THE GUNSLINGER: Chapters 1.i-2.ii

“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed…”

To kick off this spoiler-heavy podcast—a discussion show devoted to Stephen King’s Dark Tower books—we decided to start our palaver at the end, sharing our thoughts on the conclusion of this epic sci-fi/fantasy series. We question the reader’s role in the fate of Roland and his Ka-Tet, we grapple with the differences between the original and revised editions of The Gunslinger, and lament old long, tall and ugly’s inability to appreciate good art. Finally we have some fun with a few unserious weekly segments. If you’re a fellow fanatic of Sai King’s magnum opus, go ahead and click that ‘follow’ button because you’ve finally discovered the unfound podcast you didn’t know you were looking for.

NEXT WEEK’S READING

THE GUNSLINGER: Chapters 2.iii-4.ii

SHOW NOTES

5m - Recap of this week’s reading

10m - Exploring the ending: optimistic vs. pessimistic interpretations

15m - Community poll: are fans hopeful or cynical about the ending?

21m - The role of storytelling in the Dark Tower books

28m - The original vs. the revised edition

31m - Exploring Different Interpretations of the Text

36m - “Do I make you horny baby?”

40m - Addiction and compulsion in the Dark Tower

48m - Roland Deschain's relationship with art

57m - Weekly segments

1h15m - Our favorite non-Dark Tower multiverse stories

1h18m - Episode wrap-up

LINKS & RESOURCES

This list of differences between the original published text of The Gunslinger and the 2003 revised edition.

Check out Joe's original blog here.

CREDITS

Hosts: Joe Rechtman & Dan Hanson

Music: Phil Hamilton

Editor: Alain Smithee

This episode was sponsored by Papa Doc’s Beans™