Warning: Possible
spoilers below:
The Gunslinger is the first
book in the
Dark Tower series by
Stephen King. He tells the story of
Roland, a
gunslinger from the
inner baronies (
Gilead actually), who embarks on a quest to find the Dark Tower. He decides on this quest after finding a piece of the
Wizard's Rainbow in
Hambry (see
Wizard and Glass).
During Roland's
quest, as he chases the
Man in Black, he encounters
Jake, a young boy from
New York who finds himself in the Gunslinger's world after being pushed in front of a car and dying. Roland and Jake set out after the Man in Black together until Jake is killed once again, this time by the Gunslinger himself. Jake's final words to Roland are "
Go then, there are other worlds than these".
Roland continues west and eventually meets up with the Man in Black who, during a long
palaver, foretells that Roland will draw three
companions to help him on his continuing
journey toward the Dark Tower.