PDA

View Full Version : Was it hard for you to read this book?



Letti
01-06-2008, 01:42 PM
I found this book incredibly exciting and deep but I know there are many people out there who found it hard to read.
Let me know if you had any difficulties to finish this book.

Brice
01-06-2008, 01:54 PM
I didn't find it hard to read at all. I loved it from the beginning.

sarah
01-06-2008, 02:09 PM
letti, reading the gunslinger changed my life. I couldn't put it down and i wouldn't shut up about to anyone who would listen to me. I didn't discover thedarktower.net until much much later. People and work were getting a bit sick of me.

The funny thing is, i hate guns. hate them. I shot a few when i was a kid but i'm really a nonviolent person. it is kind of funny that i'm so passionate about the dark tower.

William50
01-06-2008, 02:11 PM
I thought that the book was amazing. It wasn't hard.

Letti
01-06-2008, 02:29 PM
letti, reading the gunslinger changed my life. I couldn't put it down and i wouldn't shut up about to anyone who would listen to me.

That's the answer my heart loves to hear. :)

William50
01-06-2008, 02:44 PM
The Gunslinger is an instant classic! Everyone loves it.

Letti
01-06-2008, 02:45 PM
The Gunslinger is an instant classic! Everyone loves it.

Everyone?
I know some people who don't. Believe me. You will be surprised sooner or later, sai. :)

William50
01-06-2008, 02:47 PM
Everyone that I have met that has read it, loves it. I am not including those who have not.

Letti
01-06-2008, 02:48 PM
When I first tried to talk about this book with other folks most of them couldn't stand it. Really.

William50
01-06-2008, 02:50 PM
I have yet to meet anyone from my school who has even heard of the DT. Except for my ELA teacher.

Letti
01-06-2008, 02:51 PM
If you had been born in Hungary (like me) you would need to learn another language to be able to find some other DT junkies so don't complain. :D

TerribleT
01-06-2008, 02:54 PM
I LOVEDthis book from the word go. I couldn't put it down the first time I read it, and recently read it for the 5th or sixth time in a single day. I think the original version shows SK's writing immaturity, but the stroy was powerful.

William50
01-06-2008, 02:57 PM
Letti: so you do not speak English?

Brice
01-06-2008, 03:13 PM
Letti: so you do not speak English?


Well, clearly she does. :P



...but, is not her native language. She is Hungarian.

Letti
01-06-2008, 03:16 PM
Letti: so you do not speak English?

Yeah, Brice answered instead of me as well. :) I can speak English and I can only hope that I am able to express my feelings well.
But what I wanted to say is that here it's incredibly hard to find someone who knows this series at all. And who read it too... almost impossible.

But thank God here is this site. :rose:

William50
01-06-2008, 03:34 PM
At least you have us!:D

Brice
01-06-2008, 03:39 PM
Letti: so you do not speak English?

Yeah, Brice answered instead of me as well. :) I can speak English and I can only hope that I am able to express my feelings well.
But what I wanted to say is that here it's incredibly hard to find someone who knows this series at all. And who read it too... almost impossible.

But thank God here is this site. :rose:


Oh, I know where there is another Hungarian who's read the series. ;)

William50
01-06-2008, 03:40 PM
You never know. There might not be. How did you find out about the series Letti?

Letti
01-06-2008, 03:53 PM
At least you have us!:D

Yesyes. I am lucky.




Letti: so you do not speak English?

Yeah, Brice answered instead of me as well. :) I can speak English and I can only hope that I am able to express my feelings well.
But what I wanted to say is that here it's incredibly hard to find someone who knows this series at all. And who read it too... almost impossible.

But thank God here is this site. :rose:

Oh, I know where there is another Hungarian who's read the series. ;)

That's why I wrote "almost". :)


You never know. There might not be. How did you find out about the series Letti?

When I was about 12 I used to be in love with Dean R. Koontz. One day I didn't find any new books by him in the bookstore. I was quite disappointed and sad so I strated to look for something new. The title "The Dark Tower" (in Hungarian "A Setét Torony") touched me.
Not such an interesting story I know. :rolleyes:

jayson
01-06-2008, 03:55 PM
Personally I found it incredibly easy to read, and I loved it from day one. Like Maerlyn, it changed everything for me.

That said, over the years I have lent my copy to others and several times have had it returned unfinished. Some of these people have told me it was difficult to understand and to get into. I still don't see why that is, but I have definitely heard it said about The Gunslinger. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that it is a blend of western/sci-fi/fantasy. Some people seem to have a hard time getting their mind around the concept.

Letti
01-06-2008, 03:58 PM
Personally I found it incredibly easy to read, and I loved it from day one. Like Maerlyn, it changed everything for me.

That said, over the years I have lent my copy to others and several times have had it returned unfinished. Some of these people have told me it was difficult to understand and to get into. I still don't see why that is, but I have definitely heard it said about The Gunslinger. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that it is a blend of western/sci-fi/fantasy. Some people seem to have a hard time getting their mind around the concept.

And were you disappointed when you got it back unfinished?
That's why I don't give it to others. I would hurt to get it back unfinished.

jayson
01-06-2008, 03:59 PM
And were you disappointed when you got it back unfinished?
That's why I don't give it to others. I would hurt to get it back unfinished.

The truth? Yes, a little. I wish they had put in a little more effort bc I suspect they'd like it if they'd push on and get through it.

Letti
01-06-2008, 04:00 PM
And were you disappointed when you got it back unfinished?
That's why I don't give it to others. I would hurt to get it back unfinished.

The truth? Yes, a little. I wish they had put in a little more effort bc I suspect they'd like it if they'd push on and get through it.

Understandable.
But still it's good you gave it a try.
How many times did it happen to you?

jayson
01-06-2008, 05:02 PM
Understandable.
But still it's good you gave it a try.
How many times did it happen to you?

At least 3, and one of them lost my copy and had to buy me a new one.

ATG
01-06-2008, 08:52 PM
Rolands test.

Makes up for any short comings. Great story.

