The Waste Lands: (The Dark Tower #3)(Revised Edition) [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen King (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 2, 2003 | Series: Dark Tower (Book 3)

Roland, The Last Gunslinger, moves ever closer to The Dark Tower of his dreams-and nightmares-as he crosses a desert of damnation in a macabre world that is a twisted image of our own...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

King's third volume on Roland the gunfighter's search for the Dark Tower offers charming bits of whimsy, some splendidly tense moments and one rip-roaring horror scene. At times, however, it is pretentious and the direction of the sprawling plot uncertain. Roland has two companions on his quest for the tower at the portal of all the worldsp. 53 : Susannah Dean and Eddie Dean, who entered his world from New York City of 1963 and 1987, respectively. When the three track down the den of a 70-foot-tall cyborg bear, they are pointed down a path leading to the Tower. But Roland is slowly going mad, a fact that seems linked to his past experiences with Jake Chambers, a boy who died twicestet ital in the first book of the series. Jake reappears here, displaying great resilience in crossing over from 1977 New York City to join Roland & Co. (As Susannah notes, "This time-travel business is some confusing shit.") They press on, plumbing the depths of a children's book that tells a profound and ancient tale. Unfortunately, the questers don't reach the Tower; in fact, they're caught in a cliff-hanger ending--King says, he'll write volume four if we want it. Illustrations not seen by PW. 1.5 million first printing; $400,000 ad/promo; BOMC and QPB selections.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-- The third installment in the offbeat fantasy saga involving the enigmatic Roland (the last gunfighter) and his quest for the Dark Tower. While the story (inspired by Robert Browning's narrative poem ``Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came'') is entertaining, what really makes it outstanding are King's unique, multifaceted characters. This is Stephen King at his best.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Signet; Revised edition (September 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451210867
• ISBN-13: 978-0451210869
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (298 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are the Dark Tower novels, Cell, From a Buick 8, Everything's Eventual, Hearts in Atlantis, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Bag of Bones. His acclaimed nonfiction book, On Writing, was also a bestseller. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The quest endures! May 10, 2005

By J. Walker

Format:Hardcover

The Wastelands-King's third installment in the Dark Tower saga-marks the true beginning of the quest in many ways. Roland finally gathers his ka-tet (group bound to him by destiny) as he draws young Jake into his world amid a demonic rainstorm. And it is here, as the group prepares to embark on a seemingly insane journey through the Waste Lands (part of Mid-World that has been utterly ravaged by war and the decay of the Tower), that we finally get a look at the true nature of Roland's world.

From the City of Lud-a post-apocalyptic industrial ruin-to the lost cyborg-bear Shardik and the dread portal he guards, it is clear from the start that Roland's world-and perhaps our world as well-contains vastly more than meets the eye. Perhaps the greatest asset to The Waste Lands is the sheer imaginative scope that binds the tale of Roland's ka-tet. Here is a world so complete in its history, so flawless in its realization, and so utterly compelling in its people, that it is far too easy to lose yourself in.

In The Waste Lands, the Dark Tower epic picks of steam and sends the reader hurtling down the dark halls of King's fantastic world.

A word of warning: Have a copy of Wizard and Glass (Book IV) on hand when you finish this; it ends with a really agonizing cliff-hanger.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Strange and Wondrous Realms October 5, 2001

By Patrick Shepherd VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Book III of the Dark Tower series continues the quest defined in the first book (The Gunslinger) with the traveling companions introduced in the second book (The Drawing of the Three).

This book is basically a group of adventure episodes: an encounter with a 70 foot high bio-mechanical bear (Shardik), relic of a past age, a strange fight with a demon, a visit to a dying suburban village, an abduction and running battle in a ghost town city, and finally a fantastic trip on a suicidal mono-rail train. Each episode provides a little more insight into Roland's fantastical world, both past and present. By the end of this book, a fairly coherent picture of this world emerges, from its obvious high technology past, to its current sadly deteriorated state, to some of the rationale behind why certain things work the way they do in this world. The book is very action oriented; there is very little reflection on grander philosophical themes here, and continuing character development of the main characters is fairly minimal.

There is a nice variant on the old time-travel paradox. In The Gunslinger, the boy Jake is sacrificed to Roland's determination to catch the 'man in black'. In this story, we find Jake alive and well and still living in (our) New York, due to an action by Roland in The Drawing of the Three that caused the previous history to never occur. But both Roland and Jake have memories of the 'other' past, and this duality is slowly driving both to the edge of insanity. The resolution of this problem requires that Jake be brought back to Roland's world, and how this is accomplished forms the major portion of one of the 'episodes'....

