know what traps the Man in Black had laid for the Gunslinger and this is what kept me going at least to the mid-point. I had become disenchanted with King's work about 7 years ago and this is the first thing I came back to since then. I felt disappointed to the point that unless I have three really good friends whoes' opinions I trust tell me to read a particular King book...only then will I give King another chance.
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Summary: here we begin...
Review: Stephen King starts out his massive Dark Tower series with the words: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." Quickly pulling you into this twisted world of fantasy and western and a great quest, you as Constant Reader chase the man in black, across the desert in a strange and frightening place in time. A little patience is necessary for getting into the story; it's not much like any King you've read before. As relentless as the gunslinger (who we come to know as Roland) is in his pursuit, it's also a little slow going. King does not give you much back story in this slim novel, although as you read the rest in the series you will learn the past of most characters revealed here (and many more). Roland follows the man in black through a small town, where he is forced to make a final, violent decision to save his own life. As he continues on his long journey, he meets a boy from Earth, Jake, who died in our world and has somehow appeared in this one. Roland and Jake continue on together, but somehow Roland knows he may have to lose the boy, as much as he has come to care for him, to finally meet the man in black. The Gunslinger is only the first of many in the Dark Tower series. It is not as long, as involved, or (in my opinion) as well written as the others. It introduces you to Roland's world, but you don't get to know much about it or him. Keep reading. The answers start unfolding, and the pace definitely picks up with the second in the series, The Drawing of the Three. It's a long journey, and a very fine and exciting one at that.
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Summary: A trip through the unknown world of desolate edification.
Review: What a read this book is. From the opening sentence to the final word it is gripping and disturbing. Painting a world that the reader is glad to not be apart of, yet fascinated to read about, the story creeps along slowly revealing the protagonist and his intention. Only in the last chapter do we find out what has been happening to him and why he is on this journey. If it is a success is up to the reader to determine, but it definately fullfills its potential with a spellbinding conversation that is as provokative as Aurthor C Clarke's 2001: A Space Odysse. A remarkable tail of travel that's a combination of magic, mystery and journey, a mysterious hero and a dark and equivicol villian. This is just the begginning of the remarkable tale of the dark tower that King has yet to complete. Four episodes have been released so far and i have just started the drawing of the three. Hope you dig itr as much as i did.
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Summary: Rather strange
Review: This is a rather strange book. It's somewhat confusing to begin with. The universe mirrors our own in many ways, but in others is so completely different. Little is explained this early on, so uncertainty and confusion are quite prominent. However, it is a very well written book, and has a good pace. It picks up toward the end, and it holds a wonderful and eerie dream-like quality, making the reading of it seem just as if you were asleep. The ending is better than the beginning, but i think that is probably only just because, as we get more familiar with the world and the characters, it becomes easier to fathom out. I am quite looking forward to the next novel in the series, if just to get a few explanations, and to see where he is taking Roland the Gunslinger next.
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Summary: An Amazing Novel
Review: First, if you are a Stephen King fan, this novel is unlike his other works. Secondly, if you don't like Stephen King's other works and you enjoy reading fantasy, you will like this book. This book is unlike any horror novel written by King. If you have read the Eyes of the Dragon, this book is similar to that. I read this book for the first time three years ago. Since then I have read the entire series and read this book two more times. It seems like King is telling two stories. One is of Roland's past life and the other is the situation he is faced with. I find Roland's past as interesting as the current plot. For fantasy lovers, I might compare Roland to Aragorn from Tolkien's work. One of the last great men of a great people. Willing to die for his cause and for honor. He is the best at what he does, he does not feel pain, he cannot quit. His task is to find the Dark Tower. Where he will find it and what it holds he does not know. What happens. The gunslinger is following the Man in Black. He tells us the story of a town he destroyed because of the Man in Black. We meet Jake, a boy sent from our world to Roland's by the Man in Black. We follow Jake and Roland across a vast desert as he trails the Man in Black. Nothing can keep Roland from the Man in Black, and in the end Roland talks with the Man in Black. I like this novel, I like this series. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: [pulls] you in
Review: I just finished reading the Gunslinger for the second time. I read it the first time in 96 or 97, and within a month or two I read books 2, 3, and 4. This is a great fast read; after reading it you will definitly continue reading the next 3 parts which amass to around 2000 pages. I would compare the Dark Tower series, to the Lord of the Rings, it is that enjoyable. There is nothing disappointing in The Dark Tower except when you finish book four there is not a book five, or six etc. The Dark Tower is a great book to start reading though there may never be an ending. I can't wait to see The Dark Tower movie.
