Lornographic Material

The Man Called Noon meets The Fellowship of the Ring, by a nineteen-year-old horror author.

This is the third time I've read THE GUNSLINGER. The first time, I was young, younger than I like to remember, and a great deal of this book was lost on me. The second time I read it was in 2004, after King finished the series by releasing the final three books in a marathon sprint. My views of the second read and this read-through are about the same. I have a clear favorite in this series, and one book in particular that I loathe, but those two books will remain a secret until I reread and review them.

You've either read this book, or you haven't. You're either going to read it, or you're not. There's nothing I can say about book one to change your mind. King curb-stomps George R. R. Martin in the writing department, and honors Tolkien where world building is concerned. Sorry, but those are the only two fantasy authors I have read, so I don't have much to go on. One stone-cold fact remains: This is the ONLY fantasy series I've been able to reread. I have read THE HOBBIT several times, but I have no need to delve back into LORD OF THE RINGS again in this lifetime. 

THE GUNSLINGER has always been a four-star read for me. It's a wild trip which bounces all over the place between young Roland and middle-aged Roland. The ending is about as anti-climactic as erectile dysfunction, but that's King for you. He knew, even back in 1970, that he had six more volumes to write, and THE GUNSLINGER wears that fact on its sleeve. Still, although I have issues with some of the storytelling elements herein, THE GUNSLINGER has one of the most intense, action packed scenes I've ever read. The battle of Tull is exquisite in its brutality, and I never fail to weep for Allie, or perhaps I'm crying for Roland and what he must do to "save" the bartender/whore.

19... 

Knowing what I know about the rest of the series, I find that what happens to Jake never really struck a chord with me. Even before I read THE DRAWING OF THE THREE and later books in the series, I figured Jake's story was not finished. 

God damn, it's hard to write a review of this book without giving away spoilers...

Anyway, what makes this book good is the world building. The reader feels as if they've lived in In-World and Mid-World all their lives. You know Roland. He's your long-time friend, and you root for him. Even when he disappoints you, you still care for him. Even while he's massacring an entire town to save his own hide, or betraying the trust of his companion, you can sympathize with him. 

In summation, you should only read THE GUNSLINGER if you plan on reading the next six books (seven if you count THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE) in The Dark Tower series. It's nothing more than a 300 page prologue to a grand adventure filled with dark secrets, thrilling adventure, and a massive world populated by flesh and blood characters. The ending is gorgeous, but lacks finality, as one would expect from a first in a series.