book 3
(Pg 19) - Editing error: It says here that Roland brought back more than 300 rounds of ammunition from Eddie and Susannah's world (but really it was Jack Mort's world, not theirs). However that can't be, because Roland only took four boxes of fifty bullets each, which would equal only 200 (see page's 398 and 413 of The Drawing of the Three).
(Pg 20) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "how to find north by Old Star and south by Old Mother", appears as "how to find north by Old Star and east by Old Mother" in the Grant edition. In this instance, the Grant edition has the correct version. Also, the time between The Drawing of the Three and The Waste Lands is close to two months.
(Pg 25) - Odetta's mother's name is Sarah Walker Holmes, but in The Drawing of the Three, her name was Allie Walker Holmes.
(Pg 30) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "an item which had been purchased in New York City's finest medical supply house", appears as "an item which had been purchased in New York City's finest ostomy supply house" in the Grant edition.
(Pg 35) - Eddie's sister's name is Gloria Dean, but in The Drawing of the Three, her name was Selina Dean.
(Pg 44) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "squeezed between its paws in curdled gobbets", appears as "squeezed between its jaws in curdled gobbets" in the Grant edition. In this instance, the Grant edition has the correct version.
(Pg 57) - Here is the story of the creation of The Guardians.
(Pg 58) - Roland continues to have a problem understanding some of the stranger words of Eddie and Susannah's world. He has the same "backwards tongue" as in Wizard and Glass. Example: see-saw = saw-see.
(Pg 70) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "I caught up with the men I had been chasing.", appears as "I caught up with the man I had been chasing." in the Grant edition. In this instance, the Grant edition has the correct version. Also, Roland says that the palaver he and Walter, the man in black, had in The Gunslinger was a long one. Roland thinks that Walter had to have been dead for over one hundred years by the time Roland woke up.
(Pg 77) - One of the Twelve Guardians must be an ape or gorilla. In Eddie's dream, he sees a model tower in a magic shop's window with a model of King Kong on top of it. On top of the ape's head was a small radar dish growing out of it. Coincidence? I think not...
(Pg 78) - In Eddie's dream, Jack Andolini says "there are other world's than these and that fucking train rolls through all of them." Clearly meaning Blaine the Mono, this sentence has a one word meaning: thinnies!
(Pg 87) - Here is a second mention of Oz. Eddie explains to Roland what Oz is.
(Pg 90) - Roland explains what ka, ka-tet, and tet means.
(Pg 97) - The little robot "helpers" around the Portal of the Bear might be small replicas of the other Guardians (the other Guardians themselves might have similar "helpers" at their own portals). Hints of other Guardians could be a Snake, Bat and Rat. However, what the "Tonka Tractor" could be is quite a mystery.
(Pg 101) - Eddie says that he wouldn't know his old man (father) if he passed him on the street. We can conclude that his father left his family shortly after Eddie's birth.
(Pg 108-09) - Here is the story of the creation of The Beams.
(Pg 110) - Roland tells Eddie and Susannah, "I didn't walk but rode most of the distance on horseback... I was -- slowed up, shall we say? -- every now and then, but for the most of that time I was moving." It's plausible to assume that this might be the point when Roland was thinking of his run-in with the Little Sisters in the Dark Tower short story "The Little Sisters of Eluria". As well, Roland tells Eddie and Susannah about John Farson wanting Roland's head on a pole in his courtyard because Roland had stolen something from him. We learn in Wizard and Glass that this object was none other than Maerlyn's Grapefruit which was part of Maerlyn's Rainbow.
(Pg 112) - It says here that Henry had told their mother that Eddie and himself were going to Dahlberg's for Hoodsie Rockets, but later we learn on page 265, that it was Henry who told Eddie to tell their mother that they were going to Dahlberg's.
(Pg 130) - Here it states positive that Jake is 11 years old. If the events in his life that lead to his drawing took place in May/June of 1977, we can safely presume that he was born in either 1965 or 1966. We also learn that Jake Chambers mother's name is Laurie and father's name is Elmer.
(Pg 133) - Jake was killed in his world for the first time on May 9th at 8:25am.
(Pg 141) - In Jake's final essay, the part that says: "One of them had an Amoco gas pump between his legs and was pretending it was his penis. That is the truth." isn't actually "the truth". Jake never experienced this under the mountains. This was a memory of Roland's (which as far as we can tell, he never spoke of) and the "man" was not one of the Slow Mutants under the mountains, but of a man that Roland remembered encountering during this travels before he met Jake. However, the man did pretend it was his penis...
(Pg 145) - Jake passes by a classroom where a boy named Stan Dorfman was speaking. Dorfman? Perhaps he is the son of the man Dorfman that Jack Mort was supposed to give a tax refund to in The Drawing of the Three?