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Summary: A Great Start
Review: "The Gunslinger" is the first book in Stephen King's epic fantasy series, titled "The Dark Tower." This book is very, very different from the fantasy that you can pick up in bookstores or purchase at Amazon. This epic has a very different feel to it when you are reading the book. I would say that this book is a western type of fantasy, with particular emphasis on the western part. Most of the book takes place in the desert and villages in it, and this will give the feel that distinguishes this book from others. Stephen King is a master of the English language and his words paint a clear image in your mind. The book starts off teaching you about the gunslinger, who we later learn is named Roland, is chasing the Man in Black. The book is like a mystery in a way as as the book progresses you learn about the gunslinger's motives and we eventually learn his real obsession. Roland stops at a village and falls in love with a woman. In this part of the story King portrays a romance between the gunslinger and his girlfriend. Later on in the book Roland the Gunslinger meets up with the child Jake, and Jake continues with Roland on his quest to find the Man in Black. At the end of the novel Roland will have to make a hard choice concerning Jake and the Man in Black. The story has a good set up but does come across a bit slow throughout the novel. Stephen King originally wrote "The Gunslinger" as five different short stories, and they are all published here as one novel. Each part of the book can be appreciated as a story in itself or as a part of the whole fantasy epic. On another note, King's idea for this book came from Robert Browning's epic poem, "Childe Roland." Roland the Gunslinger is a man obsessed with finding the Man in Black. The last part of the story is defintely the best as you learn lots about why Roland has been following the Man in Black. We learn how Roland is set out to find the Dark Tower, which is supposed to hold a room that is basically the control room of all the universes. King is a greatly talented author and it shows here. King brought an inventive fantasy story and put in many different flavors so this book will appeal to a wide group of readers. As curious as I am to find out more about Roland's quest, I am going to hold off reading the books until the next two books of the series are published, probably next year, so I won't I will be able to read most of the series all at once. This is a masterpiece that shouldn't be passed up. Happy Reading!
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Summary: The Beginning of a Great Story
Review: I've been a fan of King's work for quite some time now. I bought 'The Dark Tower' when I was younger. I started it, and could not get into it. I recently picked it back up, and tried again. I'm glad I did. This book drops you right into a fantastic world that has some faded similarities to our own world. And in other ways, this world is completely alien. King does a few refreshing things here. For one, the world has not 'ended' or 'died.' The world of the gunslinger has 'moved on' and left humanity behind. Its an oft-repeated phrase throughout this novel, and the novels that follow. The gunslinger is the last survivor of the last civilized culture, which has since perished, along with the gunslinger's friends and family. Despite how cliche that might sound, the character of the gunslinger is intriguing. He's a deeply conflicted character: deadly purpose incarnate, but with honor. He seeks The Dark Tower, in a world that has 'moved on' - and nothing will stop him. The ending of the novel is really just the beginning of this tale, and for readers who aren't in it for the long haul, it may be disappointing. It just made me want to get on to the next novel. I read the first three of this series in 2 weeks; ravenously devouring one after another. Now I'm anxious to start the fourth book. I highly recommend this book, and those that follow.
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Summary: HE SHOULD HAVE DUG DEEPER
Review: The Dark Tower starts out with the catchy opening line of "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." Unfortunately, Stephen King doesn't make it really clear as to WHY the gunslinger is chasing the dark man in the first place. One can only presume that the gunslinger is the good guy and that the dark man is the bad guy that needs to be killed ASAP. For the first hundred or so pages you read about the gunslinger hanging around wasted towns in the middle of some Sahara desert from hell. The next hundred pages or so deal with Jake, some kid that comes from our world. In addition to that, Jake and the gunslinger start chasing the dark man through the desert. In the final three hundred pages the two main characters follow the dark man to a large mountain, where the gunslinger finally confronts him. The last chapter, "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" is one of the more interesting parts of the book. The two of them have a discussion along the lines of "what if our universe were just a speck of dust on a blade of grass, and that blade of grass was inside another universe, and that universe was inside ANOTHER one", etc. So with that in mind, if I look at the BIG PICTURE, The Dark Tower is just another novel in a universe filled with novels. To me, there was nothing in this book that made it outshine anything else. While reading this book I got the feeling that Stephen King wasn't sure what he wanted this book to be--Western (The Gunslinger), Fantasy (Tarot cards and a primitive setting), Literature (Childe Roland to the dark tower came . . .), or Horror (The Dark Man, the Slow Mutants). Stephen King also borrows a little from the Bible (Abraham and Isaac = Gunslinger and Jake), which isn't surprising, since he's done it before. I'll credit King on one account, though, he does know how to keep a book flowing. But once I get to the end I don't feel like I've got anything to show for it--except I can say, "I've read it." In the Afterword, Stephen King says how, "A sort of hush fell over my previously busy creative life--not a writer's block, but a sense that it was time to stop goofing around with a pick and shovel and get behind the controls of one big great God a'mighty steamshovel, a sense that it was time to try and dig something big out of the sand." So Stephen King supposedly dug deep--and all he could dredge up was about 2 or 3 main characters, a desert, a mountain, and some flashback scenes? He dug something big allright--a big dissappointment. He should have dug deeper.
Rating:
Summary: I love King but was not ready for this.
Review: Now I have read about 5 of Kings books and most of them were written in a way that flows and is very enjoyable to me. This book however, seemed to jump around alot and be hard to stick with. The storyline was interesting and the action is awsome but the overall writting style put me off and that is why I gave this book 3 stars.
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