The Dark Tower V: The Wolves of the Calla (5) (The Dark Tower, Book 5) Mass Market Paperback – February 1, 2006

I'm reading the Dark Tower series and it's so great. I like this one especially, it can be pretty trig, aye, big big.

This book is a masterpiece in so many ways. It is one of Steven King's best books, and by far the best book of the first 5 books in this series. This book has everything one could want in a book, time-travel, time & space dilation, evil "wolves" who prey on twins-destroying the brain of 1, good guys who come to the aid of the children, a talking robot in a primitive land, split-personalities, a traitor, as always a range of different characters, a woman-pregnant with a demon child, star-crossed lovers, a quest to save all worlds, and a big cliff-hanger leading into book 6. Other than the epilogue, I can't imagine anything I would have changed in this book to make it better.The book starts with the gunslinger & his party of 3 nearing the end of their journey to "Thunderclap", where they believe the Dark Tower and the future of all worlds lie. They are sought out by a party from a nearby town Calla Bryn Sturgis who seek their aid in protecting their children. Calla Bryn Sturgis is a subsistance level farming community, other than a walking/talking giant robot who will at times aid them in their physical work or in babysitting their children, and who warns them when the "wolves" are coming. For unknown reasons, almost all births in Calla Bryn Sturgis are of twins, and every few generations the town will be raided by unknown creatures wearing wolf masks who will kidnap one of every set of twins. The twins are then returned by train a few weeks later, but are severely brain-damaged. Efforts to hide the twins or fight the "wolves" in the past have been futile. Roland and group agree to help them. They also meet up with Father Callahan, a main character from another Steven King novel, 'Salem's Lot. We learn the history here, what happened to Father Callahan between the end of the book in Salem's Lot, and to when he ended up in Calla Bryn Sturgis. Father Callahan also has a present for them, Black 13 from the Wizard's Rainbow, which Roland believes can enable them to time/parallel world travel. Which will be definitely needed, because Roland and party have learned that the rose from previous books, located in NY is in great danger, none other then by Eddie's old drug boss, Ballazar. Roland also learns that Susannah is pregnant, and by all indications, the baby is from her encounter with the demon in Book 3, and not from Eddie. Unfortunately, nobody knows how long demon pregnancies last, so in addition to the intense work of figuring how to solve their 2 simultaneous problems of protecting the rose and the twins of Calla Bryn Sturgis, the group must also worry that Susannah will go into labor at an inopportune time. The storylines are thoughtfully interwoven, the ending unpredictable. The book was very hard to put down, as the story was so compelling.Then, the epilogue. It's not that the epilogue was bad, it wasn't. But the epilogue was a set-up for book 6, and I fear from the tone of the epilogue, that Book 6 may be crossing into "jump the shark" territory. Still King very seldom disappoints, so I have hope that my initial thoughts on the epilogue are wrong, and Book 6 will turn out to be every bit as entrancing as Book 5.

"The saga of "Roland Deschain, Gunslinger of the line of Eld, and his ''ka-tet,'' (those whom destiny hath joined), continues in "Wolves of the Calla." Susannah Dean, formerly the duo-personality Odetta Susannah Holmes and Detta Walker, Eddie Dean, previously a drug addict and mule in New York City, Jake Chambers, a boy from Manhattan who died twice in Book #1, and was subsequently and symbolically reborn in Mid-World, and Oy, their talking billy-bumbler, together walk the path of the Beam. They search for the Tower, that magical edifice which holds together time and all universes. Their quest is to prevent the destruction of the Tower, and the unthinkable consequences, by the fearsome Crimson King and his evil forces.On the borderlands of Mid-World lies the remote village of Calla Bryn Sturgis. Almost all of the children born here are twins. Once every generation a large group of raiders, seemingly indestructible wolf-like creatures called The Wolves of Thunderclap, descend upon Calla and take one from each set of twins who fall within a certain age group. When the abducted children are returned, they are terribly changed, all severely retarded with reduced life-spans. The wolves are due to raid in just 30 days. A few of the town's people, who want to fight and defend their offspring, learn of the presence of the Gunslinger ka-tet in a nearby forest. They ride to meet the group of four, plus Oy, to ask for assistance. The Gunslingers' acquiescence represents a temporary divergence from their path and their trust in Ka (destiny).Meanwhile Susannah has a "chap" growing in her womb and Eddie is not the father. Her malady of old also returns, which seriously threatens to destroy the ka-tet when it is at its most vulnerable. Back in 1977, NYC, a single rose grows in a vacant lot on Second Avenue and Forty-Sixth Street. This is not just any flower, but the manifestation of the Tower on Earth. The same forces which seek to destroy the Tower are relentlessly trying to kill the Rose, and must be deterred at all cost. There is a magic portal, a Door in a cave near Calla, which enables Gunslingers to travel back and forth between New York, New England and Mid-World. Increasingly chaos and darkness are spreading to Earth, and elements from Earth's culture are showing up on the Tower side of the Door, ominously foretelling of future events.My only problem with "Wolves of the Calla" is the introduction of defrocked priest Donald Callahan, and his overly long, repetitious story, directly out of author King's novel, "Salem's Lot." Now I read that book years ago, when it was first published, and loved it. However, I can barely remember the plot. A large part of this novel involves Father Callahan and his past. I have invested lots of time and energy enthusiastically following the adventures of Roland and his merry group of Gunslingers through thousands of pages of prose. If I had been forewarned that a reread of "Salem's Lot" would assist me in appreciating "Wolves of the Calla, I would have done so, without hesitation. I am, if nothing else, a committed Dark Tower follower. But no one advised me, alas. And I do feel I missed-out on a portion of the story. I was, frankly, bored at times. I believe that Mr. King owes more to his loyal readers than to go off on a long self-indulgent walk down memory lane with a character, and plot, created many years ago. Other than this, I loved the book and believe it is a worthy continuation of one of my all time favorite epic sagas.Once again, the narrative is as rich as ever in its description of characters, cityscapes, landscapes and creatures. The changing relationships between the foursome, their growth as individuals and as a group, is really worth noting. Although not as adventure-packed, nor as suspenseful, as the first four novels, the book moves along at a good clip, except for most of the Father Callahan episodes. The full-color illustrations by comic book artist Bernie Wrightson are outstanding.At this point, I don't care how King ends his epic. I just know that he has taken me, so far, on a glorious 2000 page ride, (approximately), and I have loved almost every minute of it. Nothing that occurs in future books can spoil what I have already read. Highest recommendations!!JANA

