Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

21 reviews

pkc's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I think the key to getting the most out of this book is to to pretend like you’re listening to a friend recount the dreams they had the night previous. That’s the level of abstract oddness you can expect, mixed in with a heady dose of action, classic King gore and flawed characters. In short, I LOVED it can’t wait to read the rest of the series. Though, I do hope the rest of the books are a bit less abstract. I’ll take weirdness any day of the week, but fleshed out weirdness please.

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eggyleggy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

very very good! a little slow at parts

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angelfoodcakes's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I find the world building and characters of this book really intriguing, even if I found the plot a little confusing. I thought the ending was beautiful and bittersweet.

My main issue is this is very much from Stephen King’s era of writing where he has to put excessive detail into how he describes every female character’s boobs.

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sharebear431's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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bluejayreads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

I am not the biggest Stephen King fan. He’s definitely a good writer, but I’m not very into the horror genre and that’s what he’s famous for. I didn’t know what this book was about going in or even if it was horror or not, but one of my friends has been going on and on about how awesome this series is and I figured I might as well give it a shot.

I have yet to see a description for this book that actually says much about what the book is about, instead of something like “the first volume in King’s magnum opus” or some other such praise that tells me nothing about the story. The story is about the gunslinger, whose name we later learn is Roland, tracking the mysterious “man in black” across a desert wasteland. Along the way he reflects on his past and tells some of his story to people he meets, so you slowly put together some of his backstory, what this world is, and why he’s chasing the man in black, although the book ends before the puzzle is anywhere close to complete.

That’s really all there is to the plot. Roland is traveling across the desert wasteland and we the reader get stories and flashbacks to orient ourselves to the world (and the characters, to a point) as we go. Even the mysterious Dark Tower that gives the series its name doesn’t get mentioned until the end and I have no idea why Roland wants to find it so bad. I actually have very little idea about Roland himself – the book contains a lot of things that he did or that happened to him, but very little about who he is as a person. He kept his thoughts and feelings tightly under wraps and that prevented me from connecting with him as a character. I didn’t dislike him, but I didn’t know enough about him to like him, either.

The Gunslinger grabbed me right out of the gate with questions: who this gunslinger is (he doesn’t get a name until quite a ways in), why he’s chasing the man in black, who the man in black is, and whether the gunslinger is just traveling through a desert or if the whole world is some apocalyptic desert wasteland. But then it doesn’t make much of an attempt to answer the questions. Even though it’s long enough to be a complete novel, the whole book feels like the first bit of a longer story – the part where the protagonist may have a goal but everything is relatively normal, and the reader is getting oriented to the world before everything goes sideways and the plot starts. I have to imagine this was intentional and Stephen wanted to make the whole series feel like a single story split into multiple volumes, but it was absolutely bizarre to read a whole book that felt like a beginning. It technically is a self-contained story, but the whole book had a feeling of waiting for the plot to start.

If I was just reading on my own, I probably wouldn’t continue the series. This book was reasonably interesting, but it wasn’t enough to grab me and leave me begging for book two. But I had a great time discussing this book with my friend, and my library has the whole series on audiobook. So I’ll probably read book two eventually, if for no other reason than discussing it with my friend.

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ggcd1981's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

TRIGER WARNING: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual Assault, Miscarriage, Child death, Violence, Sexual content, Misogyny, Objectification of female characters, Murder

Eu comecei The gunslinger com baixas expectativas, pois eu vi vários Booktubers tendo problemas com esse livro. Além disso soube que o próprio Stephen King, em edições posteriores a primeira publicação do livro, escreveu uma Intro meio que se “desculpando” pelos problemas do livro. Dessa forma eu não tinha grandes esperanças para o início da série The dark tower, mas como todo o meu projeto para ler King foi para ler esta série, eu prossegui. Para minha surpresa eu gostei. Não é ótimo mas a escrita e história de King foram interessantes e originais o suficiente para me entreter, mesmo nos momentos “estranhos” e “viajados” da narrativa. Acredito que depois de 3 livros e 1 conto posso afirmar que gosto da escrita de King. The gunslinger é o terceiro livro do autor que leio (por enquanto não tenho um preferido) mas a leitura de The gunslinger foi mais fácil e fluída que Eyes of the dragon ou The stand. Posso dizer até que gostei dos momentos mais “viajados” (e houveram diversos) pois a escrita flui. A cena inteira em que Roland confronta the dark man e contempla a criação do universo e a possibilidade deste ser apenas um átomo numa folha de grama em um universo maior foi extremamente complexa porém nenhum pouco maçante, fluiu perfeitamente e foi bastante intrigante.
Não tenho muito o que dizer em termos de pontos negativos ou positivos pois este é apenas o livro introdutório da série (apesar disso foi nada informativo sobre o universo da história). Como pontos negativos aponto apenas: a objetificação dos personagens femininos, que nesta primeira obra existiram apenas para serem sexualizadas; a violência gráfica contra animais (este é sempre um gatilho para mim); e a total ausência de explicação a respeito do universo da série The Dark tower, dos personagens e os papeis que desempenham (ler esse livro é como começar um filme pela metade). Os pontos positivos até o momento são: como já mencionado a escrita de King; os personagens são bastante intrigantes (Roland, Jake, The dark man), são mistérios a serem descobertos; O mundo e história são tão inesperados e misteriosos para Fantasia ou terror que é inevitável querer saber o que raios está acontecendo e porquê.

