The Gunslinger, Stephen King’s Foray into Fantasy and Science Fiction

Most known for horror stories, Stephen King’s The Gunslinger departs from his typical writings and is the first book in the Dark Tower series.  Originally published in 1978, the story follows a gunslinger shrouded in mystery who becomes known as Roland.  Not much is known about him other than that the fact that he’s been wandering for some time and he is chasing a man in black.

The book is well written and flows very nicely.  The tone and landscape are what really make the piece though.  The Gunslinger constantly seems alone and everything is so incredibly bleak.  King does a great job of keeping secrets and enticing the reader to continue deeper into the story.  He reveals bits and pieces of the back-story, constantly taunting the reader with Roland’s past.  How did things turn out like this?  What happened to his country?  Why is he the only gunslinger left?  Who is the man in black?  And there are more questions, I don’t want to give away too much.  Having read a lot of books, I can tell the difference between obscurity and mysteries.  Luckily, The Gunslinger falls on the mystery side of things.  The lack of information only draws the reader deeper into the world.

It is actually hard to place this book in a single genre.  It contains elements of horror, science fiction, fantasy, and has a distinct american western feel to it.  The man in black and the Oracle feel fantastical, the slow mutants feel like a piece of science fiction, the gunslinger himself feels like something out of a western, and parts of his journey, such as the cave are tense and could be terrifying to certain readers.

Stephen King himself said that this story is not meant to be a horror tale however.  He said that he wanted to write an epic work of fantasy, much like The Lord of the Rings.  The Dark Tower series was the result.  The most interesting part of the story was the concept of size that King presents.   I don’t want to give anything away, but suffice it to say that I’m sure both fantasy and science fiction fans will be quite intrigued by it.

The Gunslinger is a great opener to a great series.  It’s a fast read (only about 230 pages) and is really able to keep the reader’s attention.  I had to read it for a class I was taking in college, but I found myself drawn into the story and had to force myself to keep from reading ahead.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially Stephen King fans who may have been unsure about a non-horror title.

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