The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands

Last updated
The Dark Tower III:
The Waste Lands
The Waste Lands.jpg
First edition cover
Author Stephen King
Cover artist Ned Dameron
LanguageEnglish
Series The Dark Tower
Genre Dark fantasy, science fiction
Publisher Grant
Publication date
September 3, 1991
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages512
ISBN 978-0-937986-17-2
Preceded by The Drawing of the Three  
Followed by Wizard and Glass  

The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands: Redemption, commonly known simply as The Waste Lands, is a dark fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the third book of the Dark Tower series. The original limited edition hardcover featuring full-color illustrations by Ned Dameron was published in 1991 by Grant. The book was reissued in 2003 to coincide with the publication of The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla . The book derives its title from the T. S. Eliot 1922 poem The Waste Land , several lines of which are reprinted in the opening pages. In addition, the two main sections of the book ("Jake: Fear in a Handful of Dust" and "Lud: A Heap of Broken Images") are named after lines in the poem. The Waste Lands was nominated for the 1991 Bram Stoker Award for Novel. [1]

Contents

Plot

Five weeks after the events of the previous book, Roland, Susannah, and Eddie have moved east from the shore of the Western Sea, and into the woods of Out-World. After an encounter with Shardik, a gigantic cyborg bear, they discover one of the six mystical Beams that hold the world together. The three gunslingers follow the Path of the Beam inland to Mid-World.

Roland now reveals to his ka-tet (group of people bound together by fate/destiny) that his mind has become divided and he is slowly losing his sanity. Roland remembers meeting Jake Chambers in the way station and letting him fall to his death in the mountains. [N 1] However, he also remembers passing through the desert alone and never meeting Jake. When Roland saved Jake from being killed by Jack Mort in 1977, [N 2] he inadvertently created a paradox; Jake did not die and thus did not appear in Mid-World and travel with Roland.

In 1977 New York, Jake Chambers is experiencing exactly the same mental divide, which is causing alarm at his private school, and angering Jake's cocaine-abusing father. Roland burns Walter's jawbone and the solution to his dilemma is revealed, but to Eddie instead of Roland. Eddie must carve a key that will open the door to New York in 1977.

Jake abruptly leaves school and finds a key in a littered vacant lot where a single red rose has bloomed. Jake manages to pass into Roland's world using the key to open a door in an abandoned haunted house on Dutch Hill in his place and time. This portal ends in a 'speaking ring' in Roland's world. During this crossing over, Susannah has sex with an incubus, distracting it while Eddie continues to carve the key which will allow Jake safe passage to Mid-World. Once the group is reunited, Jake and Roland's mental anguish ends. Roland has now completed the task of bringing companions into his world.

Following the path of the Beam again, the ka-tet befriends an unusually intelligent billy-bumbler (which looks like a combination of badger, raccoon and dog with parrot-like speaking ability, long neck, curly tail, retractable claws and a high degree of animal intelligence) whom Jake names Oy, who joins them on their quest. In River Crossing, a small, almost deserted town, Roland is given a silver cross and a courtly tribute by the town's last, ancient citizens.

The ka-tet continues on the Path of the Beam to the city of Lud. Before arriving there, the ka-tet hear the drum beat from the song "Velcro Fly" by ZZ Top playing from the city, although Eddie at first cannot remember where he has heard the rhythm before. Later, the drums are revealed as the "god-drums" to which the inhabitants of Lud constantly fight. The ancient, once high-tech city has been ravaged by centuries of war, with the residents being divided into two factions: the "Pubes" and the "Grays". One of the surviving Gray fighters, Gasher, kidnaps Jake by taking advantage of the near-accident the team faced while crossing a decaying bridge (which looks like the George Washington Bridge of NYC). Roland and Oy must then track them through a man-made labyrinth in the city and into the sewers in order to rescue the boy from Gasher and his leader, the Tick-Tock Man. Jake manages to shoot the Tick-Tock Man, leaving him for dead. The ka-tet is reunited at the Cradle of Lud, a train station which houses a monorail that they use to escape Lud before its destruction brought about by the monorail's AI known as Blaine the Mono. The "Ageless Stranger" (an enemy whom the Man in Black warned Roland that he must slay) arrives to recruit the badly-injured Tick-Tock Man as his servant.

