I've always liked Stephen King's Dark Tower series - [b:The Gunslinger|43615|The Gunslinger (Dark Tower 1)|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170132027s/43615.jpg|46575] was the first King story I ever read, and is probably still my favorite book of his - so I was somewhat biased in favor of this book going into it. That said, it was even better than I had expected it to be.

For those who already know the story of Roland Deschain's ascent to gunslingerhood and the tragedy of his love for Susan Delgado, the main story arc will bring no surprises. It follows fairly faithfully the gunslinger's back-story as told primarily in [b:Wizard and Glass|5096|Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4)|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165517584s/5096.jpg|750558] (and perhaps snippets from other books in the series as well). However, there are also some very intriguing additions to the story, especially in the appearances of both The Good Man (John Farson) and the Crimson King.

The artwork is fantastic. It's dark and gruesome and fits King's style of writing, which oscillates between excruciatingly specific detail and expansive archetypal cliche (in a good way). The appendix of alternative covers, sketches and concept drawings provides an extra bit of fiber for the connoisseur to gnaw on.