Book Review: The Dark Tower book 1: The Gunslinger by Stephen King

The dictionary defines the phrase "Magnum Opus", as the greatest single work of an artist, writer, or composer. Author Stephen King proclaims The Dark Tower series, is his Magnum Opus.

The Dark Tower, is an epic fantasy series originally consisting of 7 books. Stephen King published The Gunslinger, the first book of this series in 1982, with the final entry of the series published in 2004. In other words, this is a finished series.

The Dark Tower, is very interesting in both its setting and story telling. It is an original idea, blending The Lord of the Rings together with Westerns, creating one of the most unique fantasy fictions in the genre. It has been adapted by Marvel into graphic novels, and a while ago there were talks of adapting the series into movies (but the project was cancelled).

I am a late comer to The Dark Tower. Though I heard good things about this series a few years ago, but I only picked it up recently. Having read the first book in this series, today I will like to review book 1 to the Dark Tower series, titled "The Gunslinger".

Synopsis:

The story of The Dark Tower took place in a parallel universe. The world of The Dark Tower shares characteristics with the American old West, sparsely populated by people and governed by fuedal society. Traces of technology often found from relics, indicating the existence of advanced society in the past. The world is also filled with magic and horrific creatures of unimaginable caliber.

The protagonist of the story, Roland Deschain, is the last surviving member of a knightly order known as "gunslingers". In the first book, Roland is on a quest to find the mysterious Dark Tower, by tracking down clues which can only be found from an individual known as the "man in black". As Roland trekked across the deserts, his search for The Dark Tower and the truth unfolds..

What I think about the book:

The Gunslinger is a very short book, the total page count is only 224 pages. This book not only serves as an introduction to the character of Roland Deschain, but it also did a great deal of world building, giving readers insights to Stephen King's fictional world. Furthermore, it sets up premises to future installments to this story.

When viewed by itself, The Gunslinger is very short, and after reading this book you will still have no idea just exactly what mysteries the Dark Tower holds. But this is exactly why right now, I feel like reading the next book. Because the story is pretty interesting.

Stephen King's narratives and descriptions are superb. Say one thing about this book, and that is images and scenes are so vivid you will feel like you are watching a movie in your head.

I found a lot of interesting use of Christian references in this book. Actually, that is an under statement. This book is packed with references straight out from the Bible. Stephen King also demonstrated a sophisticated grasp of Christian theology. So, while many Christians will brand Stephen King as anti-Christian because he writes horror, I sense there is more to Stephen King's works than meets the eye, and the stereotype (existing in the Christian sub-culture) that horror authors are always anti-Christian is obviously an unfair stereotype that is incorrect.

So yea, if you are interested in reading Stephen King's books but never did; or if you are a fan of epic fantasy fiction but looking for something unique, then make sure you check out The Dark Tower.

As for me, I am off to read book 2 to this series, "Drawing of the Three".

Happy reading!