This book opened my eyes to just how much spoon-feeding I've become used to in fantasy books. An author usually wants you to understand everything about the world they've created and will make sure you understand everything from who the characters are to the social/political/cultural details. Not Stephen King - he trusts in the power of intrigue to keep you reading. He gives you the bare bones to work with, and even those are enigmatic and surreal.

Because King is my favourite author and this series is meant to be his magnum opus, I've tried to read it so many times since it was bought for me about 12 years ago. I can FINALLY say I made it through The Gunslinger. It's one of his shortest books and I'm told it's the worst one of the series, something to suffer through before you can enjoy the rest. I can't really say a lot about it because I'm still not entirely sure what the heck I just read or where it might be heading. After the first few failed attempts at reading it I decided the only way was to stop trying to understand it, to just let the story happen and hope that all will be made clear as the series continues. All I know is that I REALLY liked the philosophical conversation between Roland and the MIB near the end.

Lots of people say the next book is their favourite, so I'm looking forward to that.