Centuries of system degradation have caused Blaine to go insane. Once the travelers are aboard, it announces its intention to derail itself with them aboard unless they can defeat it in a riddle contest. Blaine and Roland's ka-tet speed through the Waste Lands, a radioactive land of mutated animals and ancient ruins created by something that is claimed to have been far worse than a nuclear war, on the way to Topeka, the end of the line.

Twelve portals and guardians

Twelve Guardians, which guard the Twelve Portals, are explained. Each Guardian matches up with a Guardian at the Portal on the other end of the Beam, and at the point where all the Beams meet is the Dark Tower. The Guardians are revealed in several scenes: the first is revealed when Roland is explaining to Eddie and Susannah Dean what Shardik was and his understanding of the Beams; another is revealed when Eddie and Susannah approach the Cradle of Lud; and the last, Bird and Hare, are revealed in the poem Roland and his lover, Susan Delgado, recite to each other occasionally: "Bird and Bear and Hare and Fish..." The only pairs identified are by Susannah and Eddie while at the Cradle of Lud. Shardik was created by North Central Positronics Ltd., which may be connected to the mysterious Sombra Corporation. The pairings as mentioned in the book are:

Book ban

In 2023, the book was banned, in Clay County District Schools, Florida. [2]

Film

Stephen King and Nikolaj Arcel have confirmed that the 2017 film The Dark Tower is a sequel to the events of The Dark Tower book series, following Roland Deschain on his "last time round" the cycle to the titular Dark Tower, equipped with the Horn of Eld. [3] The film was released on August 4, 2017 in 3D and 2D by Columbia Pictures. [4] The film has been described as a combination of the first novel, The Gunslinger , and of The Waste Lands, while also incorporating significant story points from The Wind Through the Keyhole .

Notes

  1. ↑ as depicted in The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger .
  2. ↑ as depicted in The Drawing of the Three.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three</i> Novel by Stephen King

The Drawing of the Three is a dark fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the second book in the Dark Tower series, published by Grant in 1987. The series was inspired by Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came by Robert Browning. The story is a continuation of The Gunslinger and follows Roland of Gilead and his quest towards the Dark Tower. The subtitle of this novel is RENEWAL.

<i>The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger</i> A fantasy novel by American author Stephen King

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger is a dark-fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first volume in his Dark Tower series. The Gunslinger was first published in 1982 as a fix-up novel, joining five short stories that had been published between 1978 and 1981. King substantially revised the novel in 2003; this version has remained in print ever since, with the subtitle "RESUMPTION". The story centers Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, who has been chasing his adversary, "the man in black," for many years. The novel fuses Western fiction with fantasy, science fiction, and horror, following Roland's trek through a vast desert and beyond in search of the man in black. Roland meets several people along his journey, including a boy named Jake, who travels with him part of the way.

<i>The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass</i> 1997 fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King

The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass: Regard, or simply Wizard and Glass, is a fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. The fourth book in the Dark Tower series, published in 1997 it placed fourth in the annual Locus Poll for best fantasy novel. Dave McKean created eighteen Illustrations for The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. The original eighteen illustrations appear only in the first edition hardback and trade paperback released in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland Deschain</span> Fictional character and the protagonist of Stephen Kings The Dark Tower series

Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character and the protagonist of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society.

<i>The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla</i> 2003 fantasy novel by Stephen King

The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla is a dark fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the fifth book in his The Dark Tower series. The book continues the story of Roland Deschain, Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean, Jake Chambers, and Oy as they make their way toward the Dark Tower. The subtitle of this novel is Resistance. Prior to the novel's publication, two excerpts were published: "Calla Bryn Sturgis" was published in 2001 on Stephen King's official site, and "The Tale of Gray Dick" was published in 2003 in McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales. Both excerpts were incorporated in revised form into the full version of the 2003 novel. Wolves of the Calla was nominated for the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2004.

<i>The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah</i> 2004 novel by Stephen King

The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah: Reproduction, or simply The Song of Susannah, is a 2004 fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the sixth book in his Dark Tower series.

