Tag: character’s name (arguably, anyway - I guess his name is Roland, but the book calls him The Gunslinger 90% of the time)
The Gunslinger Roland Deschain is a hardscrabble western hero-type, tracking the mysterious sorcerer he calls the Man in Black across an endless desert. The Gunslinger must find him and learn what he knows about a place called The Dark Tower, while also protecting the young man named Jake, who comes from a very different world.
I liked the worldbuilding, language, and mythology, and it’s fun to see the Gunslinger’s influence in a large swath of popular culture. I liked the Gunslinger’s flashbacks, especially to his coming of age. The demons and mutant creatures gave a compelling glimpse into the hazards of this desolate world, not to mention the fascinating Man in Black himself. What I didn’t like was the plot. The slow, plodding, philosophical pace did nothing for me this time through a King novel. I was not invested in the Gunslinger’s quest, I didn’t know why I should care about the Dark Tower, and the characters evoked very little emotion in me. I’m not even remotely curious about what happens next. It seemed to be written well enough, and I certainly liked several parts of it, but it does not hold my interest. This series was just not intended for me, and I’m fine to leave it at that.
I listened to the audiobook version. The narration by George Guidall was flawless, but it was not enough to invest me in the story.
I feel compelled to mention that the series changes dramatically after the first book, adopting, for better or worse, something much closer to King's usual style. If you like other books by him, just not this one, it's entirely possible you'll enjoy the sequels. Although, even then, a lot of readers (including me) disliked some of the later books, so you'd be saving yourself considerable time and potential disappointment by not going on.
ReplyDelete