Gunslinger *Spoiler Warning*

[Conan]

Ive just read Gunslinger and I loved how Roland abandoned Jake, for once hero that desires vengeance so much that he is willing to sacrifice his companions. Its something you never see. But the ending.... Does he want vengeance? Or just to find the dark tower? I thought it was stupid how he just talked to the man in black whom he had been hunting for so long... This shuld be a story of revenge not curiosity. After reading it seems like the story lacks all purpose except to find a tower... Does it change, is their revenge, or is it just a quest for the unknown?

 

[Lioness]

Read on and see...I'm not going to say anything that could possibly spoil it for you.

It's a series well worth reading though.

 

[HoopyFrood]

I have to agree, the only thing you can do is read on. The Gunslinger is but a brief dip into Roland's world. I'm curious as to why you think it should be a story for vengeance...it's been a while since I've read The Gunslinger, but I thought that even in this book, Roland's desire to reach the Tower burned through as the thing he most desired...I know that as the series continues, this definitely becomes more apparent, and that it's more than just mild curiosity. I heartily recommend you continue with it, it's a great series.

 

[paranoid marvin]

the way I look at it is that the man he was following would assist in his quest to reach the Tower - by merely killing him , his quest may be made more difficult or even impossible.

If you're confused now , wait 'til you've read all the other books in the series!

I do agree that Roland is perhaps one of King's best ever characters

 

[Conan]

Ok, well at least tell me, is there at least a bad guy?

 

[Lioness]

several

 

[HoopyFrood]

A much more succinct and forthright answer than I was planning to give, Lioness! So yes, as said, there are many. Really, read the rest of the series and see. And hopefully as you do, you'll see that the Dark Tower series isn't all about just beating the bad guys...

 

[Omphalos]

I loved this book. Its one of the best fix-ups ever, IMHO. Here is a link to my review of it (spoilers abound!):

Omphalos' Book Reviews: Book Info

 

[paranoid marvin]

If at all possible , try reading ALL of King's other books prior to starting The Tower - that way you'll fully appreciate all of the 'guest' characters and worlds

 

[dustinzgirl]

If at all possible , try reading ALL of King's other books prior to starting The Tower - that way you'll fully appreciate all of the 'guest' characters and worlds

This is true. And you really just have to read the full set to understand the 'slinger.

 

[Omphalos]

If at all possible , try reading ALL of King's other books prior to starting The Tower - that way you'll fully appreciate all of the 'guest' characters and worlds

All of his books? That is asking a lot, you know? That guy can crank them out better than Koontz's and Crichton's ghola lovechild could. But I also dont think that you have to read the "full set" (if that means all of his books) to understand Gunslinger. You only have to read Gunslinger to do that. Not sure what you really meant there though dustinzgirl

 

[dustinzgirl]

All of his books? That is asking a lot, you know? That guy can crank them out better than Koontz's and Crichton's ghola lovechild could. But I also dont think that you have to read the "full set" (if that means all of his books) to understand Gunslinger. You only have to read Gunslinger to do that. Not sure what you really meant there though dustinzgirl

You can certainly understand the characterization of Roland just by reading the Gunslinger, but to answer these questions: "Does he want vengeance? Or just to find the dark tower? Does it change, is their revenge, or is it just a quest for the unknown?" You have to read the set. I would say you could skip one or two of them, namely Susana's Song and Wizard and Glass, but even those had some special information you wouldn't get at the end if you didn't read them. You can, however, skip entire pages.

PS: You don't have to read all of his books, but you definitely have to read Salems' Lot, The Stand, Eyes of the Dragon, It, Insomnia, The Talisman, The Shining (no, watching the movie doesn't count!).

And as for not being able to read his books because he puts too many out, I have read all of them. Except for The Stand because the first part bored me to death. But I did watch the movie. LOL.

 

[Omphalos]

Oh. The whole Gunslinger set. The guy before you was talking about all of King's books, or something like that. I didnt know what you meant by " the whole set." If you were agreeing with him or saying something different. Obviously something differnet.

Though, IMHO Gunslinger is by far the best book nad you dont need to read the others to get a great deal of enjoyment out of it.

 

[dustinzgirl]

Oh. The whole Gunslinger set. The guy before you was talking about all of King's books, or something like that. I didnt know what you meant by " the whole set." If you were agreeing with him or saying something different. Obviously something differnet.

Though, IMHO Gunslinger is by far the best book nad you dont need to read the others to get a great deal of enjoyment out of it.

Oh I see.

I agree that it is the best book, I would say probably the best book ever, for me at least. But if you want the grand, epic, multi-universe and multi-dimensional saga to answer the questions the OP posted, you need to read the majority of the Dark Tower series to answer the ultimate questions. Otherwise you are pretty much stuck with those "whats it all about" questions. Even though the ending didn't really answer the whats its all about saga question, it helped grasp an idea of the entirety. Or whatever. I don't fracking know, its 99 farenheit here right now.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I didnt mean you had to read his other books in order to understand the Dark Tower series ,but if you didn't , then many references would simply not register. It's almost a tribute to his longstanding fans - only they will nod their heads in acknowledgement when a certain situation or character appear

I liked the Tower series , but it really started to get silly towards the end

The Drawing Of the Three is far and away the best of the bunch for me

 

[Lioness]

I hadn't read any of the other books mentioned except 'Salems Lot, The Shining, and Eyes of the Dragon, and I liked the books fine.

Though I think I did miss lots of references towards the other books, it didn't really diminish my enjoyment of the series.

 

[Conan]

PS: You don't have to read all of his books, but you definitely have to read Salems' Lot, The Stand, Eyes of the Dragon, It, Insomnia, The Talisman, The Shining (no, watching the movie doesn't count!).

And as for not being able to read his books because he puts too many out, I have read all of them. Except for The Stand because the first part bored me to death. But I did watch the movie. LOL.

Ahhh, Ive read alot of king, but i have not read any of those.

 

[paranoid marvin]

You really nust read Tears Of The Dragon - one of his less well known works (it's more like a child's gruesome fairytale really) but very enjoyale nevertheless

 

[dustinzgirl]

You really nust read Tears Of The Dragon - one of his less well known works (it's more like a child's gruesome fairytale really) but very enjoyale nevertheless

In 7th grade my english teacher said I couldn't do a report on that book because it was too gruesome.

So I did it anyways and failed English.

Oh well, King failed English too!

 

[paranoid marvin]

In 7th grade my english teacher said I couldn't do a report on that book because it was too gruesome.

So I did it anyways and failed English.

Oh well, King failed English too!

Yet something like Dante's Inferno would probably be acceptable

Imho TOTD is simply a fairy tale , but with a bit more graphic depiction of the bad things that happen.

As far as English exams are concerned the actual content (within reason) is irrelevant - it's the way you interpret the novel that should be important