The Gunslinger By Stephen King In Review

And the Tower is closer...

The Gunslinger is a short story by the well known Horror and Fantasy novelist Stephen King and is the first chapter in his 'Dark Tower' saga. It's a tale of pursuit, obsession and sacrifice. But is it your cup of tea?

Plot Synopsis

The eponymous character is Roland Deschain, a Gunslinger from a forgotten land and traveling across another that seems markedly different to ours but with some similarities with our own dotted across the landscape. He is in pursuit of the elusive and enigmatic Man in Black, the first link in a chain that he hopes will lead him to his ultimate goal, his Holy Grail, The Dark Tower. Along the way he comes across vivid and wild characters. In the town of Tull he meets Alice, a bar landlady whose best days of dazzling her customers and flirting with young adventurers are sadly far behind her. He forges a friendship with Jake, a boy from New York. Through barren deserts and domains of the warped and supernatural he is ever nearing his prey. But as his chase for The Man in Black seems to draw to a close, he is faced with a terrible decision that will define him and his life forever.

In Review

For some reason I passed this book on the bookstore shelf almost constantly for four months or so (I was generally in there every other day), each time nearly buying it and then walking away. For some reason I just didn't know if I wanted to buy it but at last I was drawn to taking the plunge and buying this book. And the very short review is I'm exceeding glad I did.

Be warned, this is not a simple read. King credits J.R.R. Tolkien and his recognised masterpiece 'The Lord of the Rings' as huge inspiration behind The Dark Tower saga and you can see why almost immediately. Just like 'The Rings,' the language in The Gunslinger and found throughout The Dark Tower is just a little altered. It's a hybrid of what we would imagine Knights of Ye Olden Times saying before a battle with a flame breathing dragon and the English language we are used to speaking today. It didn't take me long to grow accustomed to it, but it didn't come straight away.

This is also not a kid's book. There are graphic events described in glorious and vivid detail that wouldn't be out of place in a Tarantino film. From bloody gun fights, detailed sexual yearnings and a scene that can only be described as spectral rape; this is firmly a book for the mature.

But if you can get past the language of the characters which I feel is a great instrument to put you in that world and if you don't have a weak stomach, this is a brilliant piece of Fantasy Fiction.

King creates a central character in Roland that resonates with a part of all of us. Have you ever wanted something so much you considered doing things morally wrong and to commit actions you feel would be against who you are? Take that feeling everyone has had once in a while, magnify it by a billion and then you have the mental state of our Gunslinger. He is that part inside of every decent person that doesn't want to do wrong or hurt anyone but is so obsessed by one part of his life he is constantly being forced to cross his morals, He walks a tight blurry path between good and evil. His conscience and his love for those he hold closest are in constant warfare with his obssession to just take that next step towards his goal. King has crafted a complex hero for us to get to grips with, so real that you're just not sure if you want him to suceed or not or even if you like him or not. This feels totally appropriate and your feelings for Roland are put through an assault course of emotional conflict making him one of King's best central characters.

The background setting is marvelous, it is a combination of scenes from Wild West and zombie movies meshed together with a touch of Arthurian Legend. You can see that King has spent time and a lot of mental effort to forge each and every supporting character. When you meet a new character you truly cannot tell if this will be an important reoccurring companion for you throughout the piece or if they will disappear off the page in a few seconds, often with a gruesome climax. That is how detailed each one of his creations is.

Can you relate and connect with this book? If you're not a fan of fantasy and horror fiction it may be difficult. If you're a rookie for this type of fiction but want to give the genre a try I would suggest reading another book first, perhaps The Stand from the same author or maybe Tolkien's The Hobbit. But I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who can read with an open mind, who doesn't mind when the plot takes fantastical twists and turns which question our understanding of realism.

A final note, if you intend to read The Dark Tower saga, then you MUST read this one first. It is not a series that can be dipped into at parts and dart back and forth, it is written to be read as one long arc. Just like you should never start The Iliad in the middle or watch a series of 24 half way through, you should start with Chapter One here.

The Gunslinger is a masterful work of fantasy fiction. It is a brilliant prologue to a saga as well as a well crafted piece of fiction in its own right. I would recommend it to any adult 18 or over who likes their imagination stretched to the four corners of their mind or who just likes adventure, thrills and spills. It's not just for fantasy/sci-fi/horror fans, anyone who likes tales of pursuit, mystery and a human journey of discovery will find things they'll like here.

The Dark Tower Saga is inspired by 'Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came' by Robert Browning.

The Gunslinger is Volume I. The other volumes are: The Drawing of the Three (Vol. II), The Waste Lands (Vol III), Wizard and Glass (Vol IV), Wolves of Calla (Vol V), Song of Susannah (Vol VI) and The Dark Tower (Vol VII)

The Gunslinger was orginally published in five parts in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction between October 1978 and November 1981. It was first published as a whole by Donland M Grant Publisher. Inc. as a limited edition in 1982 and rereleased in trade paperback by Plume in 1988. It was then reissued with added and changed scenes and language in 2003 to remedy inconsistentcies between it and the subsquent saga.