56. Dark Tower 3: The Waste Lands, by Stephen King.

The Waste Lands reintroduces us to Jake, and tells us the story of how he enters Midworld for the second time, with the help of Eddie, Susannah, Roland, and the rose. It further tells us about their journey through the outskirts of Midworld to the city of Lud. Lud is rotten, and is falling, but they must persevere if they are to find Blaine the Mono, and pass safely through the Waste Lands and continue on their journey.

The Waste Lands is where the story starts to pick up some (heh) steam. Book one is our introduction to Roland, book two is the introduction of the ka-tet, and this book is where everyone has come together and it's buckle your seatbelts time. Most of the major characters have made their debut appearance, and the story's course seems straight, at least for a time.

Flagg is not mentioned much in this book, but we do get told that he is a better sorcerer than Walter, and that Walter is only half human. Some doubt is cast on whether Walter actually does push Jake, and it's reasonably certain that, while he may have been there (and thus able to travel through the levels of the tower) it was Jack Mort that did the pushing, or else the resultant paradox they use to bring Jake through would probably not have occurred. We are told that Flagg, under the name Richard Fannin, visits the Tick-Tock man up to no good. He says he has been called the Ageless Stranger, the Magician, the Wizard. He says he has been called Merlin or Maerlyn, but that he was never that one, though he never denied it either.

In other news, I am also trying to decipher the Guardians of the Beam in their partnerships, and hopefully their relation to each other. So far, Bear is opposite to Turtle, heading south-east. Fish is opposite to Rat, and Horse is opposite to Dog, as discovered by the statues on Blaine's Cradle. I don't know which are related to which of the Wizard's Rainbows, but if anyone can expand my knowledge I would be grateful.