Hey everyone! Today’s post is a guest post from Indyman from Indycritic.com. A huge thank you to Indyman for reading and reviewing The Gunslinger and I hope you will all enjoy his perspective on the book. Indyman has assured me that this is a spoiler-free review, so if you haven’t read the book yet, no worries! Let’s get into it.
In the first book of this series, Stephen King introduces readers to one of his most enigmatic heroes, Roland of Gilead, The Last Gunslinger.
Book Description of The Gunslinger by Stephen King
He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which frighteningly mirrors our own, Roland pursues The Man in Black, encounters an alluring woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the Kid from Earth called Jake. Both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike, The Gunslinger leaves readers eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
Review: [NO spoilers]
‘… Where the world ends is where you must begin…’
I mean, where do I even start with this? Well, firstly, ‘The Dark Tower’ by Stephen King is one of those series that I wanted to get into since quite some time, but just hadn’t managed to do so for some or the other reason. It’s one of the most popular epic fantasy series out there, and having watched the movie – ‘The Dark Tower’ (2017) starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey (it was decent and quite enjoyable to be honest), I was eager to read the source material (which is apparently WAY different than the movie!). I was definitely skeptical though given the nature of the first book – ‘The Gunslinger’, which has been dubbed as strange, confusing, and as being “not the best start to a series”. But the opportunity finally beckoned when Eliza very kindly accepted my request to do a guest post for her blog. And for that, I would really like to thank her from the bottom of my heart.
“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.“
This is one of the most famous/iconic opening lines of a book… like, ever! Don’t tell me you haven’t heard it before!
The foreword by Stephen King himself is actually very nicely written as well, I must say. Without going into too much detail, he definitely made me curious about starting the journey for the Dark Tower. Here’s a brief excerpt from the same –
“More than anything else, I wanted to tell a tale of wonder. If you find yourself falling under the spell of the Dark Tower, even a little bit, I reckon I will have done my job, which was begun in 1970 and largely finished in 2003. Yet Roland would be the first to point out that such a span of time means very little. In fact, when one quests for the Dark Tower, time is a matter of no concern at all.“
Aren’t you intrigued? I most certainly was!
Alright then, let’s dive into it!
The gunslinger, Roland Deschain of Gilead, is the last of his kind. He is desperately chasing a person referred to only as “the man in black” across a harsh desert which seems to go on for eternity. The latter is seemingly a sorcerer, and a quite dangerous and tricky one at that. The hardpan is no easy place to navigate, or to pursue your nemesis who is still seemingly quite the distance away. The “devil-grass” is the only companion with the gunslinger, but Roland is content and determined to hunt down his quarry at all costs. How long can he keep up in such challenging conditions? Just when things start getting much more difficult, Roland comes across a dweller named Brown, and his scrawny raven (who can talk, of course) named Zoltan. The gunslinger decides to seek some respite, and Brown offers him a place to rest for a while, along with providing for food and water. In exchange, the gunslinger narrates the recent, horrifying past events of not too long ago…
“The gunslinger was not a man to dwell on the past; only a shadowy conception of the future and of his own emotional make-up saved him from being a man without imagination, a dangerous dullard.“
Through his pursuit across the desert hunting the man in black, Roland had passed through a town named Tull hoping to get some information on the sorcerer, and also try and gather the details of the desert land and whatever that stretched beyond. Being an outsider, he was not well received by the townsfolk. After befriending Alice, Roland eventually starts to learn about the man in black’s “actions” in Tull, and how the whole town seems affected by it all. But answers won’t come easy for the gunslinger. What’s the deal with the number “Nineteen”? What really transpired when the man in black visited the town? Was all of this none other than one big “trap” laid by the trickster? Tull and its small number of residents have their secrets, and the gunslinger is about to find out in the most shocking and deadliest of ways possible…
The events that unfolded in Tull, and their subsequent consequences on everyone involved, including on the gunslinger himself, are… let’s just say “unfortunate”. Roland is desperate to move on though, and he bids his thanks and farewell to Brown (and Zoltan). The dusty land is endless and unforgiving, and Roland is not only running out of resources, but also out of time… quite literally. His sheer grit and determination are the only things keeping him on track as the supplies exhaust themselves. Is this really how it ends for Roland of Gilead, the last gunslinger? Seems like fate has other plans though, as he surprisingly stumbles across an abandoned way station, and a kid named John Chambers aka Jake from New York City. Fearing that this might be another one of the men in black’s “traps”, Roland is hesitant at first. But slowly and steadily, the duo begins to get along and trust each other. Jake can’t remember much from his past or how he got here in the first place. Looking to find a way out of all this, they both decide to embark on a quest across the lands in search of some answers… What is the black-gray bulk that is “The Dark Tower”? Why is it so integral and important when it comes to… everything? What are the secrets of Roland’s past, and why is he looking to seek the Tower? What part does the man in black have to play in all of this?
