Dark Tower I Volume 1

The Gunslinger

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: George Guidall

“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 readers 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).

Just as good as I remember

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

Nearly Perfect

Love the story, love the pace just not a fan of Mr. Guidall's whiney Jake voice. He's a gunslinger for the man Jesus' sake! Remember the face of your father and show some respect...

Couldn't be more disappointed.

I was reading the critics reviews and usually I LOVE a good Stephen King novel. This wasn't what I was expecting. Basically a dark twist on Lord of the Rings (I love those books), and what I mean by that, is everything took so long to develop, and over descriptions seemed to be useless for sensory input.

The main problem I have with the book is the performance. The narrator sounds like an old man and his voice is very rough and mostly monotonous, which makes it hard to get into. I kept having my mind wander and having to force myself to listen like it was a chemistry lecture. His voice doesn't really fit the plot as I had hoped.

If the rest of the series ever gets another performer I may be interested in seeing how the story plays out in book 2 and 3, but for now, nah.

First timers who didn’t like it should give it a second listen

Lots of people criticize this for being too slow, too weird, too nonsensical, etc. But in my opinion, you have to take into account that that this is the first of several books in a saga. Moreover, this is more literary in nature and requires you to think—it’s not something you should expect to be a “one and done” kind of book. It’s richly layered, and for people who criticize it for being too descriptive or slow because of its literary elements, keep in mind that part of the beauty of this book is its language, imagery, and allusions.

It seems that some people don’t like to linger over language nor do they like to exert the effort to understand or appreciate texts that aren’t immediately obvious or straightforward in their meaning. Maybe I’m different because I spent a lot of time studying and teaching literary works. But I will say that the first time i read this, i felt like a lot of people...it was just weird. But after coming back to the novel again after a few years, I was really enthralled by how deeply layered, carefully wrought, and enchanting the story is.

loved this book

loved this book one of my favorites and I recemed this book to people who like any of Stephen Kings books