Inspired by the epic scope of J.R.R. Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings, the western flavor of Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy," the character of "The Man With No Name," and the theme of Robert Browning's "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," The Gunslinger conveys the tale of Roland Deschain of Gilead, New Canaan in All-world, the last gunslinger in a parallel universe that has "moved on." The book concerns Roland's pursuit of the man in black during which Roland recalls his training under Cort and a stopover in Tull. Roland later meets a boy, Jake Chambers, who joins the gunslinger on his journey across the Mohaine Desert and into the Cyclopean Mountains.