Major Difference/error? In The Swedish Version Of "the Gunslinger"

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

Bobby Grey

Member
Nov 20, 2013
15
109
43
Sweden
Hi

Im new to this forum and this is my first post so please be gentle :) Also, English is not my native tongue so if the grammar-police is stalking this forum then you know why there might be some errors in Spelling and whatnot.

Anyway, This past summer I purchased the Swedish translation of "The Gunslinger" in a thrift-shop and started to read it.. In this version Roland simply guns down Allie from Tull in Cold blood for no apparent reason other than that "because he felt like it"

A few Days ago I listened to the audio-book in English, in this version however: Roland mercy-kills her (Actually she begs him to do it) because she knows the secret of Death and it's driving her crazy or whatever..

What's up with this? Enlighten me please (And google is not my friend, I rather ask you guys)

Peace
 

Bobby Grey

Member
Nov 20, 2013
15
109
43
Sweden
Bev Vincent: Thanks alot :) What year did he revise the book? I guess he did it to make Roland look more like a "good guy"
In many ways Roland reminds me of Tony Soprano, he did some "questionable" things too but still came off as the hero (or anti-hero)
 

Bev Vincent

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,351
11,651
Texas
www.bevvincent.com
Bev Vincent: Thanks alot :) What year did he revise the book? I guess he did it to make Roland look more like a "good guy" In many ways Roland reminds me of Tony Soprano, he did some "questionable" things too but still came off as the hero (or anti-hero)

He did it in 2003 while he was working on the final books. His main reason for revising was to bring the book more into line with where the story ultimately went. It's the kind of revision someone would do if the whole series had been written as a single novel -- when he wrote The Gunslinger, he didn't really know whee the story was going. He also took the opportunity to change some of the language (fewer adverbs!). One of the main differences I noted in The Road to the Dark Tower is that he made Jake stronger, more defiant. In the original, he just goes along, but in the revised version he speaks up more, especially once he realizes what his fate is likely to be.
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
That's the difference between the original and the revised version. When he updated the book, King added the material about chassit (nineteen) and had Allie beg for release. In the original, Roland just shot her along with everyone else.

Which is why I have two copies of GUNSLINGER: one beat to crap PB (the original), and a pretty copy that matches the rest of my set (the rewrite) :) Every time we cull the shelves, BH asks if we should just toss 'that old book' and I shriek, "NO!" :D I kind of liked the original Roland better. He's still a hard ass, but he's an HONEST hard ass in that one.
 

Bobby Grey

Member
Nov 20, 2013
15
109
43
Sweden
but he's an HONEST hard ass in that one

Does he let
Jake die inside the mountain like in the revised version?
I haven't gotten that far yet.. Reading a real physical book is a luxury I can't afford right now (I simply do not have the time) That's why I love audio-books, I can listen to those while I work all day every day :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Hall Monitor

All bars serve the Beam.
Nov 7, 2013
187
1,013
New Jersey
Does he let
Jake die inside the mountain like in the revised version?
I haven't gotten that far yet.. Reading a real physical book is a luxury I can't afford right now (I simply do not have the time) That's why I love audio-books, I can listen to those while I work all day every day :)
Yes, Bobby. That part didn't change.
 

amerk

Member
Oct 1, 2013
6
6
This is strictly my opinion, and contains spoilers.

The original makes more sense, to me, although I've yet to finish the series. Basically, he starts off as a crude, uncaring, and even cold-blooded man, whose only goal is to reach the Dark Tower, and damn those around him. But as the series continue, we begin to see a more passionate human side to him. He begins to change. He starts to think through some of his actions, and even welcomes the input of those around him, even if he knows what the outcome will eventually be. We also begin to see that he feels some regret for his earlier decisions, and that it pains him to make some of the harder choices he has been forced to make.

See the spoiler if you want, but be ware that it may contain things you have yet to read.

The way the series is said to end makes sense when you consider how he originally was. Even though he changes, he can't quite erase the mistakes of his past and still has to pay the penalty of those errors, which is to repeat his journey over and over again. His penalty is probably less severe than what it could have been had he not changed at all, and there is the suggestion of hope and salvation for him in the future if he continues to change something everytime he takes this journey.

While there are definite questionable tactics about Roland throughout the novels, the only two that I think would have damned him (more or less) occurred in the first novel; the first was the shootout in Tull, and the death of Allice. The second was the sacrifice of Jake. Either of these things would probably have to be changed for Roland to be free of his own personal hell, although the sacrifice of Jake was practically resolved and forgiven him halfway through the third book.

By rewriting and changing that one defining moment (the reason he shot Allice), Roland's gradual change as the series continues is no longer as meaningful. It also removes one of the reasons for the ending, because what else (outside of his stubborn attitude) can Roland be expected to change in order to gain salvation?

Personally, I wish Stephen King would have left it alone, and like others before me, it's why I still have the originals.
 

notebookgirl

Well-Known Member
Oct 8, 2013
858
4,940
Somewhere over the Rainbow
That's the difference between the original and the revised version. When he updated the book, King added the material about chassit (nineteen) and had Allie beg for release. In the original, Roland just shot her along with everyone else.

Wow! I read the revised version which was that she begs for release. Good to know about Jake too.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
...I have to disagree with Amerk...I think the "change" in Roland, wasn't really change at all...it existed underneath the hardbitten gunslinger façade all the time...this is like any human-only on a much grander scale-the means to our salvation is always in us...we just have to act on or be guided to it to achieve it..as the Dinh of his Ka-Tet, old bombardier eyes saw his iron disregard and dogged trek in a different light. He had done much to atone for, and it's implied throughout the series...distilled down, the DT is a novel of redemption and love IMO...
 

doowopgirl

very avid fan
Aug 7, 2009
6,946
25,119
65
dublin ireland
...I have to disagree with Amerk...I think the "change" in Roland, wasn't really change at all...it existed underneath the hardbitten gunslinger façade all the time...this is like any human-only on a much grander scale-the means to our salvation is always in us...we just have to act on or be guided to it to achieve it..as the Dinh of his Ka-Tet, old bombardier eyes saw his iron disregard and dogged trek in a different light. He had done much to atone for, and it's implied throughout the series...distilled down, the DT is a novel of redemption and love IMO...
Very well said:big_smile:
 

Profesrebel

Member
Jan 29, 2014
8
41
72
Fresno, CA
He did it in 2003 while he was working on the final books. His main reason for revising was to bring the book more into line with where the story ultimately went. It's the kind of revision someone would do if the whole series had been written as a single novel -- when he wrote The Gunslinger, he didn't really know whee the story was going. He also took the opportunity to change some of the language (fewer adverbs!). One of the main differences I noted in The Road to the Dark Tower is that he made Jake stronger, more defiant. In the original, he just goes along, but in the revised version he speaks up more, especially once he realizes what his fate is likely to be.
Bev, would it be a true statement to also say the SK's original Roland was a reflection of his youth at the time of its being written -- mostly becasue the young are more inclined to do the things that the original Roland did for those specific reasons and thus have a tendence to to be more dualistic in their thinking. By 2003 SK had developed more empathy and I suspect he saw that Roland would also possess those qualities...idk...just a thought......