Stephen King's concluding volume in the Talisman trilogy, Other Worlds Than These, co-created with the late Peter Straub, brings back protagonist Jack Sawyer, now 57, but the journey feels endlessly repetitive and self-indulgent.
Backstory of the Talisman trilogy
In 1984, King and Straub collaborated on The Talisman, a fantasy novel following 12-year-old Jack Sawyer, whose dying mother Lily might be saved by a magical object found in a parallel world called the Territories. The duo followed up in 2001 with Black House, where an adult Jack investigates child murders linked to the Territories.
In 2013, Straub proposed a final volume, drawing from real-life murders and returning Jack to the fray. King did not take up the idea then, and Straub died in 2022. Now 79, King writes in a valedictory afterword that "it's time to think about tidying up, as much as such things are possible for a writer whose mind is still crammed with cool ideas." He returned to Straub's concept of "a series of motiveless, brutal crimes" in the Far West of the Territories.
Jack's new mission
Jack, now an aimless, lonely émigré to the Territories, is sent by Governor Youngblood to travel through the toxic Blasted Lands and gather information on the Great Gorge, a mysterious area of "growing danger." Flipping between "America-side" and the Territories, Jack learns an old policeman friend has gone missing while tracking "murderin' kids" leaving bodies in Nebraska. These kids are "infested" by demons, and the infestation is spreading to the Territories' children.
For true King fans, there are moments of shivering joy, including the title drawing from The Gunslinger, appearances by billy-bumblers, memories of Wolf from The Talisman, and references to Roland Deschain. There are also moments of true horror as the teenage infection spreads.
A repetitive journey
The reviewer cannot recommend the 800-plus-page tome to anyone who is not a Constant Reader, noting it would be pointless without reading The Talisman, Black House, and probably the Dark Tower sequence. Even for Constant Readers, this is not vintage King. As Jack crisscrosses the desert Territories, the journey feels endless and repetitive, with characters commenting on the repetition. Jack himself notes, "Another echo. They're becoming tiresome," about the similarities between the US and the Territories.
The repetition may be deliberate, as "ka [destiny] is a wheel," but this time it becomes portentous, self-referential, and boring. The reviewer still considers King a genius and The Talisman the perfect coming-of-age dark fantasy novel, but Other Worlds Than These will not be going on the reread shelf.
