Type of read: Weekend/Lunchtime Read.

What made me pick it up: Working through 'The Dark Tower' series. Stephen King is a favorite author and I was recently gifted a few of the books from the series.

Overall rating: I want to start out by saying that the version I received from my local library was the revised version, in which, King takes the time to go over some of his thought processes before, during, and after writing the book. Additionally detailing why he felt releasing a revised version of 'The Gunslinger' was necessary after finishing the last installment in the series. I really appreciated this insight and I think it honestly helped me be able to get through the book. Knowing where King was at in his writing and knowing where he ended up, you can see his growth and development. Which, let's be honest, seems super weird to say about one of (in my opinion) the most prolific horror/mystery/all things creepy and abnormal writers of all time.

Ok - now for the actual review...

'The Gunslinger' is exactly the jumbled mess of beautifully intricate writing that you expect from King. Again, very happy I had the disclaimer as otherwise, I'm not sure I would have made it through, but there was a lot of story building and I can understand how it potentially continues building throughout the remaining books. We get a really good background on who Roland is, why he's on the quest that he is, and what drives him to continue. There is a lot of jumping around. There's a lot of character shifting. And honestly, there's a lot of confusion. But, if you take your time, you can get to the meat of the story. I am hoping the continuation of Roland's story gets a bit more clear, but I'm excited to see what King has in store.