The Gunslinger

Part fantasy, part western, The Gunsinger follows Roland of Gilead, the last Gunslinger, as he tracks the mysterious Man in Black across the wastelands of a world that appears to be some version of our own. On his journey, Roland meets a young boy, Jake, who has appeared in this world from 1970s New York City. He joins Roland on his trek across the desert and into the mountains, hoping to find the Man in Black, who has the amazing ability to raise the dead.

I need to preface this review by saying that I love Stephen King. I do not, however, love fantasy or westerns. As a result I have mixed reviews about this book. I found the overall story intriguing even as I found specific parts of the story uninteresting. I found specific passages mesmerizing even as I found the writing, overall, to not be what I had expected from King. I will probably pick up the series eventually and I hope the writing will continue to improve and that I'll get drawn into the story of Roland and the Man in Black, but so far I'm not feeling an urge to run out and grab the next book.