Allie
01-06-2008, 10:40 PM
I found it hard to get into until I got to Roland telling the story of the town Tull. Then I was totally hooked.

obscurejude
01-07-2008, 12:27 AM
I read the gunslinger in one sitting when I was thirteen and like R of G it changed everything. I am now twenty five with an undergrad degree in English/Philosophy and am currently pursuing an MA in English. I have yet to read anything that has enthralled me to the extent of the Dark Tower. I don't know...its magical. I have gone back to it so many times over the years just to remember the pure joy of narrative. I have known many people who have started, and never finished...it is beyond me. More could be said but is is 3:30 in the morning.

Jean
01-07-2008, 02:53 AM
So far I'm the only one who chose the first option.

I found it incredibly hard, and the language has nothing to do with it. As I mentioned elsewhere, I would never have finished it if I hadn't been in hospital, - with no choice and no place to run - and I don't think would have picked the next volume if it hadn't come with the first.

It wasn't anything I expected from King. It was not even a story, it was a poem in prose, and it's something I hate; then, it was a pure, undiluted Fantasy, and the genre bores me immensely. Then, it had some overtones of Western, and it's another thing I'm, at best, indifferent to.

It became better when Jake appeared, with his New York reminiscences... and then it was worse again. Rhythmic prose, with all those poetic embellishments the genre requires... like exotic landscape and artefacts, or short but profound dialogs... I was so disappointed I nearly wept (weakened by the disease, you understand) - I wanted King, with characters and dialog and the crazy twist of common every-day life and abyss in the mind and soul of common every-day people and natural unstrained philosophy of a great story... and what I got instead was a lenghty poetic vision of something I couldn't care less about, with dialogs walking on stilts and all characters made up.

I am talkling about the first read now. It was better after I finished the series. Everything clicked into place. But that's another story for another day.

ManOfWesternesse
01-07-2008, 05:22 AM
I loved The Gunslinger from the first time I read it - & every time since.

I would not have thought us such total opposites Jean, but.....



[1] ..it was a pure, undiluted Fantasy, and the genre bores me immensely.
[2]... Then, it had some overtones of Western, and it's another thing I'm, at best, indifferent to.


[1] I absolutely love Fantasy - from Tolkien on down.....
[2] I cut my reading-teeth on Westerns (my Grandfathers Louis L'Amour books) & have always retained a fondness for them

.. so The Gunslinger - A Fantasy/Science Fiction based Western! - Heaven! :lol:

Wuducynn
01-07-2008, 06:45 AM
I found this book incredibly exciting and deep.

Bing!


I didn't find it hard to read at all. I loved it from the beginning.


Bing! Bing!

I picked The Gunslinger up at the bookstore in '87 when Drawing came out in the stores and read them back to back..The Gunslinger got me hooked through the proverbial bag on the Dark Tower series.

jayson
01-07-2008, 06:48 AM
When it comes to the people that I lent the book to that were unable to finish it, I have to admit that it made me re-evaluate the way I think of them. I didn't write them off or anything like that, but whenever one of them reccommends a book to someone in my presence I always take it with a grain of salt. I mean how much can I value an opinion about a book from someone who didn't "get" The Gunslinger? It's the same way with tv. I have an innate distrust for people who don't get the Simpsons.

Wuducynn
01-07-2008, 06:53 AM
Worthy of death is what it comes down to. Or even better, being cast through the todash door under the Castle Discordia.

jayson
01-07-2008, 07:00 AM
i'm not so sure i'd put them to death, though the one who lost my original copy, the copy I first read at 17, the copy that i taped the spine together more times than i can count... he i could have killed.

Jean
01-07-2008, 07:05 AM
When it comes to the people that I lent the book to that were unable to finish it, I have to admit that it made me re-evaluate the way I think of them. I didn't write them off or anything like that, but whenever one of them reccommends a book to someone in my presence I always take it with a grain of salt. I mean how much can I value an opinion about a book from someone who didn't "get" The Gunslinger?
you understand, of course, that it is logically incorrect? It would be ok (only to a degree, though) if you took it "with a grain of salt" if they criticized a book, not recommended it - then it would be at least possible to surmise the book might be like The Gunslinger, and that is why they didn't like it while you would; even this case leaves a lot of books that are not like The Gunslinger at all and, thus, you might both like it. On the other hand, doubting the value of the book they recommend is just logically unsound, it's like rejecting a candy from someone you disagree with on the question of smoked salmon.

It's not even that it makes me feel sorry that my (or anybody else's who's had the misfortune of not liking this particular book) opinion doesn't matter - it's that it would be sad if you missed something good on such a feeble basis, wouldn't it?

Wuducynn
01-07-2008, 07:12 AM
Damn it Jean, stop being so logical!! :angry:

Jean
01-07-2008, 07:14 AM
it's my secret sin and guilty pleasure... we bears revel in it

jayson
01-07-2008, 07:26 AM
you understand, of course, that it is logically incorrect? It would be ok (only to a degree, though) if you took it "with a grain of salt" if they criticized a book, not recommended it - then it would be at least possible to surmise the book might be like The Gunslinger, and that is why they didn't like it while you would; even this case leaves a lot of books that are not like The Gunslinger at all and, thus, you might both like it. On the other hand, doubting the value of the book they recommend is just logically unsound, it's like rejecting a candy from someone you disagree with on the question of smoked salmon.

It's not even that it makes me feel sorry that my (or anybody else's who's had the misfortune of not liking this particular book) opinion doesn't matter - it's that it would be sad if you missed something good on such a feeble basis, wouldn't it?

Logic never entered into the calculus. I don't doubt the value of the book at all, just the value of their personal review of it. I'm not even saying I dismiss their views entirely because of it, but that there inability to finish the Gunslinger causes me to consider their views in a different light. It may not be logical or fair, but it's an honest appraisal of the way I view it.

Jean
01-07-2008, 07:29 AM
yes, that's the difference between bears and humans, I know... especially the primarily logical-verbal bears and visual-imaginative humans... http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

Brice
01-07-2008, 07:43 AM
I'd have to agree that although admittedly illogical (and logic being something I generally love) someone disliking DT calls into question anything they do value or devalue. They are aesthetic lepers.

