{"id":1844,"date":"2018-03-29T13:30:27","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T17:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/?p=1844"},"modified":"2018-03-29T13:42:50","modified_gmt":"2018-03-29T17:42:50","slug":"the-waste-lands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-waste-lands\/","title":{"rendered":"The Waste Lands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Early on\u00a0The Waste Lands<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(the third book in The Dark Tower<\/em> series by Stephen King), protagonists Roland, Eddie, and Susannah encounter Shardik, a gigantic bear who is at first portrayed as a kind of ancient wilderness deity:<\/p>\n

Once, the Old People had lived in the West Woods (it was their leavings which Roland had found from time to time during the last weeks), and they had gone in fear of the colossal, undying bear. \u2026 He was, of course, a demon incarnate \u2014 or the shadow of a god. They called him Mir, which to these people meant \u201cthe world beneath the world.\u201d He stood seventy feet high, and after eighteen or more centuries of undisputed rule in the West Woods, he was dying.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The bear as he exists in the book \u2014 sick, enraged, monstrous \u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u2014 is terrifying enough. But his introduction to the reader through Roland\u2019s knowledge of folklore lends Shardik a supernatural depth, and through him, the world the bear exists in seems even larger and more terrifyingly mystical.<\/p>\n

King throws his protagonists (and his readers) a world-building curveball when the trio manages to slay the bear and discovers that Shardik is a cyborg whose flesh is filled with wires and powered by nuclear cells. They realize (courtesy of a loud system error shutdown message) that Shardik was a creation of North Central Positronics, a shadowy technology company that exists in a barely-imagined future as far as Eddie and Susannah are concerned but is a relic of the lost ancients in Roland\u2019s world.<\/p>\n

In another narrative, the revelation that a fearsome bear is really a fabrication might mark the quick solution to a narrative mystery. But that doesn\u2019t happen in these early chapters. Instead of making the bear knowable (and therefore somewhat more mundane) the discovery that Shardik is a cyborg reinforces the disorienting uncertainty of the time-warping narrative. What\u2019s magic, and what\u2019s technology in this world? Initially, it seems as if the Old People of Roland\u2019s world experienced Arthur C. Clarke\u2019s Third Law: \u201cAny sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.\u201d But the revelation leaves the bear a cipher and raises more questions. Why did North Central Positronics create him? What has he been guarding out in the woods for so many thousands of years? Was he created, and later mistaken for a god? Or was he created to replace an earlier god that humanity mistakenly destroyed?<\/p>\n

Shardik presents clues and puzzles to the protagonists and reader, and he acts as a satisfying focal point for both world\u00a0building and plot to keep people engaged in the narrative.\u00a0For speculative fiction writers, Shardik represents the kind of well-constructed, world- and plot-integral mystery (and escalation of mystery) that we should seek to employ in our own work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Early on\u00a0The Waste Lands\u00a0(the third book in The Dark Tower series by Stephen King), protagonists Roland, Eddie, and Susannah encounter Shardik, a gigantic bear who […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[31],"tags":[126,108],"class_list":["post-1844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","tag-mystery","tag-stephen-king"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/the-dark-tower-iii-the-waste-lands-2-e1522344356246.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8qT6f-tK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1838,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-drawing-of-the-three\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844,"position":0},"title":"The Drawing of the Three","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"March 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Drawing of the Three\u00a0by Stephen King is the second volume in\u00a0The Dark Tower, his epic, cross-genre novel series. I enjoyed the first novel,\u00a0The Gunslinger, but for me, this is where\u00a0The Dark Tower\u00a0really starts to get interesting. One of the aspects of\u00a0the novel\u00a0that I found particularly interesting\u00a0was King\u2019s narrative technique\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book review"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/book-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/the-dark-tower-ii-the-drawing-of-the-three-2-e1522196624333.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/the-dark-tower-ii-the-drawing-of-the-three-2-e1522196624333.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/the-dark-tower-ii-the-drawing-of-the-three-2-e1522196624333.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/the-dark-tower-ii-the-drawing-of-the-three-2-e1522196624333.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/the-dark-tower-ii-the-drawing-of-the-three-2-e1522196624333.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1834,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-gunslinger\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844,"position":1},"title":"The Gunslinger","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"March 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Gunslinger\u00a0is the first novel in\u00a0The Dark Tower, Stephen King\u2019s classic, epic cross-genre series. It introduces the reader to the last gunslinger, Roland of Gilead, as he pursues The Man in Black across a vast land\u00a0laid to waste. The setting\u00a0is part Wild West, part medieval fantasy, and part far-future dystopia.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book review"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/book-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gunslinger.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gunslinger.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gunslinger.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gunslinger.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gunslinger.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gunslinger.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":698,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/movie-review-dreamcatcher\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844,"position":2},"title":"Movie Review: Dreamcatcher","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"June 1, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Stephen King should put William Goldman in his will. Many of you probably know Goldman better as the novelist and screenwriter behind The Princess Bride. This is the third time he's adapted King's work for the big screen; he previously wrote the screenplays for Misery and Hearts in Atlantis (he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "movie"","block_context":{"text":"movie","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/movie\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1498,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-braided-novel\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844,"position":3},"title":"The Braided Novel","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"July 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It's pretty easy to confuse a braided novel with a fix-up novel. What\u2019s the difference? A braided novel follows multiple viewpoint characters, each of whom has his or her own story, and the stories interweave and converge at or near the climax of the book. If the individual stories are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "novel"","block_context":{"text":"novel","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/novel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/thestand.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/thestand.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/thestand.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/thestand.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/thestand.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/thestand.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1827,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/on-being-nineteen\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844,"position":4},"title":"On Being Nineteen","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"March 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"When I started reading Stephen King\u2019s\u00a0Dark Tower\u00a0novels, one of the things that resonated with me is his introduction, \u201cOn Being Nineteen\u201d, which is included in each book in the series (at least the editions I\u2019ve been reading). In his essay, King covers his motivations for starting\u00a0The Gunslinger\u00a0way back when he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "dark fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"dark fantasy","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/dark-fantasy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5215,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/2020-ohioana-book-festival\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844,"position":5},"title":"The 2020 Ohioana Book Festival","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"August 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This year, because of COVID-19, the Ohioana Book Festival is being held in a virtual format from Friday, August 28 through Sunday, August 30th. I'm participating in the \"Adventures in Speculative Fiction\" panel, which will go online at 2pm Eastern on Sunday. Adventures in Speculative Fiction The best speculative fiction\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "bookstores"","block_context":{"text":"bookstores","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/bookstores\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ohioana Book Festival Cartoon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Ohioana2020.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Ohioana2020.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Ohioana2020.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Ohioana2020.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Ohioana2020.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1844"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1850,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844\/revisions\/1850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}