Nerds That Geek Book Review - 'The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There comes a point in our lives when we see parts of the world we either never wish we discovered or never expected to see. Despite all the beauty that surrounds us on this little planet we call home, there are tough realities out there for plenty of people. Sometimes these realities face us when tragedy strikes, other times we stumble upon them when we strike out on our own, because when it comes to our lives we try to stick with what we know, and that sometimes allows us to miss those darker slices of our world until we cross paths with them at last.  

It's why literature does such a great job of sucking us in. It allows us to escape the parts of life we simply don't like. But there are writers out there who take big chances in their work, the kind of chances that show us unpleasant things, and Stephen King is one of those writers and when it comes to his magnum opus, The Dark Tower, King decided at one point to pull away from the complete escapism of the world he created by letting us see some of the uglier sides of Mid-world in the third chapter in the series...The Waste Lands.

Roland Deschain and his new friends have left the beach after their experiences in The Drawing of the Three and set out on the task at hand, finding the Dark Tower. But their travels will take them to places of the world long forgotten and it will bring them in contact with legends come to life as they discover a long-lost guardian of the Beam, beings that are vessels of magic and untold power that feed the Tower. But more importantly this path along the Beam will bring Jake Chambers back into Roland's world and take them to the terrifying city of Lud, where they can see what man has become inside forgotten cities and they will have to fight their way through to obtain the only safe way to cross the Waste Lands that await them beyond Lud in order to continue their quest to the Dark Tower. 

While The Waste Lands is perhaps not as prolific and epic as the two books before it, this is a book that does two important things. For starters, it sets up some important plot points that will later return to haunt Roland and his ka-tet, specifically a pertinent moment for Susannah, but it also paints an incredible picture of this dying world. The city of Lud is a great example of that, with human characters that no longer seem human with their ruthlessness and willingness to do whatever it takes to survive in a dead city. Lud is a scary and complicated place that makes for a thrilling third act of the story.
 
If anything, the addition of Lud helps to provide an incredible contrast for the series. While the first two books had a western feel to them, this book becomes a mix of science fiction, fantasy and horror all at once with the incredible creatures and environments King brings to life. Yet he also makes the Dark Tower itself that much more fascinating by way of the mix of magic and science he presents to us that just so happens to fuel this nexus of the universe, as since we are introduced to the mysterious North Central Positronics and their implied role in dealing with the Tower.  

Either way, while this may serve as a transitional book for the series, it in no way disappoints and you are drawn further and further into the lives of these characters and their world and King made the wait for the next book in the series extremely difficult with the powerful and stunning cliffhanger we are left with at the end of this one and that's the beauty of The Waste Lands. Once you've finished it, you're completely hooked and there is no going back, because now you have to know how the story will end.  

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