OK...just bought The Gunslinger and...

[bloodbool]

Ive put it off far too long. I may be the last SK fan to read this series, but I bought the Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three tonight. Im going to dive into this series headfirst.

I started The Gunslinger and am about 60 pages in and I gotta admit, im lost. It took me forever to figure out if this was the past (Western) or the future. Once I DID figure that out, im still lost. LOL. Im just finishing the chapter where he meets with the "preacher Lady". Is this going to get better? Am I going to catch up to this or am I hopelessly lost in a sea of Devil grass?

Someone send me some hope here. :oops::oo::biggrin2:

[Moderator]

The first one can be tough, but stick with it and you'll be rewarded when you read The Drawing of the Three. :smile2: It also helps if you suspend your ideas about time, directions, and trying to fit the story into the world as we know it.

[smjohn]

Ive put it off far too long. I may be the last SK fan to read this series, but I bought the Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three tonight. Im going to dive into this series headfirst.

I started The Gunslinger and am about 60 pages in and I gotta admit, im lost. It took me forever to figure out if this was the past (Western) or the future. Once I DID figure that out, im still lost. LOL. Im just finishing the chapter where he meets with the "preacher Lady". Is this going to get better? Am I going to catch up to this or am I hopelessly lost in a sea of Devil grass?

Someone send me some hope here. :oops::oo::biggrin2:

You're aren't the last one, believe me...I've had the books for while now, started once, got JAS and haven't gone back to Dark Tower yet...Tried several times over the course of the last 20 years...I will not give up though:biggrin2:

[Cowboy]

Stay the course!

[Ubasti]

Hang in there. It'll all start to make sense before you know it.

I just started reading the series last year after owning it since it for years. I've gotten a little distracted by some of Uncle Stevie's books lately, but will hopefully resume my quest for the Tower soon.

[ConstantReader1978]

Absolutely the first one can be tough and parts of the other 6 can as well (wizard and glass in particular) but stick with it. It's worth it!

[Merdoc]

I agree with the others, the story is very rewarding if you just keep with it, and I think everything you need to know eventually gets explained.

[Wisnoodles]

I am the same way, I always wanted to read this series but had a hard time getting into it. But since i just finished IT I am going to tackle this series once again.

[md10pc]

Ive put it off far too long. I may be the last SK fan to read this series, but I bought the Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three tonight. Im going to dive into this series headfirst.

I started The Gunslinger and am about 60 pages in and I gotta admit, im lost. It took me forever to figure out if this was the past (Western) or the future. Once I DID figure that out, im still lost. LOL. Im just finishing the chapter where he meets with the "preacher Lady". Is this going to get better? Am I going to catch up to this or am I hopelessly lost in a sea of Devil grass?

Someone send me some hope here. :oops::oo::biggrin2:

I think you're almost there. When I hit the chapter called "The Way Station" that is when the story really started to kick in for me.

[pandora]

Well you posted this message five days ago so hopefully you finished The Gunslinger. It was actually really hard for me to figure out too but you need to read it to start to know Roland. If you've put it down, please pick it back up, cause once you hit Drawing of the Three you'll know what everyone is talking about. IT ROCKS! Go out and buy at least the following two books after Drawing of the Three or you'll find yourself pissed off one night when you've finished the last page and want more.

[E Blitz]

I read the Gunslinger twice back to back to fully take in everything that I had read. The second read thru was a lot better and much easier to understand than the first. Now I just have to get off my butt and grab Drawing of the Three.

[JohnDalglish]

Well you posted this message five days ago so hopefully you finished The Gunslinger. It was actually really hard for me to figure out too but you need to read it to start to know Roland. If you've put it down, please pick it back up, cause once you hit Drawing of the Three you'll know what everyone is talking about. IT ROCKS! Go out and buy at least the following two books after Drawing of the Three or you'll find yourself pissed off one night when you've finished the last page and want more.

Hi,

The wait of several years between volumes for those of us who read it as it was published was irritating.

Six years stuck on Blaine the Pain.

Long days and pleasant nights

[Srbo]

Ive put it off far too long. I may be the last SK fan to read this series, :


No, you`re not.
I didn`t read it yet either.:blush:

[Teddy Duchamp]

Im really glad to see your post OP - because I have just got to the exact same bit of the Gunslinger (preacher lady).

