The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) by Stephen King

Horror Author Home > Stephen King > The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1)
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1)
buy The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) by Stephen King at Amazon

Release date: December, 1994
Media: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 0451160525

A Great Start

"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! - an Amazon customer review

sitemap |