King's realism.

Something I've noticed in the majority of Stephen king's novels is how he keeps the imagery relatively unrestricted. He adds a little bit of 'censored' material to every book he writes. The gunslinger is no exception, he writes about sex, drugs, and intense violence.

A quote regarding sex:

“She would not remove her hands until she was behind him and she doused the lamps one by one, turning down the wicks and breathing the flames into extinction. Then she took his hand in the dark and it was warm. She led him upstairs. There was no light to hide their act.” (King 27)

One regarding drug usage:

“The drug had often disturbed him: his ego was too strong (or perhaps just too simple) to enjoy being eclipsed and peeled back, made a target for more sensitive emotions---they tickled at him (and sometimes maddened him) like the touch of a cat's whiskers.” (King 134)

and one with a mere touch of violence:

“In two second they would be in gripping distance. In the forefront he saw Kennerly; Kennerly's younger daughter, perhaps eleven; Soobie; two male barflies; a whore named Amy Feldon. He let them all have it, and the ones behind them. Their bodies thumped like scarecrows.” (King 64)