I will say, the 4th book, Wizard and Glass, left me bored. This book refuled my fire; this is exactly what I needed from this series. It confirmed suspicions I've had since book three, and I truly cannot wait to read the next book. If book 4 threw you off the series, read this one.

If you like scientific, these are the best

Wolves of the Calla seems to be where fans of the Dark Tower series either jump in with both feet or abandon ship. There is so much glorious - and often unpredictable - stuff going on here that it became an instant favorite. From a frog-eating Susannah, to a robot that's the anti-C3PO, to the return of a certain disgraced priest from one of King's earliest novels, to friggin' Harry Potter sneetches - you read that correctly - this is an absolute blast.

What an excellent modern retelling of an old west type story. I really enjoyed the intricacies of the plot with the modern day items thrown in. It was a grand adventure but a bit confusing at times.

The Wastelands and Wizard and Glass were among my least favorite of the Dark Tower books...The Wastelands is a good, but fairly generic story that doesn't really go anywhere, while Wizard and Glass starts off with a bang...and then spends much of its runtime telling a story about Roland's youth which felt like it would have been better off as a standalone book since it's mostly background information on Roland.Wolves of the Calla is everything the last 2 novels were not, they introduced new concepts and characters, moved the plot forward, expanded the world...and most important sets up the end-game for the Ka-Tet. There's everything you could want here, action, tension, mystery, and something for each member of the Ka-Tet to do and show why they're worthy of being on-par with Roland. The only thing that's a little off is how quickly the Ka-Tet go from being apprentices to being exceptional at combat. Between the Wastelands and Wolves there's maybe a couple of months which goes by...but the difference between how they perform in the two novels is night and day...like they somehow absorbed skills and competence from their journey. Which that may have been a consequence of being part of Rolland's story in the previous novel, as if they didn't just hear the events, but experienced them though the effects of the Tinny gaining the skills and experience of the previous Ka-Tet by osmosis. Whatever they were before Topeka, they're not to be underestimated by this point in the story...that it's hard to imagine the Tick-Tock man being able to take liberties with the Ka-Tet as they are...which was maybe a month previously in story terms. But that's a minor inconvenience considering how solid and entertaining the plot is.This is a breath of fresh-air for the series, and revitalizes it. I absolutely loved it, and set up a momentum that lasts through the final novels of the series.

Excelente saga

It is another fantastic read from King's stable and especially good since this was the fifth instalment of the much-loved Dark Tower series. This was the perfect opposite of the too-slow 4.5 part that I previously read as this one not only continued King's magic further but almost kept me engaged to its total length of 770+ pages. The build-up was so strong that I couldn't control the last three days of my reading and was hooked over the weekend to finish it ASAP to know the truth behind the wolves. Now I've got to pick up the sixth part at the earliest as the story has almost reached the finale when Roland the gunslinger’s team is about to reach the Dark Tower to uncover the truth. I am waiting to pick it up but after a short break from an in-between book from Steinbeck which has come my way. What makes it even more beautiful and good to read from its earlier counterparts is the connection with not only Sergio Leone for Good, Bad & Ugly but also a terrific connection with the Harry Potter universe and Star Wars depiction. King has left no stone unturned for his readers to keep rocking on their reading chairs with those amazing connections, you've got to read the book to know more about that.Oh! before I forget especially for King fans, he might make a special appearance in his book in the upcoming sixth part, the way things have gone in this one I won't be surprised to see him in it.

Great book thoroughly enjoyed, but!It ends here, wont be reading the next two the plot was lost

Todo correcto.