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Summary: Let King take you into Roland's world.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though I think that The Gunslinger is really an aquired taste. I never had the time to read through all of one of Kings works, and From a Buick 8 lost me in the first couple chapters. I decided to give this one a try since it was shorter and looked more appealing. After reading it through I was very impressed with it. I must say its very outlandish, but at the same time it doesn't lose me. The whole concept and story of Roland the Gunslinger and his quest for the Dark Tower is so deep and well thought out that you want to follow him on his journey, which perhaps was King's intentions. This first installment of the series does an excellent job with character development, and if you read through the first book you will realize why this is important. Roland becomes very real, you almost become intune with his feelings and emotions. By the time you read through to the Dark Tower, it will break your heart to see Roland go. I have not read much of King's work but i have to believe that the Dark Tower series is his most creative and inspiring work. Give the Gunslinger a try and let King take you into Roland's world.
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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 Journey for the Tower Begins...
Review: "The Gunslinger," alias "Dark Tower I," is not really what you'd expect from a Stephen King book. Nevertheless, it's a fantasic read and well worth the time. But beware that, like Roland, once you get started, there's no turning back.
"The Gunslinger" takes place in a world that has "moved on," desolate and worn down. We follow the journey of Roland, the last Gunslinger, as he attempts to catch the elusive man in black and complete his quest for the Dark Tower. This chapter of the Tolkien-esque quest is about 300 pages in length, the shortest of all the "Dark Tower" books, and acts as the warm-up before the workout. Like most books, it's a little slow out of the gate, but once the gunslinger hits Tull, the rest of the story takes off.
If you're a fan of King's or of epic journeys, I recommend "The Gunslinger." The entire work is seven books long, so I would only start if you're committed for the long haul. But reading this and all the "Dark Tower" novels are made fun by King's use of language. I could barely finish "Lord of the Rings" because of its language, but I breezed through "Gunslinger," partially because the story became so engrossing that I couldn't put the book down.
So go forth and enjoy. There's a lot to look forward to.
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Summary: Awesome!
Review: Being a huge Stephen King fan, I was eager to read this book once I found out about the Dark Tower series. The book immediately drew me in and I soon read the other 3 books that had already been published. The final, 7th book was a Christmas present that I cannot wait to read. The Gunslinger draws the reader into Roland's life immediately, although if you do not typically read Stephen King styled writers, The Gunslinger may be... wierd.
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Summary: A Good Review of a Bad Book
Review: For King- this series is his best.Get all the books in this series.For an Average writer- this is his epoch.
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Summary: Thank You Mr. King!
Review: I really loved the Dark Tower series. The first book was not as good, a bit slow and hard to get into, but King does mention this in his introduction. The rest of this epic adventure was amazing. I loved it...although my husband wasn't happy to have an unresponsive wife for a month (I HAD to read them all!). It was well worth it. I must say that I was a bit disappointed with the illustrations. I wish they had not been included in the hardback editions.
Rating: 
Summary: Strong start but weak finish
Review: I saw somewhere that King wrote the first part of this book when he was still in college. The second part of the book he wrote years later after already establishing himself as a writer. It something I noticed to my regret...
The main character "Gunslinger" in the beginning is mysterious, dark, and cool in a Clint Eastwood Western sort of way. The world he lives in is a puzzle and the man he is after another mystery. This part of the book keeps you turning pages because you can't wait for something else to happen.
Then the second part happens...All of a sudden, the Gunslinger isn't as dark, mysterious, or cool anymore. The Gunslinger character is now more "human" and we now care more about his thoughts or feelings instead of his actions. You sit there and wait for the book at this point to go into page after page about the Gunslinger's past and how it changed him forever. Stuff that happened when he was a kid and BLAH BLAH BLAH.....I was waiting to read that this was taking place in a small town in Maine and that he was a struggling writer a few years past!! Sure I want to learn about the Gunslinger but it could have been done in a similar style as the first part.
Needless to say I gave the next book in the series a try and of course it was more of character development to the point of utter boredom. I stopped half way in as it was just another King snore fest.
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Summary: Just no comment!
Review: Read it!!! ..and ya`ll get hooked onto Dark Tower for a long-long time! As I was... for 10 years. I read Gunslinger in 1995 being 20 y/o... and yesterday (2.10.2005) I finished the last book!!! What a journey! It was just soooo great!
For those, who are just starting with this first book, my personal favorites are #1, #4 and #5, but that by no way means, that one should skip anything!!!
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Summary: Re-reads required
Review: Slow and heavy. You will need to re-read it again and again to fully get yourself into the story. Once you finish reading the Tull part, you will begin your journey.
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Summary: West Hell
Review: The Gunslinger is a great book by Stephen King. I really liked the story behind all the twisting words on the pages. A man who is known as The Gunslinger sets off in hunt for a mysterious man referred to as "the man in black", and finds himself in the presence of a young boy named Jake. Stephen King really gives us a sense of character in The Gunslinger, whether it be from the hard-nosed Gunslinger, the young boy Jake, or the mysterious man in black. When Jake is introduced into the story everything really begins to come together. Before we meet Jake, King keeps the reader guessing at why things are happening in the story. He doesn't take the first few chapters to introduce the characters. He cuts straight to the chase, and begins with the story; we have to get to know the characters as we read the book. I believe that this is what makes Stephen King such a good writer. And if you really like The Gunslinger, there are sequels like Book 2 in The Dark Tower series The Drawing of Three; book 3 The Waste Lands; book 4 Wizard and Glass; and book 5 Wolves of the Calla. The Gunslinger all in all a great book for any mature audience, as well as The Dark Tower series.
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