• The Dark Tower I

  • The Gunslinger
  • By: Stephen King
  • Narrated by: George Guidall
  • Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (38,970 ratings)

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The Dark Tower I  By  cover art

The Dark Tower I

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: George Guidall
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Publisher's summary

“An impressive work of mythic magnitude that may turn out to be Stephen King’s greatest literary achievement” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), The Gunslinger is the first volume in the epic Dark Tower Series.

A #1 national bestseller, The Gunslinger introduces listeners to one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations, Roland of Gilead: The Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which mirrors our own in frightening ways, Roland tracks The Man in Black, encounters an enticing woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the boy from New York named Jake.

Inspired in part by the Robert Browning narrative poem, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” The Gunslinger is “a compelling whirlpool of a story that draws one irretrievable to its center” (Milwaukee Sentinel). It is “brilliant and fresh…and will leave you panting for more” (Booklist).

©1993, 2003 Stephen King (P)2003 Penguin Audio and Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"An impressive work of mythic magnitude. May turn out to be Stephen King's greatest literary achievement." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

"A compelling whirlpool of a story that draws one irretrievably to its center." (Milwaukee Sentinel)

"Brilliant, fresh and compelling - will leave you panting for more." (Booklist)

Featured Article: The Best Dark Fantasy Audiobooks


If your favorite genres are fantasy and horror, and you can't get enough of terrifying scenarios with high-stakes action, then you need to explore the winding world of dark fantasy. When the mystic, magic, and incredible world-building of fantasy are combined with elements of grim horror and the supernatural, the result is something truly pause-resistant. But with such a rich variety of titles to choose from, it can be impossible to know where to begin. We've rounded up the best dark fantasy listens that explore chilling settings, morally grey characters, and twisting plots alongside dark magic.

What listeners say about The Dark Tower I

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23,131
  • 4 Stars
    8,933
  • 3 Stars
    4,375
  • 2 Stars
    1,502
  • 1 Stars
    1,029
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    24,175
  • 4 Stars
    6,995
  • 3 Stars
    2,565
  • 2 Stars
    639
  • 1 Stars
    488
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20,297
  • 4 Stars
    7,277
  • 3 Stars
    4,359
  • 2 Stars
    1,613
  • 1 Stars
    1,218

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

LIKE A DULL AX THROUGH A CALF'S BRAIN

Y IS A CROOKED LETTER AND CAN'T BE MADE STRAIGHT
This recording, which replaced the old recording is, I believe the same, old recording, only with King's introduction taken out. An intro in which King said he did not know where this series was going. For me that showed big time in the feel of the story. I enjoyed the first chapter which was, more of a novelette. After that, the story is told mostly in dreams and remembering. Even the first chapter is Roland telling his story to another man.

DO SOME MEN EVER GROW UP OR ONLY COME OF AGE?
This series has a huge following, but it is more for those who like descriptive language, dreamy wild scenes, but no plot. If horror was a main subject and not a sub of fiction, this would be under Weird Western. Joe R. Lansdale and Jack Ketchum write in that genre a lot. This story was just a little too abstract for my taste.

LONG DAYS, PLEASANT NIGHTS
Guidall is the father of narrators and one of the best still. He makes the story better.

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263 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Abrupt Ending...

No Spoiler: This book was better than I imagined it would be. Of course, you will find some disturbing images, but overall, it was less vulgar and better paced than I expected a King novel to be. As usual, he introduces characters, but takes his sweet time to develop them. I had tried to read this before but was bored with it until I saw the movie trailer and that prompted me to give it another try and having the knowledge it involved sci-fi items and having faces with the characters really helped me enjoy this. The only thing I didn't like was the abrupt ending. I understand now that this was a series of short stories in the beginning and I see why it was that way, but I wasn't prepared for no closure or answers at the end. The narration was really well done and I listened at 1.5X speed to save some time. If any of this was helpful, please click YES below. Later.

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221 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not great

What disappointed you about The Gunslinger?

This book was one of the most boring things I have ever experienced. I toughed it out because everyone said how great the series is. I almost quit several times because it was so slow. I did enjoy book 2 more than this one, so I'm glad I got through this. It was rough.

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186 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite book.

This is the first book of Stephen King's Magnum Opus. It is a combination of spaghetti western, occult, and science fiction all tied together by romantic and philosophical ideals.

It is very short and gets very dark at certain points: this paired with the wonderful narration of George Guidall is why I believe all should give it a listen.

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134 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I almost quit couple of times.

At no point of the story I felt that I cared too much for the protagonist. I felt that the novellas with backstory were meant to tell me something, but the whole point was lost on me.

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133 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Too Strange

just too difficult to follow the storyline. Perhaps I will get the next book to see if I can catch on. Performance was excellent.

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113 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • G
  • 06-08-17

Just as good as I remember

Loved this book decades ago and it still holds up. Can't wait for the movie version!

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109 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • Tq
  • 06-02-17

This book made absolutely no sense

All I know is there is a guy and another guy and some stuff happened. Least entertaining book I've listened to ever.

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106 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Worst book ever

This is the worst book I have ever heard. Boring and stupid. I can't believe I bought it.

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95 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Did it enjoy this book

Was not able to get hooked on this book, and couldn't see myself reading the rest of series

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95 people found this helpful