Stephen King "The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands" First Edition, First Printing ARC, Advance Review Copy [Sealed]

One of the most coveted Stephen King pre‑publication items—and its rarity and value aren’t accidental. It sits at the intersection of scarcity, mythology, production history, and collector psychology, which is why it consistently commands premium prices and intense demand.

Advance Reader’s Proof (Grant) Sealed • New Condition • Ultra‑Rare Collector’s Copy

Background is digitally created; book photos are unedited.

Hampton Falls, NH. Donald M. Grant Publishers 1991. Stephen King "The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands" Advance Review Copy. ARC. Softcover. This is the kind of proof that rarely surfaces—and almost never in sealed condition. For collectors who pursue the earliest, rarest, and most pristine states of Stephen King’s work, this is a chance to secure a truly exceptional piece before it disappears into another private collection.

A true prize for the serious Stephen King collector. This sealed, untouched Advance Reader’s Proof of The Waste Lands—the pivotal third volume in The Dark Tower series—offers one of the earliest and scarcest states of the book ever produced. Issued by Donald M. Grant Publishers exclusively for pre‑publication circulation, these proofs were never intended for retail sale and were printed in extremely limited numbers.

Most ARCs were handled, read, or passed between reviewers. This copy remains factory sealed, preserved in new condition, making it an extraordinary survivor and a premium collector‑grade item.

Why Collectors Want This

• Earliest possible state of The Waste Lands

• Grant proofs are notoriously scarce and highly sought after

• Sealed, new condition—almost unheard of for an ARC

• A cornerstone piece for any Dark Tower or King proof collection

• Never offered for public sale

• Perfect for potential long‑term value appreciation

Highlights

• Publisher: Donald M. Grant

• Format: Advance Reader’s Proof / ARC

• Condition: Sealed, new, untouched

• Storage: Climate‑controlled private collection

• Provenance: Premium collector source

The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands

Now a major motion picture starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba

The third volume in the #1 nationally bestselling Dark Tower Series, involving the enigmatic Roland (the last gunfighter) and his ongoing quest for the Dark Tower, is “Stephen King at his best” (School Library Journal).

Several months have passed since The Drawing of the Three, and in The Waste Lands, Roland’s two new tet-mates have become trained gunslingers. Eddie Dean has given up heroin, and Odetta’s two selves have joined, becoming the stronger and more balanced personality of Susannah Dean. But Roland altered ka by saving the life of Jake Chambers, a boy who—in Roland’s world—has already died. Now Roland and Jake exist in different worlds, but they are joined by the same madness: the paradox of double memories. Roland, Susannah, and Eddie must draw Jake into Mid-World and then follow the Path of the Beam all the way to the Dark Tower. There are new evils…new dangers to threaten Roland’s little band in the devastated city of Lud and the surrounding wastelands, as well as horrific confrontations with Blaine the Mono, the piratical Gasher, and the frightening Tick-Tock Man.

The Dark Tower Series continues to show Stephen King as a master of his craft. What lands, what peoples has he visited that are so unreachable to us except in the pages of his incredible books? Now Roland’s strange odyssey continues. The Waste Lands follows The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three as the third volume in what may be the most extraordinary and imaginative cycle of tales in the English language.

The Waste Lands (subtitled "Redemption") is a dark fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the third book of the Dark Tower series. The original limited edition hardcover featuring full-color illustrations by Ned Dameron was published in 1991 by Grant. The book was reissued in 2003 to coincide with the publication of The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla.

The book derives its title from the T. S. Eliot 1922 poem The Waste Land, several lines of which are reprinted in the opening pages. In addition, the two main sections of the book ("Jake: Fear in a Handful of Dust" and "Lud: A Heap of Broken Images") are named after lines in the poem.

The Waste Lands was nominated for the 1991 Bram Stoker Award for Novel.

About The Dark Tower Books

THE MAN IN BLACK FLED ACROSS THE DESERT, AND THE GUNSLINGER FOLLOWED.

The Dark Tower series tells the story of Roland Deschain, Mid-World’s last gunslinger, who is traveling southeast across Mid-World’s post-apocalyptic landscape, searching for the powerful but elusive magical edifice known as The Dark Tower. Located in the fey region of End-World, amid a sea of singing red roses, the Dark Tower is the nexus point of the time-space continuum. It is the heart of all worlds, but it is also under threat. Someone, or something, is using the evil technology of the Great Old Ones to destroy it.

Inspired in equal parts by Robert Browning’s poem, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Western classics, The Dark Tower series is an epic of Arthurian proportions. It is Stephen King’s magnum opus, and is the center of his amazing creative universe.

Stephen King

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His first crime thriller featuring Bill Hodges, MR MERCEDES, won the Edgar Award for best novel and was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Both MR MERCEDES and END OF WATCH received the Goodreads Choice Award for the Best Mystery and Thriller of 2014 and 2016 respectively.

King co-wrote the bestselling novel Sleeping Beauties with his son Owen King, and many of King's books have been turned into celebrated films and television series including The Shawshank Redemption, Gerald's Game and It.

King was the recipient of America's prestigious 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American Letters. In 2007 he also won the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife Tabitha King in Maine.