The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1)

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Summary: An early masterpiece from the King..
Review: "The Gunslinger" is hard to categorize. Quickly paced action scenes mingled with clearly realized visions of a bleak, post-apocalyptic world that may or may not be Earth are woven together into a finely detailed tapestry of a story, one that is surprisingly short from an author who is not known for his brevity. The prose stands out when compared to his later works as nearly hypnotic, a sweeping and epic dream that stands the test of time with ease. Highly recommended, even if you typically don't like horror.

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Summary: Obscurity is a beautiful thing.
Review: Ok im a kid and im 14. After reading this book i don't understand how someone couldn't like this book. It is obscure, but that adds so much. This isn't an everyday crappy "scary" novel that is like all of the rest. It has an amazingly original plot like no other. I can understand (i guess) why someone wouldn't respect this because it takes an intelligent person to understand and appreciate a book like this. Its definatley worth a read.

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Summary: Like Neil Gaiman writing "Mad Max"
Review: A few years ago, I was looking through books at a library, when I found this one. I immediately read it in six days. This is an excellent book, with a dark fantasy plot set against a post apocalyptic wasteland.

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Summary: The beginning to greatness
Review: I heard about this series from my friend about a month ago. I read "The Gunslinger" in about 2 days. It set the stage for the next books and left you with a cliffhanger. Excellent story.

Rating:
Summary: The Gunslinger
Review: The Gunslinger is an excellent introduction to a series that will surely be a classic. The Gunslinger flows smoothly and captures your interest from the start. Don't expect all your questions to be answered by the end of the book! There's six more to follow it for that! This book Should be 5 out of five stars.

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Summary: Against the grain...
Review: Unlike many people who have left reviews here, I view Stephen King's first Dark Tower novel, "The Gunslinger" not as something to be suffered through in order to get at the riches which lay beyond, but as an excellent stand alone novel.

Lousy at some may think it is, I actually fell in love with that old version of "The Gunslinger". No, it's not your typical, linear, run of the mill story. If that frightens you, stay away from this book. It's written in an artistic, vague, almost pretentious way (King edited some of this out in the new version, but the core stil remains). Obviously some people find this annoying, but I love it. To me it is almost the novel equivalent of a Sergio Leone movie, because his movies can be described much the same way. Needless to say, I was more than understanding of King's admission that "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" was an inspiration for this story.

So I very much surprised when I learned that King had gone and "revised and expanded" this novel which I loved. Blasphemy! I thought. Of course, I went and bought it anyway. My feelings on the new version are mixed. I like the additional scenes (almost like watching the cut-scenes on a DVD), but overall the novel seems to have lost something to me... lost a bit of that original pretentious magic.

Slowly but surely, King has degenerated his Dark Tower story into just another one of his crazy romps where seemingly anything and everything goes. I, for one, will always prefer that mysterious, haunting image of the last gunslinger, following across the desert. But that's just me.

Rating:
Summary: Great Start to the Series
Review: I'm glad I jumped on the "Dark Tower" bandwagon! The first installment of the series is a bit basic and slow at times, but it's quite good considering King was 19 when he wrote it. Don't be put off by anything here; just keep reading and the series will take off like a rocket in Part II.

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Summary: Excellent introduction into a different world
Review: The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower, Book 1 is an excellent book that plunges the reader into a whole new world. The novel tells the story of Roland of Gilead, the last gunslinger, who is chasing after the mysterious man in black. In his search, Roland comes upon several great characters that help him in his search. The book is confusing at times, leaving many questions unanswered that will be dealt with in the later novel of the series. Even with these questions, it is still a great read leaving the reader wanting more and more to find the answers to these questions. One of the best parts of the story was the conversation between Roland and the man in black as they discuss the origins of man. This is a great story full of excellent characters and beautiful settings that won't allow you to put the book down. For a fantastic introduction to the series, check out The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower, Book 1.

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Summary: An interesting turn
Review: An interesting turn for King. Not your typical fantasy, but not your typical horror novel either. It's both, and has a Western flavor to it.

It's hard to describe, other than saying the story is intriguing. Why is he reaching the Dark Tower? Who is the man in black? What are these prophecies? Where do they come from? What is the gunslinger's purpose?

Is this one giant allegory?

These are just a few of the many answered questions that this series provides. A thrilling read.

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Summary: The last gunslinger.
Review: After reading a number of King's books and enjoying virtually all of them, I was drawn (like many of you) to THE DARK TOWER series. I just finished THE GUNSLINGER. It's a quick read at around 230 pages that quickly throws us into a world eerily related to our own. We meet Roland, more frequently referred to as "the gunslinger", a dark hero driven to follow "the man in black" for reasons you'll have to read the book to find.

This book is unlike any other King book I've read to date (including THE STAND, DREAMCATCHER, THE TOMMYKNOCKERS, THE SHINING, and HEARTS IN ATLANTIS) and is aptly titled THE GUNSLINGER as this book is simply setting up a base for understanding our hero and the quest that drives him.

King paints this picture through Roland's interactions with three main characters he encounters while chasing the man in black - a woman, a man, and most importantly, a boy from another time named Jake. I couldn't help but draw certain parallels between Roland's character and Paul Atreides of DUNE lore. Tack this onto the way this book is narrated - an epic story having somewhat mythological overtones that takes place far in the future (or in another time completely). If you've read DUNE, I think you'll see what I mean, but don't worry, the gunslinger would hardly be a messiah in any traditional sense. This is King we're talking about, remember? Thank God.

THE GUNSLINGER is a great book because by the end of it, you'll find yourself immersed in Roland's world dripping with awe and wonder at the possibilities presented by the Dark Tower. It's like imagining yourself thrown into the middle of the universe - can you imagine the size of it all? And how absolutely small we are alone amidst all that space.

Read it already.