The Waste Lands
Encyclopedia
The Waste Lands is the third book of the The Dark Tower
series by Stephen King
. 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.
, Susannah
, and Eddie have moved east from the shore of the Western Sea, and into the woods of Out-World. After an encounter with a gigantic cyborg
bear named Shardik, 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 that his mind has become divided by the paradox of having let Jake Chambers
die under the mountain after finding him at the Way Station in the desert, and yet also, after having subsequently prevented Jake's earlier death in New York City, having an alternate memory of traveling through the desert and mountains alone.
Meanwhile, in 1977 New York, Jake Chambers is experiencing exactly the same crippling mental divide, which is causing alarm at his private school, and angering Jake's cocaine abusing father.
Roland burns Walter's jawbone and the key to he and Jake's dilemma is revealed—but to Eddie Dean, not Roland. Eddie must carve a key that will open the door to New York in 1977.
Jake, in a schizophrenic panic, abruptly leaves school. After purchasing a children's book called Charlie the Choo-Choo at a used book shop, Jake finds a key in a littered vacant lot where grows a single red rose.
Jake is able 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 the demon of the speaking ring to keep it from attacking Eddie. Once the group is reunited, Jake's and Roland's mental anguish ends.
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) named Oy
, who joins them on their quest.
In a small, almost deserted town called River Crossing, Roland is given a silver cross and a courtly tribute by the town's last, ancient citizens.
The ka-tet
continue on the Path of the Beam to Lud
. Before arriving at Lud, the ka-tet hear the drum beat from the song Velcro Fly, by ZZ Top, playing from the city, although Eddie at first can't remember where it is he has heard these drums before. Later the drums are revealed as "War Drums" which Lud's citizens fight to. The ancient, high-tech city has been ravaged by decades of war, and one of the surviving fighters, Gasher, kidnaps Jake by taking advantage of the near-accident the team faced while crossing a decaying bridge that looks like the George Washington Bridge
of NYC. Roland and Oy must then trace them through a man-made labyrinth in the city and then 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 eventually reunited at the Cradle of Lud, a train station which houses a monorail
that the travelers use to escape Lud before its final destruction brought about by the monorail's artificial intelligence
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.
Once aboard Blaine, a highly intelligent, computerized train which is insane due to system degradation, it announces its intention to derail itself with them aboard unless they can defeat it in a riddle
contest
. The novel ends with Blaine and Roland's ka-tet speeding 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.
; 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:
. His dialogue removes all doubt, as he makes reference to an old friend who betrayed him, but for whom he still has a soft spot. In reference to this old friend, Fannin asks Quick to say "My life for you," which was also the mantra of Trashcan Man in The Stand
. The Turtle, mentioned here as one of the Guardians, was revealed to be creator of our universe in King's novel It.
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including 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. King...
series by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. 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.
Plot summary
The story begins five weeks after the end of The Drawing of the Three. RolandRoland Deschain
Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and antihero 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...
, Susannah
Susannah Dean
Susannah Odetta Holmes Dean is a fictional character from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series...
, and Eddie have moved east from the shore of the Western Sea, and into the woods of Out-World. After an encounter with a gigantic cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
bear named Shardik, 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 that his mind has become divided by the paradox of having let Jake Chambers
Jake Chambers
John "Jake" Chambers is a fictional character in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. He first appeared in the short story "The Way Station" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in April 1980, which was later compiled as one of the chapters of the first Dark Tower book, The...
die under the mountain after finding him at the Way Station in the desert, and yet also, after having subsequently prevented Jake's earlier death in New York City, having an alternate memory of traveling through the desert and mountains alone.
Meanwhile, in 1977 New York, Jake Chambers is experiencing exactly the same crippling mental divide, which is causing alarm at his private school, and angering Jake's cocaine abusing father.
Roland burns Walter's jawbone and the key to he and Jake's dilemma is revealed—but to Eddie Dean, not Roland. Eddie must carve a key that will open the door to New York in 1977.
Jake, in a schizophrenic panic, abruptly leaves school. After purchasing a children's book called Charlie the Choo-Choo at a used book shop, Jake finds a key in a littered vacant lot where grows a single red rose.
Jake is able to pass into Roland's world using the key to open a door in an abandoned haunted house
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
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 the demon of the speaking ring to keep it from attacking Eddie. Once the group is reunited, Jake's and Roland's mental anguish ends.