Jean
01-07-2008, 07:55 AM
oh, come on, you don't really mean that, do you? I mean... it's all very fine to get together and to love each other on the grounds of common taste (like we do here), but rate/judge/blame those who don't share it? It's like there's nothing wrong in a merry national traditional festival... until in the middle of having their innocent fun the merry nation starts thinking they are better than others.

Brice
01-07-2008, 07:58 AM
I was kinda' kidding Jean.

jayson
01-07-2008, 07:59 AM
oh, come on, you don't really mean that, do you? I mean... it's all very fine to get together and to love each other on the grounds of common taste (like we do here), but rate/judge/blame those who don't share it? It's like there's nothing wrong in a merry national traditional festival... until in the middle of having their innocent fun the merry nation starts thinking they are better than others.

i'm quite comfortable with my intellectual snobbery. :dance:

Jean
01-07-2008, 08:05 AM
I was kinda' kidding Jean.
I kinda know. It's just that there are things that I can't help reacting to, even though I suspect they must be jokes. I lived too long in a society where people too often were forced to like some things and to dislike others, and to have a taste different from the rest was really dangerous (subversive, can you believe it?). That's why I, like an old battlehorse, prick my ears whenever I hear anything resembling an attempt to turn taste into ideology. http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

Letti
01-07-2008, 08:25 AM
When it comes to the people that I lent the book to that were unable to finish it, I have to admit that it made me re-evaluate the way I think of them. I didn't write them off or anything like that, but whenever one of them reccommends a book to someone in my presence I always take it with a grain of salt. I mean how much can I value an opinion about a book from someone who didn't "get" The Gunslinger? It's the same way with tv. I have an innate distrust for people who don't get the Simpsons.

For my part I would be incredibly surprised if any of my friends could read the Gunslinger and they liked it. That's why I don't lend it. I am really happy that I have so many people out there who loved it but for me it's that type of book that can't touch most of the people (but it's just a feeling I can be wrong).

Wuducynn
01-07-2008, 08:29 AM
Most folk I've known who have tried reading The Dark Tower series have a problem with The Gunslinger for some reason. I visit them once a year out in the woods where I've lovingly buried whats left of their corpses.

Brice
01-07-2008, 08:36 AM
I was kinda' kidding Jean.
I kinda know. It's just that there are things that I can't help reacting to, even though I suspect they must be jokes. I lived too long in a society where people too often were forced to like some things and to dislike others, and to have a taste different from the rest was really dangerous (subversive, can you believe it?). That's why I, like an old battlehorse, prick my ears whenever I hear anything resembling an attempt to turn taste into ideology. http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

Oh, I know. I assure you I detest elitism myself.





















I totally understand and accept not everyone can be me. Poor saps! :P

jayson
01-07-2008, 08:40 AM
For my part I would be incredibly surprised if any of my friends could read the Gunslinger and they liked it. That's why I don't lend it. I am really happy that I have so many people out there who loved it but for me it's that type of book that can't touch most of the people (but it's just a feeling I can be wrong).

Agreed, and that's why I don't try to get just anyone to read it. Typically the friends I have reccommended it too either (a) like other books in similar genres, and/or (b) like King but haven't read DT. That is why I wind up surprised when they don't like it or can't finish it.

Since I found this site, I am less and less likely to try anymore to get anyone else to read it, now that I have plenty of other intelligent folks who have read and do love it to discuss the series with. You guys rule!

Letti
01-07-2008, 08:45 AM
For my part I am sure there are many good books out there I couldn't read or finish.
There is LoR. I couldn't finish it... but one day I will. That damn mountain can't win. :D

Jean
01-07-2008, 09:19 AM
I totally understand and accept not everyone can be me. Poor saps!
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_thumb.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_thumb.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_thumb.gif

jhanic
01-07-2008, 10:37 AM
I first read the stories when they were initially published in F&SF and enjoyed them. I then got the Grant edition and REALLY enjoyed rereading them. I read the revised Viking edition and liked it, but I still like the originals better.

John

Matt
01-07-2008, 10:39 AM
The first time I read it I really loved it but there isn't a choice for confused :lol:

That is what I was, totally confused and I believe it took several times through before I finally got it.

Wuducynn
01-07-2008, 10:54 AM
The first time I read it I really loved it but there isn't a choice for confused :lol:

That is what I was, totally confused and I believe it took several times through before I finally got it.

What were you confused about?

Matt
01-07-2008, 10:59 AM
The way he overlapped the back story had me reeling for a bit, I'm okay now.

this was back in my harsh stoner years. :lol:

William50
01-07-2008, 11:56 AM
You were a stoner?

Matt
01-07-2008, 11:58 AM
Wasn't everyone? It was the 80's :lol:

William50
01-07-2008, 12:00 PM
I wouldn't know. I wasn't even born until 93.

Wuducynn
01-07-2008, 12:03 PM
The way he overlapped the back story had me reeling for a bit, I'm okay now.

this was back in my harsh stoner years. :lol:

Ah yeah. I can see that..also the intertwining dimensions thing can confuse someone not used to that concept.


I wouldn't know. I wasn't even born until 93.

Damn, I was two years into college by that year.

William50
01-07-2008, 12:04 PM
That makes you OLD! Just Kidding.

TerribleT
01-07-2008, 12:54 PM
I kinda know. It's just that there are things that I can't help reacting to, even though I suspect they must be jokes. I lived too long in a society where people too often were forced to like some things and to dislike others, and to have a taste different from the rest was really dangerous (subversive, can you believe it?). That's why I, like an old battlehorse, prick my ears whenever I hear anything resembling an attempt to turn taste into ideology.

Jean, I think this is one of the most profound things you've ever said. I'd love, probably in a different thread, to hear your thoughts on Americans and the fact that we tend to take our freedom for granted.

