Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

11 reviews

theenglishphan's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I didn't understand the point of this book at all until I started the next book. Not sure I would reread as the next book starts with a really clear recap of this book. 

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efrancart's review against another edition

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dark
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

0.5

Raunchy and gross. Good ideas within about
afterlife and death
but def the worst Steven King I’ve ever read. It feels like the gunslinger is sexualizing the 10-year-old boy. He’s just so beautiful 🤮🤮🤮 of course this was after he used his gun as a dildo on a woman but was careful not to touch her secret flesh. I swear. I just. No. 

No idea why this book and subsequent series is held in high regard. 

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raginsagein's review against another edition

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

1.5

First real foray into Stephen King, and I wasn’t terribly impressed. 

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axeltheredpanda's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.5

Overall a very good book! I found it a little challenging to read (very flowery text) but that’s likely due to me only reading one book in the last ten years and only just coming back to reading.

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dovahkiin_shea's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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gbyronwilliams's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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knightzach's review against another edition

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The plot was somewhat interesting, but I could not ignore that extreme abundance of anti-Christian imagery and themes. The book seems to appeal to the lowest base instincts of fallen man--plenty of senseless gore, sex, and "religious weirdos" tropes. The grit and crudeness could be excused if it was done so in a higher narrative purpose, but it didn't deliver. After finishing half of the book, it simply wasn't worth it to finish.

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moonlitemuseum's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This book was incredible at putting me to sleep. I would turn on the audiobook (which is beautifully narrated by George Guidall) and let the blandness seep into my body like warm water. There is a lot of indescribably stupid and callous edgelord garbage in this book, which I enjoy on occasion, but it never feels anchored in anything that matters. Roland is a cipher. The women in the book, when they do appear, are there to have sex with or be bible-thumping harlots subject to sexual violence. Jake, probably one of the world's first Isekai protagonists, is a delight—King's strength is in the modern day, with modern things and modern landmarks—but even he feels curiously flat when Roland is using him as an emotional tether.

I really love King books, for the record, and I so want to like this book. His sprawling fantasy. And I do plan on reading the next one. But boy, this was rough. I just finished it and I barely remember anything about it. (I am going to request it from the library again though. Fantastic sleep aid!)

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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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captainboring's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75


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