A review by roenfoe
The Waste Lands by Stephen King

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

These just keep getting better! I can see why so many people cite The Waste Lands as their favorite Dark Tower book; I haven't read the rest yet, but this installment one of the coolest books I've read this year. 

There is plenty to love that is old news at this point in the series. 

• A deliciously weird setting with continuously teased world-building (never feeding you as much as you want, but just enough to keep your interest)
• Excellent plot that is constantly introducing new elements as much as it harks back to prior ones. Remains fresh without feeling cheap, keeps you hooked throughout
• Further development of the ka-tet relationship between the main characters as it increases in strength due to the addition of Jake and Oy
• Intensification and clarification of the plot, both within the story of The Waste Lands and across the series as a whole
• Excellent characters, with the added bonus that Detta makes fewer appearances. Don't get it twisted, she still plays a role in this book (and is still an insanely racist caricature), but she's present less
• Great pace that kept things grooving quite nicely. It doesn't feel overbloated at all, a problem that I hypothesize will become an issue with the latter installments, based solely on their significant bulk

However, I do still have some criticisms (that are also mostly old news). 

• Detta, once again. I've harped on this in prior reviews so I won't do it again here. But jesus, that
  rape scene with the ghost demon and Detta was heinous. King, what the hell?!
  . 
• The Jake plotline had an inevitability element to it. I couldn't see him realistically killing off Jake after investing such a huge portion of the book in him finding the door to Mid-World. Therefore, these sections were the most boring part of the book. It seemed that Jake would make it to Mid-World, no matter what happened
  . 

I can't wait to read the next one. I'm spacing them out like rations, so it might be a couple months. Overall, the best Dark Tower book so far! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse