Page Count:  315

Author:  Stephen King

Publisher:  Signet/Penguin Group

ISBN:  0-451-16052-5

Category:  Fiction

Genre:  Drama/Sci-Fi(?)

Dove's (Personal) Review:  "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." What a great first line, huh? That one line immediately sucks the reader in, forcing us to ask ourselves, "Who's the man in black? Who's this gunslinger fellow?", and "Why the hell are they running around in the desert?"
     For years, as a reader, I've avoided King's Dark Tower books like the plague. My first excuse was, "Well, I don't want to start reading them until he finishes all seven of them." Once King actually did that, my excuse changed to, "Well, everyone I know who's read them says The Gunslinger sucks." And, honestly, seven novels is a lot to commit to when you suspect the first book isn't that great...
     It took King approximately 20 years to write them all, and it took me about 25 years to finally sit down to read them. I haven't been to Barnes & Noble in months to pick up anything new, and all the books in my apartment have already been read. So, out of pure desperation to read something, I slid The Gunslinger off my "Stephen King Shelves," blew the dust from it, and begrudgingly sat down to read.
     That was last night. Tonight, a little less than 24 hours later, I finished it. I didn't read it so quickly because it was a great book. I read it so fast to simply get it "out of the way," in order to start the next one which I had heard was a much better book. As I sit typing this, I sure hope that's true!
     The Gunslinger wasn't "horrible," as I had suspected, but it wasn't "great" either. It does answer those three initial questions, though it does it in a rather long-winded way...
     Who's the man in black? His name is Walter, but we don't find this out 'til the end of the book. My initial interpretation was that he was some sort of "devil" or "demon" with [black] magic powers. Later, I perceived him as a sorcerer with some kind of "mental hold" over the gunslinger. Is he evil? Is he a murderer? We really don't know for sure, but we're led to believe that. Does he die? Supposedly, but I'm not positive he's really dead. I have a feeling he's gonna show up in the other books that follow.
     Who's this gunslinger fellow? His name is Roland, and he's obsessed with finding the Dark Tower. What's the Dark Tower? I have no idea yet. Why is he obsessed with it? I have no idea yet. Those questions will be answered later, I hope...
     Roland is an interesting guy. I've come to think of him as a Western-type gunslinging cowboy, similar to Wyatt Earp, but he lives in a different time, a different age, a different world. We eventually come to find out that Roland's quest to find the Dark Tower began twelve years ago. His journey - so far - has taken him across a desert, and below mountains... and, during his travels, he managed to slaughter everyone in a town named Tull, he befriends a boy, Jake, who he later sacrifices, he battles with Slow Mutants, and eventually comes face to face with the man in black.
     Why the hell are they running around in the desert? 'Cause that's the path the man in black took. Roland believes the man in black is the key to finding the Dark Tower. The man in black travels across the desert, below mountains, heading for the coastline of their world, and Roland tracks him the entire way, following close behind.
     The last scenes of The Gunslinger involve a final confrontation between Roland and the man in black. The man in black shuffles a deck of Tarot cards, as he prepares to read Roland's fortune. Seven cards must be drawn from the deck. The first two cards drawn we, the readers, understand. They are explained throughout the book. The first card, the Hanged Man, signifies Roland. The second card, the Sailor, signifies the boy, Jake, whom Roland sacrificed for the Tower.
     The remaining five cards are yet to be explained in the books that follow... The third card being the Prisoner. The fourth card, the Lady of Shadows. The fifth card, Death ("yet not for Roland," says the man in black). The sixth card, the Tower, the man in black places on top of the Hanged Man card. We don't know the significance of this yet, but it hints at the fact that Roland will make it to the Dark Tower at some point. The seventh card, Life ("but not for Roland," says the man in black).
     After the "reading," the man in black instructs Roland to "go to the sea," which lies twenty miles west. Once there, Roland will "be invested with the power of drawing." The man in black informs Roland he "will draw three," but along with Roland, the readers have no idea what this means.
     Roland then wakes up (has all this been a dream? We don't know) to find that ten years have passed. His hair is thinner, grayer, and his face is lined, the skin rougher. The man in black is still there, but he's been reduced to nothing but a pile of bones. Strange, huh?
     Following the man in black's instructions, Roland heads west to the sea. The next time we "see" Roland, he's sitting in the sand on the beach, contemplating his future, the rest of his journey to the Dark Tower, and what the drawing could mean. The book ends there, but the story continues in book two, "The Drawing of the Three."
     All in all, The Gunslinger wasn't too bad. Kind'a boring in certain parts, kind'a cool in some parts, and utterly confusing in others. At least it's behind me now. The "worst is over," as many King fans have exclaimed upon finishing this book. I'm looking forward to "The Drawing of the Three." I've heard it's one of King's best...
     We'll see.