(Pg 153) - Greta Shaw liked to read the tabloid newspaper Inside View. This is the same tabloid that appears in King's short story The Night Flier and many other of his stories.
(Pg 161) - Jake mentions "the coming of the White!" We may learn more about this "White" as the epic continues.
(Pg 166) - Calvin Tower mentions publisher Donald M. Grant to Jake. (Note: to those of you new to the Dark Tower series, Donald M. Grant is the publisher of the limited hardcover editions of King's The Dark Tower series).
(Pg 167) - Here, Calvin Tower talks to Jake about being "wise enough to saddle up and light out for the territories," -- the reference to "the territories" just might have some connection to King & Straub's book The Talisman. Maybe? Also, we see that Calvin Tower's friend's name was Aaron Deepneau. Could this be a connection to the Ed Deepneau of King's novel Insomnia? It's the type of last name that is too unheard of to just be a coincidence.
(Pg 181) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "He had been lying here, dead to the world, for at least five hours.", appears as "He had been lying here, dead to the world, for at least six hours." in the Grant edition.
(Pg 194-95) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the character of Leonard Bissette was orignally named Harvey Bissette in the Grant edition. (Note: even King's "writing" for Len's/Harvey's signature is written differently)
(Pg 199) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "...and saw it had originally been published in 1942", appears as "...and saw it had originally been published in 1952" in the Grant edition. In this instance, the Signet edition has the correct version.
(Pg 201) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "undoubtedly interesting to the 40's era boys", appears as "undoubtedly interesting to the 50's era boys" in the Grant edition. In this instance, the Signet edition has the correct version.
(Pg 215) - Here, it describes Roland weeping. Eddie thinks to himself that he had never seen Roland crying before. But in The Drawing of the Three on page 460, Eddie sees Roland weeping openly by the campfire.
(Pg 232) - Here we learn more about the mysterious Mid-World.
(Pg 235) - A store is mentioned here where little girls go to buy clothes and is called "Miss So Pretty". It's almost the same phrase that Susan Delgado's aunt Cordelia called Susan in Wizard and Glass sometimes. "Miss-Oh-So-Young-and-Pretty".
(Pg 242) - Susannah's age is twenty-six; she was born in 1937 (if you take into account that she was drawn in February of 1964). In Eddie's when, she would have been 49-50 years old.
(Pg 246) - Eddie says he doesn't care dick about his father. This strengthens the idea that his father left his family (see page 101).
(Pg 249) - The songs Detta Walker danced to with the roadhouse whiteboys like "Hippy-Hippy Shake" and "Double Shot of My Baby's Love" could not have been around at that time. These songs only became popular after she had her legs cut off. "Hippy" was popularly sung by The Swinging Blue Jeans in 1963 and "Double Shot" was performed by The Swinging Medallions in 1966. Because Odetta/Detta lost her legs in August 1959, she would have been dancing at these roadhouses, figuring conservately in 1958, and these songs couldn't have been playing at that time.
(Pg 277) - Here, Jake remembers a part of the poem The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. King used this poem to help base this third book of the Dark Tower series, coincedentally called The Waste Lands.
(Pg 281) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "Her lips rose and fell, rose and fell.", appears as "Her hips rose and fell, rose and fell." in the Grant edition. In this instance, the Grant edition has the correct version.
(Pg 293) - Editing error: the word "milllimeter" should be spelled "millimeter".
(Pg 299) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "as if an unseen meshwork had been drawn across the chair.", appears as "as if an unseen meshwork had been drawn across the door." in the Grant edition. In this instance, the Grant edition has the correct version.
(Pg 326) - The guesture greeting of tapping the throat three times was first introduced here (ie. Roland meeting Aunt Talitha).
(Pg 328) - Editing error: the word "dropcoth" should be spelled "dropcloth". Also, Aunt Talitha speaks about "the coming of the White"... the same "White" that Jake talked about earlier.
(Pg 369) - Roland tells about his palaver with Walter here. Again he says that mayhap a hundred years passed during that time or mayhap even as much as five hundred years.
(Pg 437) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "the laugh that followed sounded suspiciously like a sob", appears as "the laugh that followed sounded suspiciously like tears" in the Grant edition.
(Pg 437) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "a bunker like Hitler and his high command retreated to", appears as "a command-bunker like Hitler and his high command retreated to" in the Grant edition.
(Pg 446) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "that sounded like the buzz of a cicada.", appears as "that sounded like the buzz of a cicada going into summer hibernation." in the Grant edition.
(Pg 464) - Here it says, "The amplified thump of the drums had buried the sound of Eddie and Susannah's battle with the ragged band of Pubes, but he heard this gunshot clearly and smiled." However, on page 446, it clearly explains that as Eddie pushed Susannah's wheelchair over a curb, "the drums suddenly cut out." This was before their gunfight with the Pubes. So how could the God-drums cover the noise of that firefight so that Roland couldn't hear the shots if the music had been cut-off already?
