Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F Kin
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Donald M. Grant/Scribner (2003), Edition: 1st, 736 pages
Description
Wolves of the Calla continues the adventures of Roland, the Last Gunslinger and survivor of a civilized world that has "moved on." Roland's quest is ka, an inevitable destiny -- to reach and perhaps save the Dark Tower, which stands at the center of everywhere and everywhen. This pursuit brings Roland, with the three others who've joined his quest to Calla Bryn Sturgis, a town in the shadow of Thunderclap, beyond which lies the Dark Tower. Before advancing, however, they must face the evil wolves of Thunderclap, who threaten to destroy the Calla by abducting its young.
Media reviews
Even bona fide Stephen King fans don't know quite what to make of "Wolves of the Calla," the hefty fifth installment of his epic, and seemingly endless, "Dark Tower" series.
It's been more than six years since Stephen King's last full-length installment of his "Dark Tower" fantasy saga. A lot has happened to him, and to the publishing industry, in the meantime. The improbable tale he began as a 19-year-old college student has somehow morphed into a mammoth summation of
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his entire career. Show Less
FOR the last 33 years, Roland Deschain, Gunslinger of the line of Eld, he of Gilead-that-was, has been trekking across the desolate landscape of Mid-World, a sort of postapocalyptic second cousin to our own world. Roland is on a quest, of course; he is searching for the Dark Tower, a quasi-mythical
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edifice that holds together all of time and space -- his world and ours and all the others -- and is in danger of imminent collapse. What he carries with him may be even weightier than that: Stephen King's literary ambitions. Show Less
Subjects
Original publication date
2003-11-04
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User reviews
LibraryThing member bardsfingertips
My favorite thing about this series is how the style changes with each book. This one is no exception, of course. Here you have the most "Wild West" of the series. By that, I mean that a band of gunslingers is called upon to protect a township from the invading forces of bandits that take what they
Even though King does not explore it as well as other of his books, this is the first of the Dark Tower books that is of a town collective. You get to know the inhabitants of the town with each of their characteristics described that this ends up being another Anytown, USA…just a tad archaic and outer-dimensional. One can argue that Wizard & Glass explores a town as well, but I feel, much rather, it's less about the town as a collective, and more about the individuals within and their singular goals. In the Wolves of the Calla, there is a collective, and the goal is a shared one.
Overall, I thought this was a strong story. It is not my favorite, and not as explorative as The Waste Lands, but I did enjoy the 'Salem's Lot segue. I am even tickled by the bit of metafiction that is taking place (and, from what I hear, is thoroughly explored in The Dark Tower, Book VII).
King also does not shy away from using gut-wrenching tragedy to bring out (and force) the adult growth out of his children characters. At first, this came as a shock to me, but I believe that I was simply caught up in the suspense of the final thirty pages. Personally (and because of experience), I should have known better.
All in all, a good story, may it do you fine.
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want from time to time. Me not being a fan of Western Films can really only quickly recall one reference: The Three Amigos.Even though King does not explore it as well as other of his books, this is the first of the Dark Tower books that is of a town collective. You get to know the inhabitants of the town with each of their characteristics described that this ends up being another Anytown, USA…just a tad archaic and outer-dimensional. One can argue that Wizard & Glass explores a town as well, but I feel, much rather, it's less about the town as a collective, and more about the individuals within and their singular goals. In the Wolves of the Calla, there is a collective, and the goal is a shared one.
Overall, I thought this was a strong story. It is not my favorite, and not as explorative as The Waste Lands, but I did enjoy the 'Salem's Lot segue. I am even tickled by the bit of metafiction that is taking place (and, from what I hear, is thoroughly explored in The Dark Tower, Book VII).
King also does not shy away from using gut-wrenching tragedy to bring out (and force) the adult growth out of his children characters. At first, this came as a shock to me, but I believe that I was simply caught up in the suspense of the final thirty pages. Personally (and because of experience), I should have known better.
All in all, a good story, may it do you fine.
Show Less
LibraryThing member deslni01
The Wolves of the Calla, the antepenultimate volume of Stephen King's Dark Tower series brings the ka-tet to Calla Bryn Sturgis, a small farming community on the outskirts of Thunderclap. The town, which births twins and only rarely "singletons", is plagued every few decades by the wolves, riders
The ka-tet, as gunslingers, have the duty to protect the Calla from the wolves, which are set to come in roughly thirty days as the ka-tet passes through. In the Calla, they are introduced to Father Callahan - a man from "our" side who had been brought to the Calla in a similar way as Eddie, Jake and Susannah. A large portion of the book is spent on his back-story and he becomes a main player in the Tower quest. (Many King fans will know him from King's second novel, Salem's Lot).
