Stephen King : The Gunslinger : The Dark Tower I
Posted by carolinakioty on June 18, 2008
This is the intro taken from the front of the revised and expanded version of the book:
In the first book of this brillant series, Stephen King introduces readers to one of his most enigmatic heroes, Roland of Gilead, the last gunslinger. Nothing will ever be the same. Roland’s quest for the Dark Tower takes readers on a wildly epic ride – through parallel worlds and across time. A classic tale of colossal scope – crossing over terrain from The Stand, The Eyes of the Dragon, Insomnia, The Talisman, Black House, Hearts in Atlantis, ‘Salem’s Lot, and other familiar King haunts – the adventure takes hold with the turn of each page.
And the tower awaits. . . .
The Gunslinger
This heroic fantasy is set in a world of ominous landscape and macabre menace that is a dark mirror of our own. A spellbinding tale of good versus evil, it features one of Stephen Kings most powerful creations – the gunslinger, a haunting figure who embodies the qualities of the lone hero through the ages, from ancient myth to frontier Western legend.
The gunslinger’s quest involves the pursuit of the man in black, a liaison with the ravenous Alice, and a friendship with the boy from New York called Jake. Both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike, The Gunslinger is stunning proof of Stephen King’s storytelling sorcery.
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Come with me on an adventure as I read my favorite series of all times. I love this story and would like to share my thought on it and hear your thoughts as well. I will have one post for each book and just keep a running commentary under each one. Feel free to leave comments, agree with me, disagree with me, offer your own insights. Just keep it clean please.
carolinakioty said
I picked up the revised and expanded edition just to see what he revised and expanded lol. He tied a few loose ends together nicely so far, I havn’t gotten too far into the book yet. As your reading the series you realize that Sheb in the 1st book is the same Sheb from book 4 that takes place before book 1 so it was nice to see that explained. (book 4 the wizard and the glass has Roland telling a story from his past of his first love)
I don’t want to give up the whole book so I will just give general impressions. If you want more details just ask. – You get the impression that he (Roland) is as old as time, that no matter what he will stay the course. He is the lst of his Kind, and he goes where he must go and does what must be done. The world he is walking through now has moved on, slowed down, is dieing. He is chasing The Man in Black, and he has met up with a boy. A boy from our world named John , Jake to his friends, Chambers. A warning, while Roland travels with the boy, the man in black carries Rolands soul in his pocket. what does this mean? Roland is already starting to love the boy …
carolinakioty said
As Roland catches up with the \Man in Black Jake is considered the symbolic son, he is sacrificed for Rolands Tower, for his Quest. How much will Roland give of himself for this quest? At the end of the book Roland has a vision, one which shows him just how small he is in the grand sceme of things, what is the rose? What is the blade of purple grass? and who are the three he must draw?