“The Tower. Somewhere ahead, it waited for him – the nexus of Time, the nexus of Size.“
What follows is a long and equally dangerous journey for the duo across the desert land, the mountains, and underground caves in pursuit of the man in black. There are obstacles and threats that await, and the bond between the two will only grow stronger throughout. The path is not easy, and they will encounter “the Oracle”, and the bloodthirsty “Slow Mutants” along the way. Can they brave all the odds and finally catch up to the man in black? Will Roland find the answers he has been long searching for?
Get ready to Join the quest for the Dark Tower…
What did I really like about it?
- First and foremost, the writing. It is SO good! I mean, when the author is none other than Stephen King himself, you don’t expect anything less.
- The characters, albeit not being too many, are pretty well written. Roland’s past is present in quite some detail throughout, and it certainly adds a layer not only to his character, but also to the plot in general.
- The settings, be it the desert, the town, the mountains, or the caves – everything is vivid, and really put forth is a great way.
- The plot/story is quite confusing to say the least, but what it does manage to do is drag you in, and leave you wanting for more. By the end, I was most certainly both intrigued and curious to know more about this world!
- The ending gets a “little bit” philosophical in some ways. It was something that I was totally not expecting whatsoever, but I liked it nonetheless.
What was not quite up to the mark?
- The plot. The less I say, the better! You need to read it for yourselves to find out! After the first 100 pages, this was my honest reaction – “What the heck is going on?!” Like honestly, it was not at all how I was expecting it to pan out. Definitely caught me by surprise, must be said. And even by the end, you are none the wiser as to what is actually happening?! As I’ve said just above, I’m not the biggest fan of how it all panned out, but it certainly left me wanting for more.
- The pacing can get a bit slow at times, and the sub plots/plot elements can get more than a little weirder at places. And although that didn’t drag me away from the story itself, it just felt a bit “eh?” on occasions.
Some quotes that hit
- ‘Go then. There are other worlds than these.’ [I’ll be honest – when you have the context of this, it most certainly hits hard…]
- ‘The greatest mystery universe offers is not life but size. Size encompasses life, and the Tower encompasses size.’ [This snippet is just a teaser of what’s to come!]
Note: There are mature themes present throughout; NOT suitable for younger audiences.
Final thoughts
Overall, ‘The Gunslinger’ was a wild ride by all means. Dark, adventurous, and a bit strange and weird at times, yet unique and captivating nonetheless. By the end of it, I was most certainly looking forward to delve deeper into the world, and join the quest for the Dark Tower! The writing is top notch, the characters are pretty well-written, and the plot is intriguing and equally engaging to say the least, albeit being not that easy to follow. The settings are vividly displayed, and the descriptions are nicely put forth too.
As someone who has watched the 2017 motion picture, and now having read the first installment, trust me when I say this – the book is totally and utterly different than the movie! Now I get all the backlash and criticism the film received upon release (and quite rightly so!).
Nonetheless, the book was definitely not an easy read, especially when you as a reader have loads of questions that need answering. As mentioned, the writing carries the book, and the plot is confusing in more ways than one. People say that ‘Gardens of the Moon’ [#1 of the ‘Malazan Book of the Fallen’] by Steven Erikson is a difficult, confusing, and a crazy read especially as a starting point of an epic fantasy series. I’ve read it last year itself, and I thoroughly enjoyed it to the fullest! ‘The Gunslinger’, on the other hand, was a much more “challenging” read than that for me in all honesty.
But ultimately, it did manage to achieve the goal Stephen King had mentioned in the foreword – hook the reader in the world, and make sure they join the journey… the quest for the Dark Tower. I’m more than looking forward to diving into the sequels, and as I’ve heard many people say, it just gets better from here on!
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It’s Eliza again, just popping in to say thanks again to Indyman for sharing his thoughts on The Gunslinger! I’ve also been curious about The Dark Tower series since I watched the movie with Idris Elba and it was great to read another perspective on the book. If you’d like to check out more stuff from Indyman, visit his website, find him on Twitter, or check out his Linktree.
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