Stephen King and Michael Whelan - Gunslinger

Pros: This revised edition is much better than the original.
Cons: None, period.

"Nineteen's a selfish age and finds one's cares tightly circumscribed. I had a lot of reach, and I cared about that. I had a lot of ambition, and I cared about that. I had a typewriter that I carried from one sh!thole apartment to the next, always ...

Pros: Oddly slow and methodical - and not in a bad way. Fresh & unusual.
Cons: Slow and methodical - may seem bad to some people. Unusual.

An old friend sent me this book as a gift some time ago, calling it "an old friend" of his. It took me a long time to get around to reading it, but now I think I can see why he was so taken with it.

As a note, I'm wavering between four and...

Pros: Thought provoking, entertaining and some strange happenings
Cons: I'm waiting too long for the end

”Do you believe in an afterlife?” The gunslinger asked him as Brown dropped three ears of hot corn onto his plate. Brown nodded. ”I think this is it.” [1] This series, started with the first blank sheet of stiff ...

Pros: Great storytelling by King
Cons: None

For years now I have heard my friends talk about the Dark Tower series. “Oh, it’s so good” and “You shouldn’t miss it” were some of the most well known lectures my friends have been giving me throughout the years but I never ...

Pros: The beginning of the series, the writing
Cons: confusing to some

When people hear Stephen King, they think of stories of incomprehensible horrors, from vampires to the horror of a post apocalyptic world. Rarely, do they think of Roland, the gunslinger, the last of his kind, living in a world that has moved on.
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Pros: an exciting introduction to an epic series
Cons: can be confusing

Stephen King quickly draws us into his epic Dark Tower series with The Gunslinger, a tale of a classic mysterious hero on an serious mission. King combines several familiar story elements to create a completely new place and time. This ...

Pros: unique premise, Stephen King's dark visual prose definitely shines out
Cons: Only an introduction to his epic, not much development in character or plot

The Gunslinger, first of the Dark Tower series, is Stephen King’s foray into fantasy fiction, and while the prolific writer has given us a fair share of novels from all genres, I have to say this one actually makes me wonder if the master ...

Pros: Dark, brooding main character. Mix of sci-fi, fantasy, and western.
Cons: Terse and abrupt writing style. Shallow storyline. Too many stereotypical characters.

I've never been a fan of Stephen King, and my reservations toward his work impeded me from actually ...

Pros: Visionary, beautiful, cool.
Cons: Climax kinda... hm...

The Gunslinger is the beginning of Stephen King's unfinished seven-part The Dark Tower series ...

Pros: Great storytelling, interesting plot
Cons: Slow at parts, confusing

I've read many of Stephen King's other books. I wouldn't call myself a diehard fan of his or anything like that, but I am a fan of his work, his style, and really enjoy reading his books. I first started reading them because I was looking for some good ...

Pros: Great Character Development, Great Storytelling
Cons: Brief plot makes for a short, fast read.

The Dark Tower Series Book IThe GunslingerStephen KingPublished 1982 (Re-Published 2003)“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” – Page 1 The ...

Pros: Good atmosphere, interesting dialogue (when it occurs), unique, great characterization.
Cons: Boring, nothing really happens for long stretches of time.

This book was intended to be a work of great literary merit, and it definitely shows. The way King wrote this book shows that he never meant it to go in the direction the rest of the series went. The Dark Tower series, on the whole, is fast paced, ...

Pros: Excellent descriptive writing, intriguing character, mysterious world, makes you want to read the rest
Cons: You WILL have to read the rest. Unsatisfying on its own, some dull stretches

I have read a few Steven King books over the years, and always regarded him as a skilled, if flawed horror writer. So when I first heard about The Dark Tower, series, one of the reasons I wanted to read it was because it sounded so different from ...

Pros: I was hooked from the first sentance
Cons: Not self contained

Before I start the review proper, I'm going to let you in on the (not so) secret fact, that I am a huge fan of the works of Stephen King, and have read almost everything he has ever written (including some non-fiction). After reading that statement, you ...

Pros: It begins Stephen King's most genius story to date.
Cons: It sets the wrong mood for the books that follow

Seeing as how my age prevented me from experiencing this story when it first hit the shelves, I was one of the fortunate individuals to stumble across the "Dark Tower" series just as the last books were being written, so I had the advantage over many ...