Book Review - The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower III)

Lovely readers,

** Warning: This is a review series for The Dark Tower and contains spoilers about the series. Please do not continue if you do not want the plot/surprises undone for you. Can't say I didn't warn you, thanks! ** 

I'm slowly but surely moving along in my quest to finish The Dark Tower. Just this morning I completed The Waste Lands (1991, Fantasy/Western/Horror Fiction) by Stephen King, the next installment of the life of Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake. Honestly, I've found myself getting more and more attached to this series each time I pick up the book. King naturally has a way of drawing you in, but this series in particular... it's so vivid and heart-wrenching. It's hard to ignore, hard to put down. (It helps that most printed versions of this series have gorgeous artwork included)
But anyway, I'll go ahead and begin with my pros and cons list!

Pros:

• Naturally this book is an incredible continuation of The Dark Tower series. The story lines doesn't get stale, and it constantly amazed me. Sometimes books like this can drag on but King does an awesome job of keeping the reader engaged. 
• This can be classified as a pro and a con, but this book (like the other three works in this series) mixes genres so well. I was a bit surprised after The Gunslinger honestly. The Drawing of the Three totally took me out of the comfort zone, as did The Waste Lands. The way that King blends fantasy, western, horror, and science fiction genres is very impressive. 
• My next pro is character development. Any true King fans know that he does an excellent job of attaching his readers to the characters. This book is no except. The Waste Lands makes the strings attached from your heart to the character 100 time stronger. You really feel their emotions, and understand their fears. 

Cons: 

• Like I've said throughout my books reviews of this series, The Dark Tower is not young adult, nor is it anything children should be reading. King lets horror seep into a lot of his works, especially this one. The Dark Tower can be truly disturbing. (I don't think children could really decipher what was being said anyway... nod to the High Speech) 
• The Waste Lands gives a truly horrific look at what the world could look like in a thousand years. In the same vein as Brave New World, King gives The Dark Tower a light dusting of apocalyptic fury. It's a startling look at where the world is headed. (Not to say that this puts a damper on this series at all for me, I'm still head over heels for it. But it does in a way limit the reading base. People with weak stomachs should be careful.) 
• I'm just throwing this con in here because I could see where it could discourage people from starting this book. The Waste Lands is not a short work. I very much enjoyed the length simply because it helps carry you through the story. However it does get confusing a little at moments. 

Overall, I can't wait to keep going with The Dark Tower. I've just recently obtained The Wizard Glass, so I'm jumping right in to the next book. Of course I'll be uploading a review of the next one once I've conquered it. 

And as always, 

Keep reading and with love. 

Katie