The Gunslinger
The Gunslinger by Stephen Kingby Stephen King
Shares rank 14 of 41 fantasy novels by recommenders
Readers praise King's storytelling and find it hard to put down, though critics call the writing poor and borderline.
Readers praise King's storytelling and find it hard to put down, though critics call the writing poor and borderline.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Enjoyable King storytelling
“King tells amazing stories, and The Gunslinger is near the top of my list of favorites.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Hard to put down
“it has been tough to put down”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Ranks among favorite books
“King tells amazing stories, and The Gunslinger is near the top of my list of favorites.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Poorly written, made reader quit
“it was so poorly written it made me wonder if I should continue”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Opening lines of famous literary works” Borderline quality, mixed opinion
“"The Gunslinger" is really a bit borderline.”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Opening lines of famous literary works”
Other fantasy novels people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien | 66 | 11 | 86% | 12 | 15 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| The Hobbitby J.R.R. Tolkien | 49 | 13 | 79% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Dungeon Crawler Carlby Matt Dinniman | 48 | 6 | 89% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationalityby Eliezer Yudkowsky | 19 | 17 | 53% | 7 | — | — |
| The Gunslingerby Stephen KingThis page | 5 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“King tells amazing stories, and The Gunslinger is near the top of my list of favorites.”
“it has been tough to put down”
“I re-read The Gunslinger a decade after my first read, and somehow found it even worse.”
“"The Gunslinger" is really a bit borderline.”
“it was so poorly written it made me wonder if I should continue”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.