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prinsessenora4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Very interesting and well written. Quite slow paced (in my opinion). I liked the complexity of the characters and setting, and the deterministic feel of the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Genocide
nadia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
I was definitely intrigued to start but at some point I got a little bored and distracted and lost my way a little bit — I was also reading this a lot while tired, but you could also argue that the book didn't capture my attention — so then by the end I wasn't sure I'd understood everything I was supposed to! I think it'll all make more sense as I work my way through the rest of the series, which I am definitely keen to do!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Gun violence
lvl52_grant's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is by far the oddest of the series, but sets you up for one of the greatest stories told. A mix between western, fantasy, and horror, King builds up and tears down and builds up again his protagonist, Roland the Gunslinger. He travels through a desert at the end of the world, watching people and places slowly decay, never letting anything prevent him from achieving his goal: the Dark Tower. I first read this book as a 19 year old, a number of importance to the series, but I had never read this second publishing. Some of the newer details felt odd, like sprinkling fan-service-y cameos, but it still sets up the protagonist and reader for their journey to the Tower, answering no questions and asking many.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual content, and Sexism
dovahkiin_shea's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Child death, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Animal death
vermispore's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A really good book if you like Stephan King and can tolerate high fantasy that doesn't explain much right away. Well written and a fun read, but its the kind of book you love or hate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Gore, Violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Pregnancy, Child death, Classism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, and War
diegor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Sarà molto probabile che dovrò tornare sui miei passi per cambiare il voto che sto dando in questo momento al primo capitolo de La Torre Nera. Da non lettore di King il libro si è subito presentato come molto impegnativo da leggere e comprendere, di sicuro non è una di quelle letture che prende per mano e cerca di spiegare quanto più possibile in modo chiaro e cristallino.
Passato questo scoglio iniziale e cambiato approccio alla lettura, lasciarsi trasportare dalla prosa di King diventa immediatamente un’esperienza unica nel suo genere, magari non per tutti, ma certamente indimenticabile per quelli che potrebbero apprezzarla.
Passato questo scoglio iniziale e cambiato approccio alla lettura, lasciarsi trasportare dalla prosa di King diventa immediatamente un’esperienza unica nel suo genere, magari non per tutti, ma certamente indimenticabile per quelli che potrebbero apprezzarla.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual content, and War
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-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
3.5
Not the strongest of the series and I don’t blame people for stopping here and not reading the full thing. That said, I’m glad I had people who told me to give it to Book 3. The Gunslinger may be dry and drag, but the Dark Tower series is fantastic. And I will say this for King - the world building is subtle but fabulous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Murder, Death, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content
allegeadventure's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
3.0
Surprisingly lots of sex and sexuality. Approximately 50% of the pages in the first three chapters make mention of sex or attraction in some form. Which is fine, I was just surprised.
Most women are described breasts first, including a woman that has no physical body. Most women are also begging the main character to have sex with them, despite most being villainous or disliked by the main character. Even the section told from a woman's perspective gives her the single one dimensional motivation of having sex with a man, yet fails to explore why she may be attracted to any man. Clearly written by a 19 year old boy for men with a limited ability to inhabit a woman's point of view as full human persons.
The main character is not only an anti-hero, but deeply unlikeable.
That being said, this book, like many Steven King books, presents some uniquely novel ideas and defies limits of genre. The worldbuilding is fascinating, and despite the poor depiction of women, I am interested in knowing what happens next in the series.
Most women are described breasts first, including a woman that has no physical body. Most women are also begging the main character to have sex with them, despite most being villainous or disliked by the main character. Even the section told from a woman's perspective gives her the single one dimensional motivation of having sex with a man, yet fails to explore why she may be attracted to any man. Clearly written by a 19 year old boy for men with a limited ability to inhabit a woman's point of view as full human persons.
The main character is not only an anti-hero, but deeply unlikeable.
That being said, this book, like many Steven King books, presents some uniquely novel ideas and defies limits of genre. The worldbuilding is fascinating, and despite the poor depiction of women, I am interested in knowing what happens next in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Death, and Child death
Minor: Incest
wager5290's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's the start of The Dark Tower. It stage in tremendously but is definitely a different beat from the rest of the series. Don't cast off the tower on this book alone. If you hate the main character in this book, give the next book (Drawing of the Three) a shot at least.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Death
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.zmac808's review against another edition
Didn’t check content warnings. My own fault on this one, the story itself was highly recommended so I neglected my own due diligence.
Detailed & graphic SA with a firearm. Inserted into pregnant woman as she begs for her unborn fetus’ (demon child but even still) life.
It is entirely plot related and necessary and if you can stomach it, Stephen King is a phenomenal visual writer but I personally can’t handle it to that degree.
It is entirely plot related and necessary and if you can stomach it, Stephen King is a phenomenal visual writer but I personally can’t handle it to that degree.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Suicide, and Gun violence
Moderate: Violence