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Lyn's Reviews > The Gunslinger
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)
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An intriguing book, it draws the reader in little by little.
It is fantastic, imaginative ... but inconsistent. Amid moments of brilliance there are also islands of abstraction so murky, almost Kafkaesque in absurdity, that I could not follow. But it is interesting enough that I will probably read the sequels.
Of course that is another detraction, this book does not stand alone but leaves the reader with many questions unanswered. Fun questions that lead the reader to seek further, but a work of literature should be able to be read alone (with obvious, but genius exceptions!). The ideas of alternate realities and worlds within worlds are very interesting and King may be uniquely qualified, as a literary descendant of Lovecraft, Matheson and Blackwood to pull it off.
****2015 amendment******
"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed." The iconic opening lines have stayed with me for a couple of years and I find myself thinking about this series, and more specifically, what have I missed? Hundreds of thousands of people love this series and I am left on the outside looking in. I think when I first read this I was put off by the purely fantastic setting, but now, maybe three years after I read the first, I am ready to return and give this another try.
** 2018 - This series brings out so many mixed emotions from me. When I first read this, I thought I'd missed the boat and was going to be on the outside looking in. Years later I started the rest of the series, but I take these books slow. I like / love / dislike his writing here, but keep coming back. I just started Wizard and Glass, the fourth in the series, almost nine years after reading this one. So I'm reading on the pace of how he published these!
It is fantastic, imaginative ... but inconsistent. Amid moments of brilliance there are also islands of abstraction so murky, almost Kafkaesque in absurdity, that I could not follow. But it is interesting enough that I will probably read the sequels.
Of course that is another detraction, this book does not stand alone but leaves the reader with many questions unanswered. Fun questions that lead the reader to seek further, but a work of literature should be able to be read alone (with obvious, but genius exceptions!). The ideas of alternate realities and worlds within worlds are very interesting and King may be uniquely qualified, as a literary descendant of Lovecraft, Matheson and Blackwood to pull it off.
****2015 amendment******
"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed." The iconic opening lines have stayed with me for a couple of years and I find myself thinking about this series, and more specifically, what have I missed? Hundreds of thousands of people love this series and I am left on the outside looking in. I think when I first read this I was put off by the purely fantastic setting, but now, maybe three years after I read the first, I am ready to return and give this another try.
** 2018 - This series brings out so many mixed emotions from me. When I first read this, I thought I'd missed the boat and was going to be on the outside looking in. Years later I started the rest of the series, but I take these books slow. I like / love / dislike his writing here, but keep coming back. I just started Wizard and Glass, the fourth in the series, almost nine years after reading this one. So I'm reading on the pace of how he published these!
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Reading Progress
January 10, 2012
–
Started Reading
January 10, 2012
– Shelved
January 16, 2012
–
Finished Reading
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Toby
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rated it 4 stars
Jan 02, 2015 06:44AM
You didn't read on past this one originally? I got thoroughly engrossed after this until Wizards and Glass and now I'm wondering about not continuing.
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Tfitoby, thanks for the comment, you know, I really wanted to like this, and there were parts that I did, but after I finished … just meh.And yet, I continued to think about it and have noticed all of the really smart people whose reviews I enjoy reading going on about how great it was and think I am ready to try again.
Also, for whatever reason, my tastes in books have strayed from the science fiction to the fantasy / horror end of the spectrum, so, I am anxious to jump back in.
I didn't read past this one either when I first read it a decade or two ago. I read it again a couple years ago and meant to continue on because I enjoyed it a lot more the second time around. but still haven't continued on with the series, sigh. one of these days I guess.
Thanks, Mark, I'm going to read his recent work Revival and then the next in this series, that's the plan right now anyway
Funny just finished last one (although I hear their is another out of sequence written in 2012)Enough in it to keep you reading with interesting concepts. ( including laughing yourself to death as a horror concept) King has a talented and strange mind indeed. The Gunslinger concept drew me in but it went every where. Certainly worth the read but long long long and long
I love The Gunslinger and the whole series. the only King books I favor more are Desperation and The Regulators, which are the same story told two different ways.
Only thing of King's I haven't read. I have perused a few short stories he's done that exist in this world and not thought much of them.The weirdness of the world, the lack of anything to anchor me as far as expectations has always left me flat.
I may be totally wrong on this but the impression I get from these books are that they are like Gene Wolfe's Executioner series in some ways. I did read the latter and enjoyed them but a little went a long way.
John wrote: "Only thing of King's I haven't read. I have perused a few short stories he's done that exist in this world and not thought much of them.The weirdness of the world, the lack of anything to anchor ..."
John, you nailed it for me right there, nothing to anchor me. I learned later that there were breadcrumbs left to help us find out way, but it took a while.
I have yet to delve into this and its list of follow-ups. However, I did read. "The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole" which is a side part of it really and not a sequel-proper, and I did enjoyed that quite a bit.
I keep putting it off after I read maybe the first several pages; it just seemed a bit cliched? Funnily enough, I was sorting through my book collection yesterday and placed this on top of pile for another attempt.
I'll read them all eventually
I finally got to all of these last year and have to say it was not exactly what I expected but got into it well enough to trudge through. It is quite an ambitious work as a whole. A 40 year project from a very prolific author.
Great review, Lyn! Have you watched the movie too? I saw the trailer the other day and didn't like it.
Thanks George, I have not
Gunslinger is my favorite western.
never heard of this one by King. thanks!
I agree Lyn, and I will say that I just re-read the book, and having read the entire series now, this story makes so much more sense and was just that much more brilliant.
I may re-read this too
The series is actually worth it....up until book 5 where the series kind of collapses on itself. I stopped halfway through Book 5 and haven't continued.
The start of the series is one of the best openers I’ve ever read IMO.
I always considered this series as less than the sum of its parts. So many cool ideas; such a poor combination of them.
Yeah I like the books and I’m drawn to the series but...
I read this particular book and thought it was innovative and intriguing. I started the second one and had enough after 7 chapters. I have not revisited it and do not intend to for quite a while. The film version that stars one of my preferred actors Idris Elba was so mediocre it made me cross.
I seem to read these years apart
