| "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen King |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Published in | The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Mercury Press |
| Media type | Print (Magazine) |
| Publication date | November 1981 |
| Preceded by | "The Slow Mutants" |
| Followed by | "The Drawing of the Three" |
"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.[1] 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.[2][3] 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."[4]
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 in black states that he is merely a pawn of Roland's true enemy, the one who now controls the Dark Tower itself.
Roland attacks the man in black, who retaliates by knocking Roland out with an incantation. Roland enters a terrifying visionary hallucination revealing the nature of the cosmos. When Roland awakens, he finds that nothing is left of the man except his skeleton, and that he himself has aged ten years. He takes the skeleton's jawbone with him as he departs, as a replacement for the one he had given to Jake in "The Oracle and the Mountains."
The gunslinger continues traveling by foot until he reaches the Western Sea.
See also[]
- Short fiction by Stephen King
References[]
- ↑ "Bibliography". The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger". StephenKing.com. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Peckham, Matthew. "The SF Site Featured Review: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (2003)". SF Site. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "The Gunslinger: A Side by Side Comparison". The Dark Tower.net. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
{{cite web}}:
| Stephen King | ||
|---|---|---|
| Main | Bibliography • Short fiction • Unpublished and uncollected • Awards and nominations | |
| Novels | Stand-alone | Carrie (1974) • 'Salem's Lot (1975) • The Shining (1977) • The Stand (1978) • The Dead Zone (1979) • Firestarter (1980) • Cujo (1981) • Christine (1983) • Pet Sematary (1983) • Cycle of the Werewolf (1983) • The Talisman (1984) • It (1986) • The Eyes of the Dragon (1987) • Misery (1987) • The Tommyknockers (1987) • The Dark Half (1989) • Needful Things (1991) • Gerald's Game (1992) • Dolores Claiborne (1992) • Insomnia (1994) • Rose Madder (1995) • The Green Mile (1996) • Desperation (1996) • Bag of Bones (1998) • The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) • The Plant (2000; unfinished) • Dreamcatcher (2001) • Black House (2001) • From a Buick 8 (2002) • The Colorado Kid (2005) • Cell (2006) • Lisey's Story (2006) • Duma Key (2008) • Under the Dome (2009) • 11/22/63 (2011) • Joyland (2013) • Doctor Sleep (2013) • Mr. Mercedes (2014) • Revival (2014) • Finders Keepers (2015) • End of Watch (2016) • Gwendy's Button Box (2017) • Sleeping Beauties (2017) • The Outsider (2018) • Elevation (2018) • The Institute (2019) |
| The Dark Tower series | The Gunslinger (1982) • The Drawing of the Three (1987) • The Waste Lands (1991) • Wizard and Glass (1997) • Wolves of the Calla (2003) • Song of Susannah (2004) • The Dark Tower (2004) • The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012) | |
| Richard Bachman novels | Rage (1977) • The Long Walk (1979) • Roadwork (1981) • The Running Man (1982) • Thinner (1984) • The Bachman Books (1985) • The Regulators (1996) • Blaze (2007) | |
| Short fiction collections | Night Shift (1978) • Different Seasons (1982) • Skeleton Crew (1985) • Four Past Midnight (1990) • Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) • Hearts in Atlantis (1999) • Everything's Eventual (2002) • Just After Sunset (2008) • Full Dark, No Stars (2010) • The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) | |
| Non-fiction | Danse Macabre (1981) • Nightmares in the Sky (1988) • On Writing (2000) • Secret Windows (2000) • Faithful (2004) • "Guns" (2013) | |
| Screenplays | Creepshow (1982) • Cat's Eye (1985) • Silver Bullet (1985) • Maximum Overdrive (1986; also director) • Pet Sematary (1989) • Sleepwalkers (1992) • A Good Marriage (2014) • Cell (2016) | |
| Teleplays | "Sorry, Right Number" (1987) • Golden Years (1991) • The Stand (1994) • The Shining (1997) • "Chinga" (1998) • Storm of the Century (1999) • Rose Red (2002) • Kingdom Hospital (2004) • Desperation (2006) • "Heads Will Roll" (2014) • Lisey's Story (TBA) | |
| Comics | Heroes for Hope (1985) • American Vampire (2010) | |
| Musical collaborations | Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997) • Black Ribbons (2010) • Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (2012) | |
| Anthologies edited | The Best American Short Stories 2007 (2007) • Six Scary Stories (2016) • Flight or Fright (2018) | |
| Worlds and concepts | Dollar Baby • Fictional books • Fictional locations in Maine (Castle Rock • Derry • Jerusalem's Lot) • Multiverse (All-World) | |
| Family | Tabitha King (wife) • Joe Hill (son) • Owen King (son) | |
| Related articles | List of adaptations • Bibliography of works on Stephen King • Rock Bottom Remainders • Philtrum Press • Six Stories • Stephen King Goes to the Movies • Charlie the Choo-Choo • Hearts in Suspension | |