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Dennis's Reviews > The Waste Lands
The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, #3)
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Dennis's review
bookshelves: audiobooks, fantasy, science-fiction, horror, series-on-hold
Aug 15, 2021
bookshelves: audiobooks, fantasy, science-fiction, horror, series-on-hold
And now it’s time for me to move on.
After roughly 1,400 pages in this series, I still don’t really care. Sometimes you just have to accept that something isn’t for you.
I liked this one a little better than The Gunslinger. The ideas are enticing and become clearer as the series goes on. So there was some promise, but it never quite materialized for me. This one also wasn’t as much fun as The Drawing of the Three. And even that book I didn’t find great.
This is basically people walking around, talking, while a whole lot of nothing happens. Until the last 20% or so that is. But by that point I had already checked out of this world and was just waiting for my train home.
2.5 stars. (It earned another half a star for Oy, who made me laugh quite often.)
This has been a buddy read with Nataliya. Sorry, buddy, but I just couldn’t do it, even though your offers were tempting.
After roughly 1,400 pages in this series, I still don’t really care. Sometimes you just have to accept that something isn’t for you.
I liked this one a little better than The Gunslinger. The ideas are enticing and become clearer as the series goes on. So there was some promise, but it never quite materialized for me. This one also wasn’t as much fun as The Drawing of the Three. And even that book I didn’t find great.
This is basically people walking around, talking, while a whole lot of nothing happens. Until the last 20% or so that is. But by that point I had already checked out of this world and was just waiting for my train home.
2.5 stars. (It earned another half a star for Oy, who made me laugh quite often.)
This has been a buddy read with Nataliya. Sorry, buddy, but I just couldn’t do it, even though your offers were tempting.
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Reading Progress
March 14, 2020
– Shelved
March 14, 2020
– Shelved as:
to-read
March 14, 2020
– Shelved as:
audiobooks
March 14, 2020
– Shelved as:
fantasy
August 6, 2021
–
Started Reading
August 6, 2021
–
11.0%
"Somebody will be not very amused if I rate this lower than 3 stars. So ... come on, book, you can do this."
August 8, 2021
–
34.0%
"On to part 3. What's wrong with me and part twos in this series, by the way? It's always where I'm starting to get bored."
August 9, 2021
–
45.0%
August 10, 2021
– Shelved as:
science-fiction
August 10, 2021
– Shelved as:
horror
August 10, 2021
–
51.0%
"Das war eine schwere Geburt. The end of book 1 was somewhere between annoyingly long-winded and satisfyingly epic. I know, I know. But I definitely felt both."
August 13, 2021
–
68.0%
"I shouldn't be so quick with my updates here. Because almost two hours later we are STILL approaching Lud. But I guess we will arrive at the city before this book is over."
August 15, 2021
– Shelved as:
series-on-hold
August 15, 2021
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 122 (122 new)
message 1:
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Nataliya
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
Aug 07, 2021 10:03AM
I have no idea who you may be referring to! Starting this one today, stayed up yesterday to finish “The Drawing of the Three” (verdict: still love Eddie but Odetta/Detta was was too annoying). Hello Mid-World!
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Yeah, who may I be referring to?! 😁I've seen that it's gotten quite late last night. Couldn't stop?
Had to almost prop my eyelids open, but I wanted to start clean with The Waste Lands today. 2:30 am bedtime? No problem since I don’t work today.Anyway, where are you in the book?
Alright, now I know where to power through to.I loved all the disconnection that Roland and Jake are experiencing after Roland saves him in Book 2.
Yeah, it's probably the best part of the book thus far.
Seeing Susannah in this book reminds me how much Odetta/Detta annoyed me in book 2. I’m glad King decided to go with Susannah instead of keeping either of the other two. Detta was a caricature, but Odetta in her overly prominent sweetness was just as annoying. Susannah — I can live with her, and I can almost forgive that weird insta-love Eddie developed for her (I blame ka, or Tower, or PTSD on the declarations of love that came faster than those on “The Bachelor” dating show).
Lol. I zoned out during the second part of The Drawing of the Three. I thought it was simply too boring. But maybe it was some sort of protective mechanism.
Dennis wrote: "Lol. I zoned out during the second part of The Drawing of the Three. I thought it was simply too boring. But maybe it was some sort of protective mechanism."Eddie’s part had me riveted; Detta/Odetta is what will drop that book’s rating by a star (when I finally get to review writing); Jack Mort/Roland in New York was fun. But I just can’t stand Odetta/Detta nonsense. However, Eddie makes up for that.
Have you read Jeff VanderMeer’s Borne? Because I swear the giant artificial (ish) bear in that book had to have been inspired by Mir/Shardik.
I liked the bit where it’s mentioned that Old People lived in the woods at the time Shardik appeared, and that was 1800 years prior to current events. Roland’s world has moved on a while ago, I guess.
Also — what do you prefer: King’s writing like it was in The Gunslinger or more “usual” King like we get here?
I have never read anything by VanderMeer, I think. Although I've seen that book quite a few times.That Shardik part I just filed under "they get chased around by a sneezing bear with a satellite dish protruding from its head".
As for The Drawing of the Three, the Eddie part is what got it a 3 star rating. The third part was okay, but a little too long for my liking.
