Book Review: The Dark Tower III – The Waste Lands
by: Stephen King
I’ve been slowly making my way through Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, and with The Waste Lands (Volume III), I can safely say: I’m officially all in. This is the book where King stops flirting with weird genre blending and fully commits to the strange, sprawling, otherworldly epic he’s been building toward. It’s wild, unsettling, and absolutely gripping.
By now, Roland the Gunslinger has formed a ka-tet—a kind of destiny-bound fellowship—with Eddie and Susannah Dean, and in this book, Jake (yes, that Jake) is pulled back into the fold in a mind-bending way that involves dual timelines and a metaphysical existential crisis. It’s classic King: complex, psychological, and just a bit unnerving.
The stakes feel higher than ever, and the world is expanding—twisting, even. Cities crumble. Time folds in on itself. There’s a sentient, riddle-loving train named Blaine (who is somehow hilarious and terrifying at once). The influence of King’s love for both The Lord of the Rings and post-apocalyptic Americana is everywhere, but the story remains unmistakably his own.
What really pulled me in was the deepening of the characters. Roland is more than a stoic gunslinger now—he’s haunted, conflicted, and, in many ways, broken. Eddie and Susannah become far more than sidekicks; their growth is both painful and beautiful. And Jake’s return? Heart-wrenching. There’s real emotional weight behind the fantasy.
You start to feel that this isn’t just a journey toward the Dark Tower—it’s a journey into these characters’ souls. And into ours, if you’re willing to read between the bullets and riddles.
The Waste Lands is surreal, darkly poetic, and often disturbing—but in that good, can’t-look-away way. It’s not just a bridge between volumes; it’s the book that truly kicks the saga into high gear. If The Gunslinger intrigued you and The Drawing of the Three got you invested, The Waste Lands will completely pull you under.
And trust me, once Blaine starts talking… you won’t be able to stop turning the pages.
Rating: 4.5/5
A must-read for fans of genre-bending fantasy with teeth. King doesn’t hold your hand here—he throws you off the train and expects you to land running. And honestly? That’s what makes it so good.
Get your book copy at Amazon.