Other Worlds Than These by Stephen King and Peter Straub review – a self-indulgent finale to the Talisman trilogy — SkimNews
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- Stephen King, now 79, has published Other Worlds Than These, the 800-plus-page third and final volume in the Talisman trilogy he began with Peter Straub in 1984.
- Peter Straub pitched the finale concept in 2013, but King didn't pursue it then; Straub died in 2022, leaving King to write the conclusion alone.
- Jack Sawyer, now 57, is sent to investigate a mysterious Great Gorge while tracking 'murderin' kids' whose demonic infestation is spreading from Nebraska into the Territories.
- The first two Talisman novels — The Talisman (1984) and Black House (2001) — are hailed as 'brilliant and enduring classics,' with the reviewer rereading all 1,800 pages to prepare.
- Other Worlds Than These is faulted for feeling 'endless, endlessly repetitive,' with characters openly acknowledging the déjà vu ('Another echo. They're becoming tiresome').
- The verdict: the book won't earn a reread from a longtime King admirer — the first such break for this reviewer across the trilogy.
Why it matters: The Talisman trilogy's finale delivers long-awaited closure to Jack Sawyer's cliffhanger from *Black House* and threads in Dark Tower mythology for devoted fans. But the reviewer's verdict — that even a self-styled 'Constant Reader' finds the 800-page journey repetitive enough that it won't earn a reread — marks the first break the critic has given a King novel across the trilogy, a warning sign for the closing of a 40-year series.
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