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maxm17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
And so it begins again. The start of one of the mist epic stories in all time.
antireading's review against another edition
3.0
It's very tricky. Stuck it out cause of my Stephen King challenge and redditors saying it gets easier to understand as you read the series, but this was a struggle. Got 30% in and had to restart from confusion.
tuyu_x's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
lunesoleilciel's review against another edition
2.0
I felt like I should have been on something to really appreciate this book. It felt fairly disjointed and I wasn’t all that invested in what happened to any of the characters. Here’s hoping the series gets better.
chasecassandra's review against another edition
2.0
To begin, I understand why people adore The Gunslinger by Stephen King.
The world is mysterious, powerful, varied, and impossible.
The gunslinger is a worthy hero with mortal flaws, a worthy purpose, and the attitude of an anti-hero.
King's writing is brutal, honest, just plain good.
However, I liked very little of this book.
Many times throughout the book, it felt as if Stephen King had pulled sentences out of nowhere and slapped them down on the page. While I appreciate a narrative that lets me discover the world as the story progresses, nothing in The Gunslinger's world made any sense.
As is true of any Stephen King novel for me as well, despite good writing, I can only take small doses. This short book took me almost two weeks to read because I constantly had to put it down and pick it back up again to give my head a rest in between.
Honestly, the book felt like a waste of time. I recognize that this book is establishing a foundation from which to grow but I have no interest in continuing on. If the first book cannot serve the purpose of hooking the reader, what is the point of doing so much grunt work?
Readers who love high fantasy, abstract worlds, and enjoy a decent amount of confusion in their books will certainly love Stephen King's The Gunslinger. For those that do not love but like these elements but have a lot of patience, I would also recommend this book.
Everyone else should not bother. If you want a Stephen King novel to read in order to get a sense of his style and a good chill down your spine, pick up one of his more famous one-off titles: Carrie,
Pet Cemetery, It, or The Shining.
The world is mysterious, powerful, varied, and impossible.
The gunslinger is a worthy hero with mortal flaws, a worthy purpose, and the attitude of an anti-hero.
King's writing is brutal, honest, just plain good.
However, I liked very little of this book.
Many times throughout the book, it felt as if Stephen King had pulled sentences out of nowhere and slapped them down on the page. While I appreciate a narrative that lets me discover the world as the story progresses, nothing in The Gunslinger's world made any sense.
As is true of any Stephen King novel for me as well, despite good writing, I can only take small doses. This short book took me almost two weeks to read because I constantly had to put it down and pick it back up again to give my head a rest in between.
Honestly, the book felt like a waste of time. I recognize that this book is establishing a foundation from which to grow but I have no interest in continuing on. If the first book cannot serve the purpose of hooking the reader, what is the point of doing so much grunt work?
Readers who love high fantasy, abstract worlds, and enjoy a decent amount of confusion in their books will certainly love Stephen King's The Gunslinger. For those that do not love but like these elements but have a lot of patience, I would also recommend this book.
Everyone else should not bother. If you want a Stephen King novel to read in order to get a sense of his style and a good chill down your spine, pick up one of his more famous one-off titles: Carrie,
Pet Cemetery, It, or The Shining.
djorgenson112358's review against another edition
3.0
A book that probably makes more sense in context with the rest of the series. It's trying to lay ground work with big ideas and just enough background as the story goes on.
erinwoodruff's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
2.0
Very slow and rather confusing. I probably wouldn’t have even finished it if this wasn’t one of dad’s favorite series. I’m hopeful for the next book! With such great reviews this series HAS to get better!