Gunslinger any good? Running with the demon?

[Habeed]

Today I was just cruising around my local library when I spotted a Steven King series titled "gunslinger". Supposedly, it mixes horror and fantasy. That SOUNDS rather cool...Steven King is the worlds most popular author (so he should be at least passable in quality one would think)...and I sort of like a dark fantasy story rather than the cheery style of Eddings or Mercedes Lackey.

BUT, noone has mentioned it here recently. Even fantasy I HATE gets mentioned. Will I enjoy it or encounter an unpleasant surprise?

Then I saw the sequel to Brooks "running with the demon" and wondered if the series was any good. Its not Shannara, and Brooks is at least a passable author from what I've seen. Any good?

 

[Rob B]

Actually, The Gunslinger is book 1 of King's masterpiece of fantasy The Dark Tower. King is about my favorite author, so I can wholeheartedly recommend picking up the books.

 

[Cygnus]

I REALLY like The Dark Tower series. I think that it just gets better with each book. It is an interesting mix of western, fantasy and just plain weird Stephen King. I strongly recommend it. Just be prepared to wait a long time for the next book. Sigh.

I also like Running with the Demon. It's the first book in a series that has three books in it so far. It's a mix of fantasy and reality, and I think that Brooks pulls it off well. I would also urge you to read this, but pick up The Gunslinger first!

 

[Lotus]

Indeed I would second Cygnus' recommendation on Stephen King's Dark Tower series ... Western + fantasy + Roland (medieval romance) + Wizard of Oz is about right. I had never really liked King before until I started this series (waiting eagerly for next one.. sigh), and then plunged into a lot of other King (the less horrific ones I mean)

 

[Barbarossa]

If you want an example of the dark tower series, read "legends", a collection of not so short stories by authors of epic fantasy (GRRM, Jordan, Tad Williams, Orson Scott Card to name but a few), there is a gunslinger story in it too.

 

[Lady Fox]

I like Brook's Running with the Demon trilogy. I would recommend RwtD to anyone who likes alternate reality/modern fantasy type books. I think this series is much better than his Shannara books.

 

[Eventine]

Lady Fox is right, the Running with the Demon series is a great change for anyone wanting to read Brooks who is Shannara'd out.

 

[Zsinj16]

I was wondering, are King's Dark Tower novels the senseless "hack n' slash" type, like in his other novels? I mean, I can understand hacking and slashing in battle and war scenes, but in my opinion, in all of King's books that I've seen he just seems to do a bunch of hacking and slashing for no reason.

 

[Cadfael]

posted by Zsinj16

but in my opinion, in all of King's books that I've seen he just seems to do a bunch of hacking and slashing for no reason.

I really have no idea where you got that impression from, have you ever read a Stephen King book? As regards the Dark Tower, it is a million miles away from being a 'hack'n'slash' book. Oh hell... I am gonna go the full hog...

It is one of the best works of Speculative Fiction that has ever been published, and anyone who has not read it yet are missin a work of genius... er... IMHO

.

 

[Shadowen]

I really enjoyed the first 2 books in this series but was a bit disappointed in 'Wizard and Glass' - maybe I just wasn't in the mood!

Well worth a read though, but as someone said above, be prepared for a very long wait for the next book - whats it seen so far, 6 years? And you though Jordan was bad!

 

[Rob B]

Stephen King is NOT a 'hack and slash' story teller. Sure sometimes there is a bit of bloodletting, but for the most part he doesn't get too descriptive, he leaves the fine details for the readers to imagine.
Well, except for his recent one Dreamcatcher, but for the most part he is not that gory.

At least with DT there is definite plot progression with each book, not quite the same for WOT.

 

[Zsinj16]

Well, I guess I got that impression from the movies that are based on the Stephen King books then. Such as "The Shining" and "Pet Cemetery"

 

[Habeed]

Thanks guys. Will check out gunslinger. Hope theres plenty of bad guys and action (started reading Otherland, as of page 263 there has been NO action and I've been falling asleep)

Umm...judging the book based on the MOVIE...UMM...

That's like trying to judge Patriot Games by watching the movie (the movie barely makes any sense compared to the book) or Eaters of the Dead or Hunt for Red October (the movie is crap compared to the book).

 

[lior]

It's not a great idea to judge a book or a writer by a the movie version. films are visual medium, so the gore is more prominent, but what makes a King's book so good and chilling are the inner workings, the psiche. Sure, there's violence in his books, even extreme violence which is NOT shown in the movie versions (THE DARK HALF, THE STAND) but king's horror is mostly psichological, it's hard to explain without reading it yourself.
Maybe the best example would be GERALD'S GAME. 80 percent of that masterful novel takes place inside a woman's head, while she is chained to a bed in forlorn hut in the middle of the woods. what she hears, what she feels, all from her perspective. this book can't be made into a film, I don't see how that would be possible and that's exactly why it's hard to adapt a king book to the screen, even the good ones will never be like the book, the inner workings are missing.
And BTW,The Dark Tower is pretty mild where horror King's style is concerned.
Maybe that would seem odd, but I think the first in the series is the weakest in the
bunch. the others are much more mature and tight, and no wonder, king wrote GUNSLINGER in the early seventees, when he was still a student.

 

[dune dude]

The Dark Tower series is excellent, they just keep getting better and better. I have read volumes 1, 2 and 3. I'll definitely read 4 one day.

 

[Keis]

I started reading The Gunslinger this morning and I've been hooked from the first sentence.