At various points throughout this book, King makes allusions to other famous science-fiction and fantasy authors and their creations (and some of his own), from Richard Adams (Shardik and Watership Down) to Isaac Asimov's 'positronic' brains of his robot stories, to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit with its riddling games. For those who have read these works, these allusions provide an enhanced view of this world and how it works, but I am not sure how well some of this plays with readers who haven't read these other works.

Overall, this book is a page-turner, and does a good job of holding the reader's interest in the fate of the major characters and the overall resolution of the quest. The ending of this book is a cliff-hanger, like the movie serials of old, and for this reason I don't recommend you start this book unless you have a copy of book IV, Wizard & Glass, handy, as you will definitely want to immediately find out the resolution to the end situation here. Read more ›

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the series so far December 7, 1999

By J. Berry

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Not as deeply off the subject as Wizard and Glass, more involved than The Gunslinger, less "ordinary" than the Drawing of the Three, the Waste Lands brings hints of science fiction at the beginning while deeping the fascinating theme of coincidence which is really an amazingly complex series of convergences. We learn more about the three who have been drawn, fear for Roland's mind as he teeters on the edge of madness, understand more about how Mid-World relates to ours, fear for our lives at the hands of Blaine the Mono and are truly drawn into the story as each of the companions begins to feel the pull of the Dark Tower . . . A fascinating and engrossing read. I don't know anybody who's read the Dark Tower series who isn't pining for the next installment.

30 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Book #3 And It Just Gets Better!! January 1, 2005

By Jana L. Perskie HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Stephen King's "The Waste Lands" is the third volume in the epic Dark Tower series and every bit as good, if not better, than the two preceding novels. The plot and character development improve with every page, and the action and suspense are nonstop.

Gunslinger, Roland, and his two companions Susannah Dean, formerly the duo-personality Odetta Susannah Holmes and Detta Walker, and Eddie Dean, previously a drug addict and mule in New York City, at last begin their quest for the Dark Tower. Both Susannah and Eddie are in training and well on their way to becoming gunslingers. First, however, the threesome must defeat Mir, the gigantic, insane cyborg bear, called Shardik by the Great Old Ones. Mir guarded the Portal of the Bear, one of Twelve Portals which form the endpoints of the Beams. There are six Beams running between the Twelve Portals which mark the edges of Mid-World. The point where all Beams cross is the nexus of all worlds. The three backtrack along Mir's path and find the Beam, which should lead them to the center-point where the Dark Tower lies.

One of the most important events in this book, and in the series, is the entry of Jake, the boy, into the circle of questing companions. Jake was introduced to the reader in Book One, "The Gunslinger." There had been a great paradox surrounding Jake's existence - the paradox of shifting realities. Had the boy died or was he still alive? Had he, in fact, ever really appeared in Mid-Earth? This paradox was slowly driving both Roland, in Mid-World, and Jake, back in New York City, insane. In a scene rich in symbolism, Jake is reborn into Roland's world with Susannah as his symbolic mother, Eddie as midwife and the Gunslinger as Jake's symbolic father.... The Drawing of the Three is at last complete and a fourth companion is also added. Jake adopts a talking billy-bumbler. Billy-bumblers resemble a combination of racoon, badger and dog. This one is named Oy.

This magnificent Ka-tet, (King's word for a group of people drawn together by fate), moves on the Path of the Beam toward the city of Lud, an urban wasteland, inhabited by degenerate survivors of gang wars. Jake is captured and miraculously survives his trek through the underground world of Lud, and the acquaintanceship of some of the most unsavory characters King has created yet. Now Blaine, the psychotic, suicidal monorail train enters the picture to rescue the companions-in-arms from Lud. Rather than carrying them to safety, the train takes them into further danger. Before leaving NY, Jake had picked up two volumes in a local bookstore - one a book of riddles and the other, a book called "Charlie the Choo-choo." He was able to foresee the appearance of Blaine because of the train's resemblance to Choo-Choo Charlie. Spooky!

"The Waste Lands" leave the four speeding towards their destination, Topeka, Kansas, Mid-World, at 800 miles per hour on a train that won't stop. The only chance for survival is Blaine's love of riddles. We are left with a cliffhanger. Can someone come up with a riddle original enough to halt the train and save their lives? See Book Four - "Wizard and Glass."

This third novel in the septet is rich in description of characters, cityscapes, landscapes and creatures. The changing relationships between the foursome, their growth as individuals and as a group, is really worth mentioning. King is at his best here. Adventure-packed, the book moves along at a fast clip. Characters who were introduced to the reader previously, are now fleshed out and really become three-dimensional. The level of suspense is dramatically increased. I am totally hooked on this series. At this point, I don't care how King ends his epic . I just know that he has taken me on a 1500 page ride, (approximately), so far and I have loved every minute of it. Nothing that occurs in future books can spoil what I have already read. Highest recommendations!!
JANA Read more ›