The Man in Black Fled Across the Desert – A Gunslinger Review

It’s like Harry Potter, except with a lot more curse words and sex and killing things.

Truth be told, I haven’t read a whole lot of Stephen King books, or even really seen too many of the films based off of his books.  But a year or so ago, a conversation about how intricate and amazing the Harry Potter series was led to a beaming endorsement for the Dark Tower saga from a friend whose opinion I highly value.

So I began the journey of and to The Dark Tower with The Gunslinger and the line the King himself has claimed is the best opening line he ever wrote:

The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.

 

The Gunslinger introduces us to the main protagonist of the entire Dark Tower series (or mythos, however you see it), and truthfully, throughout most of this first book, we don’t know too much about him.  What we do know is that he is chasing someone across a desert and that he will stop at nothing to track this other man down.

Throughout this initial installment we learn our hero’s name is Roland and he has some very special skills with guns.  We also learn that he is chasing a man that has some very special, even magical, skills of his own and that he is very dangerous.  But Roland is quite dangerous himself.

I mean, I don’t want to give anything away, but these people aren’t napping.

The Gunslinger is by far the shortest book of the series and in it we are introduced to the kind of man that Roland is, and the things that he will sacrifice as he pursues the Man in Black and the Dark Tower himself.  Along the way, we get introduced to a young boy named Jake, who mysteriously finds himself transported from New York City to this desert world that Roland traverses. Roland finds Jake on his journey and begins to befriend and ultimately look upon as a son-like figure.  But will that be enough to save Jake?  Will that be enough to save Roland?

For any first time readers, I would say, don’t get discouraged.  The Gunslinger is a somewhat confusing story that is preparing to lay the groundwork for a magnificent and complicated tale.

What is the Dark Tower?

Why is Roland so adamant on getting there?

Who is Roland anyway?

Like an episode of LOST, it is confusing and generally presents more questions than it does answers, but hang in there: it is indeed worth the journey.