Title: The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower Series)
Author: Stephen King
Date Of Version Reviewed: 2012
Publisher: Hodder
RRP: £7.99
ISBN: 9-781-444-72344-1
What the book is about…
Stephen King introduces readers to one of his most enigmatic heroes, Roland of Gilead, The Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner, on a spellbinding journey into good and evil, in a desolate world which frighteningly echoes our own. In his first step toward the powerful and mysterious Dark Tower, Roland encounters an alluring woman named Alice, begins a friendship with Jake, a kid from New York, and faces an agonising choice between damnation and salvation as he pursues the Man in Black.
There is a world that harks back to the days of Tolkien… a world where you travel days in the wilderness in hope of finding civilisation at the end of the arduous journey. A world of gunslingers that reminds me of the wild west movie of the 1960s. King blends old school fantasy with some aspects of the world today, combined with the idea of a multi-faceted universe that engulfs everything within a grain of sand or the cell of a piece of grass. The whole thing could have been overwhelming but King works this style of writing perfectly; something that surprised me given his ‘small world’ style in novels such as It.
One of the strong points of King’s style is his ability to mesh the past and present into a coherent, structured tale. There are many authors who are unable to jump back and forth in time and make it meaningful but King has this style pinned down. If you are looking for classic King with a slight twist this novel is for you. Although his primary reputation is that of a horror writer this novel uses some of those ingredients without veering so far into horror territory that he loses the thread or meaning of the story.
I really enjoyed Jake as a character and found him endearing and relatable. That said, Roland the Gunslinger is less likeable but maybe this is by design, I have yet to read any of the future novels in the series. We get a bad-ass, gun-toting hitman in some instances whilst at other times Roland becomes someone who is conscious of how his behaviour will impact the wellbeing of others in the end. This gives an image of the character being three dimensional though King never quite makes the distinction that can lead to ambiguity. The main thing that I find is that the character is fallible; finding his way in a lost and broken world. This is gritty characterisation.
The action scenes are reminiscent of a good movie; peaks and valleys with down time in between. I would like to say to catch ones breath but the action does not sufficiently provide the pulse elevating excitement that it could have done though the scene with the villagers attacking Roland had it’s moments. There were also some semi-Freudian sexualised moments – including Roland going to master-bate having looked in on his mother and her partner in her bedroom – but this is not explored fully and wonder why it was included at all.
Final Thought… I really wanted jut a bit more from King here. It was like the teaser trailer for a movie that has been hyped to the max but when you get there you get only just enough to want more. It was as though the novel was solely intended to give us an idea of the character with giving little in the way of plot. It produces some good potential though the Jake situation definitely felt flat and I would have preferred a longer term relationship to have developed between he and the Gunslinger.
What the folks at GoodReads said…
“In the end, The Gunslinger unfortunately did not meet my expectations… It’s certainly not a bad book, but there’s no possibility of it becoming a favourite of mine either. I only hope that the Dark Tower series as a whole is as good as the legend says.” Markus 3/5
“What do you get when you mix the epicness of Tolkien, exalt in the cool of ‘The Good The Bad and The Ugly,’ are partial to Arthurian legend, and possibly (some have suggested) have overindulged in too much weed? You get The Gunslinger – the first book in Stephen King’s Magnum Opus, The Dark Tower Series.” David Sven 5/5
” I would assume they get better after the first book but really the first volume sapped any incentive to read further. Maybe later.” Zan G 2/5
“The rich, relatable and broken characters; the unfolding world that seems recognizable, but isn’t; poignant writing – I love good stories, and this is the start of a series I think I am going to really enjoy.” Brian 4/5
” Fantastical, apocalyptic, western – what a roll-up of genre. Powerful imagery follows Roland’s hunt and vexing scenes are hard to forget in the tragedy of Tull. Due to dryness and not having as much invested in the story or characters yet, my rating for this one isn’t as impressive.” Erin 3/5
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