Stephen King has proved himself a successful author—writing novels characterized by their edgy darkness, enthralling mystery and addicting thrill. Many of his books stand alone as page-turners that end at the last page, but he also has the craft of extending his stories into multiple book series. “The Gunslinger” is the first book in the Dark Tower series. It’s an intriguing read; even when you reach the end of the novel, it feels as if the story has just begun.
Mystery in this book starts on page one. Readers are thrown into in the story following a man identified as “the gunslinger” as he travels across a desert. We are given no other information except for the fact that the gunslinger is following a trail of old campfires left by the person he is seeking, named simply “the man in black.” The desert is desolate, lonely and seemingly never-ending, especially since the reader is in the dark as to why the gunslinger is pursuing the man in black.
Since the start of the novel gives only a skeleton of information to work with, the reader lunges and devours new pieces of the story as they sift into the gunslinger’s course. He begins to experience consuming flashbacks to events both recent and distant. One flashback tells about the town of Tull. Everything and nothing happens during the gunslinger’s stay. When he leaves, the reader is left unsure of if the gunslinger is good or evil, if the man in black is good or evil, and of how the town fits into the gunslinger’s journey. However, we aren’t given much time to ponder the town before the gunslinger’s flashbacks focus on a seemingly normal childhood.
The more the reader knows about the gunslinger, the more mysterious he becomes, because the pieces don’t seem to connect by any common string except for the man himself. Still, even half way through the novel, many parts of the gunslinger are unclear. For example, how old is he? Where exactly is he from? Where exactly is he now? What does he do? What happened to his family? Does he know the man in black? Why is he following the man in black? Is he good or evil? What exactly is good and evil in this novel anyway?
Part of the brilliance of this novel is that there seem to always be more questions than answers, so the mystery is constant, dynamic and surprising. King’s writing style is simple and conversational, but tricks are woven in since he is careful to not give anything away too soon. Description throughout the novel is always specific and well crafted so the reader can picture the setting and the mood without knowing the actual place. Sometimes it seems as if the gunslinger is traveling through a desolate and abandoned part of the earth as we know it today, but other times it seems as if he is on another planet, or perhaps even in an imagination of Hell.
King operates in a world of a different dimension and still manages to make it feel familiar and known. The same idea applies to his characters, because even as their names, origins and inner thoughts are withheld, they are personable and intriguing.
“The Gunslinger” entrances readers with its immediate mystery, and once hooked, it’s nearly impossible to simply walk away. Plus, at the conclusion of the story, readers are left with strong feelings: ones of fulfillments without especially notable progress and the reluctant admittance that there is a gravitational pull of mystery waiting in the next installment of the series, forcing us to read on.
