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87th out of 103 books
—
32 voters
The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower #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...
Paperback, 590 pages
Published
September 2nd 2003
by Signet
(first published January 1st 1991)
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DISCLAIMER: Many aspects of THE GUNSLINGER ACTION ADVENTURE EXPEDITION are comprised of potentially dangerous activities involving giant cyborgs, possessed buildings, demon rapists and extras from the cast of Deliverance, do you ken it. There is a risk of serious injury, being Roont or even Charyou Tree. Therefore GUNSLINGER KA-TETS WITH DINH ONLY. While training and remembering the face of your father can reduce the inherent risks, Ka is a wheel and they cannot be completely eliminated do you...more
This book contains the biggest lie a writer ever told me. It‘s in the Author‘s Note at the end:
The fourth volume in the tale of the Dark Tower should appear - always assuming the continuation of Constant Writer’s life and Constant Reader’s interest - in the not-too-distant-future.
It took six years for the next book to come out.
Six. Goddamn. Years.
Six years may not seem too bad to fans of authors who only release a book every decade or so, but there’s a couple of factors that made this false sta...more
The fourth volume in the tale of the Dark Tower should appear - always assuming the continuation of Constant Writer’s life and Constant Reader’s interest - in the not-too-distant-future.
It took six years for the next book to come out.
Six. Goddamn. Years.
Six years may not seem too bad to fans of authors who only release a book every decade or so, but there’s a couple of factors that made this false sta...more
63 likes · like · see review
Another stunning installment in the Dark Tower series, The Waste Lands brings our quest for the dark tower that much closer, and actually giving it plenty of momentum which is, I'm told, possibly to be dashed in further installments.
Where The Gunslinger was a correlating collection of stories and The Drawing of the Three brings the main characters together, The Waste Lands actually moves the quest forward, gives some background (not a ton mind you), and gives us some direction.
I'm really enjoyin...more
Where The Gunslinger was a correlating collection of stories and The Drawing of the Three brings the main characters together, The Waste Lands actually moves the quest forward, gives some background (not a ton mind you), and gives us some direction.
I'm really enjoyin...more
16 likes · like · see review
The beam all things serve it!
A multi-layered story of thrill and adventure.
A band of pilgrims, knights set upon a journey, a journey in ultimately that they will come to realise fear and terror, love and courage. Journey to a ultimate goal a destination the Tower and this strikes a similarity to our own goals and journeys today to happiness and sadness, paradise and hell, success and failure, light or darkness. As we follow this band upon their paths we warm to their fears and courage, humour a...more
11 likes · like · see review
May 03, 2011
Dan Schwent
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
western,
plan-on-rereading-one-day,
reread-in-2011,
favorites,
2011,
weird-western,
man-tears
After the events of the Drawing of the Three, Roland the Gunslinger has two people from our world along side him in his quest for the Dark Tower. However, he's also going mad because of a strange double set of memories in his head, memories of a boy he crossed the desert with...
The Waste Lands is probably my favorite Dark Tower book and epitomizes what I like about the series. It's got the lost technology, lots of action, more bits about Roland's world, and makes Roland's ka-tet complete. The st...more
The Waste Lands is probably my favorite Dark Tower book and epitomizes what I like about the series. It's got the lost technology, lots of action, more bits about Roland's world, and makes Roland's ka-tet complete. The st...more
20 likes · like · see review
Now we get to some real nail-biting action. This book is split into two parts, and each part will have you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what the outcome will be.
This is my favorite of the first three volumes I think, although I mostly just consider it all one big story more then I consider it to be split up.
This book made me love all the characters more then ever. Roland especially. He cracked jokes AND faced down a demented train. He kicks ass. I also have a very big soft spot for...more
This is my favorite of the first three volumes I think, although I mostly just consider it all one big story more then I consider it to be split up.
This book made me love all the characters more then ever. Roland especially. He cracked jokes AND faced down a demented train. He kicks ass. I also have a very big soft spot for...more
I'm going to have to agree with what many readers have stated on this series; the story is getting better as it progresses.
