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The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Stephen King (Author), George Guidall (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (571 customer reviews)

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5 new from $172.59 12 used from $44.88

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Audio, CD, Audiobook, Unabridged --   $172.59 $44.88
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Thirty-three years, a horrific and life-altering accident, and thousands of desperately rabid fans in the making, Stephen King's quest to complete his magnum opus rivals the quest of Roland and his band of gunslingers who inhabit the Dark Tower series. Loyal DT fans and new readers alike will appreciate this revised edition of The Gunslinger, which breathes new life into Roland of Gilead, and offers readers a "clearer start and slightly easier entry into Roland's world."

King writes both a new introduction and foreword to this revised edition, and the ever-patient, ever-loyal "constant reader" is rewarded with secrets to the series's inception. That a "magic" ream of green paper and a Robert Browning poem, came together to reveal to King his "ka" is no real surprise (this is King after all), but who would have thought that the squinty-eyed trio of Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach would set the author on his true path to the Tower? While King credits Tolkien for inspiring the "quest and magic" that pervades the series, it was Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly that helped create the epic proportions and "almost absurdly majestic western backdrop" of Roland's world.

To King, The Gunslinger demanded revision because once the series was complete it became obvious that "the beginning was out of sync with the ending." While the revision adds only 35 pages, Dark Tower purists will notice the changes to Allie's fate and Roland's interaction with Cort, Jake, and the Man in Black--all stellar scenes that will reignite the hunger for the rest of the series. Newcomers will appreciate the details and insight into Roland's life. The revised Roland of Gilead (nee Deschain) is embodied with more humanity--he loves, he pities, he regrets. What DT fans might miss is the same ambiguity and mystery of the original that gave the original its pulpy underground feel (back when King himself awaited word from Roland's world). --Daphne Durham --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

King's (Pet Sematary, Audio Reviews, LJ 11/1/98) fantastical and allegorical "Dark Tower" series commenced in 1982 with the publication of The Gunslinger. Subsequent volumes have appeared about every five years thereafter. The Gunslinger introduces protagonist Roland as he pursues the Man in Black through bleak and tired landscapes in a world that has "moved on." Roland believes that the Man in Black knows and can be made to reveal the secrets of the Dark Tower, which is the ultimate goal of Roland's quest. The Waste Lands sees Roland and his fellow travelers continuing the quest for the Dark Tower. They journey through imaginative landscapes, over astounding obstacles, and meet with and confront a unique and fully drawn cast of characters, both human and nonhuman. Reader Frank Muller gives voice to the characters with a thoroughly engaging precision, accuracy, and great humanity and with an edge that drives the story onward and seems to amplify King's skill as an author. Highly recommended for all fiction collections.?Kristen L. Smith, Loras Coll. Lib., Dubuque, IA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details

  • Audio CD
  • Publisher: Penguin Audio; Unabridged edition (June 24, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0142800376
  • ISBN-13: 978-0142800379
  • Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (571 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #131,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
    #10 in  Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( K ) > King, Stephen
    #51 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( K ) > King, Stephen
    #16 in  Books > Books on CD > Horror

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Customer Reviews

571 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (571 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
102 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Imagination to paper takes time, May 3, 2000
This review is from: The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) (Paperback)
At under 300 pages, "The Gunslinger" - the first book from Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series - may seem oddly short, especially when compared to the latest volume from the epic, weighing in at around 700 pages. And still, Constant Reader, there are thousands more to go!

According to the afterword from this book, it took King twelve years to complete the writings. He wrote the opening line, "The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed" while an undergraduate, the middle portions when "`Salem's Lot" was going bad, and was inspired with another concurrent writing: "The Stand." For King to have kept the Gunslinger, the Man in Black, Jake, and the other characters - and really the entire world of the Dark Tower - alive for so long in his mind is a testament to not only the power that this held over the author, but holds over us - his Constant Readers. Moreover, since the first publishing of "The Gunslinger," around twenty years have passed, a number of newer volumes in this series have come and gone - yet with this first, partially inspired by Robert Browning's poem, "Childe Roland," and partially inspired by reams of green paper (read the afterword to the book), you know that this was a very special creation indeed.

I am not a fan of King's horror fiction. But when he gets down to writing about "other worlds than these," such as "The Stand," "Insomnia," "The Green Mile," and "The Talisman" (co-authored with Peter Straub) - there is no one better. His is an imagination to be jealous of. There is always a feeling that alternate universes exist, next to our own. King imbues his other worlds with just enough of our own so that we feel a tantalizing connection between our own perceptions of reality, and those that King entertains us (Constant Readers) with.

