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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. This is arguably M r. King's one shot at literary greatness, and if the other five or six volumes arfe anything like this one, that bid for fame will fail. King already has his immortal stories, though in THE STAND and THE SHINING. Foget screwups such as Jake talking about his mother and then using "he" to describe her actior. Where writers such as C. S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, and Barre create whole other universes, King has chosen to keep us nailed to the cross with the planet Earthj. Better King should leave earth alone. What's wrong with N arnia, the Rabbit Hole, or Never Never La nd? Nothing! I think Steve either doesn't know why he's been so p-opular or he has forgotten it, It is the CHILD inside that King brings us to, the Dudits, the Danny Torrence, and big loveable chidren like "M-O-O-N. That spells Moon and that's my name." Jess is this first book is not a child, at least he doesn't act like one. He knows his death will come if he is with the Gunslinger, yet he goes blithely onwarfds. Sure, he is scared now and then, but this child knowing the above would simply disappear. (  ) andyray | Nov 7, 2009 |  I'm not normally a Stephen King fan, but evidently I enjoy his horror style more when it's set in a world not our own. Since this is the first in a 7 book series, it is largely an introduction to the character, but by the end of the book I was totally sucked into the world. There are plenty of King-like scares in the meantime to keep your interest piqued. This is definitely a gritty, wild-west type book, which happens to be a style I enjoy. For my extended review, check out my blog: http://wp.me/pp7vL-40 (  ) gaialover | Nov 4, 2009 | The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed... 'The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger' is the first volume in Stephen King's Dark Tower series, the story follows the Gunslinger's pursuit of the Man in Black across the desert. Although the story is not actually one-hundred per cent clear about what it is telling, I thoroughly enjoyed it for some mysterious reason, it had just a certain aspect about it that I couldn't quite grasp. The book felt as though I was sleeping and watching a dream, it was that smooth a read. Yeah, okay fair enough nothing actually did happen in the Gunslinger but King's writing seemed to keep me drawn in, the actual title itself (Dark Tower) didn't appear to be related to a Gunslinger apart from Roland's mentioning of the tower drawing closer every now and then... In this book, we see the appearance of Randall Flagg as the Man in Black, a sorcerer who has appeared in several other King novel's (Eyes of the Dragon, etc). This is what i love about Stephen King, he manages to connect his fantasy world to all of his other novels that are set on the Earth's plane. The Gunslinger was the first King novel I had ever read, I plan to read the other six volumes of Dark Tower very soon, I will review them too. ( )1  JordanLangston | Nov 2, 2009 | One of King's best. I love the ending of this book, it's is absolutely amazing. (  ) Anagarika | Oct 30, 2009 | I finished it, but did not like it. There is no real story, just a stream of conscience and the endless quest theme that I have never liked. It was barely good enough to finish, but not good enough to draw me into the rest of the series. (  ) lindawwilson | Oct 25, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
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| Book description |
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King writes both a new introduction and foreword to this revised edition, and the ever-patient, ever-loyal "constant reader" is rewarded with secrets to the series's inception. That a "magic" ream of green paper and a Robert Browning poem, came together to reveal to King his "ka" is no real surprise (this is King after all), but who would have thought that the squinty-eyed trio of Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach would set the author on his true path to the Tower? While King credits Tolkien for inspiring the "quest and magic" that pervades the series, it was Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly that helped create the epic proportions and "almost absurdly majestic western backdrop" of Roland's world.
To King, The Gunslinger demanded revision because once the series was complete it became obvious that "the beginning was out of sync with the ending." While the revision adds only 35 pages, Dark Tower purists will notice the changes to Allie's fate and Roland's interaction with Cort, Jake, and the Man in Black--all stellar scenes that will reignite the hunger for the rest of the series. Newcomers will appreciate the details and insight into Roland's life. The revised Roland of Gilead (nee Deschain) is embodied with more humanity--he loves, he pities, he regrets. What DT fans might miss is the same ambiguity and mystery of the original that gave the original its pulpy underground feel (back when King himself awaited word from Roland's world). --Daphne Durham
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:00 -0400)
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