Review - The Gunslinger

[wilderthan]

I've been wanting to read the Dark Tower books for a long time. The Gunslinger is an interesting start to a series, but I don't know quite what I think of it, yet. The non-Tolkienesque fantasy is good, and the fact that the details are so sparse makes it more intriguing -- but also perhaps less hooking, since there's less to hook you. The Gunslinger feels far too short to be setting up an epic series, really. At the same time, it seems rather long for the little that actually happens in it. It didn't help me get into it that Roland is so... unemotional. The storyline with Jake could have been heart-rending, but somehow I just took it on board with the same coolness that Roland seemed to. He's an interesting character, but I hope we learn more about him and get more depth as things go on.