Matt
01-07-2008, 12:56 PM
He offers an amazing perspective for sure. Jean I mean. :wub:

obscurejude
01-07-2008, 02:56 PM
When it comes to the people that I lent the book to that were unable to finish it, I have to admit that it made me re-evaluate the way I think of them. I didn't write them off or anything like that, but whenever one of them reccommends a book to someone in my presence I always take it with a grain of salt. I mean how much can I value an opinion about a book from someone who didn't "get" The Gunslinger? It's the same way with tv. I have an innate distrust for people who don't get the Simpsons.

Exactly R of G!

Matt
01-07-2008, 03:04 PM
Hmmm...I'm not sure I feel any differently about people that don't get into it, my daughter is one of them!! :lol:

Maybe another kid.

Jean
01-08-2008, 05:04 AM
TerribleT and Matt: thank you for your kind words... the longer I live the more I feel the exotic experience I live through can't be all that useless, at least because it made me sensitive towards the slightest symptoms of totalitarian thinking, even when in democratic countries it comes on soft paws and not in the nailed military boots. I hope we can talk about all that elsewhere.

(photopucket still on maintenance! well, picture six huggling bears here)

jhanic
01-08-2008, 01:16 PM
That makes you OLD! Just Kidding.

And what does that make me?!? I was born in 1944!! :excited:

John

TerribleT
01-08-2008, 01:22 PM
it made me sensitive towards the slightest symptoms of totalitarian thinking, even when in democratic countries it comes on soft paws and not in the nailed military boots.

May I use this in my sig?

Wuducynn
01-08-2008, 01:57 PM
That makes you OLD! Just Kidding.

And what does that make me?!? I was born in 1944!! :excited:

John

Methuselah

jayson
01-08-2008, 01:57 PM
And what does that make me?!? I was born in 1944!! :excited:

John

One of The Great Old Ones?

William50
01-08-2008, 02:02 PM
It's ok. I just happen to like old people.

Jean
01-09-2008, 02:35 AM
it made me sensitive towards the slightest symptoms of totalitarian thinking, even when in democratic countries it comes on soft paws and not in the nailed military boots.

May I use this in my sig?
I'll be greatly honored! http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

TerribleT
01-09-2008, 04:01 AM
it made me sensitive towards the slightest symptoms of totalitarian thinking, even when in democratic countries it comes on soft paws and not in the nailed military boots.

May I use this in my sig?
I'll be greatly honored! http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

Thnakee Sia, I'm the one who's honored.

Malficeus
01-14-2008, 07:05 PM
After many recommendations i decided on reading it which became my first S.K. book. in the beginning it was difficult to get use to his style of writing but now im an addict i cant get enough

Letti
01-14-2008, 11:25 PM
After many recommendations i decided on reading it which became my first S.K. book. in the beginning it was difficult to get use to his style of writing but now im an addict i cant get enough

When did it become easier to read?

Dud-a-chum?
01-14-2008, 11:51 PM
To be honest with you, even though I do feel like the book isn't nearly as good as the books that followed it (with only one exception), I was actually quite interested the whole time. It was only until I read books two and three that I realized how much less I liked this one, so it wasn't a bad book at all, just not as good as it's sequel.

Ruthful
01-15-2008, 12:48 AM
Rolands test.

Makes up for any short comings. Great story.

Definitely one of my favorite parts-probably because it involves two of the most lovale characters, i.e. David and Cort.

I thought the writing of the original had a stilted, Writer's workshop feel to it, which I guess you'd expect from an overly ambitious twenty year-old would-be writer.

Still, it was unique. It's the cornerstone of Roland's saga, and you have to respect that.

Malficeus
01-15-2008, 04:14 PM
After many recommendations i decided on reading it which became my first S.K. book. in the beginning it was difficult to get use to his style of writing but now im an addict i cant get enough

When did it become easier to read?

Im not sure the way he was describing stuff just went meh for the first pages but i adapted to it i think around a few pages while he was in tull

jemaher
03-26-2008, 09:02 AM
wow, this question brings me back... I Love the dark tower series. But I actually put the gunslinger down and was very disappointed on first read. When i picked it up again i muscled thru the first 100 pages and I was HOOKED!

Storyslinger
03-26-2008, 09:05 AM
I'm probably one of those that couldn't put it down.

MonteGss
03-26-2008, 09:06 AM
I couldn't put it down either. It was a fast read for me, and I loved it. :cool:
As I've said before though....it wasn't The Gunslinger that got me hooked on The Dark Tower...that was Book 2. :)

mia/susannah
03-26-2008, 09:23 AM
I fell in Love with this book and the full series as soon as I saw the book. I was just drawn to this for some reason. I don't understand why anyone would not like The Gunslinger

MonteGss
03-26-2008, 09:28 AM
Me neither! :D

Wuducynn
03-26-2008, 10:54 AM
I fell in Love with this book and the full series as soon as I saw the book. I was just drawn to this for some reason. I don't understand why anyone would not like The Gunslinger

Lack of taste.

Letti
03-26-2008, 12:24 PM
We all are different. I am sure LoR is a great series but I simply can't read it.
I hope one day I will be able to finish it. Still I don't think I have a bad taste.

Wuducynn
03-26-2008, 12:26 PM
No, Letti your taste is impeccable, believe me.

blackrose22
03-26-2008, 05:27 PM
When reading it for the first time I loved it from start. But I didn't read it out of choice as my sister bought it for me for Christmas knowing I was a big SK fan already. I use to pick up the book the odd time in the book shop and read the blurb on the back and it never gripped me to want to buy it and read it. I'd end up buying another SK book instead. I did that for a couple of years and kicked myself for not buying it myself after finishing the book. So I've got my sister to thank for introducing me to Roland and his strange but beautiful world. I would've gotten round to it sometime when I'd run out of SK books to read.

Ka-tet
03-27-2008, 03:55 AM
I found this book quite difficult to read at parts, once or twice i stopped for a week or two at a time. I even read another book while i was in the middles of the ginslinger. But it is understandable that i found this book hard to read, i really hadnt matured very much when it comes to reading. I belive the dark tower helped me along that path.

what
03-27-2008, 03:58 AM
I absolutely loved the book, I couldn't put it down! My "addiction" was so bad my wife would get mad that all I was doing was reading the book!

