The Gunslinger by Stephen King

 

This is the first novel in Stephen King's epic series The Dark Tower.  The book opens with two men.  Roland Deschain is the Gunslinger, a man whose childhood was spent training for his task and whose first kill was the man who betrayed his father with his mother.  Roland is chasing a figure known as the Man In Black who is a wizard like figure who has destroyed the world leaving it a shell of what it once was.  Somehow Roland has heard of the Dark Tower and knows that if he can find it, he has a chance to save the world and that the Man In Black has the knowledge he needs.

He meets two individuals that help him.  The first is Alice, a woman he stays with for a short while as he rests and gets ready to take up his journey again.  The second is a young boy named Jake he finds along the way in a barn.  The Man In Black had killed Jake in the other version of this world, the one we would recognize and Roland takes Jake along with him on his quest.  He looks after him but is asked to sacrifice him in order for the Man In Black to give him the information he needs.  

I've been meaning to read this epic series for years and finally decided now was the time.  I like the dystopian feel of the first novel and the hints we get of The Gunslinger's past life.  There are questions of right and wrong, of whether it is better to sacrifice one in order to save the many and the question of whether some individuals are meant to save the world.  I look forward to reading more about these characters and the quest as the series progresses.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.