You have to read the whole series

books:


	• The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) Stephen King Plume, 2003 - 264 pages average customer review:based on 531 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Not Free SF Reader

Guns, sorcery and more.

Here is what Stephen King wrote in the afterword for this book, in the early eighties:

"The foregoing tale, which is almost (but not quite!) complete in itself, is the first stanza in a much longer work called The Dark Tower. Some of the work beyond this segment has been completed, but there is much more to be done -- my brief synopsis of the action to follow suggests a length approaching 3000 pages, perhaps more. That probably sounds as if my plans for the story have passed beyond mere ambition and into the land of lunacy...

...

"Most of the other poems had fallen out of my consciousness in the period between, but that one, gorgeous and rich and inexplicable, remained.., and it remains still. That poem was "Childe Roland," by Robert Browning."

A strange story that has another world, lower technology, with the feel of a dark western, yet people from our world are able to cross and become characters, as Roland, the Gunslinger, trails a sorcerer to his destiny after the death of his father.

Really good, eerie and sometimes horrific stuff here, with possession, murder, decay, and monsters.

The five stories that make up this collection are:

Gunslinger : The Gunslinger - Stephen King
Gunslinger : The Way Station - Stephen King
Gunslinger : The Oracle and the Mountains - Stephen King
Gunslinger : The Slow Mutants - Stephen King
Gunslinger : The Gunslinger and the Dark Man - Stephen King

Shooting up the town.

5 out of 5

Remember the demon bits.

3.5 out of 5

Prophecy, gates and a Dark Tower.

4 out of 5

Hawk trials and handcars.

4.5 out of 5

Readings and revelations.

4 out of 5

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Imagination Galore

I love to read a variety of different scifi's and this book is as original as the wireless kindle :) King is very discriptive, which inevitably slows the storyline a bit, but rightly so. I do tend to prefer plots that move at a faster pace, however, I do like the artsy side; painting a creative world with words. This only works with a very good imagination... which is not easy to pull off. I don't know about anyone else, but I am using the dictionary lookup feature on Stephen King books/novels more than most others. I'm def. expanding my vocabulary. On to book 2, I have a feeling the next one will be even better.

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Hail Gunslinger

The first book in the Dark Tower series recently got a facelift from Stephen King, in an effort to make it more consistent with the latter books in the series. Even so, he was not able to greatly improve on an already outstanding novel, and a raw, dark, disturbing beginning to the phenomenal Dark Tower series. The book is disjointed, as it was originally written as a serial, but the overall flow of the book is very good and very gripping. Some feel that this book doesn't fit well in the series as it is so different. I won't argue with that, but it does set the tone rather well, I think. With this book, you'll read what is one of the best opening lines in modern literature, and meet Roland the last Gunslinger of Midworld as he begins his epic quest for the Dark Tower. Awesome read, highly recommended to all, but keep in mind that this book and the whole series is rather atypical of most of the rest of Stephen King's work. But don't let that stop you from giving it a try. A real dark, fun read.

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I want more

"The Gunslinger" and "The Drawing of the Three" are probably the best of the series. Some of King's best work, especially from a writing standpoint. But I do want more, like maybe a prequel series that isn't a graphic novel or a rewrite of the 5th and 7th books, which both had moments, but in the end left much to be desired. Villains have to be bigger and badder then the protagonist, and they were until King emasculated two baddies (Crimson King and Randall Flagg/Martin) that not only ruined the Dark Tower series but a host of other King novels that they are connected to. If they are that weak as villains, why should I be afraid of them?

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You have to read the whole series

When I read this book, I actually thought that it was written by "another" Stephen King....someone that was using Steve's name to capitalize on his popularity. After reading the series, I am amazed by how it all comes together.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

"An impressive work of mythic magnitude. May turn out to be Stephen King's greatest literary achievement." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

"Brilliant, fresh, and compelling...will leave you panting for more." (Booklist)

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