Em geral gostei da obra e continuarei com a série. Apesar dos problemas apontados é um sólido 3.75 estrelas.

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btrz7's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

Very confusing. To see if it gets better in the next one.

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bites_of_books's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Updated review Jan 2022:

Yeah, still hard to rate this book but I did get more out of it the second time around. I understood more of the Dark Man since I'd just read The Stand a few months prior. Lowered the rating to a 3.75 from 4. Many parts are very unnecessary and others definitely read like a teenage boy wrote it.

‐----------‐------------

Huh... right, I'm supposed to give this book a number of stars... Uh.. well, let's see...

Yeah, I think it gets a solid 4 stars just for the world building aspect of this book. I mean how did King think of this?! It's trippy and strange and disorienting, but at the same time you get the feeling of the dimensions of this world, which actually ends up bigger than anything out there.

The main character is mysterious, Roland is a man who has definitely been through a lot in his life. At first you don't really know is he's "good" or "evil", and it all got rather muddled the more I read. In a good way! Roland is a complex character who carries the weight of his past on his shoulders, he wants to hope for a better life but knows better than to actually fully jump into that hope.

I don't give it that last star because the pacing seemed off at times, like it was cut and pasted together a bit haphazardly. There are parts that flow really well and really suck you into the story, and others that are so choppy that it's distracting.

All in all, I do look forward to reading more about Roland's journey to the Tower, and seeing all the mysteries that will unfold.

Content Warnings

permanentlei's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is my second time reading this book and I was drawn up into the story just like the first time.

The book is confusing for sure, but I like confusing. I don't mind not understanding everything that's going on. I enjoy getting tidbits and facts that have absolutely no context because it could connect later or it couldn't but it adds something to the characters or the worldbuilding.

This story has a place in my heart. Roland is such an interesting character to me and I hate him but I don't. For what he did to Jake, poor John Jake "There are other worlds than these" Chambers. For going and going towards a goal no matter what. I don't understand him but I want to follow his story.

The world, and the concept of being a blade of grass in someone else's world which is a blade of grass on another, interests me. I want to know more.

I'm planning to follow Roland's story this year. I want to see this world, and this story and these characters, expand. Whether I understand Roland's motivations or not (cause I don't). But I got to know where this is going.

UPDATE THREAD (spoilers) BELOW:

February 16, 2021

Started Reading

February 16, 2021 – page 32

Interesting world. Interesting characters. Interesting lore.

February 16, 2021 – page 74

Roland really and truly went blam blam blam. Wow

February 16, 2021 – page 79

Oh no I think this man bout to meet Jake again and I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE HE DID THAT TO THIS LIL BOY

February 16, 2021 – page 85

"I don't like people. They fuck me up."
- John "Jake" Chambers.

boi, same

February 16, 2021 – page 93

He is too young to have learned to hate himself yet, but that seed is already there; given time, it will grow, and bear bitter fruit.

First of all this is a personal attack. Please loose me.

February 17, 2021 – page 104

It occurred to him later that this was when he began to love the boy - which was, of course, what the man in black must have planned all along. Was there ever a trap to match the trap of love?

February 17, 2021 – page 132

February 17, 2021 – page 135

Time's the thief of memory.

Another attack on my person.

February 17, 2021 – page 146

His teeth felt strange in his head, tiny tombstone set in pink moist earth.

EW EW EW EW i hate this imagery why

February 17, 2021 – page 178 %

"Neat, huh?" the boy said, and his voice was full of loathing. The silence was deep. Roland could hear his organs at work in his body, and the drip of the water, and nothing else.

The mental separation between Jake and Roland when Roland catch he feelings for Jake despite knowing he gonna kill him soon was so sudden and complete for a moment I didn't even realise Roland wasn't calling this boy Jake no more.

February 17, 2021 – page 179

February 17, 2021 – page 178

So I pretty sure I deleted all of my progress on this book

February 18, 2021 – page 218

Sometimes Roland refers to Jake by his name and it also catches me off guard cause his mind separated him to the boy. Which shows that Roland's feelings for Jake is stronger than his foolproof mind.

And he still gone let his young boy go. Muddoe.

February 18, 2021 – page 222 88.45%

"Go there. There are other worlds than these."

Jake words be so powerful man."

February 18, 2021 – page 222

..he twisted his head back, for a moment in his agony striving to be Janus - but there was nothing, only plummeting silence, for the boy made no cry as he fell.

ROLAND, HOW YOU DO THAT.

Bey I still as mad and as angry as the first time I read this. I still can't BELIEVE, but then I also can cause that's who Roland is but wow bey wow.

Let's hear it for Jake tho cause he truly is that one. Not a single sound.

February 18, 2021 – page 243

I hate hate hate reading things that theorize that the world and universe itself is small and just a part of a larger whole, a blade of grass in someone else's universe which is a blade of grass in another person's universe. I don't need to be thinking this hard.

But a fascinating concept nonetheless."

February 18, 2021

Finished Reading

Content Warnings

lou_o_donnell's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

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