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  • The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger

  • By: Stephen King
  • Narrated by: George Guidall
  • Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (4,189 ratings)
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The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger cover art

The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: George Guidall
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Summary

Stephen King's epic fantasy series, The Dark Tower, is being made into a major movie starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. Due in cinemas February 17, 2017 USA.

In this first novel in his epic fantasy masterpiece, Stephen King introduces listeners to one of his most enigmatic heroes, Roland of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner, on a spellbinding journey into good and evil, in a desolate world which frighteningly echoes our own.

In his first step towards the powerful and mysterious Dark Tower, Roland encounters an alluring woman named Alice, begins a friendship with Jake, a kid from New York, and faces an agonising choice between damnation and salvation as he pursues the Man in Black.

Both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike, The Gunslinger leaves listeners eagerly awaiting the next chapter.

And the Tower is closer....

©1982 Stephen King (P)2003 Penguin Audiobooks

What listeners say about The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Tough going... But persevere through to book 2...

I seem to be at odds with some and in agreement with others. I found this the hardest Stephen King (audio) book to like. Normally I find everything by Stephen King absolutely gripping - but this felt like it was the beginning of a long and somewhat abstract journey (so far so SK in many respects) but without the somehow gripping narrative he usually demonstrates.

As it went on I found it more appealing - and by book 2 I was hooked and it was back to business as usual. So - do listen, do persevere (you might find it easier than I did) and before you know it you're right back in Mr. King's amazing worlds. Science fiction, fantasy, magic, unpleasantness more than horror (so far...) All good.

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40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very atmospheric

I loved this audiobook. The Dark Tower novels are my favourite of Stephen King's work. This, the first book in the series, is an understated beginning to Roland's journey toward the Dark Tower, his pursuit of the man in black intercut with tales of his childhood and how he became a Gunslinger. The narrator's pacing and earthy voice really bring the story to life, and I'm already on to the second audiobook in the series. Highly recommended.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Prologue

The whole book felt like a prologue to a tale yet to be told. Entertaining enough but lacking substance.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Post apocolypse,Sci fi, alternative dimension?

Such a hard book to describe, it is I believe a book you can come back to at the end of the series and on re reading it make a lot more sense of what is going on. That does not detract from it being a great read first time around without any prior knowledge, which is where I am at the moment. in my teens I read a bit of Stephen King and really I remember none of his previous books I have tried being anything like this. I found with previous Stephen King books that there tends to be more of a linear plot that you can predict to some degree, that is not the case at all here. I have no idea where this plot is going, but I cannot wait to find out.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Essential but rubbish read !

Was The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger worth the listening time?

So, this book is OK, nothing special... but the series is really good and so this is essential reading to start you on the journey to The Dark Tower.

My advice is to read this book and then dive straight into book 2. If you're not hooked by the end of book 2 then don't bother reading any further but it gets better and better as it goes along. This is a slow burner and it really starts to grow on you as you progress through the series.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I don't get it.

Perhaps this is supposed to be something closer to poetry than to plain prose. I'm afraid flowery verbiage and fustian leave me cold. If it was just a case of waxing pleonastic I could cope, but endless, pointless, convoluted exposition is too much.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

No discernible plot

I'm a big fan of Stephen King but I've never read The Dark Tower series. I had high hopes for it. I couldn't get into this book, though. It was full of unspecified portent and assumption which I didn't follow at all. I could rarely remember what was going on, typically because it was so vague. By any chance are you supposed to read book 1 last? It's like a prequel written later.

Was very much looking forward to a new series, but now not sure whether to bother with book 2.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A must for any Stephen King fan !!

This is the first book of The Dark Tower Series

The audio book is very well read and is great as an introduction to the Dark Tower Series. Once you have finished this audio book you will be hooked and downloading the rest of the series

A must for any Stephen King fan !!



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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Necessary evil

I really couldn’t get into this story but I’m aware of how good the rest of the series is meant to be. So bumbled through it in the hope it pays off for the rest of the books

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Join the Journey

Where does The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is among my top 5.

What other book might you compare The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger to, and why?

I cannot wait to listen to the rest of the series.

What does George Guidall bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I never read the books cause I could not get into them but George Guidall is amazing. I am now reading the book after listening.

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7 people found this helpful