The majority of the book covers the thirty days of the ka-tet analyzing and preparing for the wolves to come, and on Callahan's interesting back-story which is complete with vampires and travel through the different worlds. Although it only covers roughly thirty days, the book is lengthy in pages (this edition has 736 pages) - longer even than the previous volume. However, unlike the previous volume, the story stays relevant to the Tower quest and the ka-tet, and provides further background of the characters - and further growth, especially in the boy (man, now?) Jake.
As with the other volumes, King transitions smoothly and easily into the next volume - and with interesting twists. Wolves of the Calla is an entertaining expansion on the Tower quest and the blend of Roland's world with "ours", and should not be missed for even casual fans of King or the series, as it makes up for the previous, lackluster fourth volume (Wizard and Glass) and leaves the reader quickly grabbing for the next volume.
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from Thunderclap who steal one child from each set of twins. The children then come back, years later, roont - dumb, and continuously growing until they die much younger than their other half.The ka-tet, as gunslingers, have the duty to protect the Calla from the wolves, which are set to come in roughly thirty days as the ka-tet passes through. In the Calla, they are introduced to Father Callahan - a man from "our" side who had been brought to the Calla in a similar way as Eddie, Jake and Susannah. A large portion of the book is spent on his back-story and he becomes a main player in the Tower quest. (Many King fans will know him from King's second novel, Salem's Lot).
The majority of the book covers the thirty days of the ka-tet analyzing and preparing for the wolves to come, and on Callahan's interesting back-story which is complete with vampires and travel through the different worlds. Although it only covers roughly thirty days, the book is lengthy in pages (this edition has 736 pages) - longer even than the previous volume. However, unlike the previous volume, the story stays relevant to the Tower quest and the ka-tet, and provides further background of the characters - and further growth, especially in the boy (man, now?) Jake.
As with the other volumes, King transitions smoothly and easily into the next volume - and with interesting twists. Wolves of the Calla is an entertaining expansion on the Tower quest and the blend of Roland's world with "ours", and should not be missed for even casual fans of King or the series, as it makes up for the previous, lackluster fourth volume (Wizard and Glass) and leaves the reader quickly grabbing for the next volume.
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LibraryThing member edgeworth
There are a lot of things that are great about the Dark Tower series, and a lot of things that are not so great, and some things that are downright awful. One of the bad things is that King wrote it over a very long period of time, beginning in the 70’s and ending in 2004. It’s impossible for
Fortunately it’s not as bad as it could have been, although it has its fair share of bullshit. The basic premise for the novel is excellent: Roland and his gunslingers come across a town called Calla Bryn Sturgis, located at the very edge of the world, near the roiling darkness of “Thunderclap,” where evil things reside. The Calla is also peculiar in that nearly every human birth is that of twins. Every generation or so, masked riders known as Wolves emerge from Thunderclap, ride into town wielding futuristic weapons that make them nigh invincible, and abduct one child from every set of twins below puberty age. A few days later the children are sent back across the desert from Thunderclap on flatbeds behind an unmanned train, crying and sunburnt, and rendered mental retards by whatever the Wolves did to them – they have become what the folks of the Calla call “roont.” As they age, they grow to a huge size, disfigured and in pain, and generally die young.
The way King gradually introduces this concept is excellent, and while it leads to a fairly predictable story (the townsfolk recruit the gunslingers to protect them against an upcoming attack by the Wolves, and they obviously prevail) there’s enough interesting stuff along the way to make it enjoyable. As well as roont children and the mystery of the Wolves themselves, the robots of Roland’s world – always its most fascinating aspect – are represented in the Calla by Andy, a spindly metal robot whose North Central Positronics chest-plate reads “Design: Messenger (Many Other Functions).” Andy is a relic of more advanced times who acts as a sort of servant around the village:
He sang songs, passed on gossip and rumour from one end of the town to the other – a tireless walker was Andy the Messenger Robot – and seemed to enjoy the giving of horoscopes above all things, although there was general agreement that they meant little. He had one other function, however, and that meant much.
That other function is to warn the townsfolk a month in advance before each attack of the Wolves. He seems to be a cheerful and stupid thing to the townsfolk, and a convenient plot device for the author, but in actual fact he is much more than that, and is probably the novel’s strongest element – particularly his conversations and encounters with Eddie.
“Tell me about the Wolves,” Eddie said.
“What would you know, sai Eddie?”
“Where they come from, for a start. The place where they feel they can put their feet up and fart right out loud. Who they work for. Why they take the kids. And why the ones they take come back ruined.” Then another question struck him. Perhaps the most obvious. “Also, how do you know when they’re coming?”
