A very long time ago, when I was working in a bookstore, Stephen King released a book called The Gunslinger. It was the first book in what would become his magnum opus, eclipsing even The Stand. It would be a grand tale on an epic scale of Good versus Evil. I remember true fans of Stephen King walking in and telling me that the entire series was written, and was available in a limited edition, leather-bound, hardcover edition. I was never able to confirm this rumor, but they would accuse me of withholding the books from them for whatever reason. It’s amazing the number of people that thought I was withholding books from them when they simply weren’t available. My job was selling books. Why would I not be selling them the book if I had it?
Anyway, I got an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of the book. These are copies of upcoming books that the publisher sends out to stores and reviewers in a attempt to generate buzz about the book and its release. I read it at the time. I remember it being the best Western / Action-Adventure / Mystery / Romance / Historical / Fantasy / Science Fiction / Comi-tragic book I ever read. He seemed to throw a little bit of everything into the story. I thought it was OK. I shelved the book in my bookcase and didn’t really think much more about it.
Over the years I kept track of the later releases in the series, again, because I was working in a bookstore. People would come in and ask me what I thought of the series. Amazing how many people think you have read every single book in the entire store. I’d tell them I’d only read the first book and repeat what I said about it above.
Then they made a movie based on the series – The Dark Tower. I eventually watched it a few years ago on our trip to Niagara Falls. I generally like Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey as actors, and it has that whole cowboy trope, albeit set in a dark fantasy, so I figured it was worth a watch. After seeing the movie, I found it a lot more interesting. It seems that Stephen King built a mythology to go along with his Gunslinger.
Now, the caveat in all this is that I’ve not been overly impressed with most of Stephen King’s books I’ve read. I was very disappointed in The Stand, which was the one book by Stephen King everyone has told me should be read if you are only going to read one Stephen King book in your life. I’ve not read Carrie or Salem’s Lot, which people tell me are some of his better works. I read The Shining, which was decent. I liked Firestarter. I’ve seen movies based on his works and they are usually better than the books. Given all that, I’m hoping that the books are as good as the movie and explain more of the mythology of the world King built.
Knowing I had the first book in the series, and the wife has the second book, I recently decided I would look for the other books in the series in used bookstores. Today, while running other errands, the wife decided she wanted to go to an antique mall in the local area. While she was browsing around I kept an eye out for books. We went around one comer and I just happened to look to my right. And there they were. The other five books in the Dark Tower series that I’m missing. All in trade paperback or hardcover editions. All in good condition. All at bargain prices. Score! I snarfed them up.
We got home and I put them on the bookcase with the second book. Most of my library is still boxed up, but I made an inventory list when I boxed them. I know what books are in what box. I pulled up the spreadsheet and looked for The Gunslinger. I couldn’t find it. I used the Find function. Still couldn’t find it. Looked for Stephen King. Found one or two others of his I have, but not The Gunslinger. Dang it!
I’m certain I have it somewhere. In the meantime, I checked the local library’s online card catalog. They have a copy of the book and I put it on hold.
It’s going to be a long journey. I hope I’m not disappointed.
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I have not read a lot of Stephen King. To me he seems a good technical writer, but not anything really special. But your mileage may vary, and it definitely does vary for millions of other readers, so I assume it’s a quirk in my personality.
I have heard, but don’t know if it is true, that at one point there was a general consensus that King’s early offerings were considered very good, but once he had enough clout to start ignoring his editors, the quality of his work nosedived.
There is a line in this post that sticks out to me like a sore thumb:
“I’ve seen movies based on his works and they are usually better than the books.”
To me, and again your mileage may vary, that’s usually an earmark of a writer is isn’t worth reading.