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The Gunslinger
''The Gunslinger'' is a dark-fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first volume in the '' Dark Tower'' series. ''The Gunslinger'' was first published in 1982 as a fix-up novel, joining five short stories that had been published between 1978 and 1981. King substantially revised the novel in 2003; this version has remained in print ever since, with the subtitle RESUMPTION. The story centers Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, who has been chasing his adversary, "the man in black," for many years. The novel fuses Western fiction with fantasy, science fiction, and horror, following Roland's trek through a vast desert and beyond in search of the man in black. Roland meets several people along his journey, including a boy named Jake , who travels with him part of the way. Background and publication The novel was inspired by Robert Browning's poem " Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" (1855), which King read as a sophomore at the University of Maine. Kin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high standing in pop culture, his books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. King has published 64 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five non-fiction books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections.Jackson, Dan (February 18, 2016)"A Beginner's Guide to Stephen King Books". Thrillist. Retrieved February 5, 2019. King has received Bram Stoker Awards, World Fantasy Awards, and British Fantasy Society Awards. In 2003, the National Book Foundation awarded him the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He has also received awards for his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Browning
Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings and challenging vocabulary and syntax. His early long poems ''Pauline'' (1833) and ''Paracelsus'' (1835) were acclaimed, but his reputation dwindled for a time – his 1840 poem ''Sordello'' was seen as wilfully obscure – and took over a decade to recover, by which time he had moved from Shelleyan forms to a more personal style. In 1846 he married fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett and moved to Italy. By her death in 1861 he had published the collection ''Men and Women'' (1855). His ''Dramatis Personae'' (1864) and book-length epic poem ''The Ring and the Book'' (1868–1869) made him a leading poet. By his death in 1889 he was seen as a sage and philosopher-poet who had fed into Victorian social and political discourse. Societi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward L
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the Norman and Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes. The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration. Variant forms The name has been adopted in the Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard. Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, leather, paper, or plastic. Inexpensive books bound in paper have existed since at least the 19th century in such forms as pamphlets, yellowbacks, dime novels, and airport novels. Modern paperbacks can be differentiated from one another by size. In the United States, there are "mass-market paperbacks" and larger, more durable "trade paperbacks". In the United Kingdom, there are A-format, B-format, and the largest C-format sizes. Paperback editions of books are issued when a publisher decides to release a book in a low-cost format. Lower-quality paper, glued (rather than stapled or sewn) bindings, and the lack of a hard cover may contribute to the lower cost of paperbacks. Paperback can be the preferred medium when a book is not expect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plume (publisher)
Plume is a publishing company in the United States, founded in 1970 as the trade paperback imprint of New American Library. Today it is a division of Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initia ..., with a backlist of approximately 700 titles. References External links Plume - Penguin Books USA Pearson plc Book publishing companies based in New York (state) Publishing companies established in 1970 {{Publish-corp-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doubleday (publisher)
Doubleday is an American publishing company. It was founded as the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897 and was the largest in the United States by 1947. It published the work of mostly U.S. authors under a number of imprints and distributed them through its own stores. In 2009 Doubleday merged with Knopf Publishing Group to form the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, which is now part of Penguin Random House. In 2019, the official website presents Doubleday as an imprint, not a publisher. History The firm was founded as Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897 by Frank Nelson Doubleday in partnership with Samuel Sidney McClure. McClure had founded the first U.S. newspaper syndicate in 1884 ( McClure Syndicate) and the monthly '' McClure's Magazine'' in 1893. One of their first bestsellers was ''The Day's Work'' by Rudyard Kipling, a short story collection that Macmillan published in Britain late in 1898. Other authors published by the company in its early years include W. Somerse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pet Sematary
''Pet Sematary'' is a 1983 horror novel by American writer Stephen King. The novel was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1984, and adapted into two films: one in 1989 and another in 2019. In November 2013, PS Publishing released ''Pet Sematary'' in a limited 30th-anniversary edition. Plot Louis Creed, a doctor from Chicago, is appointed director of the University of Maine's campus health service. He moves to a large house near the small town of Ludlow with his wife Rachel, their two young children, Ellie and Gage, and Ellie's cat, Winston Churchill ("Church"). From the moment they arrive, the family runs into trouble: Ellie hurts her knee, and Gage is stung by a bee. Their new neighbor, an elderly man named Jud Crandall, comes to help. He warns Louis and Rachel about the highway that runs past their house, which is frequented by speeding trucks. Jud and Louis quickly become close friends. Since Louis's father died when he was three, he sees Jud as a sur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gunslinger And The Dark Man
