The Gunslinger

by Stephen King

Paperback, 280 pages

English language

Published Sept. 11, 2013 by W F Howes Ltd.

ISBN:: 978-1-4712-2789-9
OCLC Number:: 987010790

(228 reviews)

In this first novel in his epic fantasy masterpiece, Stephen King introduces readers to one of his most enigmatic heroes, Roland of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner, on a spellbinding journey into good and evil, in a desolate world which frighteningly echoes our own.

In his first step towards the powerful and mysterious Dark Tower, Roland encounters an alluring woman named Alice, begins a friendship with Jake, a kid from New York, and faces an agonising choice between damnation and salvation as he pursues the Man in Black.

Both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike, The Gunslinger leaves readers eagerly awaiting the next chapter. --back cover

73 editions

The Gnome King reviewed The Gunslinger by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #1)

Review of 'The Gunslinger' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Such a tough book to read, not Mr King's best. But it is worth sticking with it, I did enjoy it in the end and once you get past this one the series is amazing. Roland is one of my favourite characters of all time and I can't wait for his cameo appearance in Harry Potter... all guns blazing!

So if you don't like this book, then don't give up on the series, have one more go and try book 2 and you'll see what all the fuss is about.

Michael @ Knowledge Lost reviewed Gunslinger by Stephen King

Review of 'Gunslinger' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

This book has been recommended to me over and over and over again, but I can’t really see why. There are things I do like about the book but there are also a lot I didn’t like. My main issue with this book is I think Stephen King was trying way too hard to write a metaphor and that didn’t really help this book tell a decent story. I’ve been lucky to read a decent western style book recently in [b:The Sisters Brothers|9850443|The Sisters Brothers|Patrick deWitt|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1291999900s/9850443.jpg|14741473], so I think that this book feel really short when comparing the two. The writing style of this book was one of the things I really did enjoy, King’s prose were bleak and matched the book style perfectly, I was just never sucked in completely.

chriskirk reviewed The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger by Stephen King (The Dark Tower I)

Review of 'The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

King too often relies on vagueness to create mystery and suspense. But it is nevertheless a memorable tale, epic in its stark images of decay and solitude.

Shack70 reviewed The Gunslinger by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #1)

Review of 'The gunslinger' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I absolution love the Dark Tower series. I read it once several years ago and got the itch to do so again. I can't believe how many things from the other books in the series are laid out in The Gunslinger. The Dark Tower series is definitely worth reading more than once. I Can't wait to read [b:The Drawing of the Three|5094|The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2)|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165517583s/5094.jpg|2113248] next!

Jesper Hauge reviewed The Gunslinger by Stephen King (The Dark Tower, #1)

Review of 'The Gunslinger' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Stephen Kings take on a epic adventure novel, in the form of a cross between The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Alice in Wonderland, modelled after The lord of the rings.