Erin
03-27-2008, 06:45 AM
I hear you what! From the moment I picked the book up and read that famous first line I was hooked.

Wuducynn
03-27-2008, 07:21 AM
Same here. I almost commited the mistake of reading Drawing first. I'm glad I saw that there was a book before it.

jemaher
03-27-2008, 02:59 PM
It is amazing how much more i enjoyed gunslinger when i reread it 15 years later.

BillyxRansom
03-28-2008, 03:31 PM
people who don't get the Simpsons.

DOES NOT COMPUTE.

Jean
03-28-2008, 10:30 PM
It is amazing how much more i enjoyed gunslinger when i reread it 15 years later.
I hope in another 15 years I will, too. (hasn't happened yet)

Letti
03-28-2008, 10:33 PM
It is amazing how much more i enjoyed gunslinger when i reread it 15 years later.
I hope in another 15 years I will, too. (hasn't happened yet)

Have you tried to reread it?

Jean
03-28-2008, 10:44 PM
Yes. I didn't actually hate it this time, because in the light of the other volumes it became marginally better, but I still did not like it.

Letti
03-28-2008, 10:49 PM
Maybe in 15 years... I am sure you will be in love with it one day, Jean. *smiles widely*

John_and_Yoko
04-03-2008, 12:18 PM
Not at all.

Of course, I read the revised and expanded edition, but still--I'm not a big fan of Westerns as a rule, but I found I was able to pay attention to what was going on, for the most part, and it got me interested. :)

The only real trouble, and that's my fault, not the King's, is that I have difficulty re-orienting myself, as with flashbacks (and there were several of those, as you all know). I had to go back and re-read to make sure I knew where I was, and I also didn't want to forget where the "present" was, either....

Wuducynn
04-03-2008, 03:22 PM
is that I have difficulty re-orienting myself, as with flashbacks (and there were several of those, as you all know). I had to go back and re-read to make sure I knew where I was, and I also didn't want to forget where the "present" was, either....

This is pretty common with a lot of folk when reading this book. There are several flashbacks on top of each other right at the beginning which is unusual. For me it enhanced the dream-like quality of the book.

John_and_Yoko
04-03-2008, 04:58 PM
is that I have difficulty re-orienting myself, as with flashbacks (and there were several of those, as you all know). I had to go back and re-read to make sure I knew where I was, and I also didn't want to forget where the "present" was, either....

This is pretty common with a lot of folk when reading this book. There are several flashbacks on top of each other right at the beginning which is unusual. For me it enhanced the dream-like quality of the book.

Heh--I've always been very literal-minded and linear-thinking. I WANT to appreciate different ways of telling a story, but the first time around it can get confusing....

Then again, maybe that's the point--to prompt readers to read it again and make sure it stays with them....

jemaher
04-03-2008, 05:47 PM
I remember being excited about a new king book when i finally tracked down my copy of the gunslinger. This was WAY before ebay.... and then disappointed because it was so different from his other work... I persevered to finish the book. I didnt really gel with the story until dt2 drawing of the three, but then i was hooked. I have reread the gunslinger twice and then reread th "19" version after little sisters came out and i really dig the story and want to hear more!

Letti
04-03-2008, 10:43 PM
I wish I had read the Gunslinger first and not DotT. I would be interested in my opinion in that way.

Wuducynn
04-04-2008, 05:29 AM
I wish I had read the Gunslinger first and not DotT. I would be interested in my opinion in that way.

How did you end up reading Drawing first?

Letti
04-04-2008, 07:27 AM
I wish I had read the Gunslinger first and not DotT. I would be interested in my opinion in that way.

How did you end up reading Drawing first?

I have written it down many times, not a big story. :)
I was about 12 and I was hooked on Dean R. Koontz. I read all his books and once when I went to the bookstore to buy some new books by him I was shocked to see I had read all of them which were published at that time. I was incredibly sad and disappointed.
I didn't want to buy anything else but just to be on the safe side (I still hoped that I could find something new by him) I checked the shelves again.
Than I suddenly saw DotT. The picture was quite interesting and when I read the back of the book I felt that's the most extraordinary thing I had ever read in my life. So I bought it but I didn't hope to get anything speciel from it. I didn't know that it was the second book of a long series.
In the other hand I started with DotT because the Gunslinger wasn't sold there in that very shop and if you go into a bookshop these days usually you cannot find it. I have no idea why.
When I finished it I was hooked on the story and I started to hunt for the first book and after some days and many shops I could buy it at last.
Anyway I read the first 4 books during a week or so. . Then I had to stop of course because Kind hadn't written the 5th book yet.

Wuducynn
04-04-2008, 07:49 AM
Ah. I almost did that, I started reading Drawing when I picked it up at the store and then saw that there was another one before it and that it was part of a series. Glad I caught it, because I think its important to read them in order.

LadyHitchhiker
04-04-2008, 11:52 AM
I actually started by reading these books out of order. I read the second book first and then the first and then the third. Albeit the second and third were my favorites, the first one was a quick read to me.

Shiv
04-11-2008, 04:53 PM
Just have to say that I ripped through the story in a couple of days. Probably would have went through it quicker if I wasn't a slave to the annoyances of eating, sleeping and working.

I also have to say I never liked cowboy type movies or stories. Hate them to be honest. But this story captivated me from the first few lines. I just finished 6th book tonight and I'm still loving this series just as much as I did the first story.

/end sappy testimony

Wuducynn
04-11-2008, 07:54 PM
Just have to say that I ripped through the story in a couple of days. Probably would have went through it quicker if I wasn't a slave to the annoyances of eating, sleeping and working.

I also have to say I never liked cowboy type movies or stories. Hate them to be honest. But this story captivated me from the first few lines. I just finished 6th book tonight and I'm still loving this series just as much as I did the first story.

/end sappy testimony

Thats not sappy at all, and I share those feelings. :harrier:

Woofer
04-14-2008, 10:17 AM
I doubt more than a handful of folks, if that many, will choose "Yes, it was incredibly hard. It's a miracle I could finish it at all. " This site is for DT junkies after all.

