The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Stephen King's epic fantasy series, The Dark Tower, is being made into a major movie starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. Due in cinemas February 17, 2017 USA.

In this first novel in his epic fantasy masterpiece, Stephen King introduces listeners 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 listeners eagerly awaiting the next chapter.

And the Tower is closer....

©1982 Stephen King (P)2003 Penguin Audiobooks

stick with it and be rewarded

As a king story i found the story and format a little hard to take at first, but then slowly i started to grasp Kings story however by the time i finished it i was a bit non plus by the whole thing and doubted i would continue with the other books in the series. That all change as i listened to the second instalment. All fell into place and i was so happy i had struggled through the first book. It becomes a fantastic story one of kings best. so if you find yourself saying" what the" half way through stick with it and you will be rewarded with a tale that will resonate long after the last page has been digested

Awesome reading pleasure

The narrator is the same one from Dune and it was perfectly suited for the dry arid desert setting. I loved his voice. It made for easy listening.

punchline- nothing much happens

book is a long set up of characters for sequel. Nothing much happens. Long periods of (to be fair eloquent and beautifully written) passages where people talk but nothing is resolved

Awesomness

Narrator fits the western type of this story. I like how the story progress slowly but still manages to hold the readers interest.

A Surrealistic Western that almost feels familiar

Have you ever wanted so badly to be part of a hype, just to discover that while others are going crazy about it, you are left out in the cold? The first book of the Dark Tower series makes me feel that way. I really want to be in on the joke, but I just can???t find the punch line.

???The Gunslinger??? is a story containing a mix western, fantasy, horror, blood and gore, fantasy and just plain weirdness. Roland of Gilead, the main character, is a sort of serious Cowboy Don Quixote on an obsessive quest, to catch the mysterious, possibly demonic, ???Man in Black.??? The story is set in a universe akin to ours with references very similar to ours, like ???the man Jesus??? and certain holy days. Yet it soon becomes clear that the story is not set in our world or in a typical wild western environment.

At times it feels that the story cries against all logic. I found Roland to be someone quite difficult to identify with. The way he kills of the whole town of Tull, even his sex partner, Allie, as well as the awkward ???relationship??? that he had with a nine year old boy called Jake are bizarre. Do I understand Stephen King correctly; Roland???s love for the boy was more than just parental love? It is disturbing, to say the least.

At the end of the book you do have an idea what a gunslinger is. You will have realised that Roland is the last gunslinger and that his obsession with catching the ???Man in Black??? against all costs, actually points the ethereal Dark Tower. The listener is left with more questions than after the book, than before.

George Guidall???s interpretative reading was fair. I am not sure if it is Stephen King or Guidall???s way of reading that made me feel detached from the story. I found that I had to re-listen certain parts of the recording to try to understand the story, yet for most of the time I followed Guidall???s reading easily.

Taking into account that this is the first book in ???The Dark Tower??? series, I shall also listen to the second book hoping I will discover the punch line and become part of the hype. But so far, I have mixed feelings about the book. I have learned that you could find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow if you persevere. This I hope is true in the case of ???The Dark Tower??? series.

I am not sure who the proposed readership of the book is, which also makes it difficult to evaluate the content. I suspect that Stephen King has set the table sufficiently for more to come. It is with hesitation that I laud the book.

Another king journey book

I was surprised how good the Gunslinger story was. This initial book of the series sets up the story of The Dark Tower and it's significance for Roland our hero. As with other King novels the battle of good against evil emerges with a blurring of boundaries. The reader is able to recognise that not all good is "good". Positioned thus the reader then can choose to continue Roland's journey. I think I will continue with Roland and see what becomes of him.

nice

great book. liked it much. king is really a master of his craft :) also extra words for 20 word quota.

Fantastic riverting story, terrible narrator.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I can't say I would change anything about the book, but rather the narrator. Other than that, the book might be a little slow to get into, but it makes it worth your while in the end.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Roland, he's the gunslinger, duh?

How could the performance have been better?

The performance could've been much better if George Guidall didn't have such a thick southern accent that made it nearly impossible for you to understand what he was talking about. The thing about audio books is that hey help you imagine the scene that's happening in the book, by somebody telling you it, but I could barely comprehend what he said.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No, absoloutely not. I do not think this book would fit well to the big screen.

Stick With It - Believe in Stephen King

I found the main character so dark and melancholy that I wondered how I could possibly read a series of seven books with him as the lead. The story was dismal with nothing more than trial and tribulation. I reserved my opinion of this first in the series until I had read the second book which I had purchased at the same time.

The reason for my perseverance was my faith in the immense talent of Stephen King. If he calls this is magnum opus then I trust him to bring his usual storytelling brilliance to the fore. I am so glad I continued on the journey because things changed dramatically shortly after starting the second book and now the first book is making more sense.

I recommend that if you find this first book an ordeal because of its misery and darkness stick with it - it will be worth it. Trust Stephen King to give you a experience to remember.

Great beginning of the fantasy saga

What did you love best about The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger?

This is where the journey of Roland of Gilead, the last gunslinger, starts. The reader follows the gunslinger in his chase of the man in black and the mysterious Tower in a dreamy, deserted world that 'has moved on'. This world resembles the Western movies but at the same time it is different, somewhat magical, and much darker.
I really enjoy King’s storytelling, his attention to detail, and strong character development. Roland is a solitary character and also a survivor. Roland is not a very likeable character, as he seems quite cold, and distant to others. He is able to make sacrifices without blinking an eye, if that is required for his purpose.
The audio version is great, even though I prefer Frank Muller's version (currently out of print). I'd recommend this book is for all who enjoy a good and original dark fantasy story, and for those who want to read an different story by the Master of Horror.