And the winner, by split decision (by a single vote, actually), is Stephen King's The Gunslinger (Canada, USA, Europe).However, since it was such a close race to the finish, I will also be reading Brian Ruckley's Bloodheir (Canada, USA, Europe).
I'm a bit surprised that people selected a novel which has been around for over 25 years for me to read, but what the heck!?! I finished Sergei Lukyanenko's The Day Watch last night, and man was it good! Now I'll get to experience what the buzz surrounding that Roland fellow is all about...;-)
We'll have to do this again in the future!
19 commentaires:
Well, thanks Pat. For the last year or so I've pretty much based my reading list on what you've given a positive review to.
I've been curious about Gunslinger for a while now and a positive review from you will finaly push me into reading it.
Ben Langan
Meh, you guys are all missing out on Murakami. You'll be kicking yourselves for that later!!!
Well, you can't go wrong with either book. I am interested to see what you think of "The Gunslinger". I'm not really a fan of Stephen King but I love the Dark Tower novels...
@ Pat
Have you read alot King's other books? The only problem with starting the Dark Tower series is that you would have had to have read quite a few of his books to understand some of the references, which spoiled the last book for me as I didn't know some of the characters. But basically, Salem's Lot, The Stand, Desperation and maybe even Eye of the Dragon.
And last but not least, make sure you get the newer editions of the The Gunslinger.
Not a Darktowers fan. I couldn't soldier on past the first book. Good Luck Pat!
I'm a bit surprised you included a 25 year old title by an author who needs no introduction on your list of potential books to "review".
I'm wondering how many of the votes for Gunslinger were from people who've already read it. Which would negate a review from you.
But you gotta put Murakami in your 'must read soon' pile regardless.
I've read plenty of King titles while I was a teenager, but it's been a good 15 years since I last read anything by him...
Mind you, I've been waiting for the completion of this series since the early 90s.:-)
Dang it Pat! You need to focus on books I haven't read so I can decide what to buy next.
Regardless, it (as always) will be interesting to read your thoughts.
Tried the first book a few years ago and just couldn't stand the prose style. Good luck though.
Also, I think as long as you have a mix of old and new books being reviewed most people should be happy. There's nothing wrong with discovering or re-discovering "old" books as there are many many many readers out there who have yet to explore the great back catalogue that Fantasy has to offer.
For everyone who couldn't get past The Gunslinger-- I kind of agree (I found it to be a bit disjointed but overall not off-putting). But I urge you to tackle at least the next book. The Drawing of the Three is what excited me about The Dark Tower and gave me the momentum to continue through the other books. Truly an amazing series!
I don't know if you'll enjoy The Gunslinger, Pat. I've read all 7 books of the Dark Tower sequence and the first one is the worst (least good, let's put it that way).
The problem is that the book is composed of several stories that King wrote separately and then glued together. There's not much cohesion in the book and the prose is hard to get through. This was King at the beginning of his career, after all.
My advice would be to read the first 3 books and then make your decision about the series.
I hope you like the Gunslinger. To me, it's one of the all time greats. Sadly, I feel this series falls off after 4 books, but that's another talk.
If you do enjoy Gunslinger, though, as someone else pointed out, there is a small mythos that this series touches on (Eyes of the Dragon, Hearts in Atlantis, The Stand, etc) that are decent reads in their own right, but have an extra element when you bring the two together.
Ack. Does that kind of comment bias your opinion on a review...?
I'm about 100 pages into it, and I'm liking this moody piece thus far!:-)
I agree, the Gunslinger is a good start, but you definitely need to go on to The Drawing of the Three. It is a fantastic beginning to an amazing fantasy series. I couldn't put each book down, and impatiently waited for the next one to come out. I hope you enjoy Gunslinger, and want to read on as well.
Just remember to read it in short-story-mode and big-arc-story-mode.
People tend to forget these two basics about it: Gunslinger first appeared in its various installments as short stories AND King's intention was to make the biggest American Fantasy novel in genre history. Evaluation needs both perspectives I think.
Better yet: forget everything. Just read it and go till The Drawing of the Three. And above everything, enjoy it.
I'm sure you'll love it and want to read the rest of the series.
King is a master at what he does, his ability to evoke feelings and keep you reading is genius.
His ability to build up friendships within a group and get you to empathise and "feel" characters loss is a wonder to behold.
I hope you do enjoy it.
Ian
The first 3 books are pretty good. "The Gunslinger" itself was a truly awesome book, but twoards the end of the series it becomes rather tedious reading. Not to mention King chose to make the worst mistake ever and add himself as a character.
Why its so popular with younger readers Ill never understand. Unfortunatley they are usually the ones that don't care for the first book, which is truly sad in my opinion. As I find that to be the only one with any real value.
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