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Stephen King: The Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger

Any one else actually reading this ??

I finished it at the weekend and will prepare a short review over the next couple of days for the review section ....... my first review so I'll have to consider my words carefully before I expose my unworthy opinions to all you experts :)

Dave B.
 
I read it a year (?) ago, but I can't think of anything worth your whiles to say about it... :rolleyes:
 
I read this in 2001 and loved it. I've subsequently read the next three in the series and can hardly wait for King to write the conclusion.

If you're interested, I wrote a review of The Gunslinger in August 2001. You can find it here,

Dave B, looking forward to your comments and review!
 
I really liked The Gunslinger. Roland, IMO, is a fascinating character that continues to grow the more that you read about him. The whole context of the Dark Tower is pretty cool. I cannot wait until the fall for the new one.

What are your opinions of the concept of the Dark Tower itself. I have debated the idea with friends and I feel that the "lynch pin" aspect is really cool considering the growing Stephen King universe, ie: The Talisman, and the Stand, being part of it.

Opinions?

Mike
 
I read this back in '89 and loved it and the rest of the series I'm happy Stephen King plans on finishing it before he fully retieres.
 
I feel that the "lynch pin" aspect is really cool considering the growing Stephen King universe
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Mike, could you elaborate on what you mean by "lynch pin"?

I've been a Stephen King fan for awhile, but I've only recently begun to see the inter-relationships between many of his works.

Roland, IMO, is a fascinating character that continues to grow the more that you read about him.
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Yes, in the Gunslinger, Roland is pretty much a mystery - yet he conveys a sense of strength and honour mixed with great vulnerability. King does a great job of gradually revealing more and more about Roland in the subsequent books.
 
by "Lynch Pin" I mean that King is actively pulling his entire Universe into this one idea. There are rumors that the Priest from 'Salem's Lot will have some sort of part to play. Off the top of my head, here are some of the works that are tied it:

The Eyes of the Dragon.
Insomnia
Hearts in Atlantis
The Stand
From a Buick 8 (I am willing to bet)
Needful Things
Black House
The Talisman
most King Villians have the initials R.F. (Possibly the same villian in multiple worlds.

I am sure that there are more I just cannot think of them right now. I just hope that he does not go revisionist on us and shoe horn some of his older works into place in this big picture he is trying to make.

Mike
 
I remember reading The Black House and actually laughing out loud with surprise that King brought in The Black Tower references. I felt privy to a secret that only readers of the Tower series could possibly understand. At that time I was grumbling about the fact that King has spent so much time writing other books and not finishing The Tower series. I said a silent thanks to him for at least giving us a hint of things to come. The same with Hearts. I wonder if readers of the series will miss the points he brought up in those recent books, or if King will catch them up.

I've always liked the character of Roland. In the Gunslinger, though, we don't have too much to go on. He seems a bit cold and too determined. He's on a mission and he'll do anything to achieve his goal and nothing will distract him, even if it means letting a child die. We get very little sense of who he is or how he became entangled in this mess. I've enjoyed getting to know him over the years.

We find out very little of the world. We know the world has "passed on", but not much else. It's definitely a first book of a series rather than a self contained novel. What I mean is, the book strikes me as an episode. Certain background elements are left out. Does that make any sense? It's like reading a book set in "our" world and we already know about every day things, so those things are not necessary to bring up. We are to assume certain things. The difference is, in The Gunslinger, we can't assume anything because we don't know anything. Interesting approach.
 
I thought the enitire book read like a series of 'episodes'. I think it's because, as Dawn says, we have so little to go on. King just plunges the reader into Roland's world from one encounter to another.

I remember sort of stumbling along from chapter to chapter, bumped back and forth thinking, "This is familiar - no, that's not right - yes, I see - no, I don't ..." - all the while, completely captivated. It's interesting because, if not handled properly, this technique could just as easily turn readers off.

I haven't read The House or the Talisman, yet - but I'll have to get them bumped up on my TBR list just to find the references to The Darktower.!
 
Originally posted by savage_henry
by "Lynch Pin" I mean that King is actively pulling his entire Universe into this one idea
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You're right, I found this website, and the list of novels with references in them was just... amazing. I really wonder how he's able to keep track of all of it. Wouldn't it get confusing for him as well?
Originally posted by Dawn
The difference is, in The Gunslinger, we can't assume anything because we don't know anything. Interesting approach.
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I always thought that was one of the strengths of The Gunslinger, the fact that our assuming things wasn't limited in any way. It gave you the space to fill in the gaps for yourself and then correct your views later on, which made it always fun to read on, and to keep going.
With every sentence more he wrote, King managed to draw me closer (not only to the Tower, but to the characters as well).
 
I found that website as well, but I was actually thinking of another one here... But I can't quite seem to think of the name or the URL right now. I'll post it as soon as I remember.
 
I can't seem to get into this book. I've only read a few chapters but my heart isn't in it :( I think I'll put it aside and start the next month's book if I can get hold of a copy this weekend...
 
I had the same problem with this book, Darren. It took me several tries to get into it (over a year had gone by!). I'm glad I eventually got through it. The others build upon this first one rather well.
 
Originally posted by Darren
I can't seem to get into this book. I've only read a few chapters but my heart isn't in it
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I had quite the opposite reaction. Once I started, I couldn't put it down - seem to remember reading it in 2 big gulps!

Darren, maybe you didn't like the episodic nature of the chapters? King really does drop you smack in the middle of - well, something - but it's unclear what it is.

As Dawn mentions, it's worthwhile trying again - especially if you plan on reading the subsequent books.

Dave B, any comments? Did you love it, hate it , or were you bored to tears?
 
I read The Little Sisters of Eluria (a short story in a Robert Silverberg anthology) a year before finally getting hold of The Gunslinger. Maybe I could so easily get into the story was because I had read the short story first, had had time to let it sink in and then enjoy The Gunslinger more because it gave me the chance to get to know Roland's world better. At least that's what I think happened.
 
Originally posted by Ell
Dave B, any comments? Did you love it, hate it , or were you bored to tears?
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I liked it a lot, wouldn't say ’Loved’ but I did enjoy it. I found the slow unravelling of the story, background to the Roland character and why he might be pursuing the man in black, via the episodic style, to be quite engrossing. It’s a book that needs to be read in one sitting (or as near as you can manage). I also found it unsatisfying in some respects in that a lot of incidents take place without apparent reason or explanation.

Stephen King states in his introduction that this is a stand alone read but I think not. I would describe it as an introduction to the series. So many things are left unresolved.

BTW, I will write that review ....... just been a bit busy over the last few days

Dave B
 
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