Scan barcode
A review by ojtheviking
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
4.0
3.8 rounded up.
Well, my official journey through the Dark Tower series has begun, and it begins with this, a novel that seems to divide my fellow King fans. I'm a member of some fan groups on Facebook, and when I announced that I was finally getting started on these books, I was “warned” that Volume I is sort of the oddball among them, and that Volume II and beyond is where the real fun starts.
I didn't particularly have any problems with this one, though. It remains to be seen in retrospect how different in tone this is from the rest, but as a complete newcomer to the series, I ultimately enjoyed it. I loved the mix of styles, here. It's like a Western with gun fights and shootouts, combined with fantasy elements such as magic and otherworldly creatures, all wrapped up in a Mad Max-style dystopian, post-apocalyptic setting, with an overall surreal feel to it all.
With that said, it is admittedly a relatively short novel with a storyline that doesn't cover very much just yet, and maybe that's one of the reasons why the rest of the series is considered to be better, as I'm assuming it expands this universe and introduces more characters.
But I have to say, one of the things that excited me the most was finally getting to read the book that featured THAT line. It's been said that an author can consider themselves lucky if they manage to strike gold with a memorable opening line. And the opening line here - “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed” - which not only starts off this volume but is the first line of a (roughly) 4,250-page epic, surely must be up there among the most iconic ones. So simplistic, but it establishes a scenario and a conflict immediately, and urges you to keep reading to find out what this is all about.
Normally, I'd say that if you handed me a novel without revealing the author's name, I could tell from the narration and the descriptions that it was most likely written by Stephen King, because he has a fairly consistent style. But when it comes to Volume I: The Gunslinger, there is a slightly different feel to his narration. I think part of that is because he's writing from the perspective of the titular gunslinger (aka Roland Deschain), and the way they speak within this universe. But I also feel that he intentionally narrated things a bit differently just to put us in the mindset of this surreal, timeless realm in which the story takes place.
Aside from the flashbacks, Roland's name is rarely spoken in this novel, which gives him a certain mystique, similar to Clint Eastwood's nameless characters in the Dollars trilogy. There's a general consistency of mystique throughout the novel in general, such as his age, when this all takes place (past, present, or future compared to our own timeline), and where we are. There is a strange notion that many of the characters can't quite grasp the concept of time, and some display a lack of knowledge as to how they arrived at where they are. Because of this, to me, some parts read as if they are all in some sort of limbo or afterlife, as if they have somehow been transported there from what we consider our own reality here on Earth.
All of this is of course my understanding of the overall story after having just read the first volume. I was a bit unsure whether to do a review now, or wait until I had read the entire series. But I'm thinking that while King was still writing these novels, people didn't have the luxury of giving their complete, after-the-fact impression. Thus, I decided to share my thoughts after each book.
So, as a conclusion here and now, I personally think Volume I: The Gunslinger was a pretty interesting start. And since, as mentioned, there appears to be a consensus among fans that the rest of the series is much better, I am excited to keep reading!
Well, my official journey through the Dark Tower series has begun, and it begins with this, a novel that seems to divide my fellow King fans. I'm a member of some fan groups on Facebook, and when I announced that I was finally getting started on these books, I was “warned” that Volume I is sort of the oddball among them, and that Volume II and beyond is where the real fun starts.
I didn't particularly have any problems with this one, though. It remains to be seen in retrospect how different in tone this is from the rest, but as a complete newcomer to the series, I ultimately enjoyed it. I loved the mix of styles, here. It's like a Western with gun fights and shootouts, combined with fantasy elements such as magic and otherworldly creatures, all wrapped up in a Mad Max-style dystopian, post-apocalyptic setting, with an overall surreal feel to it all.
With that said, it is admittedly a relatively short novel with a storyline that doesn't cover very much just yet, and maybe that's one of the reasons why the rest of the series is considered to be better, as I'm assuming it expands this universe and introduces more characters.
But I have to say, one of the things that excited me the most was finally getting to read the book that featured THAT line. It's been said that an author can consider themselves lucky if they manage to strike gold with a memorable opening line. And the opening line here - “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed” - which not only starts off this volume but is the first line of a (roughly) 4,250-page epic, surely must be up there among the most iconic ones. So simplistic, but it establishes a scenario and a conflict immediately, and urges you to keep reading to find out what this is all about.
Normally, I'd say that if you handed me a novel without revealing the author's name, I could tell from the narration and the descriptions that it was most likely written by Stephen King, because he has a fairly consistent style. But when it comes to Volume I: The Gunslinger, there is a slightly different feel to his narration. I think part of that is because he's writing from the perspective of the titular gunslinger (aka Roland Deschain), and the way they speak within this universe. But I also feel that he intentionally narrated things a bit differently just to put us in the mindset of this surreal, timeless realm in which the story takes place.
Aside from the flashbacks, Roland's name is rarely spoken in this novel, which gives him a certain mystique, similar to Clint Eastwood's nameless characters in the Dollars trilogy. There's a general consistency of mystique throughout the novel in general, such as his age, when this all takes place (past, present, or future compared to our own timeline), and where we are. There is a strange notion that many of the characters can't quite grasp the concept of time, and some display a lack of knowledge as to how they arrived at where they are. Because of this, to me, some parts read as if they are all in some sort of limbo or afterlife, as if they have somehow been transported there from what we consider our own reality here on Earth.
All of this is of course my understanding of the overall story after having just read the first volume. I was a bit unsure whether to do a review now, or wait until I had read the entire series. But I'm thinking that while King was still writing these novels, people didn't have the luxury of giving their complete, after-the-fact impression. Thus, I decided to share my thoughts after each book.
So, as a conclusion here and now, I personally think Volume I: The Gunslinger was a pretty interesting start. And since, as mentioned, there appears to be a consensus among fans that the rest of the series is much better, I am excited to keep reading!