Following the path of the beam again, the ka-tet befriends an unusually intelligent billy-bumbler (which looks like a combination of badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
, raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
and dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
with parrot-like speaking ability, long neck, curly tail, retractable claws and a high degree of animal intelligence) named Oy
Oy (Dark Tower)
Oy of Mid-World is a primary character in Stephen King's The Dark Tower. He was introduced in the third book, The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, and became a member of the ka-tet for the rest of the series....
, who joins them on their quest.
In a small, almost deserted town called River Crossing, Roland is given a silver cross and a courtly tribute by the town's last, ancient citizens.
The ka-tet
Ka (Dark Tower)
Ka is a plot element in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. It is a word of the fictional language High Speech.-Overview:In the books, it is a mysterious force that leads all living creatures. It is the will of Gan, the approximate equivalent of destiny or fate, in King's fictional language of High...
continue on the Path of the Beam to Lud
Lud (city)
Lud is a fictional city in Stephen King's Dark Tower series and is briefly mentioned in Rose Madder. In The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, the book's protagonists, led by the gunslinger Roland, travel from Lud to an alternate reality version of Topeka, Kansas via a supersonic monorail called...
. Before arriving at Lud, the ka-tet hear the drum beat from the song Velcro Fly, by ZZ Top, playing from the city, although Eddie at first can't remember where it is he has heard these drums before. Later the drums are revealed as "War Drums" which Lud's citizens fight to. The ancient, high-tech city has been ravaged by decades of war, and one of the surviving fighters, Gasher, kidnaps Jake by taking advantage of the near-accident the team faced while crossing a decaying bridge that looks like the George Washington Bridge
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
of NYC. Roland and Oy must then trace them through a man-made labyrinth in the city and then 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 eventually reunited at the Cradle of Lud, a train station which houses a monorail
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
that the travelers use to escape Lud before its final destruction brought about by the monorail's artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
known as Blaine the Mono
Blaine the Mono
Blaine the Mono is a fictional character appearing in the books The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands and The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass of Stephen King's Dark Tower series....
. 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.
Once aboard Blaine, a highly intelligent, computerized train which is insane due to system degradation, it announces its intention to derail itself with them aboard unless they can defeat it in a riddle
Riddle
A riddle is a statement or question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: enigmas, which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that require ingenuity and careful thinking for their solution, and...
contest
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
. The novel ends with Blaine and Roland's ka-tet speeding 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
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
, on the way to Topeka -the end of the line.
The Twelve Portals and Guardians
Twelve Guardians are explained to guard the Twelve Portals. 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 LudLud (city)
Lud is a fictional city in Stephen King's Dark Tower series and is briefly mentioned in Rose Madder. In The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, the book's protagonists, led by the gunslinger Roland, travel from Lud to an alternate reality version of Topeka, Kansas via a supersonic monorail called...
; 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
North Central Positronics
North Central Positronics or NCP is a fictional corporation in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.-Fictional history:North Central Positronics appears in multiple works of Stephen King, in the Dark Tower series and related works...
Ltd., which may be connected to the mysterious Sombra Corporation
Sombra Corporation
Sombra Corporation is a fictional megacorporation in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.-Fictional history:Sombra corporation is controlled by the Crimson King. Sombra Corporation rose to power in the late 80s and fully monopolized high-tech R&D and manufacturing for an unknown, but certainly...
.
The pairings as mentioned in the book are:
- Bear - Turtle
- Horse - Dog
- Fish - Rat
- Elephant - Wolf
- Lion - Eagle
- Bat - Hare
Connections to King's Other Work
Towards the end of the book, an injured Andrew "Tick-Tock Man" Quick meets Richard Fannin. The initials R.F. suggest that he is an alias of Randall FlaggRandall Flagg
Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King. Flagg has appeared in seven novels by King, sometimes as the main antagonist and others in a brief cameo. He often appears under different names; most are abbreviated by the initials R.F. There are exceptions to this rule; in The Dark...
. His dialogue removes all doubt, as he makes reference to an old friend who betrayed him, but for whom he still has a soft spot. In reference to this old friend, Fannin asks Quick to say "My life for you," which was also the mantra of Trashcan Man in The Stand
The Stand
The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It demonstrates the scenario in his earlier short story, Night Surf...
. The Turtle, mentioned here as one of the Guardians, was revealed to be creator of our universe in King's novel It.
External links
- The Dark Tower official website (requires Macromedia Flash 6)