Clara’s Verdict
By the third volume of The Dark Tower, Stephen King has earned the reader’s trust – and he uses it. The Waste Lands is the point at which the series transforms from a fascinating experiment into an unmistakable epic. The ka-tet is fully assembled, the quest is in motion, and King’s imagination, given a world with its own rules, expands into something close to visionary.
Frank Muller’s narration is, without qualification, one of the great audiobook performances. His loss to a motorcycle accident in 2001 remains a tragedy for the medium.
About the Audiobook
The Waste Lands is the third book in King’s Dark Tower series. It is book 3 in the The Dark Tower series. Roland Deschain, the Last Gunslinger, is drawing closer to the Dark Tower – but the price of his journey is beginning to tell. The novel opens with a crisis of self that threatens to unmake Roland entirely, before the story expands outward into the ruined city of Lud, a world of urban decay and ancient horror. Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and Oy the billy-bumbler join Roland for the long ride toward the Tower’s beam.
King blends post-apocalyptic science fiction, Arthurian legend, and Western mythology with a confidence that few writers could sustain. The Blaine the Mono storyline that closes the book is one of the genre’s great cliffhangers. At 18 hours and 10 minutes, this is a commitment that rewards every minute.
The Narration
Frank Muller narrates, and his performance is the gold standard for this series. He inhabits Roland with a world-weariness that never tips into bleakness, and his ensemble work – Eddie’s New York energy, Susannah’s carefully differentiated voices, the non-human Oy – is simply extraordinary. Listeners who encounter Muller here often describe the experience as a benchmark against which they judge all subsequent audiobook narrators.
Hodder & Stoughton’s production is clean and well-mastered. This is one of those rare audiobooks where the listening experience is arguably preferable to reading the text.
What Readers Say
It holds a rating of 4.6 out of 5 from 14 listener reviews on Audible.
Fleecy Moss (4.0/5) writes: “Now this is more like it!After collecting the characters together, then losing one, we now jump into a headlong rush to restoring the Four Pedestrians of the Kingopalypse before finally walking, and in the final case, riding the beam towards the Dark Tower.A book of two parts:…”
Mark Chitty (5.0/5) writes: “I’m continuing my re-read of the Dark Tower series and I’m now up to book three (book 1 is The Gunslinger and book 2 is The Drawing of the Three). I’ve said in the previous reviews that I love this series (why would I re-read it otherwise?), so expect me to say good things again…”
SteveL (5.0/5) writes: “I have been hooked on this multi volume tale since book 1. In this, third volume the forming of the band of adventurers is complete, therefore the story unfolds at increased pace. I smile on occasion of reference to other epics from SK but will include no spoilers in that…”
The enthusiasm across reviews is consistent and long-running – this is a series that earns repeated visits. One reviewer, deep into a re-read, notes that the third volume is where “the story unfolds at increased pace” – a fair characterisation of a book that takes the slow-build of the first two volumes and releases it.
Who Should Listen?
For anyone who has read the first two volumes and is wondering whether the investment continues to pay off: the answer is an unqualified yes. For newcomers, start with The Gunslinger – this is not a series that forgives entry at book three. For audiobook listeners specifically, the Muller narrations are the correct choice above all other formats.
Listen to The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands on Audible UK and follow Roland towards the Tower.
