Gwendy's Final Task

Gwendy's Button Box Trilogy, Book 3

By: Stephen King, Richard Chizmar

Narrated by: Marin Ireland

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

The final book in the New York Times bestselling Gwendy’s Button Box trilogy from Stephen King and Richard Chizmar.

When Gwendy Peterson was twelve, a mysterious stranger named Richard Farris gave her a mysterious box for safekeeping. It offered treats and vintage coins, but it was dangerous. Pushing any of its eight colored buttons promised death and destruction. Years later, the button box reentered Gwendy’s life. A successful novelist and a rising political star, she was once again forced to deal with the temptation the box represented. Now, malignant forces seek to possess the button box, and it is up to Senator Gwendy Peterson to keep it from them at all costs. But where can one hide something from such powerful entities?

In Gwendy’s Final Task, master storytellers Stephen King and Richard Chizmar take us on a journey from Castle Rock to another famous cursed Maine city to the MF-1 space station, where Gwendy must execute a secret mission to save the world. And, maybe, all worlds.

©2022 Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. All rights reserved. Previously published in 2022 by Cemetery Dance Publications. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Marin Ireland’s nimble narration enriches this final book in King and Chizmar’s Button Box Trilogy. Since she was a 12-year-old girl living in Castle Rock, Maine, Gwendy Peterson has been the on-and-off guardian of the button box, a mysterious and sinister box with the power to grant marvelous wishes and destroy entire worlds. Ireland sensitively communicates Gwendy’s dismay when, at 64 years old, she finds that the button box has been returned to her once again. This time, instead of serving as its guardian, she must overcome formidable obstacles in order to destroy the box and keep it from evildoers. Ireland’s characterizations take this audio to the next level, imbuing each character with personality and depth. Listeners will be captivated by this intriguing end to a popular series." (AudioFile Magazine)

Brilliant, timely and a rare return to the Dark Tower

I thoroughly enjoyed this brilliant ending to the three wonderful Gwendy books and found the setting both timely and relevant in the age of Trump. I completely disagree with the criticism, King has always been political and it would be impossible and irresponsible for him not to address the return to Discordia so prevalent in our time.

A treat for the constant reader

This is a series!

This is a series that I can really get behind. Well written(all 3) and the narration is top notch!

Amazing

I don't know when I have ever been so captivated by a story. It is fabulous.

Absolutely wonderful!

Having read the other parts of this story, I can honestly say the conclusion was outstanding! Highly recommended!

fantastic end to a fantastic series

"There are other worlds than these" sums up this beautiful final ending to the king collab.

Somewhat depressing, but has a great ending

First - the volume in this is super annoying! It constantly goes down so low you’re forced to turn it up to hear & then suddenly gets ridiculously loud. It startled me a fair few times. Most unpleasant!

As for the story, it was quite good. A little depressing, but that’s not really the authors’ fault. Some things in life are depressing. They just happened to write about one of them. That aside, it was well written & I was beyond thrilled to find the ties in there to my favorite SK series - The Dark Tower. This really does fit right in. Overall a great trilogy. Def recommend. 👍🏻

beautiful ending.

I enjoyed this book. I hope Mr. Kind continues to intertwine all these characters.

GWENDY'S FINAL TASK

I loved this story. Full of interesting twists and turns, it keeps you wanting to hear more. Highly recommend this listen.

Great story

Stephen King is The King. And this book is classic King... which means it is a great story. It does have a very concise and clear description of the King-a-verse, and I don't remember any book with a description that clear other than the Dark Tower series.

In any case, highly recommended.

The performance was just ok. The reader took her highs too high and lows too low for my taste. She would be pontificating in loud voice and then go so low I had to rewind and turn up the volume to hear. Kind of annoying, especially in the car. Great readers are not a dime a dozen.

Different than I'd imagined

That's not necessarily bad, but I love bed Gwendy so much, and I had wished for a happier end of the series. Still, it was a great book, and I will miss having a new Gwendy story to look forward to.

Marin Ireland was fine as a narrator, but after two nooks with Maggie Siff narrating, Gwendy's voice was hers, and I was never able to quite adapt to having a different voice for dear Gwendy.