The first book, needless to say, was so vague I couldn't make any sense of it whatsoever. I enjoyed the western theme, but the few facts i could gather weren't enough for me to actually get into the story. It ended up taking me a month to finish it. In that time, I had to pressure myself to sit down and read a certain amount of pages. I couldn't identify with Roland or his...more
The first book, needless to say, was so vague I couldn't make any sense of it whatsoever. I enjoyed the western theme, but the few facts i could gather weren't enough for me to actually get into the story. It ended up taking me a month to finish it. In that time, I had to pressure myself to sit down and read a certain amount of pages. I couldn't identify with Roland or his...more
3 likes · like · see review
Let me start off by saying that I didn't rate this five stars because of its stand alone content. I rated it five stars because of the level it elevated the series too. I wasn't very interested in the Dark Tower series after Gunslinger, but I kept going. After Drawing of the Three, I was more intrigued, I liked it a lot better than Gunslinger, but I still could have not continued and not really cared. But now, after Waste Lands, I'm hooked. I can't wait to continue, and learn more of the story....more
13 likes · like · see review
This is the book I was looking for when I started this series. I actually started The Dark Tower books years ago but remembered little to nothing about them. I remembered Roland, gunslingers, a woman with no legs and for some reason Hey Jude. Well, this was my book. A rediscovered favorite book. And now I can finish the whole series in one go and hopefully find out what this crazy stuff all means.
In a way it's another series that's reminding me of Lost. With the whole question of, "Where are we?...more
In a way it's another series that's reminding me of Lost. With the whole question of, "Where are we?...more
6 likes · like · see review
the story is getting better.
first book: vague as crap, a little too pretentious.
second book: barely even a story, most of it worth skipping.
this third book: pretty entertaining, slightly verbose, and a little too long.
when reading this, i definitely saw the influence of LOTR clearer than i did in the previous two. of course, when reading any fantasy, the enemy of all fantasy novels--one could say the Dark Tower--is Tolkien. mostly you find that fantasy novels are just rehashes of the same ideas...more
first book: vague as crap, a little too pretentious.
second book: barely even a story, most of it worth skipping.
this third book: pretty entertaining, slightly verbose, and a little too long.
when reading this, i definitely saw the influence of LOTR clearer than i did in the previous two. of course, when reading any fantasy, the enemy of all fantasy novels--one could say the Dark Tower--is Tolkien. mostly you find that fantasy novels are just rehashes of the same ideas...more
2 likes · like · see review
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1 like · like · see review
This book was fucking awesome!!
There's no other way to say it. This is my favorite chapter in The Dark Tower series, and possibly my favorite book of all time. Everything that this book does is perfect in my opinion. The book is split into two parts, one focusing on Jake in our world, and the other focusing on Roland's quest in Mid-World. At the end of DOTT, Jack Mort's death caused a time-paradox. Since he didn't kill Jake, Jake didn't go to Mid-World. Roland and Jake are both going insane. Jak...more
There's no other way to say it. This is my favorite chapter in The Dark Tower series, and possibly my favorite book of all time. Everything that this book does is perfect in my opinion. The book is split into two parts, one focusing on Jake in our world, and the other focusing on Roland's quest in Mid-World. At the end of DOTT, Jack Mort's death caused a time-paradox. Since he didn't kill Jake, Jake didn't go to Mid-World. Roland and Jake are both going insane. Jak...more
Wow what can I say about this book? There is so much of it to love. I was instantly sucked in and savored every word. As I told a friend of mine “enjoying it” does not even come close to describing how I felt about this story. But to simplify things let’s say “It was AMAZING!” And the intensity levels were phenominal.
One thing I really liked was how each one’s world was running parallel to the others. I found that fascinating! And what can I say about the ‘anticipation’! King leads his readers...more
One thing I really liked was how each one’s world was running parallel to the others. I found that fascinating! And what can I say about the ‘anticipation’! King leads his readers...more
4 likes · like · see review
Deus ex Machina, only more like Demon ex Machina in this case, is a plot device of which I'm quite weary. The items which make it difficult for me to say "I liked it," are the gratuitous rape scene, the puppet-like quality to all characters encountered by our ka-tet, and the utter lack of originality in terms of the nomenclature of rudeness. I still think Mid-World is some extremely distant future version of our own world, but that doesn't mean that cultures can't be far enough removed from the...more
Overall, I really enjoyed this. On the other hand, King is unable to contain himself from including some remarkably tasteless scenes: one of which involves a black woman and a randy demon, I'll say no more. I particularly object to King's embarassing attempts to imitate 'black vernacular' speech in the character of Odessa. She 'talks lik dis' all the time which is pretty offensive at times: I'm sure Toni Morrison would have a heart-attack if she read this and saw King's depictions of black speec...more
1 like · like · see review
Sep 14, 2008
Chris
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fantasy geeks and people that can tolerate Stephen King in general
Recommended to Chris by:
nobody specifically
My tolerance for Stephen King seems to ebb and flow constantly. He's probably the author whose books I read the most, but sometimes he just gets on my nerves. To make a cinematic connection, he reminds me of Quentin Tarantino, who always tries to talk hip and act cool, but most of the time I'm not buying it. The good thing about the "Dark Tower" series is that it takes place in a fantasy world so the jive-talk and pop-culture references aren't too prevalent, though the character of Eddie still g...more
The main storyline of the Dark Tower really reveals itself in this book, the third installment. More ground is covered (literally, travelled by the protaganists) than any of the other books in the series. In fact, this probably the most straight-up fantasy adventure in the series. If quests, rescues, and discovering forgotten civilations are your cup of tea, this could very well be one of your favorite novels ever. It has the charm of being very recognizable as as a fantasy adventure within a wo...more
Maybe the best birthday gift I ever got from my grandmother, and definitely one of the ones she wasn't paying attention to when she bought. Even back in 1999, when I had wicked issues with slow reading, I managed to rip through this. I was riveted with King's storytelling and the way demented and straight characters interacted. Teen readers that can handle mature subject matter and dig this genre should definitely give it a shot. I enjoy it just as much after college and whatnot, though.