(Pg 479) - "Swamp-fire" is neon in Roland's world.
(Pg 482) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sign that showed Eddie and Susannah the direction of both Blaine and Patricia's travel showed Blaine's direction of travel as SOUTHEAST. However, on page 415 of the Grant edition, the same sign shows Blaine's direction of travel as NORTHEAST. This is very wrong. In this instance, the Signet edition has the correct version.
(Pg 483) - Here Susannah quotes a line from a piece of poetry from T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land that King used in part to base the third volume of the Dark Tower series; The Waste Lands.
(Pg 488) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "and yet at the same time knew it hadn't been Susannah.", appears as "and yet at the same time knew it hadn't been her." in the Grant edition.
2ndError between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "a frightened child who just happens to be almost invisible.", appears as "a frightened child who just happens to be invisible." in the Grant edition.
(Pg 493) - Jake saw rugs in the Cradle of the Grays that were made in a place called Kashamin. Kashamin is also a place in King's novel The Eyes of the Dragon. This is another definite link between these two stories.
(Pg 495) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentences "'Still, he's wery pert, Ticky. Wery pery, Ticky. Wery pert indeed, so he is, and if you want my opinion, he'll take a deal of training!'", appears as "'Still, he's wery pert, Ticky. Wery pert indeed, so he is, and if you want my opinion, he'll take a deal of training!'" in the Grant edition.
(Pg 496) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "...sense of being expertly catalogued and filed.", appears as "...sense of being expertly filed and catalogued." in the Grant edition.
(Pg 498) - The word "sigul" is mentioned by Tick-Tock. He thought Jake's Seiko watch was a sign of identification. We later find out in Wizard and Glass that "sigul" means "sign" or "logo".
(Pg 508) - Roland's grandmother's name is Deidre the Mad (although it is not clear about who's side of Roland's family she is from).
(Pg 525) - Error between editions: In the Signet edition, the sentence "In other words, Blaine the Mono was preparing to get out of Dodge.", appears as "And in the Cradle of Lud, Blaine the Mono was preparing to get out of Dodge." in the Grant edition.
(Pg 527) - Here it says that Roland remembers Jake taking off his shirt and soaking it under the water pump at the way station (in The Gunslinger) and had given it to him to drink. However in The Gunslinger, it clearly states that Jake used a dented tin can to give water to Roland.
(Pg 544) - Fannin appears to be a mind reader. Tick-Tock thought so.
(Pg 546-47) - Fannin speaks of "an old acquaintance" that ended up betraying him. This person always said "My life for you!". This "acquaintance" of Fannin's could be none other than the Trashcan Man from King's The Stand, which links these two stories together.
(Pg 555) - Error between editions: In the Signet and Grant editions, Susannah's/Detta's "Prime Numbah's" speech is just a bit different with added text in the Grant edition. Here is how it appears in the Grant edition:
"It gotta be a numbah you make by addin' two other numbahs, and it don't nevveh divide 'ceptin by one and its ownself. One is prime just 'cause it is. Two is prime, 'cause you can git it by addin' one and one and you can divide it by one an' two. But it's the only even numbah that's prime."
(Pg 566) - Editing error: Blaine tells his passengers that their course keeps firmly SOUTHWEST along the Beam. It was supposed to say SOUTHEAST.
(Pg 569-70) - J.R.R. Tolkien is mentioned here by Susannah. It is known that King has been inspired by Tolkien's stories which helped him write The Dark Tower series.
(Pg 571) - Blaine confirms Eddie's guess. What caused the mutations and everything else in the waste lands was not a nuclear war, but something much worse than that... "and it's not over yet!"
(Pg 572) - In yet another reference to Oz, Jake thinks Blaine is like Oz the Great and Terrible because he was only a disembodied voice.
(Pg 573) - Blaine states that he has samples of music from over three-hundred levels of the Tower.
(Pg 577) - Blaine supposedly has monitoring equipment in End-World -- where the Dark Tower stands -- but it has been down for over eight hundred years.
(Author's Note Pg 590) - Error between editions: King says that in the fourth book "we will be reacquainted with both the Tick-Tock Man and that puzzling figure Walter, called the Wizard or the Ageless Stranger." This sentence has caused a lot of discussion and theories as to the real nature of Walter over the past years. However, here and now, the truth may be revealed.
The whole problem with this sentence stems from the punctuation used by the editors of the Signet edition. The proper punctuation appeared as the following in the Grant edition:
"we will be reacquainted with both the Tick-Tock Man and that puzzling figure Walter called the Wizard or the Ageless Stranger."
The change of the comma after Walter's name makes a big difference in what is being said. Now we know, King wasn't refering to Walter as "the Wizard" or "the Ageless Stranger", but refering to those names as what Walter himself called the being he was talking about.