"The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" is a fantasy short story by American writer Stephen King, originally published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' in November 1981. In 1982, "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" was collected with several other stories King published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' as '' The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger''. "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" formed the fifth and final chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion. For the Revised and Expanded edition published in 2003, "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" was retitled to "The Gunslinger and the Man in Black." Plot After sacrificing Jake in the mountain, Roland makes his way down to speak to the man in black. The man reads Roland's fate from a pack of Tarot cards, including "the sailor" (Jake), "the prisoner" ( Eddie Dean) "the lady of shadows" (Susannah Dean), "death" (but not for Roland), and the Tower itself, as the center of everything. The man i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Slow Mutants
''The Slow Mutants'' is a fantasy novella by American writer Stephen King, originally published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' in July 1981. In 1982, "The Slow Mutants" was collected with four other stories King published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' as '' The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger''. "The Slow Mutants" formed the fourth chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion. Plot Roland and Jake make their way through a railway tunnel using a hand car cart created by the Great Old Ones. During this time, to distract the boy, Roland tells him a story of his childhood (which is also told in ''Wizard and Glass'' and ''The Gunslinger Born''). At age fourteen, Roland discovered his mother having an affair with his father's court magician, Marten Broadcloak. Marten taunted Roland in order to spur him into an early trial to prove his worth as a gunslinger, in order that he would fail and be sent into exile, therefore ending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Oracle And The Mountains
"The Oracle and the Mountains" is a short story by American writer Stephen King, originally published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' in February 1981. In 1982, "The Oracle and the Mountains" was collected with several other stories King published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' as '' The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger''. "The Oracle and the Mountains" formed the third chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion. Plot summary Roland and Jake manage to make their way out of the desert, into lusher territory. They come across a Speaking Ring. At night, Jake is drawn to the ring by the Oracle contained within, but Roland saves the boy before the Oracle can drain him to death via sexual intercourse. Roland restrains Jake at their campsite and gives him the jawbone taken from the skeleton in the way station, as a means of warding off the Oracle's influence. He then goes down to the Speaking Ring, taking mescaline to forti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Way Station
''The Way Station'' is a novella by American writer Stephen King, originally published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' in April 1980 in literature, 1980. In 1982 in literature, 1982, "The Way Station" was collected with several other stories King published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' as ''The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger''. "The Way Station" formed the second chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion. Plot summary At a way station in the desert, Roland Deschain meets Jake Chambers for the first time. Under hypnosis, Jake remembers that he has recently been killed in his own world, the New York City of 1977, when someone pushed him into traffic. This event creates the series' first link of All-World, Roland's world to ours, and Jake's account leads Roland to believe that the Randall Flagg, man in black may have caused the death. While searching the way station's cellar for usable supplies, Roland encounters a demon th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gunslinger (novella)
''The Gunslinger'' is a fantasy novella by American writer Stephen King, originally published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' in October 1978. In 1982, "The Gunslinger" was collected with four other stories King published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' as '' The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger''. "The Gunslinger" formed the first chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion. Plot summary The story begins with the sentence, "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." The gunslinger comes across a hut in the desert owned by a farmer named Brown, who has a pet raven named Zoltan. The gunslinger stays the night and, at Brown's urging, tells him the story of what happened to him the last time he came across people. He had been traveling through Tull, the last town before the desert began. He made his way to the local saloon and learned from Allie, its bartender, that the town drunk Nort had died ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