The best...more
The best...more
Look, if you haven't read the "Dark Tower" series, get off your ass. Anyone who knows me knows that I can just barely read at all, but I'm tearing through these books like John Candy through a Shoney's breakfast buffet. It's tough to say what's even so GOOD about them. In fact, for their length, you could say that hardly anything even happens in the first two, This guy walks through a desert for 500 pages, then a group of folks walk up a beach for 500 pages. But...I don't know Stephen King has d...more
9 likes · like · see review
Apr 11, 2008
Dj
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who survived the first 2
Recommended to Dj by:
Joe Busby
I have my brother Joe's old copy at mein house!
OK read it. Took me a month or so, at no fault of the book. It was awesome and much more action packed from start to finish. I blasted through the last 150 pages in the past 2 days, which I do quite often. The mental images in this book really let your imagination go wild. Mid-World has the ugliest and the most beautiful places. A way post apocalyptic world with remnants of their past/our future(?) civilizations really allows anything to be possible...more
OK read it. Took me a month or so, at no fault of the book. It was awesome and much more action packed from start to finish. I blasted through the last 150 pages in the past 2 days, which I do quite often. The mental images in this book really let your imagination go wild. Mid-World has the ugliest and the most beautiful places. A way post apocalyptic world with remnants of their past/our future(?) civilizations really allows anything to be possible...more
How do you review a third novel in a seven-novel series? The Dark Tower epic is not really horror or a Lord of the Rings type of fantasy adventure series, but if you try to imagine a mixture of the two with King at the helm, you should have a pretty good idea of what The Dark Tower is all about.
In The Waste Lands, as in the rest of his work, King manages to make the unbelievable believable. What would, in many writers' hands, appear absurd is compelling. While something of an understatement, th...more
In The Waste Lands, as in the rest of his work, King manages to make the unbelievable believable. What would, in many writers' hands, appear absurd is compelling. While something of an understatement, th...more
Phew...
This is (only) the second time through The Waste Lands and I enjoyed it as much, if not more then the first read. The world King creates in this series is unforgettable and the characters become very real, to the point that I actually miss them when I finish a book.
This books ends with a huge ass cliff hanger. Fortunately for me and Stephen King I did not read this series as it was released. I tried to imagine how I would have felt if I had to wait "six. goddamn. years." as one of my frie...more
This is (only) the second time through The Waste Lands and I enjoyed it as much, if not more then the first read. The world King creates in this series is unforgettable and the characters become very real, to the point that I actually miss them when I finish a book.
This books ends with a huge ass cliff hanger. Fortunately for me and Stephen King I did not read this series as it was released. I tried to imagine how I would have felt if I had to wait "six. goddamn. years." as one of my frie...more
8 likes · like · see review
Allora, iniziamo subito con il dire che non sono ne un detrattore ne un fan sfegatato di Stephen King. Ho avuto il mio periodo "King" in cui mi sono letto diversi suoi libri, alcuni con piacere, altri meno. Quello che penso è che questo autore abbia uno stile di scrittura davvero molto leggero e fluente, in grado di farti mandare giù praticamente qualunque cosa senza neanche accorgertene. A questa sua grandissima dote si aggiunge il numero impressionante di libri che ha scritto durante sua carri...more
Aug 09, 2011
L.c.
added it
I admit I was doing school, but it took me three months to get through this book. I lost interest for a long time. It took the knowledge that I've let so many books go half-way read to get me through the rest of it. It will be a long time before I go on to the fourth book.
The end made the book. The end was when that driving force which carries you through a novel (like a ticking bomb) popped back up. The middle of the book had no driving force. The characters just wander around for a while.
