Stephen King Just Confirmed His Best Book Of The 2020s & I Couldn't Be More Excited

After a few months of speculation, Stephen King has finally confirmed he's working on a book that will be his best one of the 2020s. It's always been funny to me to ponder how King has said once or twice in the past that he's thinking about retiring. Considering his prodigious output of the past decade, he knows, and we know, and we know he knows he's lying to himself; the man has stories pouring out of him like water from a spring.

We already know two upcoming books involving him. The first is King's Never Flinch, which will return to the Holly Gibney universe; the second is the anthology The End of the World As We Know It, a first for Stephen King that will find dozens of writers coming together to pen short stories set in the world of The Stand. But the project he's teased he's quietly working on that will involve the Territories is the one that has me the most intrigued.

Stephen King's Talisman 3 Confirmation Makes Me Excited After Years Of Waiting

He's Finally Confirmed A Sequel He's Teased For A While

Like many Constant Readers, I've wondered for years about whether Stephen King would ever write a third Talisman book, but those hopes seemed dashed when co-author Peter Straub passed away in 2022. But King announced last October that he was penning a new book and teased he was returning to Mid-world and the Territories with it. I knew King probably wasn't teasing a new Dark Tower book, as he's said emphatically that he's done with that world, or at least with any stories following Roland of Gilead. That left The Talisman 3, but it was honestly anybody's guess.

That's why I'm thrilled that Stephen King has finally confirmed that he is, indeed, working on the third Talisman book he and Straub had talked about before his co-author passed away. "[P]eter Straub had a terrific idea before passing away," he wrote. "Dual credit, as on THE TALISMAN and BLACK HOUSE. But as always, I can never be sure a book will be done until it is. This one has a long way to go."

Of course, I'm trying to temper my excitement - like King says right in the post, there's still a long way to go. Still, Stephen King hasn't historically been a writer to tease books that don't happen. So it may be a few years, but I'm excited for a return to the Territories again with Jack and any other characters King wants to bring along for the ride. Seeing that King loves Straub's story idea enough to write it is exciting enough.

The Talisman 3 Will Probably Be Stephen King's Best Book Of The 2020s

It Has So Much Potential

I know that we're already into 2025, and King has had a handful of books out already this decade with more to come, but, assuming The Talisman 3 releases within the next five years (which it probably will), then I believe it will go down as his best book of the 2020s. It's simply that there's so much anticipation built up and so much goodwill for The Talisman that, as a longtime reader, it's the project that's most exciting to me.

I really loved You Like It Darker, but then, I've always been a fan of King's short story collections. Even beyond that, it felt like a bit of a throwback to some of his older work, which I appreciated. His other novels have been great, but, as much as I like his books with Holly Gibney, she's a controversial Stephen King character for many. On a personal level, while I like his crime thrillers, I much prefer his horror and dark fantasy. King's collaborations have always been great, and though Straub is gone, it will be interesting to see how King honors the vision of his late friend.

The Talisman 3's Likely Dark Tower Connections Make It An Even Bigger Deal

Exploring Mid-World Through Another Character's Eyes Will Be Great

Just as exciting is that King has also confirmed that it will find him returning to Mid-world. This is also exciting to me, as he's already said he's done writing stories with Roland in them, but he's also never really explored the Mid-world through another character's point of view outside the characters of The Dark Tower. To see it explored through Jack Sawyer's eyes will give us a brand-new perspective on Roland's world, which could give us a whole new appreciation for it. Honestly, there's so much to look forward to with this new book, so I hope Stephen King does see the project through to publication.