Clicks from inside Andy. A lot of them this time; maybe a full minute’s worth…
“What’s your password, sai Eddie?”
“Huh?”
“Password. You have ten seconds. Nine… eight…seven…”
Eddie thought of spy movies he’d seen. “You mean I say something like “The roses are blooming in Cairo” and you say “Only in Mr. Wilson’s garden” and then I say-”
“Incorrect password, sai Eddie… two… one… zero.” From within Andy came a low thudding sound which Eddie found singularly unpleasant. It sounded like the blade of a sharp cleaver passing through meat and into the wood of the chopping block beneath.
“You may retry once,” said the cold voice. It bore a resemblance to the one that had asked Eddie if he would like his horoscope told, but that was the best you could call it – a resemblance. “Would you retry, Eddie of New York?”
Eddie thought fast. “No,” he said, “that’s all right. That info’s restricted, huh?”
Several clicks. Then: “Restricted: confined, kept within certain set limits, as information in a given document or q-disc; limited to those authorised to use that information; those authorised announce themselves by giving the password.” Another pause to think and then Andy said, “Yes, Eddie. That info’s restricted.”
Another enjoyable part of the book was the “Priest’s Tale” (deja vu, since I just read Hyperion by Dan Simmons), the story of Father Callahan, a character from King’s early novel Salem’s Lot (which I haven’t read) who has somehow found himself in Roland’s world. After a quick recap of his unfortunate experience with vampires in Salem’s Lot, Callahan regales the gunslingers with an extensive tale of what happened after he fled: his time killing vampires in New York, realising they were hunting him, discovering his ability to travel through alternate versions of America, being hunted by the “low men” and eventually the event that brought him to the Calla. It’s pretty good, and probably deserved its own novel rather than being shoehorned into Wolves of the Calla.
But now… the problems. What I love about the Dark Tower series is its fictional world: a post-apocalyptic land of ruined cities, ancient robots, machinery incongruously stamped with brands from our own world, demon circles and radioactive mutants and artificial intelligences run amok. It’s a great blend of science fiction and fantasy, and endlessly fascinating.
What Stephen King loves about the Dark Tower series is quite different: rambling cosmology, fate, destiny, signs and portents, visions and hallucinations, Susannah’s irritating split personalities, representations of chaos and order, good and evil, a whole bunch of stuff I couldn’t give a flying f*ck about and find very irritating to read. There’s a section early in the book where the characters (always certain that the mystical force of ka is driving their quest) are discussing the importance of the number 19 in all the omens they’ve been seeing. King then expects us to get excited about the eeeerie fact that many of the supporting characters have names with exactly nineteen letters! Coincidence? Fate? Or the fact that King himself is the one naming the goddamn characters?
There’s also a few annoying interdimensional expeditions to New York City, where a rose that sits in a vacant lot – somehow representing or containing the Dark Tower – is under threat from developers, and Roland’s posse needs to protect it through exciting real estate acquisition adventure. This rose has pissed me off ever since it was introduced in The Wastelands. Unfortunately, like most things about the Dark Tower series that piss me off, it’s apparently pivotal to the story and shows no sign of going away.
The last negative mark I want to jot down is the size of this book. King used to write very tight novels, like, say, The Gunslinger. These days they’re hundreds and hundreds of pages long, and the thing is, they don’t need to be. They’re not epic, just bloated. A good deal of Wolves of the Calla involves the characters sitting around testing weapons, talking to the townsfolk, and preparing for the attack itself (which is over in less than 50 pages). There’s a lot of redundancy, which Wizard and Glass suffered from quite a bit too. His writing style has gone from being sparse and concise, to dripping with detail and focusing on every character’s most inconsequential thoughts. It’s a real shame.
Overall, Wolves of the Calla is appropriately representative of the Dark Tower series itself: it does a lot of things wrong, but there’s enough intriguing stuff to keep you reading. Unfortunately, I got the feeling towards the end of this book that the next installment will involve a lot more mystical destiny bullshit and a lot less of Roland’s awesome world. Including but not limited to an uber-meta meeting between Roland and Stephen King himself, which, if it really comes to pass, may cause me actual physical pain.