*WOLFHUGS to the site*

Jean
04-14-2008, 09:36 PM
I doubt more than a handful of folks, if that many, will choose "Yes, it was incredibly hard. It's a miracle I could finish it at all. " This site is for DT junkies after all.

*WOLFHUGS to the site*
so far only one has voted that, and that was me

Wuducynn
04-15-2008, 05:53 AM
You just hate the Dark Tower series, Jean.

Woofer
04-15-2008, 05:17 PM
I doubt more than a handful of folks, if that many, will choose "Yes, it was incredibly hard. It's a miracle I could finish it at all. " This site is for DT junkies after all.

*WOLFHUGS to the site*
so far only one has voted that, and that was me

Well, if a bear is not a handful, I don't know what is! :P

Srsly, though, I saw your earlier post explaining why, and I can completely see it. While it wasn't difficult for me to get through it, I was blindsided by how very different it was from all of the other King that I had read. And, like you said, it can be a bit stilted and forced at times. The change in tone and tempo and type, in itself, made for a slower read than usual. Successive dips at the pool, however, haven't suffered from that problem.

Letti
04-15-2008, 10:34 PM
Don't you think Jean that you could have enjoyed it more if you had been in an normal usual situation?

Jean
04-15-2008, 11:49 PM
Woofer: thank you for understanding!
Nikolett: no, I don't think so... I'm afraid if the situation had been normal, I would just have dropped the book altogether. Then again, I have reread it since; as I said, it's better in the light of further developments, but not much better. I feel, though, that it is necessary part of the series, just like the Browning poem is; just not enjoyable reading.

3 DOORS DOWN
09-16-2008, 01:00 PM
Loved the book in 1982 and still love it now,lost count i many times i
have read it.

stone, rose, unfound door
09-16-2008, 01:48 PM
I know you were right when asking if people found it hard to read: someone I know totally struggled with it and got fed up; I just never understood how that could happen.
I, like most of the people here just couldn't put it down until I went to sleep. I became a fan when I read the very first sentence and was more and more fascinated by Roland as the story went. I was kinda disappointed when I saw he was actually not a machine in DTII :)

gsvec
09-16-2008, 02:43 PM
The first time I sat down with Gunslinger, I was really excited to have found a new SK book - but I struggled with it after about 20 or so pages and decided to read it later since some other SK had just come out. When DotT was released, I bought it (of course!) and dug back into Gunslinger because I just HAD to read them in order (I'm a Virgo, after all). Again, around 20 or so pages in, I put it down. I wish I could remember now what the roadblock was. I faithfully bought the subsequent volumes as they came out and put them on my shelf . . . waiting. The very day I bought VII, I sat down and started to read all 7 volumes one right after the other because I was soooo into it - and it took me less than 2 weeks! Still had a little hump getting through Gunslinger, but I had my goal then and it was most definitely worth the wait. I haven't reread the full series again, but am thinking it might be a great "winter" to-do. :D

Ves'Ka Gan
09-16-2008, 06:49 PM
I did find it hard to get through, I've told many people, had I not bought all of the first three books at once, I may have missed out on the entire series!

Of course, on the second reading, I enjoyed it a lot. I suppose the reason I didn't like The Gunslinger the first time, was because I didn't much like Roland. After "getting to know him better" in the other books, I was able to relate to him better the second time around.

Jean
09-16-2008, 11:05 PM
I know you were right when asking if people found it hard to read: someone I know totally struggled with it and got fed up; I just never understood how that could happen.
That lonely voice that says, "Yes, it was incredibly hard. It's a miracle I could finish it at all," belongs to me.

Brainslinger
09-17-2008, 04:16 PM
I know you were right when asking if people found it hard to read: someone I know totally struggled with it and got fed up; I just never understood how that could happen.


I bought this for a friend a year or two back (it was for Christmas or her birthday, I forget which.) Shortly after she told me that she started it, but she stopped. It wasn't really the type of thing she was into.

I was disappointed as you could imagine.

I had a nice surprise the other day though. I was speaking to her on the phone, and she happened to mentioned that she had finished the book a while back! Seems she put it aside, finding it hard going, but then went back to it, she just never told me (I've met up with her a few times since I gave her the book.) She told me she enjoyed it too.

(She described it as being about a 'cowboy chasing death'. Not sure about that synopsis but it was amusing, and not entirely inaccurate.)

I visited her shortly after and lent her my 'Drawing of the Three'.

As for me (I think I might have said this already) I found it a bit harder reading than the other books I think.... but not too hard. I think I prefer the sequel books though.

Jackie
09-17-2008, 04:20 PM
I didn't find it hard to read at all. I found it very interesting and easy to get sucked into. I must admit that at times i had pulled some all nighters reading it [even on school nights ><]

Matt
09-18-2008, 10:23 AM
I agree, I was fully engrossed from the first time pretty much. If we are using "hard" as "hard to understand at first", I think I could get in that camp.

I still read it sometimes and find stuff that I didn't get before

stone, rose, unfound door
09-18-2008, 12:54 PM
I know you were right when asking if people found it hard to read: someone I know totally struggled with it and got fed up; I just never understood how that could happen.
That lonely voice that says, "Yes, it was incredibly hard. It's a miracle I could finish it at all," belongs to me.

I read your post and I do get your point, but as I said before, I just can't understand what could be so hard in it. Perhaps I can't simply try and read it the way someone else would. I'd been looking for something new for some time before finding it and cowboy stories fascinated me becaue it's so different from anything I could ever experience here and Roland totally fascinated me. I wanted to see how far he could go and how inhuman he could be and then I was shown that he was not the way he was in the Gunslinger. This book is as good as Song of Susannah to me: everytime I start it again, I just can't put it down. (and you know what thinking it's as goos as SoS means to me ;) )

Anastasia
03-03-2009, 02:32 AM
Well, I can't say that it was hard to read. However, during first several pages I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. At very first I thought it was going to be some Western and Fantasy story combined all together...not something I would like. But shortly after I was absolutely hooked and couldn't stop and put it aside;)

pixiedark76
03-03-2009, 01:46 PM
No it was not. I read Gunslinger first and then I read Drawing of The Three. I think that Drawing of the Three is the best in the DT series. The way SK got into the characters heads. I felt that the characters of Eddie, Susanna and Jake just lept out at me. I also liked the way it showed the complex personalities of Odetta/Detta Walker. This book is one of the most complex that SK has ever wrote.

