For all us geeks out there, this is a set of books that hits home to most of us and when we hear the name Stephen King we immediately think of The Dark Tower Series.

The series is 8 books long so far, and this is my review of the first book The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger.

The Plot

The book is centered around Roland Deschain, a gunslinger, the last of his kind, chasing his arch enemy known as the man in black through a world that has similarities to the old west, but in a time that has “moved on” or slipped. So while there is a Wild West feel to the setting there are references to modern day technology such as oil pumps, and atomic powered water wells. There are also cultural influences as the song “Hey Jude” makes a reoccurring appearance.

While travelling Roland meets Jake Chambers a boy who died in his own universe (the assumption is it is our universe), and the saga begins.

About The Gunslinger

The inspiration for the novel comes from the Robert Browning poem “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came” which Stephen King read in college. Originally the book was published as 5 short stories starting in 1978 and ending in 1981, so the book took an incredible 12 years to write.

It was first published as 1 book in 1982 as a limited edition, and in 1988 as a trade paperback, and since then in numerous forms including box sets with the other books in the series, and e-book versions too.

The reviews in the media have ranged from scathing to exalted in their praise or woe, but for the geeks among us it really is a must read, as it starts the journey of ka-tet, and an adventure that is both bloody and wonderful.

To top this off King manages to find a place for many of the characters from his other works, not just a place, in some cases it feels like they are coming home to mid-world, as this is where they were meant to be all along.

Buying this Book

There are so many copies of this book floating around now, in Hardback, paperback and e-book, I have given away at least 4 copies now, as I believe books should be shared.

You could pick them up new at your local retailer, such as Barnes and Nobles, or Borders. If you have a Kindle or iPad, you can get them in the electronic book section at amazon. I would suggest getting the set as once you read the first one you won’t want to wait to read the rest. On the list of books geeks read I would rate this series as high!

I hope you enjoyed the review.