At any rate, "The Gunslinger," at under 300 pages, is just right to introduce us to the world of The Dark Tower, and keep us on course, with a desire to continue (and to wait, ever so patiently for the next volume in the series) the journey the Gunslinger started many years ago.

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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Well-Done Introduction To Another World, May 30, 2000
By Adam Shah (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) (Paperback)
This is the first installment of Steven King's fantasy series, The Dark Tower, which follows the story of the Gunslinger Roland, the equivalent of an Arthurian knight in the world King has created, and his quest to reach the Dark Tower in order to make the world right again.

This installment tells the story of Roland's search for a mysterious stranger who may be able to help Roland find the Dark Tower. It is long on atmosphere and short on action. Therefore, fans of Steven King's horror works will find this book a distinct change of pace. However, the book will not disappoint you if you try it, especially if you are a fan of fantasy series such as the Lord of the Rings. Furthermore, you will find in later books that elements of King's horror world also exist in Roland's world, and therefore, to have a full understanding of King's horror villains, you have to read this series.

The Gunslinger offers several intriguing views of Roland's dying world. The book is not devoid of action; there is a dramatic shoot out for shadowy reasons which one hopes will be better explained in the concluding volumes of the work. There is a lost child who provides the first direct evidence that Roland's world is connected to our own, and there is the introduction to Roland himself, a man who is capable of fantastic violence but still comes across as human and quite possibly kind (a fact which becomes more clear in later books).

I recommend this book most highly to anyone who enjoys stories involving quests such as Arthurian legends, the Chronicles of Prydain and the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Start of the series and writing seminars, April 27, 2004
By Neil Goldsmith (Orlando, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) (Hardcover)
I've read a number of reviews of the series and have been told by friends how great it is, so I decided to check it out. Reading and understanding the intro/forward King has written in this revised edition helped a great deal. King wrote this book early in his career with the intention of writing a grand epic. He explains the author of this book at the time had not really found his groove so to speak and had spent a little too much time in writing seminars. One particularly revealing comment King makes about himself was that the seminars taught him to favor ambiguity over clarity and simplicity. He also goes on to mention when he revised the book he found many areas for improvement, but was able to leave the writing alone in places where he was seduced into forgetting the writing seminars by a particulary entrancing piece of story.

I find this captures the book well. Reading it, the book shifts from a very interesting tangible plot to the Gunslinger slipping into ambiguous dreaming and past thoughts within the same page. You can almost tell where King has gone back and done revisions as you can see his 30+ years of experience fixing his amateur mistakes.

Taken by itself, I didn't find the book that intriguing. Just average. Taken as a series I will definitely trek on to the future volumes as a number of people have told me the first one is sort of one you just have to get through. It's good it is a quick read and sets up alot of what will be revealed later.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A bit disjointed, but ultimately a great book
Admittedly, I felt lost on several occasions while reading this, the first book in the Dark Tower series. For me at least, that was most of the fun. Read more
Published 22 hours ago by Brandon Boller

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story
I am a big Stephen King/Richard Bachman fan from way back when. I love his Gunslinger series. Of course you may not want to take my critique too seriously, because I just think... Read more
Published 2 days ago by D. Meola

5.0 out of 5 stars King is a masterful storyteller
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." If you can resist an opening sentence like that, you have more willpower than I. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Indian Prairie Public Library

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read / A little difficult
I've been told countless times to read the Dark Tower series, only hearing good things about it. I do have to say that I am glad I read the introduction to The Gunslinger. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Azarath

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning... a Masterpiece
One of my greatest inspirations as a writer and an artist, The Gunslinger delivers hardcore. This tale is a post-apocalyptic fantasy that is gleaned from a mishmash of genres,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Danielle D. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredable story that no King fan should pass up
I am very late to start reading this series but I am glad that I am reading it. I finished this book in only one day which is a rarity for me, but this book is so well written... Read more
Published 1 month ago by N. Fuerst

2.0 out of 5 stars Reading with Tequila
The Gunslinger, the first book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series, is a strange tale, a sort of post-apocalyptic western with magic. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jennifer Sicurella

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely mindblowing!!!!
I have always been a fan of Stephen King. I was a avid reader of his scary stories, most notable favs of mine, Salem's Lot, Firestarter and The Shining. Read more
Published 2 months ago by J Montana

4.0 out of 5 stars The Gunslinger
I have not read any of the other books in the series but after reading this first volume, I hunger for more. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lisa Daniels

3.0 out of 5 stars Typical stephen king
If you like Stephen King's other books then you will probably like this one. It is dark, sinister, and yet compelling in the fact that you want to know what happens next. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Leon Zilles

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