This series is a favourite of my husband’s, but I’ve never ventured into it before. I’ve only read two other Stephen King books before – Thinner which scared the heck out of me, complete with nightmares, and Different Seasons, a collection of short stories, two of which were the basis for the films Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption. I’ve also seen many of King’s horror film oeuvre, and while I enjoyed some of them, none were enough to drive me to the books. I’ve had a copy of The Gunslinger in my tsundoku for ages, and even started on it once years ago, but never got stuck in. Recently, we started the audiobook of this one on a rainy Sunday afternoon, and I enjoyed what I heard enough to make me rummage out my book. I’m also motivated by my book project with another friend; that one is tending to more science fiction and fantasy novels than I’ve previously explored before, and this fits in with that nicely.
The Dark Tower world of the titular Gunslinger (Roland) is both earthly and separate, suggesting either a difference in time or dimension (I think the latter, as I understand there’s some crossing of dimensions in later stories). Roland is on a quest for the Man in Black – no, not Johnny Cash, that’s our world – who is a quasi-priest or -wizard who did something dastardly to the Gunslinger’s family. Crossing a vast desert, we learn through his travels that the world has decayed or declined slowly but within living memory, and most people live in bleak and desperate circumstances. There are mutant creatures everywhere, but except for being creepy, they don’t pose much of a threat (unless they outnumber you). Throughout the journey we learn more about Roland’s past, as well as the mysterious boy he encounters along the way. In the end, which is really the beginning of the saga, he confronts his quarry but it’s clear he has a long way to go for resolution and redemption, and his ultimate goal – reaching the Dark Tower.
The story and writing are very good – page turning and complex enough to keep you guessing as things move along. There are plenty of shocks, surprising twists, and open ended stories that keep you guessing and reading. King is exceptional and building characters of depth and mystery that are also understandable, and here has created a world that is familiar enough to believe and fantastic enough to see as quite different and scary. The people who survive in the Gunslinger’s world are hard, mean by necessity, and almost all tragic.
I will likely read the next one in this series, but not right away. I can see the potential to get pulled into the full series (8+ books that get longer and longer as the series moves on) and I think pacing myself rather than binging will be more enjoyable and less distracting from the many other books in my pile.
Fate: of course, I’ll have to keep this one for reference when I start the next one someday. When that happens, this one can likely go to the little book library.
I, too, greatly enjoyed The Gunslinger (and The Dark Tower series). Reading them as they came out was fun but agonizing – with sometimes years passing before the next book was written.
rclr 
I, too, greatly enjoyed The Gunslinger (and The Dark Tower series). Reading them as they came out was fun but agonizing – with sometimes years passing before the next book was written.