Rating: 
Summary: malevolent!
Review: The gunslinger is the first of four awesome books. People who read it don't usually don't enjoy it and this saddens me too often. To my opinion this is the shortest yet the best written book of the series and one of the best books ever to be written. Whithin it lies a great mystery that opens a path to the Dark Tower. I feel that this book is very difficulr to read and grasp. To grasp it, one needs to be deeply inside the gunslinger's mind. Enjoying the series of books starts in enjoying "the gunslinger". Give it a thought before you give in and compensate by reading the second book (which is far less difficult to read).
Rating: 
Summary: It was good but not typical King!
Review: This book was ok but it didn't have the usual horror that King puts into his books. More of a western/sci-fi book. But still good!
Rating:
Summary: Well...probably 4.5, but I rounded up
Review: This book was both interesting and entertaining, two attributes that complement each other nicely. This novel is a dark fantasy/sci-fi, so don't think it's a horror novel at the start. It's also the first book of a series of seven(four have been published), so don't think it's going to have a complete ending. The action and romance scenes are both tasteful and abundant. You learn Roland the Gunslinger gracefully, and all the other characters too. I'm on the second of the series (The Drawing of the Three), and I found it comical with the "lobstrosity" scene. Anways, read this book and follow up on the series if you're midly interested in dark fantasy or sci-fi by King.
Rating:
Summary: Imagination to paper takes time
Review: At under 300 pages, "The Gunslinger" - the first book from Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series - may seem oddly short, especially when compared to the latest volume from the epic, weighing in at around 700 pages. And still, Constant Reader, there are thousands more to go!According to the afterword from this book, it took King twelve years to complete the writings. He wrote the opening line, "The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed" while an undergraduate, the middle portions when "'Salem's Lot" was going bad, and was inspired with another concurrent writing: "The Stand." For King to have kept the Gunslinger, the Man in Black, Jake, and the other characters - and really the entire world of the Dark Tower - alive for so long in his mind is a testament to not only the power that this held over the author, but holds over us - his Constant Readers. Moreover, since the first publishing of "The Gunslinger," around twenty years have passed, a number of newer volumes in this series have come and gone - yet with this first, partially inspired by Robert Browning's poem, "Childe Roland," and partially inspired by reams of green paper (read the afterword to the book), you know that this was a very special creation indeed. I am not a fan of King's horror fiction. But when he gets down to writing about "other worlds than these," such as "The Stand," "Insomnia," "The Green Mile," and "The Talisman" (co-authored with Peter Straub) - there is no one better. His is an imagination to be jealous of. There is always a feeling that alternate universes exist, next to our own. King imbues his other worlds with just enough of our own so that we feel a tantalizing connection between our own perceptions of reality, and those that King entertains us (Constant Readers) with. At any rate, "The Gunslinger," at under 300 pages, is just right to introduce us to the world of The Dark Tower, and keep us on course, with a desire to continue (and to wait, ever so patiently for the next volume in the series) the journey the Gunslinger started many years ago.
Rating: 
Summary: Much better after reading other 3 but must read first anyway
Review: After hearing all my friends rave about this series i finally decided to pick it up. I had been reading all of his books with Randall Flagg in them to get some background. What you get here is a scattered, slow as molaaaassssessss story, that you have to force yourself to read. You are given bits and pieces of stories, with nothing explained. This story does NOT build to a climax, in fact, it doesn't build at all. The ending...supposedly a climax... seemed very hokey to me (but lets face it steven king has been known to let you down after a great book with a cheezy ending. I finally picked up the second and subsequent books (i waited so long b/c i didnt care for this one, and yes i am a HUGE stephen king fan)... and i was hooked. The sequels are great, and YES you must trudge through this book before you read the rest of them. This book is a necessarry introduction to the rest of the series. After reading the wizard and glass i reread this and it makes more sense b/c that book explains all (most)of the questions this book creates. For my second reading i give it 3 and 1/2 stars
Rating:
Summary: Great Beginning To An Incredible Fantasy Epic!
Review: This is the first in Stephen King's Dark Tower series and right away it pulls the reader into the desolate landscape of an Alter-Earth, where similarities between our world are noted and the differences are savored (and cringed at). Comparable to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series (although definitely intended for a much older and mature audience)this involves one man's quest for a Dark Tower (which presumably could save his dying world), a man that is a cross between a knight and an American West gunfighter (hence the title). In this he is following a "man in black" who may have answers he so desperately needs. This is entertaining reading at its best, adventure, intrigue, a must for any fan of Stephen King. I'm not that big of a fantasy novel fan but this book and it's sequels are excellent motivators to peruse that genre. Bottom line, if you're looking for some fun while reading check this book out. If you do you'll not only finish this book but you'll find yourself going right for the next one, until you find yourself waiting (rather patiently I might add) for Mr. King to put out another one of these tightly woven, highly interesting stories!
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to get into
Review: I finsihed this book during exams and was sorta dissapointed. The novel is very slow moving and hard to get into. There are constant flashbacks and I eventually became very confused. I'm starting the second book in this series and am glad I was able to get through this one. The second one is a lot faster paced and has a better plot. Read this book only if you have intentions of reading the rest of the series. If not, be prepared rereaed parts to understand it.
Rating:
Summary: one of king's best books ever
Review: a very good fantasy with a western twist. the story starts out with a man named roland who is a gunslinger(a kind of knight meets cowboy in my opinion.)who is wandering through a desert looking for a notorious "man in black" who he believes will have the whereabouts of a place called the dark tower, that roland believes will have all the answers including the one of while the world has moved on without him. later roland befriends a kid named Jake who is from Earth. (note: roland is not from Earth but from another place.) and then thier adventure starts out after the dark man. i reccomend this to anyone who wants to read a great novel.
Rating:
Summary: a true page-turner, grabs you
Review: A truly amazing book. It got me hooked on the series, and I'm now half way done with the third one. I've been up all night reading them. The second was my favorite so far!
Rating:
Summary: Just to prove how much I loved this book...
Review: ...I'll tell you my story about what happened to me. I bought this book recently, and read the first part of it, and was bored. Then a friend of mine told me about the subject matter of the later parts of the book, and I was passionate to read it. So today, April 11, 2000, I began reading it at around 5:30 in the morning and finished it at 6:30 at night. I read the last few pages with shallow breaths and wide eyes, and when I was done, I put it down and took a deep breath. What a way of living! I am amazed. I have previously read Cycle of the Werewolf, The Green Mile, and Desperation (as well as many short stories in Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, and Nightmares and Dreamscapes), but none of these amount to the incredible power that Stephen King can put into his work. For those of you who think King is an all-out horror writer, THINK AGAIN! These books are... Something else. Not to give anything away, but due to the subject matter, they may make some people think that they are fantasy. After reading just the first one, though, you may think otherwise. I have a whole new way of looking at life now. By the time many people read this review, I will be deeply into The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three. Soon enough I will be reading III, then IV, and the three more to come! Stephen King, you are incredible. Simply put, this book ROCKS!
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