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an iteration late in a series to be anything like an iteration early in a series, and it’s usually for the worse. Example: the first Die Hard movie and the fourth Die Hard movie, the first Indiana Jones movie and the fourth Indiana Jones movie, and so on. With Wolves of the Calla, I’m entering the stretch of the series that King wrote in a frenzy after a near-fatal car accident in 2001.Fortunately it’s not as bad as it could have been, although it has its fair share of bullshit. The basic premise for the novel is excellent: Roland and his gunslingers come across a town called Calla Bryn Sturgis, located at the very edge of the world, near the roiling darkness of “Thunderclap,” where evil things reside. The Calla is also peculiar in that nearly every human birth is that of twins. Every generation or so, masked riders known as Wolves emerge from Thunderclap, ride into town wielding futuristic weapons that make them nigh invincible, and abduct one child from every set of twins below puberty age. A few days later the children are sent back across the desert from Thunderclap on flatbeds behind an unmanned train, crying and sunburnt, and rendered mental retards by whatever the Wolves did to them – they have become what the folks of the Calla call “roont.” As they age, they grow to a huge size, disfigured and in pain, and generally die young.
The way King gradually introduces this concept is excellent, and while it leads to a fairly predictable story (the townsfolk recruit the gunslingers to protect them against an upcoming attack by the Wolves, and they obviously prevail) there’s enough interesting stuff along the way to make it enjoyable. As well as roont children and the mystery of the Wolves themselves, the robots of Roland’s world – always its most fascinating aspect – are represented in the Calla by Andy, a spindly metal robot whose North Central Positronics chest-plate reads “Design: Messenger (Many Other Functions).” Andy is a relic of more advanced times who acts as a sort of servant around the village:
He sang songs, passed on gossip and rumour from one end of the town to the other – a tireless walker was Andy the Messenger Robot – and seemed to enjoy the giving of horoscopes above all things, although there was general agreement that they meant little. He had one other function, however, and that meant much.
That other function is to warn the townsfolk a month in advance before each attack of the Wolves. He seems to be a cheerful and stupid thing to the townsfolk, and a convenient plot device for the author, but in actual fact he is much more than that, and is probably the novel’s strongest element – particularly his conversations and encounters with Eddie.
“Tell me about the Wolves,” Eddie said.
“What would you know, sai Eddie?”
“Where they come from, for a start. The place where they feel they can put their feet up and fart right out loud. Who they work for. Why they take the kids. And why the ones they take come back ruined.” Then another question struck him. Perhaps the most obvious. “Also, how do you know when they’re coming?”
Clicks from inside Andy. A lot of them this time; maybe a full minute’s worth…
“What’s your password, sai Eddie?”
“Huh?”
“Password. You have ten seconds. Nine… eight…seven…”
Eddie thought of spy movies he’d seen. “You mean I say something like “The roses are blooming in Cairo” and you say “Only in Mr. Wilson’s garden” and then I say-”
“Incorrect password, sai Eddie… two… one… zero.” From within Andy came a low thudding sound which Eddie found singularly unpleasant. It sounded like the blade of a sharp cleaver passing through meat and into the wood of the chopping block beneath.
“You may retry once,” said the cold voice. It bore a resemblance to the one that had asked Eddie if he would like his horoscope told, but that was the best you could call it – a resemblance. “Would you retry, Eddie of New York?”
Eddie thought fast. “No,” he said, “that’s all right. That info’s restricted, huh?”
Several clicks. Then: “Restricted: confined, kept within certain set limits, as information in a given document or q-disc; limited to those authorised to use that information; those authorised announce themselves by giving the password.” Another pause to think and then Andy said, “Yes, Eddie. That info’s restricted.”
Another enjoyable part of the book was the “Priest’s Tale” (deja vu, since I just read Hyperion by Dan Simmons), the story of Father Callahan, a character from King’s early novel Salem’s Lot (which I haven’t read) who has somehow found himself in Roland’s world. After a quick recap of his unfortunate experience with vampires in Salem’s Lot, Callahan regales the gunslingers with an extensive tale of what happened after he fled: his time killing vampires in New York, realising they were hunting him, discovering his ability to travel through alternate versions of America, being hunted by the “low men” and eventually the event that brought him to the Calla. It’s pretty good, and probably deserved its own novel rather than being shoehorned into Wolves of the Calla.
But now… the problems. What I love about the Dark Tower series is its fictional world: a post-apocalyptic land of ruined cities, ancient robots, machinery incongruously stamped with brands from our own world, demon circles and radioactive mutants and artificial intelligences run amok. It’s a great blend of science fiction and fantasy, and endlessly fascinating.
What Stephen King loves about the Dark Tower series is quite different: rambling cosmology, fate, destiny, signs and portents, visions and hallucinations, Susannah’s irritating split personalities, representations of chaos and order, good and evil, a whole bunch of stuff I couldn’t give a flying f*ck about and find very irritating to read. There’s a section early in the book where the characters (always certain that the mystical force of ka is driving their quest) are discussing the importance of the number 19 in all the omens they’ve been seeing. King then expects us to get excited about the eeeerie fact that many of the supporting characters have names with exactly nineteen letters! Coincidence? Fate? Or the fact that King himself is the one naming the goddamn characters?
