"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

A straight enough sentence, not full of descriptive detail or anything extensively fancy, yet this is the first line of a saga that has captivated King fans (and Sci-Fi Fantasy fans as well) everywhere.

In a world that is unrecognizable - yet very oddly familiar - we are introduced to Roland of Gilead: The Last Gunslinger. Our protagonists goal is simple when we begin - track down the Man In Black. We are unaware of his past, we are unaware of his future -- but it's the now that drives you to read page after page.

This work, which took 12 years for King to complete, doesn't just provide an interesting read, it also lets you gaze upon King's development as a writer. By the time the book is over, you will see things more clearly and find the writing more tangible than when you first started. Watch the development of a master of the genre is a true gift to the reader, and King may or may not be aware that this has occurred within this novel.

You are given numerous flashback sequences throughout the novel. You receive brief glimpses of a past full of light, and then thrust fully into the coldness of the man who the story follows.... A man who has witnessed first hand as his world has "Moved on" to a darker, more disfigured time. Roland of Gilead comes off as a cross between The Terminator, Dirty Harry and any other Clint Eastwood western that you have seen, with coldness that he is far too willing to show - yet there is also compassion... A longing for the relief of the burdens his quest has been laid upon his shoulders. What is his quest? Why is this man following the Man in Black? For further guidance towards his destiny - the Dark Tower...

I believe that this isn't the best written piece of work in the world, but it snared me like a fly into the web of a spider when I read through it all. You saw small glimpses of our modern world within the this bent reality presented in the book... All of this adds up to a highly regarded novel - it draws you in and leaves you aching for more, which King has provided over the years ("The Drawing of the Three", "The Wastelands", "Wizard and Glass" and the short story "The Little Sisters of Eluria").

The quest for the Tower begins here, and I would encourage others to join it.

Recommended: Yes