The Gunslinger (by Stephen King)

allfictionhorror
Written By Natalie

The Gunslinger by Stephen King is the December selection for the in-person Constant Reader book club I attend. It’s a reread for me and it’s been a while since I last read it. Unfortunately, I don’t have a record of it in my Goodreads account.

The first time I read The Gunslinger, I wasn’t particularly interested in the Dark Tower series until a friend recommended it. I was warned that I might not enjoy The Gunslinger, but I would appreciate the rest of the series. This prediction was spot on.

In the first installment of the Dark Tower series, readers are introduced to the protagonist, Roland Deschain of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger. He embarks on a solitary quest across a desolate world to hunt his nemesis, the Man in Black, towards the mythical Dark Tower. Along the way, Roland encounters various characters.

I remember struggling through The Gunslinger the first time, and this reread wasn’t much different. I kept getting bored and lost focus. Additionally, I often felt confused about the setting of the story—was it a western, a fantasy, or a post-apocalyptic world? King’s world-building was challenging for me, and I couldn’t wait for the book to end. I just wanted to grasp enough to re-familiarize myself with The Dark Tower in case the book club decides to read the entire series.

I’m hoping that the book club discussion will help me understand this installment better. However, I’ve noticed that other members on our discussion board are feeling similar to me. I’m excited to explore our facilitator’s discussion questions together.

While I enjoyed the remaining books in the Dark Tower series, I don’t think I would voluntarily undertake a second reading of The Gunslinger. Our book club plans to read The Drawing of Three for our January meeting, and then we’ll decide whether or not to continue with the series.

On a side note, I can’t quite recall where we got our raven figurine, which is pictured above. However, if you’re interested, you can find it on Amazon. The link to the raven figurine is here.

Feel free to explore my reviews of other Stephen King books below.

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Natalie
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The Kill Clause (by Lisa Unger)