'The Gunslinger' by Stephen King

Roland is a Gunslinger - the last of his kind - who is on a quest to The Dark Tower.  How he came to be on this quest is a bit of mystery, however, he knows that he's after the man in dressed in black and he must reach him before he arrives at The Dark Tower.

Walking through the endless deserts where nothing lives, he comes upon people who are barely scratching out a living and aren't really sure why they're there; and yet they are.  He shares meals with them, and stories, then moves on until he stays in a town where he meets a woman who owns a bar and she is cursed with a silent question which is constantly on the tip of her tongue each time she sees an undead man enter her bar.  This curse is the works of the man in black - and Roland knows it.  He tries to help her, and the people of this town, but fails and ends up leaving it a ghost town.

Roland is left alone yet again to walk through the desert until he comes across a weigh station where he finds a young boy sitting out the front sleeping, whose name is Jake.  Jake doesn't know how long he has been in this world, but he knows where he came from:  a place called New York City.  He's heard of the man in black and hates being alone. So, Roland offers to take him away from this lonely place.  But is it to help him escape from the desert, or is Jake a pawn in the chess game that the man in black has created to force Roland's hand and make him fight?

I have known of The Dark Tower Series for a long time; but have yet to get in and read it; thinking I didn't have the books in my collection to start.  However, when I recently bought the last - and most recent - book from QBD at Garden City, I found I had most of the books of the 8-book series!  So, I thought it was time I started reading them; and I'd find the ones I needed when the time came around to get them.

As you all know, I have been a Stephen King reader, and a big fan of his, for a very long time.  I love his past work, however have found his recent dabble in literature hard to get into.  The Dark Tower Series is an on-going project he began a very long time ago; and he was reminded to finish it when he survived a major car accident, and so he is.  I look forward to reading more of this series this year.  Until my next post, Happy Reading!