Product Description

The third novel in Stephen King's magnificent epic tale about the quest to reach the Dark Tower - relaunched in B format with a new series look.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1915 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-15
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

Synopsis
Roland, the Last Gunslinger, is moving ever closer to the Dark Tower, which haunts his dreams and nightmares. Pursued by the Ageless Stranger, he and his friends follow the perilous path to Lud, an urban wasteland. And crossing a desert of damnation in this macabre new world, revelations begin to unfold about who - and what - is driving him forward. A blend of riveting action and powerful drama, "The Waste Lands" leaves readers breathlessly awaiting the next chapter. And the Tower is closer...

About the Author
Stephen King is the bestselling author of more than thirty books of which the most recent are DREAMCATCHER, EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL and FROM A BUICK 8. He lives with his wife, the novelist Tabitha King, in Bangor, Maine.

Customer Reviews

The Waste Lands
In breathtaking style King picks up where the second Dark Tower book left off. By now reviews are pretty pointless, as either you're hooked on the series, or you haven't started yet. If you haven't read the first book, you're reading the wrong review - look for "The Gunslinger" and start there. If you've read the first two then I'll tell you what you want to hear:

This book is as amazing as the last two. The story rolls forward at a brilliant rate and has one of the best openings to any novel I've ever read, thrilling and mind-blowing, throwing fresh insights into Roland's stale world at us continuously. The characters are solidified further and are now totally believable, even the comic book dialogue of Eddie Dean. The characters complement each other in a way that must have taken King months to work out (if it comes to him intrinsically, God help us - other writers will become extinct). The complement of tertiary characters livens things up to an insane degree, bringing the Three to new areas of the run-down world that they travel through in search of the Dark Tower.

I rave about the first three books because they're awesome. They're awesome because they're seemingly flawless - even if this isn't technically true, the illusion of such is so rare in literature nowadays that we must take it when we get it. The following novel doesn't necessarily live up to the brilliant cliff-hanger in "The Waste Lands", but that's debatable and something for another review. For those wanting to know if it's really worth investing in a third book (by which time it will probably too late, you'll just have to read them all anyway now!) then the answer is "yes" - go for it, because you won't regret it in the slightest.

A major book and part of an amazing saga
In the Dark Tower series the quality of books is increasing at each volume, as Stephen King's writing matured and developed. After the great "Gunslinger" and the magnificent "Drawing of the Three", the third installement in the series is even better. If there is anything I can compare this book with it is the first part of "The Lord of the Rings". Now, of course it is not THAT good - I do not think LOTR can be ever bested. But it is ALMOST that good.
This is a story of a travel, a long and perilous journey following the path of the beam (you will have to read it to understand the beauty and the magical attraction of the concept...). Roland of Gilead and his newly created fellow gunslingers are travelling through the dying world and the description of this voyage (and this world) is just magic, altough it is frequently a dark magic... The archidangerous and dearly paid attempt of bringing to this world the last missing companion is an incredible scene and the "guardian of the gate" is possibly the most horrifying creature that King conjured from the deepest abyss of his imagination.... And then there is a great idea of choice of the main adversary of Roland and his companions. Now King already invented an evil dog, evil cat, evil car, evil pressing machine, evil toy soldiers, evil fog and even an evil suitcase (!) but the identity of the main villain in this book will be a big surprise for you! Although it is quite obvious, considering the power, the size and the speed of the thing....
I believe that this is one of the best fantasy books I ever read. I can not recommend it enough. If you are Stephen King's fan, you will love it. If you are not his fan, there is a good chance that after reading it, you will become one.

all things follow the beam
great book again. i get fed up of writing great book but with this series i can't help it, the first three books demand that those words open your review.

the ka-tet is formed and the true journey begun. they follow the beam of bear and turtle to reach the tower, but this means they must cross the wastelands and journey through the dead city of lud.

they all go towards the tower, but not all are committed. and not all of them for the same reasons.

tick - tock!