After long last,Stephen Kinghas finally confirmed that he’s working onThe Talisman 3, and it’s his most exciting book in years for a few reasons. Before co-author Peter Straub passed in 2022, he mentioned that he had an idea fora thirdTalismanbook and follow-up toBlack House. In the past few years, Stephen King has corroborated this, confirming that his co-author passed on his ideas to King in a letter before he died. King has brought it up on multiple podcast appearances and mentioned that he’d even gone back to rereadThe Talismanand its follow-up,Black House, to refresh his memory and see if he could make Straub’s ideas work.
Apparently, he could, and it’s incredibly exciting to see what he comes up with. It’s now known that a thirdTalismannovel will be one ofStephen King’s upcoming books. King confirmed a few weeks ago thatthe new book he had previously teased last October is indeedThe Talisman 3,and that he’s working off the idea Straub had sent him. For so many reasons,The Talisman 3is the most exciting Stephen King bookin years.
5Readers Finally Get To See Peter Straub’s Final Idea
King Has Been Alluding To It For A Few Years
According to King,Straub’s idea involved the real-life serial killer Charles Starkweather, which would align with the story ofBlack House, where the grown-up Jack Sawyer had to jump back and forth between the Territories and our world to stop a serial killer known as the Fisherman. The challenge here is to make sure the story does not simply repeat whatBlack Housedid while still staying true to the spirit of the series.
It will be really cool to see how King takes his late friend’s idea and expands upon it, especially because that friend is no longer around to shape it himself. In a way,it will be King honoring Straub’s memory in the most appropriate way possible, bringing one of their shared stories to life for the last time and ushering the story ofThe Talismanto a proper close.
4It Can Answer Questions Left Over From The Talisman & Dark Tower
Black House Created A Canon Inconsistency
WhenKing first teased the thirdTalismanbook, he did it by announcing on social media that he was returning to Mid-world and the Territories for another story. It immediately set the rumor and speculation mill churning, as the possibilities are endless.That tweet, for whatever reason, has since been deleted,though it’s not clear why. It could be that King doesn’t want to give too much away, or that he doesn’t want to promise anything if it actually won’t come to fruition.
Untitled Talisman 3
TBD
Either way,The Talisman 3offers the opportunity to tie up loose ends from the first two books and someTalismanplot holes created with theDark Towerseries– namely, if the Territories and Mid-world are the same place, just called by different names, or if they exist in the same universe. Originally,The Talismanhad no connection whatsoever to theDark Towerbooks, butBlack Housechanged that by including several direct references to the events and characters of Mid-world.The Talisman 3can neatly tie those two together and answer those lingering continuity questions.
3It Will Be Great To Expand On Mid-World & The Territories
The Territories Are An Underutilized World Of King
Either way, with King confirming he’s returning to the world of theTalisman,it means a return to the Territories. Whether they’re ultimately tied to Mid-world or not, the Territories are a really fascinating world in their own right, a dark mirror, alternate version of America. Between that and theTalisman’s concept of Twinners, it’s a rich world with even richer concepts to explore.
Stephen King’s Anthology First Is An Even Bigger Deal After His Territories & Mid-World Tease
The upcoming anthology based on Stephen King’s The Stand has opened the door to new possibilities, making his tease about a new project even better.
While theDark Towerseries has had many books, however,The Talismanhas only had two, and it means the Territories haven’t been as well explored or fleshed-out as they might be. A third book can dive back in with a whole new perspective this time, expanding one of King’s more interesting but less explored fictional realms.
2Jack Sawyer Is An Underrated Character
Travellin' Jack Makes For A Great Character Study
It will also just be great to revisit Jack Sawyer and see what he’s up to these days. In the pantheon of Stephen King characters, Jack Sawyer is not the first one who usually comes to mind, or even in the top 10 lists of the author’s most memorable characters. Still,he’s one of the most underrated Stephen King characters.Like Danny Torrance, he’s one of the very few King characters that readers have gotten to see both as a child and then again as an adult, in stories that explore how the events of what happened to them as children impacted them as grown men.
TheTalismanbooks have been as much character studies as they have been epics, and it will be fascinating to explore Jack’s current psyche as much as the Territories themselves.
Travellin' Jack will likely be a different person yet inThe Talisman 3, having finally reclaimed and accepted the memories of his adventures in the Territories as a boy with the newfound knowledge he gained as an adult. He’s not necessarily quirky or eccentric like so many Stephen King characters, but theTalismanbooks have been as much character studies as they have been epics, and it will be fascinating to explore Jack’s current psyche as much as the Territories themselves.
1It Could Be Another Rare Stephen King Epic
It Would Bring Him Full Circle
WhileStephen Kingchurned out more than one truly epic story earlier in his career, in recent years, especially as he’s turned to the crime genre, that’s become increasingly rare. His 2022 novelFairy Taleis the only one that comes to mind lately, and before that, it’s arguably not since he wrapped theDark Towerseries that we’ve gotten a true epic from him – fantasy, adventure, horror, or otherwise.
King has already confirmedThe Talisman 3will be a long book, soit has the chance to be a proper epic,the first in a while, a return to earlier roots for the master.
