While on the surface, the plot may seem to meander somewhat in its execution, it is in fact carefully constructed to dictate exactly which pieces of Roland’s characterization King wishes to reveal at each stage of the novel, leaving the reader to revisit their assumptions as the story progresses. In Roland, we find a tragically flawed protagonist seemingly reminiscent of Melville’s Ahab in his obsessive pursuit, though his motives are painted less clearly than the Captain’s more straightforward thirst for revenge. Mixing in pieces of Arthurian legend along with bits of modern day nostalgia, King manages to craft a decaying world that feels just familiar enough to be unsettling. As the gunslinger draws inexorably closer to his prey, he must navigate the devious traps left behind by the Man in Black, putting his determination, morality and even his sanity to dire test. Inspired unabashedly by Milton’s Paradise Lost as well as the western films of Sergio Leone, and of course, The Lord of the Rings, King’s dark fantasy take on The Man With No Name leads us on an relentless quest through a post-apocalyptic hellscape as Roland pursues his quarry at any cost. The Gunslinger follows the implacable Roland Deschain on his mysterious quest to kill the sorcerous Man in Black.

Nevertheless, it did occur to me that most of the changes did little to move the needle on the plot or structure of the actual book and that, most likely, an uninitiated reader might find the added references confusing or irrelevant which would surely detract (if only mildly) from the pacing.

Having read the novel’s initial version nearly two decades ago, my memories of it have blurred over time and thus this review is meant specifically for the modern release.Īs explained in a lengthy foreword, due to the vast amount of time between having written the first book and completing the seventh, final, book of the sequence, King felt that not only were there too many continuity errors requiring retconning, but that also his own ability as a writer had changed so significantly, that to properly complete his series he would need to revisit his previous work.Īs a devotee of the series who read on to completion, I found the revision to be an excellent piece of fan-service, weaving in references to later plot threads, adding to the world-building, creating better consistency of characterization, and of course, fixing some continuity issues. The Gunslinger, originally written by Stephen King from 1978 to 1982 then revised and re-released in 2003, is the first book in the ambitious Dark Tower series, King’s self described ‘magnum opus’.

The gunslinger stephen king