I just finished Stephen King's 'The Gunslinger' and thought that it was only okay. Is it worth it to read the whole series?

I loved "The Gunslinger", but I stopped reading the Dark Tower series after the third book, "The Wastelands". I just couldn't get into that whole thing. Personally, I think Stephen King is too wordy, he'll take 20 pages to express an idea that could easily have fit into one paragraph.

Can't really say it was the weakest link, but considering it was one of the first stories he ever wrote, it does show a bit. Keep in mind, the series gets really weird, even for King. I think it hit it's pinnacle with Wizard & Glass, and kind of hit a down slope up until the last book. Which, yeah, I won't ruin that for you, but after 7 very very long books... I'm still upset.

Won't say it's worse then Odd Thomas by Koontz though. That still wins the "Worst Ending Ever" award.

Yes. Read them all. In order. It's a trip. VERY good. The Gunslinger was probably the weakest of all the books.

These are on my "to read" list because I too wasn't overly impressed by the first book but according to my brother the books only get better as they go on.

It took me a couple of tries to get through "The Gunslinger". The rest of the series was much more interesting, though the ending is a bit of a disappointment. All in all I would say it is worth it to read the entire series.

I thought that Gunslinger was the worst of the series but if you stay with them, they get better and better. I have read the entire series twice and am on book 4 of my third reading. I always struggle through Gunslinger but it is worth it..

The first book was somewhat experimental for King, I wouldn't say he sticks with the same style for the rest of the series. The Gunslinger is very dry and sparse in style, as the series progresses it becomes a lot more comfortable and rich in its narrative.

I didn't exactly love The Gunslinger at first, but after I read Drawing of the Three and The Waste Lands, I went back and read it again, and loved it.

As for the whole series... be warned (and this is just my opinion). After Part 4, the style and direction of the story arc changes drastically, and personally, I was rather disappointed with a lot of the plot developments and devices.

The only real "miss" in the series is book 4, "Wizard and Glass". It was irrelevant to the story up to that point, it wasn't really relevant to the conclusion of the series, and I found myself thinking, "Who cares?" a lot. Unfortunately, that's the story they chose when they put the Gunslinger into comic book form. Boo.

But to answer the question - the books get MUCH richer, more detailed, and interesting after the first one. The first one is a little slow, a little strung out, and a not terribly exciting. But I agree with the earlier answer - if you hate book 2 or aren't excited after that one... be done with it.

I think 'The Gunslinger' is probably his best book.
I just started reading it again for the third time.

If you think it's just OK, then you probably won't like the rest of the Dark Tower books.

He kind of creeps me out. I like action books much better. Ones by Michael Crichton are fine with me.

Read the second one. If you don't love Drawing of the Three, put it down.
Personally, I loved the series, although there were definite problems with it. And part of getting through the series is being a Stephen King fan. You won't recognize as much if you haven't read the bulk of his other work. It's not necessary to read everything he wrote, but it makes the story richer.

not if you didn't love the first one...I'm lukewarm on him; I tend to enjoy his movies more than his books...