I promised myself I would make the effort - read everything else but this series just didnt appeal to me.

At the risk of offending some big fans - Im finding it hard to equate the "old tyme" language which he uses, and then the sudden interjection of a very modern sentence in the same paragraph - it grates on me a little. I know if I stay the course I wont notice it any more - he did the same thing at the start of the Talisman when Jack "flipped" for the first time - so I am sticking with it.

Its things like a sentence sounding like prose from centuries ago and then the next thing it says "I bet she wasnt".........it doesnt sit well - but maybe thats the way its supposed to be *blushes*

[Mr.Bobbo]

Fellas,

I hope this isn't too disjointed a place for this (Mssrs. Moderator, you be the judge please), but:

I'VE JUST READ THE NEW EXPANDED/REVISED EDITION OF #1, AND I HAVE QUESTIONS. And none of them hold any negativity at all! I really have payed very little attention to Roland and his ka-tet over the years (I still do not own a single volume of any of the DT books, in any form), but I've read 'em, sure. Case in point: are there parts of WIZARD AND GLASS in the "new" version, or...I don't remember so much about Roland's youth and coming-of-age in the original '83 edition (though I didn't get my hands on one until 1990, beg pardon). Help!


Okay,
Bobbo

[ExcerptsFromATatteredMind]

Ive put it off far too long. I may be the last SK fan to read this series, but I bought the Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three tonight. Im going to dive into this series headfirst.

I started The Gunslinger and am about 60 pages in and I gotta admit, im lost. It took me forever to figure out if this was the past (Western) or the future. Once I DID figure that out, im still lost. LOL. Im just finishing the chapter where he meets with the "preacher Lady". Is this going to get better? Am I going to catch up to this or am I hopelessly lost in a sea of Devil grass?

Someone send me some hope here. :oops::oo::biggrin2:

Okay BloodBool, so your having trouble with The Gunslinger. Nothing to hang your head about, it is an odd book. Especially so for you, being that you have read so many other novels by Mr. King. And therein lies the problem.

As a "constant reader" of Mr. King, you are used to getting in depth background on the main character(s) very early on in the novel, not to mention a healthy dose of their thoughts,hopes/dreams. Usually accompanied by their inner monologue, and some really funny jokes. This serves to orient you and give you a level of comfort with the character(s) and story material as you settle in to your enjoyable journey through the book.

In The Gunslinger however, you get very little of this. And there is a very good reason for that.

You are meant to be jarred by what you read. You are meant to be disoriented. Mr. King cannot give you that wonderful stream of consciousness from the characters perspective that lets you know the score. Because, at this point in the Saga, the main character (Roland) is almost as confused as you are as to what is going on.
He trudges across the desert with grim determination to catch the man in black. Yet, he is not even sure what to do if he does catch him. He only knows that he must.

Who is Roland? What is his past? Why is he doing this? He vaguely remembers. And that which he does remember, he is not gonna share with anybody. (At least right now.)

Roland is a no nonsense professional butt-kicker, who considers it a waste of time to dwell on matters not directly related to what he is trying to immediately accomplish. (Hence, there is very little given to us other than what concerns Roland in the here and now)

It is a strange book, no doubt, but it lays the foundation for the rest of the series. (Which is so good, that all who read it are humbled and awestruck. At least they should be.) And sets up many of the themes that are integral to the overall plot.

Roland is not "warm and fuzzy", you may even dislike him a little by the end of The Gunslinger. Have faith, this too is by design. And soon enough, Roland is forced to at least examine his ways, if not change them altogether.
And one last bit of encouragement. Book 2 (The Drawing of The Three) is told in a much more "familiar" fashion, and I promise you will not regret staying with old Roland of Gilead. (There, lol. Now you know where he is from.)

[christyharts]

My friend loaned me ALL seven books a little over a month ago. I read all seven in that span of time. Just finished the last one :)

I admit, the first one was hard to get into and understand at first, due to he was a beginning writer at the time.

The rest? HOOKED, HOOKED, HOOKED!

Stay with it, you won't regret it. I really started feeling like the characters became family.