MetGrl57
03-07-2009, 12:22 AM
It was slightly hard for me to get into at the very start, but I pressed on. I've always been fascinated by westerns and cowboys and such due to the influence of my dad, and thats what made me pick up the book originally. But I was pleasantly surprised that there was a lot more going on in the story than that haha. So I ended up reading it pretty quickly, actually. The copy I originally read was from the library, so I immediately went out and bought my own copy as well as Drawing.

candy
03-07-2009, 05:19 AM
I LOVED THIS BOOK, from the moment i picked it up. i was young at the time(oh to be young again) and was rummaging in book shops trying to pass the time. it was a short beautiful book unlike anything else i had read at that time.

in fact, out of the whole series the book i found the hardest was wizard and glass - this seemed to dip and in the middle and i felt as though i was plodding through the book, which none of the other books made me feel.

Ka-Shume
05-06-2009, 06:49 AM
In 11th grade I had to do a paper on an American author and then read a book by him and do a paper on that. I was going to do Eragon by Christopher Paolini but my English teacher wouldn't let me do it when I mentioned I'd already read it. So I had to do something else, I remembered that my teacher had briefly mentioned to me earlier something about the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. So I asked him about it and he told me the first one was called The Gunslinger, I was sort of disheartened to hear that it was going to involve guns, being a huge fantasy buff myself. (dragons, swords, magic ftw)

I found it a bit slow but had to persevere for the project, and after I finished I continued along the beam to the Dark Tower.

Aleister Crowley
05-06-2009, 07:53 AM
I hate the fact that King released an edited version of the Gunslinger. But I always tell people when getting into the series . . . the first book starts off slow, but once that is done it really picks up speed and doesnt let go.

dj_taboo
05-11-2009, 08:38 AM
It took me years to read this one. I kept putting it off. Once I stopped I would forget what happened and I'd have to start over. I can't tell you how many times 'ol Roland crossed that desert in my mind. He only had to reach the mountains and slow mutants once though and the rest of it just sparked my interest. I didn't even know it was an actual series until several months after I finished the Gunslinger (in 2002, LOL)

Aleister Crowley
05-11-2009, 08:43 AM
The tale had a slow start, thats for sure. I always tell people to just get through the Gunslinger and from there it gets so much better.

Jean
05-11-2009, 08:55 AM
that's what bears tell people, too! http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

Lily-sai
05-11-2009, 09:17 AM
I'm at the moment trying to convince one of my closest friends to start the DT series. Ditto on that what Aleister said - that's what I told my friend, too. I just long for my friends IRL to be able to share my passion about one of Sai King's finest works.

The first thing she asked was 'Is it scary?' Oh, no, not all.... :innocent: I just know she will love Oy like I do. *sigh*

Wuducynn
05-11-2009, 01:32 PM
Hmmm telling them "it gets much better from there" seems to me to be 1. Automatically assuming they will agree with you that they won't like it. And 2. Giving an negative spin to The Gunslinger before they've even started.

Doesn't seem helpful to me. I would just tell someone that the quality of The Gunslinger is slower and more dreamlike than the rest of the series.

Letti
05-11-2009, 01:39 PM
I think if people ever pick up the series around me they will do it because they see how incredibly crazy I am about it. It can be enough.
There is a friend of mine who told me she would learn English to be able to read the series in English because she saw how much I was hooked on it.
To sum up I don't think I will tell them anything about the gunslinger.

Jean
05-11-2009, 09:54 PM
Hmmm telling them "it gets much better from there" seems to me to be 1. Automatically assuming they will agree with you that they won't like it. And 2. Giving an negative spin to The Gunslinger before they've even started.

Doesn't seem helpful to me. I would just tell someone that the quality of The Gunslinger is slower and more dreamlike than the rest of the series.
I suppose when people ask for advice, they want the opinion of the one they're asking. Moreover, that if they ask this or that particular person, it is because they already know that person's tastes, otherwise there'd be no point in asking. Thus:
1. They understand that it's only a personal opinion they hear, not a universal truth;
2. They correlate the negative opinion they've heard with what they already know of this person likes and dislikes, which may or may not be similar to their own.

I am generally inclined to assume that if people ask for my opinion it's because they want to hear it, and that they are mature enough to be able to form their own opinion even after hearing mine. http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_cool.gif

Wuducynn
05-12-2009, 08:03 AM
I suppose when people ask for advice, they want the opinion of the one they're asking. Moreover, that if they ask this or that particular person, it is because they already know that person's tastes, otherwise there'd be no point in asking. Thus:
1. They understand that it's only a personal opinion they hear, not a universal truth;
2. They correlate the negative opinion they've heard with what they already know of this person likes and dislikes, which may or may not be similar to their own.

I am generally inclined to assume that if people ask for my opinion it's because they want to hear it, and that they are mature enough to be able to form their own opinion even after hearing mine. http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_cool.gif

None of what I said presupposed that they don't know that it's your own opinion. Everything I said still applies as far as I see it. Most folk I've known when looking for an opinion will often say "well maybe I'll just skip on that then". I have to then say "well you know, that IS MY opinion only. You may disagree."

Wuducynn
05-12-2009, 08:16 AM
All I'm saying is, if you're trying to sell someone on starting the series, giving The Gunslinger a negative spin from the get-go for someone who is looking to you for advice, may not help. Simple as that.

DoctorDodge
05-12-2009, 04:26 PM
I found it a little harder to read than most of the others, but i absolutely loved it's unique charm. It begins in a very strange and alien environment that only gets weirder as it goes along, so even with Jake there it can be hard to relate to. But it does have some wonderful moments, such as the conversation between Roland and the Man in Black, and the whole feel and atmosphere of the book is something extra special. It certainly grabbed my interest, but even i was surprised how much better the 2nd volume was when Eddie was introduced, who is quite possibly one of my favourite characters in literature ever!