There’s also a few annoying interdimensional expeditions to New York City, where a rose that sits in a vacant lot – somehow representing or containing the Dark Tower – is under threat from developers, and Roland’s posse needs to protect it through exciting real estate acquisition adventure. This rose has pissed me off ever since it was introduced in The Wastelands. Unfortunately, like most things about the Dark Tower series that piss me off, it’s apparently pivotal to the story and shows no sign of going away.
The last negative mark I want to jot down is the size of this book. King used to write very tight novels, like, say, The Gunslinger. These days they’re hundreds and hundreds of pages long, and the thing is, they don’t need to be. They’re not epic, just bloated. A good deal of Wolves of the Calla involves the characters sitting around testing weapons, talking to the townsfolk, and preparing for the attack itself (which is over in less than 50 pages). There’s a lot of redundancy, which Wizard and Glass suffered from quite a bit too. His writing style has gone from being sparse and concise, to dripping with detail and focusing on every character’s most inconsequential thoughts. It’s a real shame.
Overall, Wolves of the Calla is appropriately representative of the Dark Tower series itself: it does a lot of things wrong, but there’s enough intriguing stuff to keep you reading. Unfortunately, I got the feeling towards the end of this book that the next installment will involve a lot more mystical destiny bullshit and a lot less of Roland’s awesome world. Including but not limited to an uber-meta meeting between Roland and Stephen King himself, which, if it really comes to pass, may cause me actual physical pain.
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LibraryThing member nuffers1
Much better than Wizard and Glass, it's predecessor.
LibraryThing member ChristopherSwann
3.5 on re-read. The intentional and obvious withholding of information from the reader got annoying at times.
LibraryThing member sturlington
The fifth installment in the Dark Tower series is full of cross-references to other King works that I love, further unifying the Stephen King universe, which even in this one novel has an infinite number of connected worlds. It begins by bringing in a familiar character from our world: Father
There’s a lot going on in this long novel. We learn more of the rose first glimpsed by Jake in The Wastelands (Volume III) and find out what kind of danger it is in. There is news of the Beams and the Breakers, and even the Low Men make an appearance. There is the small matter of Susannah’s demon pregnancy. And there is a spaghetti Western-style plot in which Roland and the others have to save a town from marauding wolves who steal one-half of all the town’s twins (and the kids are mostly twins), only to return them retarded and doomed – “roont,” as the townsfolk of the Calla say.
The cross-references abound, and King even manages to gleefully introduce elements from Marvel comics, Star Wars and the Harry Potter series. But the climactic reference in thrillingly audacious, even for King. I won’t give it away; suffice it to say, you won’t be able to wait to start reading Part 6.
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Callahan of ‘Salem’s Lot, who after that fateful encounter with vampires began to walk the hidden roads of America, finally winding up in a rice-growing village in Roland’s world. There Roland and crew meet him and make him a part of their ka-tet. Father Callahan also has another piece of the Wizard’s Glass: the black eye of the Crimson King himself, which our heroes can use to get back to New York to do important things.There’s a lot going on in this long novel. We learn more of the rose first glimpsed by Jake in The Wastelands (Volume III) and find out what kind of danger it is in. There is news of the Beams and the Breakers, and even the Low Men make an appearance. There is the small matter of Susannah’s demon pregnancy. And there is a spaghetti Western-style plot in which Roland and the others have to save a town from marauding wolves who steal one-half of all the town’s twins (and the kids are mostly twins), only to return them retarded and doomed – “roont,” as the townsfolk of the Calla say.
The cross-references abound, and King even manages to gleefully introduce elements from Marvel comics, Star Wars and the Harry Potter series. But the climactic reference in thrillingly audacious, even for King. I won’t give it away; suffice it to say, you won’t be able to wait to start reading Part 6.
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LibraryThing member badgenome
I'm truly conflicted about what to make of Wolves of the Calla. There's a big drop off in quality from Wizard and Glass, but given that Wizard was a perfect culmination of the Tower series to this point, that's sort of hard to hold against it. The premise is certainly promising enough- a strange
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take on Seven Samurai (or maybe it's The Magnificent Seven? in which case, it's still a take on Seven Samurai!) in which our ka-tet faces off against a horde of baby-stealing wolfmen. However, things start to get really messy with the "todash" stuff; I understand it as a device for moving the larger story forward, but it definitely intrudes at times on the narrative of Wolves- which I found otherwise enjoyable, anticlimactic ending aside. As for the series as a whole: the Wizard of Oz reference at the end of Wizard and Glass left me feeling... odd. But as I was basking in the afterglow of an amazing story, I remained stupidly optimistic. In Wolves we're treated to a Harry Potter reference and the discovery of a copy of 'Salem's Lot, so there's no doubt- it's going to be baaaad. Show Less
LibraryThing member dragonfairy
It was great to see King to begin to really weave everything he has ever done together. To really bring his entire ability to work in the Calla. The pictures that imagination pulls and forges with King's words are intense and powerful.