[Sms231]

... You are meant to be jarred by what you read. You are meant to be disoriented. ...

I totally agree with the above statements. When you finally complete The Gunslinger and start reading The Drawing of the Three, the disorientation that you felt when reading the first book helps you to identify with the disorientation that both Eddie and Odetta felt when being drawn into Roland's world.

[JRLauer]

Ive put it off far too long. I may be the last SK fan to read this series, but I bought the Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three tonight. Im going to dive into this series headfirst.

I started The Gunslinger and am about 60 pages in and I gotta admit, im lost. It took me forever to figure out if this was the past (Western) or the future. Once I DID figure that out, im still lost. LOL. Im just finishing the chapter where he meets with the "preacher Lady". Is this going to get better? Am I going to catch up to this or am I hopelessly lost in a sea of Devil grass?

Someone send me some hope here. :oops::oo::biggrin2:

I had the same problem. The first book of the DT series had me baffled. But it gets easier as you go. By the time you finish the series, all questions will be answered. Even ones you don't want to know the answer to.

[THISisWHEREiMAKEmySTAND]

Part of the fun is the not knowing, as they say, 'all good things in due time'....I hope you find the perseverance to stick it through because things really start to come into focus in The Drawing of The Three, ENJOY!!

[barbiespoodle]

I'll admit that The Gunslinger was a bit hard for me to get through as well. But stick to it, it's really well worth it in the end and you'll understand why I say this when you do get through it and then read The Drawing of the Three. Once you start The Drawing of the Three, if you are like me, you will be hooked from that point on and will need to read the rest of the series, DT ranks high on my list of series and I have read a lot of series, believe me, it's a great read.

But you do have to read The Gunslinger first, it lays some important background about not only Rolan, but another very important person in the series. You may not understand it all now, but you will as you read the rest of the series.

[bio_chem06]

I feel like the more I read the better the books get. I just finished IV and it's my favorite. But I said that about I-III too. So I can only imagine how great the final book will be!

[dragonflier]

Hope that you stuck with the story and are enjoying your journeys with the Ka-Tet.... our old friends! This is my FAVOURITE story ever!

[TPG555]

The Gunslinger was difficult for me at first, but once you get to meet Jake at the way station, it really picks up. Then, after reading the second book, I couldn't wait to move on to the 3rd and the 4th.... I just finished Wizard and Glass and started Wolves. It gets a lot easier to follow and the books are very entertaining.

[robdraggoo]

I havnt read them yet either. I tried to read the gunslinger 6 months back. checked it out at the library. I read the first chapter an put it down. Not becuase I didnt like it becuase I had to do something else. I also checked out another book and picked that up and read that instead and never got back the gunslinger. I recenlty bought books 5 and 7 at a second hand store. SO im going to find the rest of them and start reasding them. That will be my next project.

[Ophelia]

The first one can be tough, but stick with it and you'll be rewarded when you read The Drawing of the Three. :smile2: It also helps if you suspend your ideas about time, directions, and trying to fit the story into the world as we know it.

I totally agree. It took me a month to read The Gunslinger and I kept putting it down. Once I finally stopped trying to fit the story into my understanding, into my world, it became great.

And it's a guy wandering around with ginormous guns and lightning quick speed. How frickin' cool is that?

*imitates Roland with gun fingers*
Pow, pow-pow-pow-pow!

[thymeoperator]

i'm attempting to read the other books that relate to these first, before i delve into this series - i've only got half of 'the talisman' and then 'black house' left, now, and being so close is driving me crazy!! :)

[morganelafee]

the gunslinger had given me headhaches too. it will get better, and the information you're getting in that first novel will help you with the others. when i read the serie the second time, i kept every book i've already read, just beside me, as a reference. it helped a lot.:smile2:

[brandon]

I read the gunslinger and to be honest i didn't really like it. I had read something by SK in the foreword to the effect of Gunslinger was written in an entirely different tone than the rest of the series. Since I had read and enjoyed so many of his other works, I took his word for it and continued on with the series. I am soooo glad I didnt give up on DT because of my experience with the first book. I am anxiously awaiting my sis-in-law to bring me Song of Susannah and Dark Tower so I can see how it all turns out. AS for all of the confusing stuff, alot of it is explained later. A lot of it is still mysterious to me but doesnt in any way hinder me from enjoying the story. Keep on Truckin'!

