For a hardcore Stephen King fan, could there be any more thrilling—or intimidating—assignment than to record the audiobook edition of the Master’s latest novel? That job has now fallen to actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, a longtime King devotee who recently emerged from the studio where he recorded Other Worlds Than These (Simon & Schuster Audio, Oct. 6), the third and final book in the Talisman series that King wrote with novelist Peter Straub. (Straub died in 2022, but King developed the new book from an idea that Straub had emailed him years earlier.)

Oswalt will be familiar to listeners from his 2007 performance as Remy the rat in the Oscar-winning Pixar film Ratatouille, as well as his stand-up comedy shows and his role on TV’s The King of Queens. Other Worlds Than These gave the actor plenty of distinctive characters to further flex his vocal chops. The novel brings back protagonist Jack Sawyer, now a retired police detective who is still able, as in the earlier books, to travel between America and the otherworldly Territories; both realms are being terrorized by a pair of teenage killers on a bloody spree. Kirkus calls it a “diabolical splatterfest”—just the thing for King aficionados like Oswalt.

The actor answered our questions about recording the audiobook (and other matters) by email.

What’s your first memory of reading Stephen King? How old were you and which book?

Pretty sure it was the paperback collection Night Shift, and I grabbed it ’cuz of that amazing cover by Don Brautigam—the hand with the eyes on it. Wow! Of course, once I opened the book it was “Wow! Wow! Wow!” every story. Ten years old and mind forever blasted open.

There’s a character named Payton Orville in the novel, a stand-up comedian. Did you know that before you read the book, or was that an easter egg for you?

I had no idea, and if I inspired the name then that’s even more flattering. Unlike Payton, I never got to work with George Carlin and Paul Lynde, much less do a show at Dangerfield’s in New York City in 1976.

What was most challenging about recording this audiobook? Most rewarding?

Most challenging: all the different voices for the characters. King creates such vivid personalities, and I wanted to give each one their fair shake. The rewarding moments—exhausting as they were—was when I felt like I got those voices right, especially where there are half a dozen talking back and forth to one another in a single scene.

Did you confer with King before you started recording, or did you just dive in?

I just dove in. Weirdly enough, I got to meet him two days after I started recording, at a theater where I was performing in Gardiner, Maine. But I was so tongue-tied and awestruck that I just thanked him for shaping my childhood. I was under enough pressure already, getting to be the voice of a Stephen King audiobook.

What fall release(s) are you most eager to get your hands on?

Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel, because I read everything she writes and can’t wait to have this one in my hands. Fail Sons by Adam Wilson and Revenge Plot by Stephanie Wrobel, because they both sound hilarious. Acid Green Velvet by Grace Krilanovich because: hobos!Brut by Sam Tallent, ’cuz I loved Running the Light so goddamn much.

Tom Beer is the editor-in-chief.