Soon to be a major motion picture starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba The third volume in the #1 nationally bestselling Dark Tower Series, involving the enigmatic Roland (the last gunfighter) and his ongoing quest for the Dark Tower, is “Stephen King at his best” (School Library Journal). Several months have passed since The Drawing of the Three, and in The Waste Lands, Roland’s two new and in The Waste Lands, Roland’s two new tet-mates have become trained gunslingers. Eddie Dean has given up heroin, and Odetta’s two selves have joined, becoming the stronger and more balanced personality of Susannah Dean. But Roland altered ka by saving the life of Jake Chambers, a boy who—in Roland’s world—has already died. Now Roland and Jake exist in different worlds, but they are joined by the same madness: the paradox of double memories. Roland, Susannah, and Eddie must draw Jake into Mid-World and then follow the Path of the Beam all the way to the Dark Tower. There are new evils…new dangers to threaten Roland’s little band in the devastated city of Lud and the surrounding wastelands, as well as horrific confrontations with Blaine the Mono, the piratical Gasher, and the frightening Tick-Tock Man.
The Dark Tower Series continues to show Stephen King as a master of his craft. What lands, what peoples has he visited that are so unreachable to us except in the pages of his incredible books? Now Roland’s strange odyssey continues. The Waste Lands follows The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three as the third volume in what may be the most extraordinary and imaginative cycle of tales in the English language.
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** spoiler alert ** We rejoin the story after Roland, Eddie and Susanna have been resting up for a month and are about to set out in search of the Dark Tower again.
The first part of the story deals with the mental split caused by Roland saving Jake’s life and preventing him from being drawn to the waystation in book one. Both Roland and Jake are going mad as they both can remember Jake’s death and that Jake did not die. There are repeated images of the key and the rose in this section and it is brought to a kind of conclusion when Jake is dragged into Roland’s world. The scary house and it’s gate keeper is very creepy and you can’t help but feel sorry for poor Jake. As the youngest of the group I feel he gets the rawest deal. He seems to be used a lot more than the rest of the Ka-tet.
With Jake drawn to the group and the party on the path of the beam they make their way to Lud. Here again Jake gets used and beaten but at least this time Roland saves him.
I had forgotten that this book ends with a cliffhanger, with the party aboard a crazy monorail racing through the wastelands on the way to their possible death. This is both really annoying and very clever. You are now far enough into this tale to be attached to the characters, in particular Oy (I love the billy bumbler!), that you have to know what happens next and the idea of them playing riddles for their lives (like Bilbo and Gollum) is both childish and highly entertaining!
Wonderful! Very captivating and I had a hard time putting this one down. I still like the second Dark Tower story the best, but this third book is a close second.
This is just superb fiction. The entire Ka-tet are so well rounded as characters and the story is exceptionally imaginative.
If you aren’t familiar with this series….MAKE IT HAPPEN
The Dark Tower series, as Stephen King explained in his introduction to its first book, The Gunslinger, is essentially his Lord of the Rings—an epic fantasy tale stretching over several volumes to decide the fate of the world (or, in this case, worlds).
There are differences, of course: New Yorkers instead of hobbits; lobstrosities instead of orcs; western/horror/science fiction instead of medieval fantasy; the Dark Tower instead of the One Ring.
But there are also plenty of parallels: Roland, King’s protagonist, has a bit of Aragorn in him. Maybe some Gandalf, too. Riddles figure prominently, a tribute to the most famous scene in Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
And there’s a quest.
Except that in The Lord of the Rings, the terms of that quest are clear a third of the way through the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring—during the Council of Elrond, Frodo accepts the task of destroying the One Ring. There’s also a principal adversary: Sauron.
In sharp contrast, Roland’s mission still isn’t entirely apparent by the end of The Waste Lands, the third book in King’s opus. We know Roland has been seeking the Tower for years, and that he believes it holds the key to keeping his world (and maybe others) from “moving on,” or falling apart at the seams. But what exactly he’ll do once he reaches the Tower remains a mystery, as does how he’ll get there and who will try to stop him. (Although a late scene with the “Ageless Stranger” might have marked the entrance of a key opponent.)
None of this is to say epic fantasies should always follow Tolkien’s lead—please, by all means, break the mold. But I think the initial directional haziness in The Dark Tower is why I struggled with its first two books. That, and King’s long-winded style.
Thankfully, after spending the first part of The Waste Lands dragging out the formation of his fellowship—Roland, having already gathered Eddie and Susannah, corrects a sin from the first book and rescues a fourth companion—the series finally gets underway. Roland’s “ka-tet” of burgeoning gunslingers makes its way to Lud, a once-wondrous city now descended into chaos and decay. After tangling with its surviving inhabitants, the ka-tet boards Blaine, a monorail with unraveling artificial intelligence, and strikes a (dangerous) deal with him to carry them close to the Tower.
It sounds nuts—and it is—but it’s also fun, and the series finally makes some forward progress. I’d still like a few more details about the Tower, though. Even something as cliché as a prophecy: they’re generally lame, but they at least serve the purpose of giving the reader signposts to navigate by.
But that’s not King’s way. For better or worse, he’s an author you just have to surrender to and trust he knows where he’s going—never more so than in The Dark Tower. And after finishing The Waste Lands, I’m more confident in doing so.
Because the train has finally left the station.
(For more reviews like this one, see http://www.nickwisseman.com)
Love the whole Dark Tower series
Blaine the Mono. ‘Nuff said.
I enjoyed the entire series! I recommend it to all Steven king fans
Dark Tower is one of King’s best serial stories. I’d highly recommend
these books.
one of his best
Really good, but you have to start at the beginning of the series to understand it. It is very long and a little slow in places. You have to really like bizarre fantasy to make it through the entire series.
The stretch of The Drawing Of Three through The Wolves of Calla is really amazing and this book really starts kicking it off!
The Dark Tower series is Stephen King at his best. The books are long, but well worth the time. The ending is brilliant! Be sure to start with The Gunslinger and read the books in order.
Great series
A fantastic journey into midworld, a must for Stephen king fans.
The entire Gunslinger series from Stephen King is fabulous. If you haven’t read it, you need to!
What can I say, start with The Gunslinger and don’t stop!!!!
This entire series is amazing. Must read!!!
This part of the epic journey scared and stressed me….but I continued on along with them.
I have enjoyed the entire series! Recommend reading the series from the start.
Roland the gunslinger, and his journey to the dark tower. If you haven’t read it, do so.