Nataliya wrote: "Also — what do you prefer: King’s writing like it was in The Gunslinger or more “usual” King like we get here?"I think The Gunslinger was underwhelming in terms of the prose. But I didn't so much think of it as a different style, but more like he hadn't fully developed his writing skills yet.
I thought The Gunslinger writing was a lot like a college kid who hasn’t quite shaken off all the writing courses pretentiousness — and I really like that King’s voice does not go back to that style in the books to follow.After reading this book I actually went to our town’s shooting range just so that I could mutter under my breath Susannah’s “She who kills with her gun has forgotten the face of her father. I kill with my heart.” I missed all the targets, did not care for the shooting but it was worth it just for her speech. 😂
No, you didn't. Did you? Bwahahaha!
I so did. Yeah, guns and shooting does nothing for me, but the lengths I can go to as a fan… I was young and silly.
That's awesome. And a little silly, yes. :)
I just figured out why Eddie said that he associates Shardik with rabbits. That’s because it’s Shardik by Richard Adams, he of Watership Down fame. How did I not know that before???
Nataliya wrote: "I just figured out why Eddie said that he associates Shardik with rabbits. That’s because it’s Shardik by Richard Adams, he of Watership Down fame. How did I not know that..."Didn't know it either. But Google lead me to that book about an hour ago.
I haven't read past that part I mentioned. Didn't even finish that chapter, as my audiobook time was over for today. I read Langoliers instead.
Ok, cool. I just ant to be careful with any potential spoilers (I’m not always as mindful of those as apparently I should be, as I learned). Is that your first time reading Langoliers?
No. I've read it in 2016(?) and thought it was crap. Lol. But our July/August group read is Four Past Midnight and I was going to read one of those stories for my Castle Rock project anyway, so I thought I'll give it another try. So far I like it. Ha ha!
I’m glad you are liking it better! I have pretty vague recollections of it; it’s another King book read in my teen years.I am trying The Waste Lands on audio - my library hold for it came through. It’s a different experience this way, but much slower than my reading pace.
I like Frank Muller. He's good.Expecting Langoliers to go downhill any moment. Ha ha! What I like so far is the intrigue of not knowing why people disappeared from the airplane. But I guess I won't like how that plays out.
I’m curious to see how it turns out for you this time around.
Yeah, same. Let's see if I will have to add some "I'm an idiot" sentences to my this-book-sucks-review. 😅
I’m at the part with Jake’s school essay, and I love it.“What has four wheels and flies? A garbage truck, and that is the truth.
[…]
What is black and white and red all over? A blushing zebra, and that is the truth.”
Jake’s chapters is when this book wormed its way into my heart when I first read it. That disconnect between realities just does it fir me for some reason.
Oops. *quickly deletes last update* 😅No, I liked Jake's part in the beginning. But King lost me somewhere.
The blushing zebra ... 😂
Oh, I just saw that update. Don’t give up yet, Dennis!!! I’m still holding out hope that you will either start loving it or book Stockholm Syndrome kicks in. (At this point I’m hopeful for the latter 😂).I really liked the part in Lud which is still to come. I hope you will regain your interest when we get there 🤞
Book Stockholm Syndrome? Bahahaha! Yeah, I think we should count on that.
Yup, that’s what I’m mostly counting on for you now. Whatever it takes 😆
Whatever it takes. Am I only thinking of Mario Draghi there because I'm living in Europe?
I had to Google him, so yeah? Why?
I was just curious whether it is a normal reaction to immediately think of him as soon as I saw that sentence, or if I'm a weirdo. But I decided to leave myself an out by suggesting that you guys in the US just don't care about the Euro, which you probably don't. So, the jury is still out on my weirdo status.
Well, Google filled me in on “whatever it takes” and Mario Draghi. Now I feel more enlightened and less insular. Because of The Guardian being my frequent reads, I tend to know more about the UK than about EU — so yeah, I can’t help you to figure out the weirdo status.
That's okay. I'm sure someone will answer that for me at some point.
Nataliya wrote: "Because of The Guardian being my frequent reads, I tend to know more about the UK th..."Have you read the leading article today?
The one about the IPCC report.
^ We are all screwed. Time to move to Mars and grow potatoes. In poop.
Definitely. I would rather be alone with my potatoes.
The day before in our post-apocalyptic evening news this was only worth a one minute report. It was the first article I read on it. Although it has to be said my newspaper is a weekly one that only comes tomorrow.
I guess there’s such an abundance of craziness on large and small scale that even horrific things only get a minute of coverage. We are doomed. Need to sign on for the next spaceship to the yet untouched space pronto.
Well, for half a million dollars you can get into space for like three minutes. But maybe you can catch a ride from there.
I’ll hail the first alien spaceship I see. If I believe SFF, it shouldn’t be that hard. I’ll hitchhike and will try to remember to bring a towel.(And I need half a million dollars, but that’s just details…)
Haha! Yes, bring your towel. :)
It’s the journey, not the destination 😆. Or, in the case of this series, King winging his way to the Tower as he has no idea he to get there and is taking it as it comes. Something about it still works for me — and Lud has been one of my favorite sections of the entire story for some reason.
That description sounds way better than mine.
It’s the fangirl in me talking. I think I’ll finish it today since I finally gave up on audiobook. Now I can go at better speed.
