Book Review: Other Worlds Than These by Stephen King & Peter Straub

 

So this is a new book, co-written by Stephen King and Peter Straub. So I definitely had never read this one before. 

What I did do, however, was go to the park - Duke Farm, specifically - just after purchasing this book. Then, I started to read it. It was a beautiful, crisp autumn afternoon. The colors were beginning to show on the trees. And I was enjoying fresh air while sitting in a park with a new book by my favorite living author.

Not bad for a Tuesday afternoon, right?

Now, of course I did not get to finish it in one afternoon. This is a book that falls short of 700 pages, but not by much. So while I got off to a decent start in the hour and change I sat there reading, taking in the scenery and enjoying the fresh air, there was a whole lot more reading to do. 

I did finish it. But it took more than two weeks for me to do it. 

And it is time to do a review.

With a book of nearly 700 pages, there is a lot of story to cover. And this one covers a lot of ground. For Constant Readers like myself (fans of Stephen King's works), this one has a lot of similarities to other words, which includes Easter eggs, if you will. Not only does it clearly reference the two previous Talisman books, but it also has a lot to do with the Dark Tower books. In fact, this one felt a little bit like a shorter version of King's seven (or is it eight, with "The Wind Through the Key Hole"?) Dark Tower series, which is often considered King's magnum opus. 

Before I go any farther, however, let me give the usual warnings to stop reading if you intend to read this book, because there will be spoilers ahead.

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

Okay, so by now if you are still reading this, I have to imagine that you either are familiar with this story already, or perhaps you do not mind the spoilers. Please just don't say that you were not given advanced warning. 

As mentioned, this was not a book which I have read before, obviously. Yet, being the third installment of the Talisman trilogy, it helps to be familiar with the previous two books or even other Stephen King works. Yes, particularly those works which deal with "other worlds than these."

Of course, Stephen King fans will know that I am referring to the Dark Tower series. Yes, this is Jack Sawyer. We met Jack when he was still a child in the first work co-written with Peter Straub, "The Talisman." Then we met him again in the second book in the trilogy, "The Black House." By then, Jack was fully a grown man.

Now, Jack is a man getting up there in years. He has spent his time in that other world, the Mid-World, or the Territories, or whatever you want to call it. Fellow Constant Readers will be familiar with it, this world we first got acquainted with while following Roland in the Dark Tower series. Jack lives in a town called Dezi (pronounced Deez-Eye, as if you are about to say "desire").  He is a lonely man, getting visits by his ex-wife. 

We learn that Jack is a man of some standing, and living a comfortable life equivalent to the upper middle class in town. It is not always easy to enjoy this life, however. Jack is working for the local unofficial, de facto ruler of sorts in Dezi, Edward Youngblood, who we learn wants to be known as Governor Youngblood, enjoying a relative life of luxury at his residence in Rosewood Hall. Jack refers to him as the Big Kahuna (also known as the BK), although not to Youngblood's face. He provides services which nobody else really can offer him, mostly because Jack has the ability to flip back to America-side. Thus, this book sees these flips back and forth from the Mid-World (or Territories) of Roland and the Dark Tower series to the modern day United States and back again. 

Jack holds a conversation with his wife, Sophie, who we learn is also sometimes known as the Shadow Queen. In fact, with that title, Jack earns considerable respect even in faraway towns simply by being associated so closely with the Shadow Queen. However, we also learn quite early that the conversation they have is all in Jack's head, as he converses with the imaginary Sophie, as she has in reality died years earlier.

Also early on (within the first pages), we meet Payton Orville, a member of Jack's ka-tet (assuming anyone who is reading by this point, with the spoiler warnings, does not actually require an explanation of what a ka-tet is). Payton is a wisecracker and a jokester, and fittingly, he is basically the court jester for the Big Kahuna. However, Youngblood is growing tired of Payton's predictable routine and urges Jack to take Payton away with him when he flips back to America, so that Payton can get some new, fresh material that is not as tiresome. So Jack, Payton, and Mary Klee, another member of the ka-tet, take the trolley and head to a distant town of Pernil. There, Mary and Payton will stay for a few days while Jack flips to America-side to pick up more Coca-Cola for the Big Kahuna, as well as a rare signed book. We learn that the BK apparently has quite the appetite for signed books. 

It should be noted that Jack can only visit America-side for brief periods of time. 

While he is back on America side, Jack intends to visit his friend Dale Gilbertson, a local police chief in rural Nebraska. Nebraska is where Jack flips to America side these days. This time is different, however. Dale's whereabouts are unknown. We learn that he was working a case pursuing two murderous teenagers, Roy Kinneston and Tara Lynn Speckhoffer. Roy Kinneston is a redhead, and his girlfriend eventually dies her hair red as well. This is not a minor point, as it will come up later on in the book. For now, however, nobody seems to know either where the two teens are or where Gilbertson is. Jack is worried and decides to try and follow the case, see if he can learn anything and maybe help to find pretty much his last remaining friend on America-side.

Meanwhile, back in Pernil, Jack finds Payton and Mary in serious trouble at a local watering hole. There is a rowdy crowd of locals, and they are threatening to take advantage of a drunk Mary and a very scared Payton, who is trying his hardest to throw jokes to keep these guys entertained, lest they decide to beat or possibly even kill him. Jack is not sure he is strong enough on his own to help, but then he gets a break when the local constable, Aaron Destry, who winds up being Gilbertson's twinner (doppelganger) in Mid-World, breaks up what was coming close to being an explosive situation. 