LibraryThing member smurfwreck
I'm having a problem with this series of books in that they feel like they're leaving way too much left to say and there isn't enough room left to say it in. It's hard to review any one book in particular in the Dark Tower series beyond the first two because every book after The Drawing of the
One of the draws for reading the series to begin with was the allure of tying a bunch of King novels together through these books, and at the end of the day it does, though to what lengths I'm not sure are worth it.
In this volume we get re introduced to Father Callahan from Salem's Lot who has found his way into the ever-changing world of Roland Deschain. At first I was floored by this and couldn't wait to get some further info on the Salem's Lot world, but at the end of the day all we get is a lot more info on a small character that really doesn't reflect much on the SL book. This really isn't all that much of a bad thing except that I'm not so sure this aside in the Dark Tower series does much to help the plot to the Tower.
As far as the book on it's own outside of the tower series is concerned, I think this is the one recent volume that stands pretty well on it's own where the story has a pretty good beginning, middle and end, much like the Drawing of the Three and doesn't feel as rushed at either The Wastelands or Song of Susannah. I think that the characters all get just enough to do and all get to change enough to keep them dynamic and fun to read.
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Three feels like one book interrupted by circumstance and time. I couldn't imagine what it was like to read The Wastelands and have to wait for the end to the cliffhanger, and I can't believe King waited until Wizard in the Glass to tell the back-story on Roland, only to leave it half finished.One of the draws for reading the series to begin with was the allure of tying a bunch of King novels together through these books, and at the end of the day it does, though to what lengths I'm not sure are worth it.
In this volume we get re introduced to Father Callahan from Salem's Lot who has found his way into the ever-changing world of Roland Deschain. At first I was floored by this and couldn't wait to get some further info on the Salem's Lot world, but at the end of the day all we get is a lot more info on a small character that really doesn't reflect much on the SL book. This really isn't all that much of a bad thing except that I'm not so sure this aside in the Dark Tower series does much to help the plot to the Tower.
As far as the book on it's own outside of the tower series is concerned, I think this is the one recent volume that stands pretty well on it's own where the story has a pretty good beginning, middle and end, much like the Drawing of the Three and doesn't feel as rushed at either The Wastelands or Song of Susannah. I think that the characters all get just enough to do and all get to change enough to keep them dynamic and fun to read.
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LibraryThing member eduscapes
Book V of the Dark Tower series really has two stories. First is the ongoing quest for the Dark Tower. Second is the story of the people living in a small town called Calla. If you haven't read the other books, don't start here! You really need to read the books in order to follow this ongoing
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story. If you've been a long-time fan of Stephen King, you won't be disappointed. Show Less
LibraryThing member caerulius
So. Let me begin by saying- I waited SO MANY YEARS for this book. I got Wizard and Glass in 1997, I think? And this next installment didn't arrive on bookshelves until 2003!!! And it wasn't what the previous books had been.
First: the dialect that the denizens of Calla Bryn Sturges was just
First: the dialect that the denizens of Calla Bryn Sturges was just
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irritating to read. It was a trumped up downeast-Maine dialect, but so overdone that I nearly put the book down on a few occasions. And until the actual battle, I found it, frankly, rather dull. Notable exceptions are the appearance of Father Callahan (from 'Salem's Lot, and some of the pop-culture sneaks that weasel their way into the narrative of the battle. Show Less
LibraryThing member capetowncanada
I would put this fifth book as the third best in the series so far, the first two being better. This is a good story focusing on Roland and the gang helping a farming town, with some time travailing and parallel worlds (which they call going todash). My only complaint is I still don't get a real
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sense of moving any closer to the Dark Tower. Show Less
LibraryThing member placo75
The Gunslinger and his ka-tet continue along the path of the Beam on their quest for the Dark Tower. En route, the elders of a town called Calla Bryn Sturgis beseech them to help make a stand against the "Wolves" who come every so often and steal some of their children only to return them later as
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in a condition they call "roont"--basically mentally retarded and growing to strange sizes. One of the leaders of the town turns out to be Father Callahan, the Catholic priest from Stephen King's earlier novel, 'Salem's Lot, who vanished mysteriously from that book after a failed confrotation with the king vampire that had begun taking over the town of Jerusalem's Lot, Maine. Meanwhile, Susannah/Mia grows ever more pregnant with her "chap." Show Less
LibraryThing member skinglist
Father Callahan! 'Salem's Lot. Welcome back to the Dark Tower 5 years later.
