boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN) (03/15/86)
> From: hropus!jbs (John Skiendziel) > I'm hope you can help me out here. I'm trying to locate a book. > It seems every I to go/call tells me the same stories. > > 1.) The book is out of print. > 2). It was a limited printing. > or > 3.) "I've never heard of it, are you sure he wrote it?" > > So ...... > > Is there anyone who knows where I can obtain a copy new or > used of Stephen King's, "The Dark Tower"?? > It came out in 1982. I appreciate any help I receive. THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER is a collection of five stories published in 1982 by a small press publisher, Donald M. Grant, in a relatively limited edition. It had a press run of 10,000 copies, all of which sold out almost immediately (there was also a deluxe edition of 500 signed, numbered, and slipcased copies). Neither Grant, King, nor King's regular publisher (NAL) planned *any* later editions. However, the listing of the book in the front of one of King's later books caused a rush on bookstores looking for the thing. Because of the demand, Grant published a second edition, also a run of 10,000 copies. This edition, too, sold out very quickly. Again, there are no plans for any further editions. Why? King apparently feels that this is different enough from his usual work that it won't be successful in the trade market; I think he's crazy. There's always hope though, since there weren't any plans to release CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF in anything but *its* original limited edition, but it that case, there was a film adaptation to encourage a mass-market release. At any rate, if you just want to read the damn stories and aren't concerned with having them all together in one book, then get thee to a real used-book store (by real, I mean not a book swap type place) and look for the following issues of THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, which are the original publications of the stories in the book: October 1978 "The Gunslinger" April 1980 "The Way Station" February 1981 "The Oracle and the Mountains" July 1981 "The Slow Mutants" November 1981 "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" Of course, this way, you won't get the beautiful Michael Whelan artwork for the book, but beggars can't be choosers. Be warned, though, that these mag- azines are also getting hard to find, as are any magazines featuring work by King. You're much more likely to find these, though, than a copy of the book. The book is now going for exorbitant prices (like ~$175 for a first edition, ~$500 for the signed/numbered; I think the second edition goes for ~$75, but i'm not sure). What is it about? Well, it's a bit hard to describe. Basicly, it's about "the last gunslinger", Roland by name, who is pursuing a being known only as The Dark Man across a barren wasteland, encountering various strange people along the way. It's not his best work, but it is enjoyable nonethe- less. This is the first volume of a *very* long work. The second volume, THE DARK TOWER: THE DRAWING OF THE THREE is projected for sometime in the next couple of years. While I'm at it, I should mention that there is another King book that so far has appeared only in a limited edition. It's called THE EYES OF THE DRAGON, and it was published at the end of 1984. It's planned for trade publication in 1987. It's a rather intriguing novel, a "young adult" book but not a "young adult" book. It's set in The Territories (from THE TALISMAN) and also features Randall Flagg from THE STAND. Flagg, however, is a bit different from the one we all know and loath, so it might be intended that this is merely the Territorial analogue to the one from THE STAND. It's something to look forward to. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...} !decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.DEC.COM