The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (1982)

My first thought was, he lied in every word, That hoary cripple, with malicious eye…

VonStreff’s interpretation of Tull, Roland’s first stop to the Dark Tower

The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.

Stephen King, The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger

-the start.

This is an interesting book to cover. Originally published in short vignettes from 1978-81, before being collected in a limited edition in 1982. Then, in 2003, with the series drawing to a conclusion, King rewrote portions of the book so that in fit better with what came later (see below). Though appearing here, King began writing in 1970, and sources I’ve checked out say he began thinking and plotting and writing the story when he was 19 (see below). He finished the main series in 2004, but is never truly finished with it. References appear all the time, and he published an eighth book in 2012.

And yet, despite its place in King’s work, this reads neatly as a standalone book, almost completely different to anything that had come before or since in King’s writing. It is unique in style and tone, with even the other Dark Tower books slipping into King’s more usual, comfortable style. For that reason, (though as of writing, I haven’t yet finished the core seven books), I think Gunslinger will remain my favourite and is the best, and I would fight anyone who says otherwise.

This is a surprisingly odd stance to take amongst King fans. Though I don’t really engage massively in fandoms, the general feeling it seems with Dark Tower is that though the Gunslinger is good, it really kicks into top gear with The Drawing of the Three. There is a long-running debate on The Kingcast about whether it’s even worth bothering reading to begin with until later. I am here with the even more controversial take – if you’ve read The Gunslinger, it’s not even necessary to read the rest of the series.

This is not say say the rest of the books are bad by any means! The only reason I abandoned my own quest for the Tower was that I instead started a grander quest, and I do fully intend to complete the journey in the future. So why only read just this one?

Well, it’s beautifully written for starters. King had by this point fairly settled into his narrative voice, but in this book he is really trying to affect something different. The language is sparse, deliberate and cold, reflecting the character of Roland Deschain and his environment. That it was published in episodes before being completed gives the sense of ongoing journey, and gives it a different flavour to other books that tell a single narrative. Yes, there is a single beam that Roland walks along, but this allows for digressions. The world of the Dark Tower never feels as weird as it does here. Much in the same way Star Wars introduced a new world, it feels exciting to be caught up in this other worldly Western. And also just like Star Wars, naming and identifying every single background droid or bumbler closes the mystery a bit more. There is the fannish thrill of recognising something, but the initial mystery is lost to nostalgia.

I’m not persuading you to not read the other books. After all, if you’ve gone to the length of trying to read a King book knowing clearly it is the first in a series, you’ve probably already committed to reading, if not all, the majority of the series. But just mind my words, sai, when I say that this book on its own has a rough elegance the rest of the series lacks, and the reading this alone is experience rich enough.

But that’s enough talking about the book as the book. Let’s instead look to its contents.

In this instalment, and perhaps all the Dark Tower books, we have two main primary themes that run through the book: love and stories. Love is an all-time King theme. As much as King may delve into horror, natural and supernatural, man-made and weird, time and time again King discusses the power of love. Love has the power to save us from the darkness. It is something that King touches on again and again, and I think there’s perhaps an essay due on it in the future. Having said that, it’s notable that our lead character describes himself as romantic, privately announces his love of those past (Susan especially haunts him) and present, and yet resists its pull constantly. He doesn’t indulge in it, and then at every turn love haunts him. His quest for the Tower puts him above earthly concerns like love, and yet it’s what humanises him. But we are at a loss when Roland lets Jake fall to his death in pursuit of man in black. Though the Tower is what drives Roland, the contradiction of the cold gunslinger versus the romantic hero is what gives him the central conflict that causes doubt. He wants to be focused on the Tower, but he gathers family around him constantly. If King’s previous writing is anything to go by, it may be the only thing that will save him.

Reading it this time around as well, I noticed how many stories there are in the novel. In order we have:

• The story opens with Roland tells Farmer Brown and Zoltan the story of what happens in Tull. Within that
  • Allie tells the story of what happened to Nort
  • Sylvia Pittston tells the story of the Interloper
• Jake tells Roland the story of how he died in New York
• The Oracle/succubus tells Roland a story, of sorts, of what will happen to Roland
• Roland tells Jake stories of his life in Gilead, including how he defeated Cort to become a gunslinger
• Walter/Marten tells Roland the story of the Universe, in a way laying out the cosmology of King’s universe and the Tower’s place within it.

That’s a lot of stories, and something like that is surely deliberate. I don’t know quite how I missed it the first time round. But I think in part what the Dark Tower books will be about is the power of stories. Without the context of the rest of the series, it’s hard to say what exactly it’s all supposed to mean. King himself might reject the idea, but I get the feeling that all writers at some point want to tell a story about the power of stories, partially to justify what is, when you think about it, quite a silly job to have. Everything from One Thousand and One Nights to Ratatouille is about that power of creation. It’s practically biblical. King going into the creation of the universe and its infinite expanse is just his version. That King fills it with monsters is his choice and I am here to respect that.

At the close of this essay, it is hard to make a final sort of statement. There are six or seven more books to come (depending on how you count it – plus a short story), and to decide what it’s all about this early in the game would be a bit unfair and potentially come back to claw me in the butt. There are some early themes that will be explored in future books, but as we leave the gunslinger on the beach, it’s perhaps best to say that this is not the end for Roland, and maybe not even the beginning – but the end of the beginning at least.

Long days and pleasant nights.

Observations and Connections

After completing the whole of The Dark Tower series, King went back to The Gunslinger, in a similar way to modern versions of The Stand, and jiggered about with the text in a small way, adding roughly 35 pages. It works to make the text as a whole more cohesive with what comes later, and even I, who hadn’t finished the series before starting this venture, appreciated the little nods and call forwards scattered throughout. A list of changes can be found here or here, though avoid it if you fear spoilers for later books.

As part of that, there are numerous small references that won’t make sense to talk about here, but for fellow Dark Tower devotees or even those just beginning their journey, trust me when I say a full list would be exhaustive, long, and probably quite dull. But I do want to pick out a couple things of interest.

One of the main additions is the subplot about the number 19. 19 is a talismanic number to the Dark Tower books, and crops up in other King books all the time. An example or two from our journey so far: the room Danny is forbidden to go into in The Shining is Room 217 (2+17=19), and one of Johnny Smith’s early bets on the wheel of fortune in The Dead Zone is 19, who then nearly dies in a car accident. A bit like the 23 Enigma, it seems to be a grim portent of evil, but why 19? Maybe because of King reportedly starting this series, in whatever way, when he was 19. Or maybe due to his accident occurring 19th June, 1999. Or not. Who knows? From hereon, I’ll try to note if 19 crops up in any other books/stories.

What horror does Nort see beyond the veil of Death? The book doesn’t provide answers, but anyone who comes back from the dead in King’s universe tends not to be of very sound mind (see Pet Sematary). However, a recent book of King’s, Revival, provides an answer of sorts.

The Man in Black is the primary villain here, though his true identity is not yet revealed until a couple books time. However, the Constant Reader should be able to pick up his predilection for smiling at inopportune moments, magical powers, his signing off with a smiley face, and figure out who it may be.

UP NEXT: Have your tickets ready, we’re going to see the Creepshow!

OR

Continue to the Tower in The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three