LibraryThing member pauliharman
In places this felt a bit like a "Dark Tower Greatest Hits", in particular repeating themes and scenarios from "Drawing of the Three" and "Wizard and Glass". But on reflection perhaps that's just a feature of the books being set in a coherent, believable environment.
LibraryThing member paghababian
Book 5 of the Dark Tower series. Roland's ka-tet stumbles across the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis as they follow the path of the Beam. The Calla folken have just been warned that the Wolves will be approaching in a month - the Wolves who take one from every pair of twins (the majority of the kids)
After Wizard and Glass, which felt mighty slow to me this time around, Wolves of the Calla is fast-paced and exciting. Books 5, 6, and 7 were released within 18 months of each other, and the story moves through these 3 books with the same quickness.
The characters are all keeping secrets from each other, and watching them dance around the facts is fun... but it hurts a little, too. These people clearly love each other, so seeing them lie to the others (and themselves) can be hard to take.
Father Callahan, from Salem's Lot, plays a major role in this book (and the coming books), so it might be helpful to have read that before reading this book (but it's definitely not required).
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and take them off to the dark land of Thunderclap before returning them as barely a shell of their former being. The gunslingers step up to help, gaining aid in their own quest as well. After Wizard and Glass, which felt mighty slow to me this time around, Wolves of the Calla is fast-paced and exciting. Books 5, 6, and 7 were released within 18 months of each other, and the story moves through these 3 books with the same quickness.
The characters are all keeping secrets from each other, and watching them dance around the facts is fun... but it hurts a little, too. These people clearly love each other, so seeing them lie to the others (and themselves) can be hard to take.
Father Callahan, from Salem's Lot, plays a major role in this book (and the coming books), so it might be helpful to have read that before reading this book (but it's definitely not required).
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LibraryThing member Blazingice0608
Very well written, this is where the series REALLY begins to tie in with many of Kings other novels. Lots of world/time traveling in this novel and while the overall story didnt move very much, a lot of interesting things happened and the overall the series takes a new turn here. It did suffer from
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a few boring spots but other than was awesome Show Less
LibraryThing member kainlane
One of the great books in the Dark Tower series. It continues the adventure of Roland and company, expanding on their characters greatly. This is the beginning of seeing into the multiple realms of the tower, in particular with the introduction of Father Callahan and the mingling of Stephen King's
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previous work. The book is quite long and it is a whole lot of lead up to a really short climax, but then it is only the 5th of 7 books in the series. So this is still just lead up to the climax of the series as whole. But it is definitely a great read! Show Less
LibraryThing member francomega
I had caught up to King by the time this was published so I had to go out and buy the hardcover the day it came out. King's take on the classic Seven Samurai story. Really blew open the whole multiverse aspect of the series. My guess is that he finally figured it all out at this point.
LibraryThing member etimme
Excellent book with a lot of memorable scenes. Roland's dancing of the Commalla was really moving, and the introductions of the ka-tet to the village made me smile. I love the way that King creates the feeling of history for his Gunslingers that is deeply rooted in tradition, and seeing the
A friend recommended that I read Salem's Lot before starting Book 5, and I am glad that I did. I largely panned Salem's Lot because of how incomplete Father Callahan's story felt, but when viewed alongside Wolves of the Calla the author can be forgiven a bit. King does a great job with repetition and layers, bringing Eddie back to Jake's New York (and the beginning of his own New York) to learn more about the lot and about "The Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind".
And, of course, the action at the end is great. We see more strange bleeding from the fiction of our world to the reality of this midworld, something I hope they will explain in Book 6. The one thing I am not looking forward to is how the next book might be Susannah focused. She is my least favorite member of the ka-tet.
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parallels between Roland's youth and his old-but-young Gunslinger apprentices who are starting to open their eyes to the world.A friend recommended that I read Salem's Lot before starting Book 5, and I am glad that I did. I largely panned Salem's Lot because of how incomplete Father Callahan's story felt, but when viewed alongside Wolves of the Calla the author can be forgiven a bit. King does a great job with repetition and layers, bringing Eddie back to Jake's New York (and the beginning of his own New York) to learn more about the lot and about "The Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind".
And, of course, the action at the end is great. We see more strange bleeding from the fiction of our world to the reality of this midworld, something I hope they will explain in Book 6. The one thing I am not looking forward to is how the next book might be Susannah focused. She is my least favorite member of the ka-tet.