<i>The Dark Tower</i> (series) Series by Stephen King

The Dark Tower is a series of eight novels, one novella, and a children's book written by American author Stephen King. Incorporating themes from multiple genres, including dark fantasy, science fantasy, horror, and Western, it describes a "gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. The series, and its use of the Dark Tower, expands upon Stephen King's multiverse and in doing so, links together many of his other novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randall Flagg</span> Fictional character created by Stephen King

Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by American author Stephen King, who has appeared in at least nine of his novels. Described as "an accomplished sorcerer and a devoted servant of the Outer Dark", he has supernatural abilities involving necromancy, prophecy, and influence over animal and human behavior. His goals typically center on bringing down civilizations through destruction and conflict. He has a variety of names, usually with the initial letters "R. F." but with occasional exceptions, such as Walter o'Dim and Marten Broadcloak in The Dark Tower series.

<i>The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower</i> 2004 novel by Stephen King

The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower is a 2004 fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the seventh and final book in his Dark Tower series. It was published by Grant on September 21, 2004, and illustrated by Michael Whelan. It has four subtitles: REPRODUCTION, REVELATION, REDEMPTION, and RESUMPTION – all but the second of these having been used as subtitles for previous novels in the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crimson King</span> Fictional character by Stephen King

The Crimson King, known to some as Los' or Ram Abbalah, is a fictional character created by Stephen King and the main antagonist of King's eight-volume Dark Tower series, as well as the novels Insomnia (1994) and Black House (2001). Described as "Gan's crazy side", the Crimson King is the ultimate ruler of the Red, and the archetypal embodiment of evil in Stephen King's fictional multiverse. His goal is to topple the Dark Tower which serves as the linchpin of time and space, destroying the multitude of universes which revolve around it so that he can rule in the primordial chaos which follows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Father Callahan</span> Fictional character

Father Donald Frank Callahan is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He originally appeared in the 1975 novel 'Salem's Lot and later The Dark Tower, appearing in The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla, The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah and finally The Dark Tower. He is at first an alcoholic with a troubled faith, but he seems to find his peace in The Dark Tower novels, and his faith is restored.

<i>The Dark Tower</i> (comics) Series of comic books

The Dark Tower, first published in 2007, is a series of comic books based on Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. Overall, it is plotted by Robin Furth and scripted by Peter David. Stephen King serves as Creative and Executive Director of the project.

The Way Station is a novella by American writer Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in April 1980. In 1982, "The Way Station" was collected with several other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger. "The Way Station" formed the second chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion.

<i>The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home</i>

The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home is a five-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. It is the second comic book miniseries based on Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. It is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David, and illustrated by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove. Stephen King serves as Creative and Executive Director of the project. The first issue was published on March 5, 2008.

"The Oracle and the Mountains" is a short story by American writer Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in February 1981. In 1982, "The Oracle and the Mountains" was collected with several other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger. "The Oracle and the Mountains" formed the third chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion.

"The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" is a fantasy short story by American writer Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in November 1981. In 1982, "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" was collected with several other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger. "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" formed the fifth and final chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion. For the Revised and expanded edition published in 2003, "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" was retitled to "The Gunslinger and the Man in Black."

<i>The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole</i> Novel by Stephen King

The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole is a 2012 fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. As part of the Dark Tower series, it is the eighth novel, but it is set chronologically between volumes four and five. First mentioned by King in 2009, after the controversial ending of the seventh novel in 2004, the book was officially announced on King's official website on March 10, 2011.

<i>The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill</i>

The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill is a five-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. It the fifth comic book miniseries based on Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. It is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David, and illustrated by Richard Isanove and Jae Lee. Stephen King is the Creative and Executive Director of the project. The first issue was published on December 3, 2009.

<i>The Dark Tower</i> (2017 film) 2017 American film by Nikolaj Arcel

The Dark Tower is a 2017 American neo-Western science fantasy film directed and co-written by Nikolaj Arcel. Based on Stephen King's novel series of the same name, the film stars Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, a gunslinger on a quest to protect the Dark Tower—a mythical structure which supports all realities—while Matthew McConaughey plays his nemesis Walter Padick, and Tom Taylor stars as Jake Chambers, a boy who becomes Roland's apprentice.

References

  1. ↑ "Past Bram Stoker Nominees & Winners". Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "District Reconsideration List". Google Docs. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  3. ↑ Trumbore, Dave (14 July 2016). "'The Dark Tower' Movie Is Actually a Sequel". Collider.
  4. ↑ Reyes, Mike (2017-01-13). "2017 3D Movie Schedule: The Full List Of Titles And Release Dates". CINEMABLEND. Retrieved 2017-04-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.