Roland of Gilead starts his eternal quest (The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower - Stephen King)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower - Stephen King
Date:	20/12/08 (139 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Intoxicating read

Disadvantages: Very confusing at times

Many authors have embarked on what they see as their ultimate works, usually in the form of a lengthy tale, a saga of epic and memorable proportions. One of the most renowned authors in the literary world, who usually writes in the field of horror, is Stephen King, and for many years he plotted his ultimate works, which we now know as The Dark Tower. Publication of these works was completed in 2004, as the seventh episode was published, but for us, it started in 1982 with the limited edition copy of the first book in the series: The Gunslinger.

Upon release of the mass market paperback of The Gunslinger in 1988, King's works started an immediate cult following. The book had experienced a hubbub of interest throughout the middle part of the 80s, but is considered to be a bit of an anti-climactic start of what turns out to be a fantastic series of books. The Gunslinger first introduces us to Roland of Gilead, the gunslinger of the title, and we soon learn of quest to reach the Dark Tower. As part of his overall quest, which is further explained in the later books, Roland is pursuing a character known only as The Man In Black across a desert, ever in the distance, following his trail as he trecks past a Way Station and the sinister town of Tull.

It is important to be careful when reading this book, and allow yourself to just accept what is being presented to you. If you start expecting a conclusion and an explanation to the events in this book, then you will most likely be disappointed at the conclusion. It must be noted that the book is the first in a carefully plotted and very long saga, and as a result it must be treated as such.

As we follow Roland's path across the desert, in harrowing conditions, excellently explained and detailed by King, we get a true feel of the character before us: a determined man, the last gunslinger. To give us a picture of the man, he is likely a cross between Clint Eastwood's The Man With No Name, and Viggo Mortenson's portrayal of Tolkien's Aragorn. And indeed, it is important to note where King's inspiration for writing the series comes from. A foreword in the more recent updated version of The Gunslinger explains how a young Stephen King was so enamoured with Tolkien's Middle Earth saga in The Lord of the Rings, that he wanted to write his signature saga almost immediately. The patient side of him held back for a number of years, waiting for maturity and a clear mind from Tolkien before doing so.

The result seems to project patience beyond belief, giving us a slow and careful introduction to Roland's quest, to reach the far off Dark Tower. As yet, we are unsure as to the significance of the Dark Tower, and the first in his series of seven books merely deals with an isolated chapter of Roland's quest, and the importance of him catching up with The Man In Black.

While this can be incredibly frustrating and confusing, what it does do is give King and us as readers a very good chance to explore the character of the last gunslinger, Roland himself. Gunslinging is more of an art, something that we may find close to the accuracy experienced in such lavish cinematic productions such as 'The Matrix', or more recently, 'Wanted', to show just how skilled gunslinging is: every bullet hits the mark exactly as is intended.

Roland's character is a very determined one, and the difference between him and the Man In Black is immense, with Roland's arduous trecking in completely adverse conditions in complete contrast to the mocking and apparent ease of travel of his adversary. It is almost a hopeless quest for Roland to catch his target to learn more about the path he must take to get to the Dark Tower, but just when hopes are nearly lost, along comes another character, surprisingly in the form of the young 11 year old boy, Jake, whose combination of innocence and shrewdness appears inspiring to Roland, who takes the boy as a travelling companion, sure in the knowledge that he is somehow important to the quest.

Exploring this element any further in this review would no doubt spoil it somewhat: safe to say that Jake does play a part in this and further episodes in the saga, and it appears that everything King brings into the story has relevance and importance that we will only know when the time comes.

In terms of writing style, I found the book quite arduous and confusing. Due to the descriptive nature of the book, it was slow going for me. The story itself is surprisingly short, a mere 200 pages or so, although the copy I have is the more recent revised edition and contains nearly 300 pages of entire text, inlcuding the first couplr of chapters of episode two of the saga, entitled The Drawing of the Three. 200 pages was enough for me: any longer and this intrinsic and curious introductionary chapter would have been more disappointing. As it is, it is confusing enough, but as I have already mentioned, it is important to regard it as the first part of a long story as opposed to expecting some form of closure and a definitive ending.

King has created a world seemingly in the midst of fantasy and reality. Despite references to the Beatles' 'Hey Jude' and consistent passages which relate to the world as we know it, there is no doubt that Roland is travelling through a world steeped in fantasy, and this is the magical side of the book that King lets us see. The combination of fantasy and reality adds to the interest, and made me want to read on to the second book, and ultimately the end, to pursue Roland's quest to the end, and although I found it a hard read at times, I was amazingly curious and determined to further my understanding of the entire saga. I had a certain element of confusion as Roland himself was unsure of why he was on this quest! He is seeking the Dark Tower, which will provide ultimately the answers to the questions he needs answering. The confusion comes in that Roland doesn't even know the questions yet!

While King's motivation for this book clearly comes from The Lord of the Rings, the main character and his quest comes from a Robert Browning poem, where the poet describes Roland and his approach to the Dark Tower. It is enticing enough, that an author more renowned for his horror writing than anything else, should take a poem and his love for a classical fantasy series and create his own twisted fantasy saga: a quest for one man that he cannot do alone, and is intoxicating to read.

Fans of Stephen King's work must expect something a little different in subject matter, but the writing style is very much King's. The length of the book may be short, but the length of the entire story, all seven excerpts, will not surprise: the author is known for writing long books. I highly recommend taking the time to read this book and to continue with the saga if you feel it is just a disappointment. It is very important to keep in mind that The Gunslinger is an introduction and the first part of a quest, and that is how we as readers must regard it: a quest to read to the end, which I am sure will be something special.

The seven books in the series are:

The Gunslinger
The Drawing of the Three
The Wastelands
Wizard and Glass
Wolves of the Calla
Song of Susannah
The Dark Tower

There is also a short story attached to the series, called Everything's Eventual: The Sisters of Eluria, which is set before the adventures of the Dark Tower and features Roland in a separate quest.

The Gunslinger is available in many different versions. I recommend the more current version, released in 2003, which features an introduction from the author, and also has the first couple of chapters of the second book at the end. Either way, I recommend this book. It is well worth the read, but be patient, and keep reading the saga.

The Gunslinger currently retails at £7.99, as do the other books in the series. I managed to pick up my copy for much cheaper in a charity shop, and amazon.co.uk currently have the book priced at £4.99.

Summary: A very solid introduction to an excellent saga