[FirstEdition]

Bloodbool, I sincerely hope you stuck with it! I started The Gunslinger in 7th grade and had finished the series rather quickly, and I still consider the first book to be my favorite. Yes, it is rather confusing, but the series is just so worth it. It's been several months since you started... hopefully you're just too enticed with the series that you can't be pulled away to the forums:smile2:

[sherry77]

The dark tower books are my all time favorite, its a little confusing but hang in there

[All Hail The Crimson King]

Okay, Bloodbool, it was in March that you made this thread, how did it go for you?

[OhhDiscordia]

I'm with the guy who bought the revised editions. Can anybody point me to a thread this is being discussed or do I need to start one? My roommate who put me onto the series was sooooo mad when I told him some of the things I did that were in the revised edition, most specifically the reference to 19, left to alice in the note from walter. he went absolutely nuts saying, thats so stupid, king's an idiot blah blah. but to be honest, i only read Gunslinger and Drawing of teh Three revised, and was kinda pleased to see 19 turn up about 4 or 5 books later out of nowhere. I like how its put in because its never brought up again as far as I know. Anyway, thread for this anybody?

[Doc Wilson]

I'm with the guy who bought the revised editions. Can anybody point me to a thread this is being discussed or do I need to start one? My roommate who put me onto the series was sooooo mad when I told him some of the things I did that were in the revised edition, most specifically the reference to 19, left to alice in the note from walter. he went absolutely nuts saying, thats so stupid, king's an idiot blah blah. but to be honest, i only read Gunslinger and Drawing of teh Three revised, and was kinda pleased to see 19 turn up about 4 or 5 books later out of nowhere. I like how its put in because its never brought up again as far as I know. Anyway, thread for this anybody?

http://www.stephenking.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12764

not much there, but I'd be interested in hearing impressions of the revised edition too.

[BigJimVt]

Ive put it off far too long. I may be the last SK fan to read this series, but I bought the Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three tonight. Im going to dive into this series headfirst.

I started The Gunslinger and am about 60 pages in and I gotta admit, im lost. It took me forever to figure out if this was the past (Western) or the future. Once I DID figure that out, im still lost. LOL. Im just finishing the chapter where he meets with the "preacher Lady". Is this going to get better? Am I going to catch up to this or am I hopelessly lost in a sea of Devil grass?

Someone send me some hope here. :oops::oo::biggrin2:

This was my impression when I read DT1. I was reading and reading and couldn't help but feel like I missed something. I kept double checking to make sure that was actually the first of the series. I will say, it does get better and once you're into the 2nd and 3rd books it's hard to stop, at least it was for me.

[Roou*]

mm yeah i know i finished the book long time ago but i was like ahh ok im gonna read, i didnt loved the book, its not bad but .. i dont know xD
but now i see everyone talking about -Drawing of the tree- well maybe later we'll see

[kitten32]

i am a big fan of stephen king also. i also have the dark tower the first book but i haven't read it yet.
i am new at this website. when it comes to his movies and books i really like it. thank you for letting me
be here with all of you who like stephen king.....

kitten32 from california

[Tinks]

Okay, Bloodbool, it was in March that you made this thread, how did it go for you?

I'm interested too. How did you get on? I struggled but the Drawing of the Three made it worthwhile.

[KyleEstey]

Ive put it off far too long. I may be the last SK fan to read this series, but I bought the Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three tonight. Im going to dive into this series headfirst.

I started The Gunslinger and am about 60 pages in and I gotta admit, im lost. It took me forever to figure out if this was the past (Western) or the future. Once I DID figure that out, im still lost. LOL. Im just finishing the chapter where he meets with the "preacher Lady". Is this going to get better? Am I going to catch up to this or am I hopelessly lost in a sea of Devil grass?

Someone send me some hope here. :oops::oo::biggrin2:

Listen to Ms. Mod. I loved The Gunslinger but some of my friends didn't because it confused them greatly and they've given up. Don't! The Drawing of the Three kicks the series into action and gets going. I was also hesitant when it came to reading the books, but I read them anyway and they were marvelous!