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LibraryThing member slarsoncollins
I'm not going to rate these separately as that doesn't make sense to me. I thought this was a wonderful series. I was horrified when he got hit by the car and I thought he may not be able to finish the story. The plot was incredible and the characters were like close friends of mine by the end. His
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imagery and imagination are an inspiration to those of us who strive to write for a living. His best work by far, IMHO. Show Less
LibraryThing member danconsiglio
The last good one of the series. You can tell that King doesn't drink anymore. Too bad, his writing got wimpy.
LibraryThing member Crowyhead
This series has me firmly in its grasp. This is one of the most complete-feeling novels in the series, I think, even though you really need to have read the books before it to understand what's going on. I think the fact that the ka-tet isn't travelling for the entire novel gives it a less
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picaresque feel. The only thing I was kind of disappointed with was the illustrations in this one -- I preferred the style of the pictures in The Drawing of the Three and Song of Susannah to the more pulpy feel here. I don't disagree that in some ways The Dark Tower is a very pulpy series, but I found the illustrations distracting and caught myself thinking things like, "Why does Eddie have long shaggy hair, but Jake and Roland have neatly trimmed hair?" "Why is Susannah naked? I don't remember her being naked in this bit..." You get the idea. Show Less
LibraryThing member cbilbo
I love this series. It took me a long time to get to it. With all the other books I had to read, I wanted to have a completed series in hand. With that I read the entire series in a month and a half.
This particular book took us into the mountains. With twists and turns, you encounter robots, more
I can't tell you how bad I wanted to see how this ends. Does he find the tower? If he does, what happens? I know, but your just going to have to keep on reading!
This particular book took us into the mountains. With twists and turns, you encounter robots, more
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traveling through doors, and my favorite Oy! I can't tell you how bad I wanted to see how this ends. Does he find the tower? If he does, what happens? I know, but your just going to have to keep on reading!
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LibraryThing member Bridgey
The fifth instalment of the Dark Tower series…..
The Katet come upon a town on the path of the beam, Calla Bryn Sturges, the town has a problem that once every generation it is invaded by the wolves (not real wolves) who take one child of every twin (something the town has an abundance of). The
The group decide they must help the town and Roland puts together a plan. Alongside this they have to deal with Susannah’s demonic pregnancy, the black 13 wizard’s glass and a new portal to New York where they must protect the rose at all costs.
Interestingly we are reintroduced to father Callaghan (first seen in Salem’s Lot), he has turned up in Roland’s world and become part of the intricate workings of Ka.
I really struggled at points with this book, on occasion I felt the plot was just too confusing with all the different worlds and timelines. But as always, King kept me engrossed in the plot enough to return.
I wish that I had reread Salem’s lot before starting this book, but it was nice to see a number of King’s creations make an appearance; it’s almost as if he’s tying up all his characters in this series.
I gave to book 4 stars, parts were worth 5 but at nearly 800 pages I felt it was all a bit too overwhelming. I’ve never been a huge fan of the whole time travelling/different dimension plot, but King does a decent job, and I have to admit I think he’s created his best ever character in Roland.
I think King Himself will be making an appearance in the next novel, I don’t know how I fell about that but hope it works out ok…..
The Katet come upon a town on the path of the beam, Calla Bryn Sturges, the town has a problem that once every generation it is invaded by the wolves (not real wolves) who take one child of every twin (something the town has an abundance of). The
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twin is returned a few weeks later ‘roont’, a term used by the locals to describe the mental condition of the child. They are imbeciles and grow to gigantic proportions, live in pain and die young.The group decide they must help the town and Roland puts together a plan. Alongside this they have to deal with Susannah’s demonic pregnancy, the black 13 wizard’s glass and a new portal to New York where they must protect the rose at all costs.
Interestingly we are reintroduced to father Callaghan (first seen in Salem’s Lot), he has turned up in Roland’s world and become part of the intricate workings of Ka.
I really struggled at points with this book, on occasion I felt the plot was just too confusing with all the different worlds and timelines. But as always, King kept me engrossed in the plot enough to return.
I wish that I had reread Salem’s lot before starting this book, but it was nice to see a number of King’s creations make an appearance; it’s almost as if he’s tying up all his characters in this series.
I gave to book 4 stars, parts were worth 5 but at nearly 800 pages I felt it was all a bit too overwhelming. I’ve never been a huge fan of the whole time travelling/different dimension plot, but King does a decent job, and I have to admit I think he’s created his best ever character in Roland.
I think King Himself will be making an appearance in the next novel, I don’t know how I fell about that but hope it works out ok…..
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Pages
736