I don...more
The end made the book. The end was when that driving force which carries you through a novel (like a ticking bomb) popped back up. The middle of the book had no driving force. The characters just wander around for a while.
I don...more
King is undoubtedly a talented writer, however, I question his decision to embark on the project of the Dark Tower. The first book was a masterpiece in restricted exposition, as "The Gunslinger" gave promise of enormous potential of a fascinating story. As the story dragged on and more became known, it became more and more clear that King was playing it by ear, and the plot didn't flow quite as organically as such extended series should. The Waste Lands picks up after Roland is joined on his que...more
Series: 5/1/2005 8/10
The Dark Tower series is Stephen King's magnum opus. It ties together a lot of his books. The gunslinger, Roland, is an interesting character and so is the world the series is set in. I've really enjoyed the early books, re-reading them many times. I thought the series ended kind of weakly though. But then again, it would have been difficult to live up to expectations.
For more info, check out:
Official Stephen King page
Stephen King FAQ
Fan site
Dark Tower site
Dark Tower on wik...more
The Dark Tower series is Stephen King's magnum opus. It ties together a lot of his books. The gunslinger, Roland, is an interesting character and so is the world the series is set in. I've really enjoyed the early books, re-reading them many times. I thought the series ended kind of weakly though. But then again, it would have been difficult to live up to expectations.
For more info, check out:
Official Stephen King page
Stephen King FAQ
Fan site
Dark Tower site
Dark Tower on wik...more
Stephen King's novel "The Waste Lands" is the third instalment of the seven part epic "Dark Tower" series. The novel runs for 512 pages out of the series total of 3712 pages.
Here we see Jake finally reunited with Roland Of Gilead once again, as the group continue their quest towards the Dark Tower. The novel develops the characters previously set down in the last two novels, allowing the reader to become further attached to this unique collection of individuals.
The book takes you deeper into K...more
Here we see Jake finally reunited with Roland Of Gilead once again, as the group continue their quest towards the Dark Tower. The novel develops the characters previously set down in the last two novels, allowing the reader to become further attached to this unique collection of individuals.
The book takes you deeper into K...more
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King was an immense challenge undertaken by the author and by the end, I think it may have ovewrwhelmed him. But at this point, the series was at its height, with The Waste Lands being the best book of the series.
At this point, all our main players are introduced and Roland (the last Gunslinger) has a clear purpose to which all others are in service to. The picture is painted very clear that, though Roland is capable of great affection still, after all his trials...more
At this point, all our main players are introduced and Roland (the last Gunslinger) has a clear purpose to which all others are in service to. The picture is painted very clear that, though Roland is capable of great affection still, after all his trials...more
"The Waste Lands" is the 3rd installment in King's Dark Tower saga. Volume 2 is the story of how the band get together, while volume 3 is the tale of the band's first few gigs. While the plot is propelled forward, Roland and his band of knights truly come together. As their relationships become more complex, each character is more fully realized. The trauma of their entrances into Roland's story has passed, somewhat, and we can begin to see the beginnings of their individual arcs. For readers wh...more
Apr 20, 2013
♒ᙅĦɐﬡ☂єℓℓᙓ♒
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Yes
Shelves:
00713-own-pb-or-hb-00713,
713-stephen-king-713
The Waste Lands is the third book in the dark land series, and probably the best so far.
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookworm Buddies: The Waste Lands #3 | 24 | 32 | Jan 16, 2013 07:19am | |
| Stephen King Fans: The Waste Lands - Dark Tower #3 | 80 | 146 | May 22, 2012 06:50pm | |
| Akins Hollis Engl...: SSR | 1 | 2 | Dec 09, 2011 11:57am | |
| Akins Hollis Engl...: SSR | 1 | 1 | Dec 02, 2011 08:06am | |
| Akins Hollis Engl...: SSR | 1 | 2 | Nov 18, 2011 11:56am | |
| Akins Hollis Engl...: SSr | 1 | 1 | Nov 04, 2011 07:48am |
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family...more
More about Stephen King...
Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family...more
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“Don't ask me silly questions
I won't play silly games
I'm just a simple choo choo train
And I'll always be the same.
I only want to race along
Beneath the bright blue sky
And be a happy choo choo train
Until the day I die.”
—
97 people liked it
I won't play silly games
I'm just a simple choo choo train
And I'll always be the same.
I only want to race along
Beneath the bright blue sky
And be a happy choo choo train
Until the day I die.”
“Animals don't know as much about jealousy as people, but they're not ignorant of it, either.”
—
36 people liked it
More quotes…
Feb 12, 2012 04:20pm
Thanks, s. I really enjoyed the first two books, but this b...more
Feb 12, 2012 08:47pm