Destry and Jack have a palaver, and Jack has a good feeling about him. Indeed, he reminds Jack quite a bit of Gilbertson. Destry keeps Mary locked up in a cell in order to force her to get over her drinking problem while Jack and Payton go on to investigate the Gullet farther west, close to the Blasted Lands. While he and Pay are traveling, Jack goes back America-side, but gets into trouble with the local police force. He is taken into an interrogation room, but senses trouble back in Mid-World. There, he finds Payton has been attacked where he and Jack had set up camp for the night. As it turns out, it is Roy Kinneston and Tara Lynn Speckhoffer, who have somehow found their way into Mid-World.

Now, Jack has several reasons to go after Kinneston and Speckhoffer. They are responsible for Gilbertson's disappearance America-side, and now they are also cold-blooded murderers on the Mid-World side, having left Payton for dead after setting off a bomb that burned him almost to death. Jack is there for his friend's final moments. He swears he wants revenge against the two teens.

Towards the end, this book also reminded me just a little bit of The Stand. What I mean is that it was an expedition to unfriendly territory where the group (or ka-tet) is supposed to make a final stand, even with the understanding that they are unlikely to actually survive and get back home afterwards. Plus, this world is desolate and postapocalyptic, much like the world in The Stand was. So there's that. Just my personal observation, and it might not remind everyone of The Stand.

Ultimately, this feels much more of a Stephen King book, purely, than a book in which he collaborated with Peter Straub, or which was heavily influenced by Straub. It focuses so much on that other world: Mid-World, or the Territories, or whatever you want to call it. Again, sometimes it reminded me of The Stand, and mostly, it reminded me quite a bit of the Dark Tower. One way or the other, however, it feels like King allowed himself the liberty of dwelling (possibly a bit too much) in his own exclusive stories and worlds. I still enjoyed it, and always appreciate King's writings. Simply pointing out what might be somewhat of a weakness in this one.

Nevertheless, recommended, especially to Constant Readers of Stephen King. 

Concert Review: Sponge & Candlebox at the Starland Ballroom - October 30, 2026

So last night, I saw Candlebox for the second time. The first time was some years ago, back in 2021 (I believe). For some reason, there is no review of that show here on this blog, which surprised me. It was one of the shows which I took my son to, back when he still was willing to go to shows with Dear Old Dad, something which he moved away from since, unfortunately.

This time around, I was meeting a friend from the college days. We had not seen each other in well over twenty years. Still rather difficult to believe I can actually say such things with such enormous measures of time). 

Despite knowing about this show weeks (if not even months) ahead of time, it was one of those days which actually snuck up on me. Even on the day of, got caught up with the day with my girlfriend and lost track of time, so I was running late. Then a road closure and a disastrous alternate route made me lose an additional twenty minutes, on top of the original lateness. My own stress while driving was escalating, and I was not entirely confident that the GPS was actually taking me to the right place. Had to confirm with my friend, who was already there and waiting at the venue). Eventually, I got there, recognizing the nearby neighborhood, where a few years ago, I got an engine for my old Toyota. But that's beside the point.

Anyway, we caught up in the couple of hours or so we had before the show. Talked about old friends, our respective lives, and inevitably, yes, the grim political realities which would have been difficult to imagine when we were younger and the world seemed like a different place.

Finally, the time came when they opened the doors. He had gotten there really early so as to be up front, by the barricades. Which is where we remained throughout the show. This allowed us to be really close, to have that intimate feel for a concert that you want. It also gave me a chance to take some of the best concert pictures which I have taken (see some above and more below).

That was one of the different things for this show than others I have attended recently. The prior two concerts which I went to this year (Guns 'n Roses with Public Enemy in August and Renaud earlier this month) were from much, much farther away. Had not been as close to the stage as this in some years, admittedly. But there were other things that marked this show as being a bit unique, as well. It was the last show of the tour, evidently, and this allowed us to get some really cool souvenirs. My friend got a used drumstick, which was the coolest souvenir from the show. I got a couple of things, as well. One of them was the setlist for Candlebox, the other was a guitar pick. Also, this was one of those rare shows where I actually got an actual ticket, and not just a "ticket" on my phone, or a print from home ticket. What a refreshing change! Between that and the two bands, it felt a bit reminiscent of a bygone era. 

First up was Sponge. They broke out in the mid-90's, not too long after Candlebox, the headliner, did. They were best known for "Molly (16 Candles)" and for "Plow," a song which always personally appealed to me. Strange, but there are two things that comes to mind whenever I hear that track. The first is my brother mentioning that it was a cool song after it played on the radio back in the day. The second was that it was playing once during a highlight reel for the '95 Stanley Cup, which was played between the New Jersey Devils and the Detroit Redwings. Detroit, of course, is where Sponge is from, although I am not entirely sure that is why they used it. But it is a cool song.

My friend was underwhelmed by Sponge. But personally, I thought that it was cool to see them. They had some catchy music, even if I was really only familiar with their two biggest hits. And I had not heard "Molly" in many, many years. It only sounded vaguely familiar at first. Then I remembered it. Of course, "Plow" has that distinctive opening guitar lick that simply always sounds wicked and awesome. Great song!

Then it was time for Candlebox. Kevin Martin is a very decent guy. And he has quite the personality while up on stage. He talked about the origins of some songs and even joked about some other bands. Like talking about how sick he is of the Chili Peppers and claiming that he gave it away years ago. I like the Peppers, but that was admittedly pretty funny.

Candlebox always puts on a solid show, and they did it again this time around, too. Took a picture of the setlist from last night's show, if you want to see the songs that they played, and in what specific order they played them in.

Below are the pictures from the show, for both Sponge and Candlebox.

Enjoy!

Sponge: