I have never read the revised edition...
XIX
Original Gunslinger
Revised Gunslinger
I have never read the revised edition...
XIX
"See the TURTLE of enormous girth,
On his shell he holds the earth.
If you want to run and play,
Come along the BEAM today."
NFA JJG 42-95
Original for me. I first read the stories when they came out in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and liked them a lot then. I think that influenced my decision.
John
My opinion, the easy version:
The revised version sucks balls.
My favorite bands can kick your favorite bands' asses.
The horizon is right and motionless like the EKG of a dying woman.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
Good one, CK!
Grrr, I was hoping that when I came to check back in on this thread, the Revised would be winning.
I have a feeling though, after some time, they will be pretty much dead even.
i don't get how the revised version has gotten ten votes so far. the changes are icky
Sorry, but as an English major, I hate, hate, hate it when people publish something and then say "Oh, but I couldn't do it the way I wanted, here's what I want".I have a feeling though, after some time, they will be pretty much dead even.
Then don't publish it.
Yeah, yeah, I know, the kids need food and all, but still...you wrote it, stand by it.
I write stuff for my own personal enjoyment, and I edit it frequently. But if it ever got to print?
It's done, baby.
Part of the attraction for the original of The Gunslinger is that, over the course of the series, we can see the growth of the author as well as the characters. They grew together. To go back and "fix" it is wrong, IMHO, and yes, I've read both. Although I'll admit the revised is more SK as he is now, there is a certain pleasure in seeing his evolution as a writer through the series. And, you can see that clearly, especially between The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three. Personally, I like watching a writer evolve, maybe because I write a lot myself, and have seen my stuff get better with age (although I doubt any big publisher is going to call me LOL).
YMMV.
"People, especially children, aren't measured by their IQ. What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad." ~ Alan Bernard
"You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and ka is always served." ~ Roland Deschain
I don't think King was saying "Oh I couldn't do it the way I wanted" more like "I look back and realize that the way I had written it wasn't how I want it now" and I don't feel there is anything wrong with him going back and changing it to how he feels it should be. Plus it flows better with the rest of the series now, in my not so humble opinion.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
My favorite bands can kick your favorite bands' asses.
The horizon is right and motionless like the EKG of a dying woman.
I agree. It just wasn't the same book. I still have to stand by my original statement. It's published, it's done. You have to let it go sometime.
I read them both back-to-back when I started my reread of the series (first time I've read the revised), and after rereading the original, the revised just didn't do it for me. At all. It seems really contrived to me.
"People, especially children, aren't measured by their IQ. What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad." ~ Alan Bernard
"You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and ka is always served." ~ Roland Deschain
Same feelings here, Dag. I read the original then the revised over the winter in Seattle.
My favorite bands can kick your favorite bands' asses.
The horizon is right and motionless like the EKG of a dying woman.
Except that a whole bunch of folk who have become Towerjunkies since the revision have read nothing but the revision, so saying that once it's published "its done" isn't true. Artists have first drafts of things and King has said before that he looks at the Dark Tower series as it is now as a first draft and plans to revise the other books also.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
I think we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Personally, if I had never read any of the DT books and found the revised first, my obsessive-compulsive self would have had to find the original to read before I could read the revised. That's just how I am.
"People, especially children, aren't measured by their IQ. What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad." ~ Alan Bernard
"You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and ka is always served." ~ Roland Deschain
I'm sure there have been many times in everyone's life where we say to ourselves: "Damn, I wish I could do that over" or "Damn, I could do that so much better." I agree with CK. I understand it's a matter of personal preference and all but I see nothing wrong with having a revised addition or with an author changing things.
I disagree with Monte, I think that CK character is off his fucking rocker and needs to shut the hell up.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
Yeah, that CK...I just don't know about him.
"People, especially children, aren't measured by their IQ. What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad." ~ Alan Bernard
"You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and ka is always served." ~ Roland Deschain
My favorite bands can kick your favorite bands' asses.
The horizon is right and motionless like the EKG of a dying woman.
The entire series as a first draft is interesting, but scares me. I'm afraid the entire series will be this retconned thing like Book I, re. 1 is.
My favorite bands can kick your favorite bands' asses.
The horizon is right and motionless like the EKG of a dying woman.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah