5 Reasons The Talisman 3 Is Stephen King's Most Exciting Book In Years

After long last, Stephen King has finally confirmed that he's working on The 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 for a third Talisman book and follow-up to Black 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 reread The Talisman and 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 third Talisman novel will be one of Stephen King's upcoming books. King confirmed a few weeks ago that the new book he had previously teased last October is indeed The Talisman 3, and that he's working off the idea Straub had sent him. For so many reasons, The Talisman 3 is the most exciting Stephen King book in years.

5 Readers 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 of Black 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 what Black House did 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 of The Talisman to a proper close.

4 It Can Answer Questions Left Over From The Talisman & Dark Tower

Black House Created A Canon Inconsistency

When King first teased the third Talisman book, 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.

Either way, The Talisman 3 offers the opportunity to tie up loose ends from the first two books and some Talisman plot holes created with the Dark Tower series – 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 Talisman had no connection whatsoever to the Dark Tower books, but Black House changed that by including several direct references to the events and characters of Mid-world. The Talisman 3 can neatly tie those two together and answer those lingering continuity questions.

3 It 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 the Talisman, 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 the Talisman's concept of Twinners, it's a rich world with even richer concepts to explore.

While the Dark Tower series has had many books, however, The Talisman has 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.

2 Jack 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.

Travellin' Jack will likely be a different person yet in The 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 the Talisman books 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.

1 It Could Be Another Rare Stephen King Epic

It Would Bring Him Full Circle

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While Stephen King churned 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 novel Fairy Tale is the only one that comes to mind lately, and before that, it's arguably not since he wrapped the Dark Tower series that we've gotten a true epic from him – fantasy, adventure, horror, or otherwise.

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King has already confirmed The Talisman 3 will be a long book, so it has the chance to be a proper epic, the first in a while, a return to earlier roots for the master.

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Followed

Stephen King

Birthdate

September 21, 1947

Birthplace

Portland, Maine, USA

Notable Projects

The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, It, The Stand, Misery, The Dark Tower, Mr. Mercedes, Carrie

Professions

Author, Screenwriter, Producer, Director, Actor

Height

6 feet 4 inches

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