BillyxRansom
06-19-2009, 04:52 PM
It took me years to read this one. I kept putting it off. Once I stopped I would forget what happened and I'd have to start over. I can't tell you how many times 'ol Roland crossed that desert in my mind. He only had to reach the mountains and slow mutants once though and the rest of it just sparked my interest. I didn't even know it was an actual series until several months after I finished the Gunslinger (in 2002, LOL)Haha does anyone else see the irony in this?

Venom09
07-10-2009, 05:23 PM
The first time I read it (15 years ago) I had difficulty getting through it, however once I made it through it I couldn't get enough. I have since read it 4 more times without a lick of trouble. Its just a slow start to the series.

GirlGoneNineteen
08-20-2009, 12:32 PM
I read it the first time as a freshman in high school and didn't really like it.
A friend convinced me to give it another try years later, and boy, am I glad I did! :rock:

killboi
07-04-2010, 06:17 AM
I remember reading it in a single sitting. There aren't many novels out there which let me boast that. And it brought me again and again towards it. But, i don't think that people who find the first one amazing will enjoy the latter books too. he probably made a drop on creepy levels :(

Claudine D`schaine
07-04-2010, 08:05 AM
Lo gracioso fue que el primer parrafo no llamó mi atención, pense que seria otro relato de vaqueros yeso... pero una vez que comence a leerlo... no pude parar, y he seguido libro tras libro hasta llegar al culminante, y te dire que es tan descriptivo que puedes vivir el libro completo!!!:clap:

arrawyn
07-04-2010, 09:39 AM
i thought the gunslinger (i've never read the original only the revised version) was really interesting. and because it was unique and different (i.e. all of in-world, mid-world and the language of high speech etc) i really enjoyed it. and i only thought of it as the worst of all the books (with pace/excitement/action) once i'd read all the others, and then looking back realized that the gunslinger was quite slow in comparison. but as soon as i finished the series i immediately read the gunslinger again (like in 2 days) and picked up on SO much stuff that i missed the first time round that is explained more in later books.

Brainslinger
04-03-2011, 07:30 AM
I bought this book for a friend a few years back. I was pleasantly surprised to find later that she had read it (she doesn't seem to read all that much fiction, and in the past, I've loaned her other books which were later returned to me unread). I think she found it quite interesting (in her words "It's about a cowboy chasing Death." I suppose that's not too far off the mark, although I think she sometimes looks for symbolism and metaphor when characters and situations are just what they are*) but it wasn't really her thing.

I had leant her DT2 after that, and it was returned to me later unread. I'm a tad worried that the first book put her off the rest. I don't dislike The Gunslinger myself, but I think the books really take off from the second onwards. Despite being bigger books I think they're generally easier to read and pull you along. I told her a bit of what happens in the second book. Not too much (I didn't want to spoil the story), just enough to give her a taster. She seemed more interested. I hope she'll take the plunge.

She's borrowing 'Salem's Lot right now, and, last I heard, she was thoroughly enjoying that one. A very different book, but it's pretty slow moving at the start with all the introductory Town stuff, so if she can get through that, it bodes well for the more drawn out sequences in DT2. (I'm thinking mainly of Odetta's backflash stuff and the beach wandering between the doors.)

*Okay, maybe Roland and Walter aren't 'just what they seem'. There's certainly no harm in seeing allegories, etc, in various works. On the other hand I think a good story can provide it's own reward in just being a good story. Does that make sense?

jertoncvv
03-20-2013, 08:03 PM
For some people, sometimes King is a bit over when describing scenes but I really love that. I guess it helps to construct the atmosphere of expectation wich is in my opinion, essential in this kind of literature. I guess as well that look for (or just see) some simbolysm and metaphor can make the book more than pleasant, can make it useful, almost like a guide. That's the way I use to do with books of such greatness, but I have to admit that sometimes I exaggerate in my interpretations.:lol:

Iwritecode
03-21-2013, 07:23 AM
I think this is the first time I've seen this thread...

I had a little trouble getting into this book the first time I read it. IIRC, W&G had just come out and I was just starting to get into SK books. I had read a few like Firestarter and Christine when a co-worker noticed that I liked SK books and loaned me her copy.

IIRC she said it had a bit of a western theme and that it was the story that he tied most of his other books into. The flashbacks confused me a little as well. It did make more sense when I went back and re-read it a second time but I don't remember if that was before or after I read books 2-4.

SolomonsGal
04-19-2016, 05:38 PM
I had the same reaction- couldn't put it down and talked about it a lot, but to my husband. We lived in Qatar the year I read it and I didn't have many English language books to read (thank Goddness for iBooks). I read The Gunslinger like a Eddie was hooked on smack. It was all I thought about while teaching! I couldn't wait until night time when I could escape our boring life in the Middle East and be in Roland's world. The Gunslinger and all of the Dark Rower books make me feel something no other book has ever made me feel (except for Jitterbug Perfume).

RissaServo
05-18-2016, 08:38 AM
I struggled many times - I could make it about 50 pages and would just feel "off." It was like trying to figure out an anagram or something that just never seemed to get solved. I posted this in my intro post but I decided to try the audiobook a few weeks ago and finally everything focused and it hit me like a truck!!! It was amazing I am kind of glad it took the effort and had such a huge payoff. I had a copy on my old nook for ages - while I was waiting on my next audible credit for the waste lands (I really love the audiobooks of the dark tower) I picked up my old nook which had The Gunslinger on it and I killed it in about two hours. :-) Now almost a 3rd of the way thru The Waste Lands, these books are all I can think about, all I want to talk about and I think I am driving my friends and family crazy lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

TravelinJack
04-26-2017, 09:20 AM
I initially struggled with the first 40-50 pages. I think I wasn't able to focus enough to really fall into the world and the language, so I'd miss references and plot points. I started it a third time and with the means to relax and deep read it, I really got absorbed into it. All those difficult terms and such pretty much went away and it was a smooth quick finish. Kind of interesting really. The rest of the series is very smooth and much like his normal writing style which I will admit was refreshing.