The untitled sequel to Stephen King and Peter Straub’sBlack House, currently being referred to asThe Talisman 3, needs to provide readers with answers to certain questions. Straub and King’s previous novels in the series,The TalismanandBlack House, follow protagonist Jack Sawyer’s journey through the alternate world of the Territories, first as a young boy and then as an adult. While there are plenty of amazingStephen King books, this series stands out as the most successful of the author’s collaborative projects.
King’s long-awaited fantasy sequel is very exciting, considering readers are finally seeing an end to their 24-year wait for a final installment to the series. Out of all ofStephen King’s upcoming book releases,The Talisman 3is arguably the most anticipated by his longtime Constant Readers. WithBlack Houseending on a cliffhanger and Jack’s fate left unclear, there are some key questions thatThe Talisman 3needs to answer.
4Who Is The “Young Fellow In Upstate New York Who Showed Great Promise?”
King And Straub Make Reference To A Strange Figure Towards The End Of Black House
Near theending of Stephen King’s bookwith Peter Straub,Black House, the demon Lord Malshun refers to a “young fellow in upstate New York who shows great promise.” Readers are still confused as to whom this may be,although there are multiple theories.Considering Malshun dwells on replacing Charles Burnside with another host, it can be assumed that this is another serial killer, but it’s unclear exactly who.
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Some believe that Malshun is speaking about Albert Fish, but seeing as he is never upstate, and his business is essentially done by this point in the book, it seems unlikely. Others think that this mysterious figure could be someone from a book that isn’t acollaboration between Stephen King and another authorand likely from Straub’s standalone works, such as Fee Bandolier from theBlue Rosetrilogy.
Untitled Talisman 3
TBD
There is also speculation thatit could beThe Dark Tower’s Jake Chambers. While New York City is not part of “upstate” New York, it still would make some sense, considering there is some sort of connection between the two series. Of course, there’s always a chance that the person Malshun is referring to is a Breaker or a Twinner of another character that is yet to be revealed. With King writing this upcoming title, anything is possible, but this question is one that readers are desperate to get the answer to.
3What Happens To Jack In The Territories?
The Protagonist Ends Up In The Territories After Being Shot In Black House
Black Houseis definitely one of theStephen King books that need a sequel, mainly because of its ending. Jack is assassinated at a police press conference, shot by the wife of someone he put away. Just before he dies on the scene, Speedy emerges from the audience and flips Jack into the Territories. The final moments ofBlack Housesee Jack unconscious in the Queen’s Pavilion, and while it is confirmed that he won’t succumb to his injuries and will recover, Speedy’s Twinner, Parkus,labels him as a “creature of the Territories.”This opens up all manner of directions for King to take Jack’s story inThe Talisman 3, but this ending is so vague that anything is possible.
King has already confirmed his return to the Territories, so it would be incredibly strange for the author to not revisit Jack’s story, especially afterBlack House’s cliffhanger ending.Parkus implies that Jake may never be able to return to his own world, but it’s hoped thatThe Talisman 3’s story will follow the character after chasing down the Fisherman. However, there’s a chance the upcoming title could jump ahead in time, so there’s a lot of context for King to fill in about Jack’s life after returning to the Territories.
2Are The Territories And Mid-World The Same Place?
Black House Created Some Dark Tower Plot Holes
There’s no doubt thatThe Talisman 3is King’s most exciting book in years, especially because the author can finally shed some light on the connections betweenBlack HouseandThe Dark Towerbook series. King’s original post toXabout returning to the Territories also included a mention of Mid-world, but it’s now deleted. There are plenty ofreferences to King’s other stories throughoutThe Dark Towerseries, and it seems the upcoming book may the the two series together more firmly.
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Annoyingly,The Talismanseries creates someDark Towerplot holes. While The Talisman had no connection to the Dark Tower series when it was published in 1984, there are several direct references toThe Dark Tower’s world when an adult Jack travels back to the Territories inBlack House. Some of these references includenods to Roland, the gunslingers, and the titular tower itself. Assuming King’s social media post is correct, andThe Talisman 3will be set in both the Territories and Mid-world, the new book has the opportunity to explain to readers what the connection between the two locations is.
1What Happens To Lily Cavanaugh?
Jack Saves His Mother, But The Tommyknockers Complicates Things
The Talismanfocuses on Jack’s journey to find a way to help save his dying mother, Lily, from cancer. While he is successful in his quest, Lily does eventually die young,but this is where the continuity gets a little murky.Initially,Stephen King’s novelThe Tommyknockersfeatures a brief cameo from a young boy widely thought to be Jack. He saysthat his mother died in a car crash, despite the efforts Jack made to save her life.
WithThe Tommyknockerstaking place seven years afterThe Talisman, it’s impossible that Jack would still be a young kid.
However, readers have pointed out that Jack’s presence inThe Tommyknockersmakes little sense. WithThe Tommyknockerstaking place seven years afterThe Talisman,it’s impossible that Jack would still be a young kid. That timeline conflict can easily be explained by King’s own admission thatThe Tommyknockerswas written while he was under the influence; it’s highly likely that he just wasn’t paying that close attention to continuity and the minutiae at the time of writing.
Stephen King has a long history of revisiting his older works and fixing continuity errors or fleshing them out so they address questions retroactively created by new books, the most well-known of which is his 20023 revised and expanded edition ofThe Gunslinger.
He and Peter Straub seemingly addressedwhat happened to Jack’s mother 13 years later inBlack House, however. InThe Talisman, Jack meets Queen Laura, Lily’s Twinner, who is also dying, and she’s another figure he saves with the titular crystal. WhenBlack Houserevisits the Territories, Laura’s daughter Sophie is now ruling and one line establishes that her cancer eventually returned. This implies that Lily’s cancer also returned unless she found a way to flip into the Territories like her son. While it’s unlikely this will be a big feature point inThe Talisman 3, it would still be nice to get a concrete resolution to that dangling thread.
