This post may contain affiliate links. Also as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There is no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
A complete fever dream of a novel. The story of one of the last Gunslingers in a “ world that has moved on”. The Gunslinger, and the Dark Tower series, is not your typical Stephen King offering and I struggle to even try and summarize the story of the first in the series. Roland, the last of the Gunslingers from Gilead, is crossing a bleak desert, chasing the elusive Man in Black. He has sworn to this mission and there is nothing that can stop him or deter him from what he must do.
I was hooked from the very first sentence. The lyrical writing and in-depth descriptions of what Roland, was thinking and feeling completely immersed me in the story. It is very convoluted about where he is, his mission, and who the Man in Black is, but that is what is so fantastic about this story. You know while you are reading that there is a knot of story threads and you are slowly trying to untangle them and discover the core. I found myself constantly thinking about what just happened and what it means and through it all the Gunslinger is pushing forward trying to get to the Man in Black. The moment I finished reading I wanted to immediately go back and re-read it and at the same time wanted to read the next one in the series.
I will say that I listened to the audiobook and I am curious if I would find the book as engaging if I was reading it – but I truly believe it is a series that is superb either read or listened to. I highly recommend this for people that enjoy complex plotlines, deep philosophical treatises on death and good versus evil, and fans of any multiverse fiction.