2/22/08

Book Review: Gunslinger (Book 1 of the Dark Tower Series)

Gunslinger, by Stephen King
Disclaimer: this is not a thoughtful review. Sorry.
I began this series because the last series I read was Harry Potter. I really enjoyed the series format and wanted another to delve into. Enter the Undeterred Reader, a close buddy of mine. She praised the series and promised that I wouldn't be disappointed.

I finished the Gunslinger yesterday and, well, it's the first book. It was good, but left everything wide open and unanswered. That's the way the series cookie crumbles.

Everything about this book is strange and dream-like (or nightmarish, depending on how you look at it.) The characters are mysterious, but oddly enough, their development was satisfying. Dialogue is weird and terse. I've realized that to be a great fiction/screenplay writer, your characters have to have cryptic conversations, leaving plenty of room for misunderstanding. Such is life, no?

The story itself is basically the gunslinger traveling across the desert looking for the man in black. Along the way, he meets a kid who's displaced. Really displaced. Again, in the end, you don't know any more than in the beginning, but I'm still strangely intrigued. That could be partly due to the fact people RAVE that the second book is amazing, so I'm really looking forward to that. Additional note: incredible artwork! Very, very appropriate.
I can't give a recommendation because it's part of a series and I would or would not recommend that as a whole. Hence, I'll probably give the official thumbs up or down in like 3 years (well, maybe not that long.) Fear not, many a book shall be read in between.

1 comment:

Carlie said...

I am so glad to see you start this one. I've been a King fan for more years than not, and I still claim that he is the most underrated contemporary author. Don't let that horror stuff make you think that he doesn't have anything else to say. Enthralling is all I have to say. Just wait.