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A review by dirk_bannion_author
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
4.0
This is the first volume of what finally became the Dark Tower series.
I have to say that, if I'd run across this book early in my Stephen King fan days, I would probably have been fairly disappointed. It's a bit dry, a bit contrived, all-in-all not up to the standards of the few novels that proceeded it in King's repertoire.
But, fortunately for me, I never tried reading any of the Dark Tower series until it was "complete". (I put that in quotes because the 8th book was supposed to be the end, but a "prequel" of sorts called [b:The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel|12341557|The Wind Through the Keyhole A Dark Tower Novel|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328001524s/12341557.jpg|15678889] just landed on my To Read list... :)) And so, viewing it strictly as the introduction to what evolved into a truly beautiful, exciting and satisfying epic fantasy series, The Gunslinger holds up just fine.
That being said, I still only gave it 4 stars because I'm guessing that, given the chance 30 years later, King would probably go back and make it much better.
I have to say that, if I'd run across this book early in my Stephen King fan days, I would probably have been fairly disappointed. It's a bit dry, a bit contrived, all-in-all not up to the standards of the few novels that proceeded it in King's repertoire.
But, fortunately for me, I never tried reading any of the Dark Tower series until it was "complete". (I put that in quotes because the 8th book was supposed to be the end, but a "prequel" of sorts called [b:The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel|12341557|The Wind Through the Keyhole A Dark Tower Novel|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328001524s/12341557.jpg|15678889] just landed on my To Read list... :)) And so, viewing it strictly as the introduction to what evolved into a truly beautiful, exciting and satisfying epic fantasy series, The Gunslinger holds up just fine.
That being said, I still only gave it 4 stars because I'm guessing that, given the chance 30 years later, King would probably go back and make it much better.