Return of the Rogue Readers discussion

It's been a busy holiday season and I forgot to post this. Appy polly loggies.

Without further ado, lets discuss The Gunslinger!

This is my second time reading this book and it's been...a decade and a half? I forgot much about it, yet found the tale familiar. I know Some of you have read this before and some are reading it for the first time. This series is part of what made me a fan of books.

One of the things that stood out to me on this re-read is how Roland is portrayed as almost a simpleton. I think at one point during the flashbacks to his boyhood days in Giliad it's said that he was neither smart nor fast and it seems like his character remains well within the range of normal human skills (even below average in some respects) until he draws his guns.

"Welcome back, Garret!" the group exclaimed as the brooding, near-forgotten form stumbled into the light.
Yes, I'm here and ready to discuss the first novel in what is my all-time favorite series in prose fiction.

To begin, I agree with you, Jordan. Roland is indeed portrayed as a man with no imagination (as his instructor states) which leads to him being almost slow witted in nature...until the fire fight begins. He is a killer, almost mechanical in nature, and oh so cold blooded. This simpleness makes his immediate hunt of the Man in Black and quest for the Dark Tower an absolute single mindedness in his thoughts that masks every other thought that could enter his mind. Roland is the quest, pure and simple.

As the first novel in an eight novel, one short story, and several comic issues long quest to the Tower, it sets the stage nicely for what is to come in the future. I will keep this spoiler free, but I do know that as this was my third time reading this novel that each time I remember why I hastened to read the next, and the next, and the next greedily until I've finished them. I look forward to hearing the thoughts, feelings and possible emotional outbursts that the first time readers in the group have.

I hope some of our other members chose to read this and I too look forward to hearing the thoughts of mid-world virgins.

As this was your third turn on the wheel I am curious what new experiences you had. I forgot many of the details and was able to relive some of the magic along the way, but the core experience was the same.

Sorry for the delayed response. I listened to the audio book for this one as well. I must admit, however, that I found myself distracted throughout most of the book. (It's been a busy month) I don't feel like I was able to fully take it in, so I have started from the beginning. I hope to be able to contribute more to the discussion soon. This was my first Stephen King experience and it wasn't exactly as I had expected. He is known for his horror and I typically avoid the horror genre. Since this series was spoken so highly of, I wanted to branch out of my comfort zone and experience something completely new to me. This book wasn't as 'horrific' as I thought it would be. It was dark, yes, but not terrifying.

Danielle this book was defiantly not horror! I wasnt sure what to expect either but I liked it. I felt like I was reading a western not some epic horror novel!

Welcome back Garret! You have read this 3 times?! lol you must really love it! Do you read the whole series 3 times or just this book?

Jordan do you think that Roland has a learning disability?

A western is definitely a better description.

Amy, I don't think he has a learning disability. My take on Roland's character is that King wrote him to be more of an everyman type that has one particular skill as opposed to the superhuman abilities of other heros at the time. The Gunslinger was written at a time when boys looked up to Luke Skywalker, Indiana Jones, James Bond, etc. Those guys are really good at everything. Jones and Bond are suave adventurers who never lose a fight, always get the girl, and win the admiration of everyone they meet. Luke Skywalker is basically a god.

To me, Roland is much more relatable. He isn't anything special. In fact, in his world he is a touch below average. His moments of excellence are due to a lifetime of practicing a specific set of skills.

Oh man....

So, I'm still on my first trip through the series, and I just started the last-ish part, book 6.

I'd heard a lot about this series every now and again, but I was put off by King's fame as a horror writer, and then I actually tried to listen to it a year or two ago, and got bored with the first few chapters of desert, and put it down.

Then Jordan convinced me to give it another shot, and I haven't been able to put it down since I started in November...

My take on Roland from The Gunslinger is that he has a very limited imagination, but has an iron will, an unwavering sense of justice and righteousness in his pursuit of the tower...
He gets much more rounded out in the later books, but in Book 1 he is so single-minded in his pursuit of The Man in Black and The Tower, that his mind doesn't seem to have space for much else. I still haven't been able to tell if it is unwillingness, or inability, to do something that deters him from his quest. To call him simple is to sell him far short of what he is. He's driven by an unopposable force to fulfill his quest, for good or ill.

But I think King laid a pretty good base for his later work. Even in the rough outlines of Roland's persona that is shown to us, we can already sense his the long-suffering in his destiny to reach The Tower, with the haunting memories of his life's tragedies wrapped even more tightly around him then his gun belt.
He is clearly what's on the cover: gunslinger, death-dealer, leadslinger, killing personified.

The cool thing is, it gets better as you go through the series. King gets really creative to get around some of the things he did in Book 1, the story gets much more SciFi/Western/Post-Apoc with his explanation of what the world that Moved On is like...

Group, what did you think of the Roland/Jake relationship?

Once, again, my apologies for the major delay in responding.

As for the Roland/Jake relationship, Jordan, it was interesting to me how quickly they attached themselves to one another. I enjoyed their learning about the differences of their worlds. I recall Roland being puzzled by certain words Jake would use, and vice versa. It was subtle but fun. Roland's decision to choose getting answers over saving Jake was disturbing but not surprising. As you said, Mike, he has an iron will and is focused only on his pursuit of the tower.

After listening for the second time, I am really looking forward to continuing the series. The last 30 minutes of the book convinced me that I must go on. The interaction between the Man in Black and the Gunslinger at the end of the book changed the feel of the book and hooked me. After their conversation, when Roland woke up 10 years older, it was such an interesting and unexpected twist that I need to continue. I need to see what happens next. What did you guys think about their exchange?

I think King is weak when it comes to showing that characters are growing close. He frequently says things like "And that was when he realized he loved the dog." I would rather read a few lines here and there where a man pets the dog, gives him a bath, maybe the fall asleep together on a hammock...some kind of narration that shows a bond being made. Instead he usually just tells us that someone loves someone else.

In related criticism, King is a BIG fan of telling us how something will never happen again. I can't tell you how many times I've read sentences like "Little did the gardener know that this would be the last time he pulled weeds from the flower bed."

Mike when you started this book what made you decide to keep reading?

Jordan I like your comparison to Luke Skywalker! Roland is very different although they both have hand problems!! LOL! Lukes is missing!

Danielle what about the last half of the book was most interesting to you?

I think Roland was a dick for letting jake die but I guess he feels he must make sacrifices. Like spock said "The need of the many outweighs the needs of a few."

Haha, good point Amy. Both characters did suffer hand injuries. Are you a big Star Wars fan?

Amy, the whole exchange between the two drew me in. The writing style changed a bit, I felt. The tarot card reading and the vision that took Roland through space was probably my favorite part. It was an attempt to scare him away from his quest and I found it almost poetic.

Jordan I do like star wars lol!

Danielle why do you think the man in black didnt kill Roland? Since he sat there fetting older (and even animals didnt kill him) How did he eat? Why did the man in black die ifnhe was so powerful like that?

Amy, I am not sure why he didn't kill Roland. He did say that the death card was not for him, but I don't know if or why that would prevent him from killing him. These are good questions, Amy. I suppose we will have to continue on in the series to get the answers. Does anyone else have a theory on this?

I didn't chime in because I already know the motives of The Man in Black.

I replied to share this link, the official trailer of the film adaptation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjwfq...

This looks great! I must finish the series asap.