Rating: 
Summary: King's staggering imagination on full display
Review: I am a huge King fan, and a big fan of the DARK TOWER books. Although the books tend to allow the worst of King's writing habits to come into full bloom, all the best of his habits are also allowed to thrive, and pretty much choke out the faults.WOLVES OF CALLA absolutely requires that you have read the other 4 books. You can't dive into this series without it. I suppose reading the four page summary at the beginning gives you the rudimentary plot, but what you miss is all feeling of attachment to the characters, all the EMOTION you have invested in the story. The book is long, and it is as lanquidly paced as the others. King isn't zipping through one plot twist after another. He is slowly building suspense and mystery, as he also slowly grows our committment to seeing these characters through to the end. The travelers are diverted to the village of Calla Bryn Sturgis, to help them out of their troubles with the Wolves...I'll say no more about what that trouble is. We think we're just being diverted from the main track of getting to the tower, but we slowly see that the travelers MUST go through the village to meet key people and learn key things about the two worlds (or are there more?). King devotees will love the references to past books, particularly the enormous importance of Salem's Lot. Also, the Low Men in Yellow Jackets (from Hearts in Atlantis) are featured heavily. In some ways, we are somewhat jarred from enjoying the book but counting the ways King keeps knitting it all together. That's a small problem. On the other hand, his ability to stich all his many worlds from his past many decades of writing into one quilt begins to bring a unity of vision to ALL his work that is admirable. It doesn't all add up (kinda like the conspiracy in X-Files never added up) but it's fun and adds a richness to the overall experience of reading King. The book brilliantly shows King's gift for creating character and mood. Several times throughout the novel, new characters sorta sit down and tell us their life stories. It's a way of stretching the novel...an occasional problem King has with some of his lesser works...books like CUJO which are really novellas he stretches into novels (with CUJO it still works great...with THE DARK HALF...it doesn't). But the thing about the Dark Tower books is this...we WANT the epic scale. It's almost like THE LORD OF THE RINGS books. The backstory and "filler" is what makes it rich and emersive. We don't feel skimped on. I can't wait for the rest of the series. If you haven't tried THE DARK TOWER before, now is the time. It's a towering achievement!
Rating: 
Summary: Still not shooting true...
Review: First the good news: yes, this book is better than the last one. Now the bad: it's still not as good as 'Drawing of the Three' or 'Wastelands'. Wolves of the Calla starts off good. You really think it's gonna get back to what you love about the Dark Tower. But, then it sort of falters a bit, and then kinda ends up in a ditch for awhile. It picks back up towards the end, but nowhere during the story did I feel that rush of excitement that I did when I was reading the first 3 books in the series. I'm really starting to pull back my expectations. By book 3 I would have told anybody this series was pure gold, but now even with a best case scenario (the next 2 books being AMAZING) it will always sag in the middle. Small blemishes on an otherwise wonderful series. Maybe I'm being too harsh. But, the first 3 books were so great. It's a shame. That's not to say that Wolves of the Calla isn't good. It is. But, it's not _great_, and that's disappointing. Overall, if you love the series you have to read this. Even if it was horrible you would have to. But, the story jumped the track with Blaine the Mono and, as of this book, hasn't managed to get back yet. Here's hoping the next two books put us back on the path of the beam. Ka willing.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Gunslinger & His Katet
Review: I thought this book was very good. A good suspenseful tale Along the Path of the Beam and well worth the wait. If I would've had reason to believe I would have to wait another 10-15 years before the next one, then I guess I would've wanted a story that came across as a little more important, as opposed to feeling like this was just a sidebar (despite all the things we discovered.) But since all the other books are done, it gave me the luxury of being able to enjoy this book on it's own merits without feeling frustrated about the series as a whole. Good Read! The only thing I didn't like was the incredibly, disappointingly BAD illustrations from the legendary Bernie Wrightson. What in the world happened, Bernie?! I agreed with another reviewer who said it was like he never even SAW a black woman before. Yikes!
Rating:
Summary: Time
Review: The Wolves of the Calla starts soon after Wizard and Glass leaves off, and immediately becomes an event to be charished. Effects from events in past Dark Tower books appear to wreak havoc upon Roland's ka-tet. And Susannah's "scizophrenia" breeds the character Mia who is a personality fixed on only one thing: motherhood. The town of Calla Bryn Sturgis is in needs the help of Roland and his ka-tet. Their children are kidnapped every generation, taken to Thunderclap (where the Dark Tower lies), and are returned "roont," or mentally defragmentated. The wolves follow a higher purpose; their goal, in serving the Crimson King, is to feed the psychic abilites of the "breakers" with the
mental juice (if you will) of these kidnapped children. The "breakers" are psychics enslaved to destroyed the Beams holding up the Dark Tower. The Wolves of the Calla is one component of a much greater whole, and for complete understanding should be read as such. Without at least a working knowledge of this greater whole, the novel's full meaning cannot be comprehended. The Dark Tower series includes more than these five Dark Tower books. To understand and enjoy this novel read these prerequisite volumes: The Dark Tower 1-4, The Little Sisters of Eluria (found in Everything's Eventual),'Salem's Lot, Low Men in Yellow Coats (a novella in Hearts in Atlantis), and Black House. As an aside, the time taken to write these books is incorporated into the framework of the series. I somehow doubt its a coincidence that the numbers 19 and 99 that are so important to the Dark Tower 5 put together equal 1999-the year King was hit by the van that made him realize time of was of the essence, the Dark Tower needed to be finished.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite dissapointing
Review: Stephen King is my favourite author and I have read most of his books and enjoyed almost all of them, my favourite is the dark tower series especially Wizard and Glass. I wonder if the reason I enjoyed Wizard and Glass so much was because it is not really about the ka-tet but about Roland who is by far the most interesting character. A problem I have had with the last three dark tower books is that I find Suzzanna and Eddie esentially unlikeable. It is hard to take them seriously as gunslingers. It is also hard to root for characters you don't like. So this problem continued with Wolves of the Calla - eddie and suzzannah are no more likeable in this book than they were in the others. Wolves fo the Calla take us to a small town that is besieged every 20 or so year by mysterious creatures that abduct the towns children and send them back permantly damaged. The ka-tet is asked to help save the children from this happening again. It introduces what will apparantly be a key character Pere Callahan who featured in 'Salems Lot. I have enjoyed the references to Kings other books but feel that Callahans tale is kind of dull and makes the story line messy. At times I felt quite frustrated with this book - it sometimes felt like it was written by someone else. I also found the references to the number 19 a bit ridiculous. To be honest I had to force myself to read this and it took me several weeks with whole days going by when i did not pick it up at all, unlike the first four books which I read (all of them) in less then 2 weeks and could not put them down. So on the whole very disappointing but the last 100 pages or so were more interesting and by the time I had finished I had reaserted my desire to complete the series. THe last 100 pages picked up the pace and of course there is the obligatory cliffhanger with lots of questions still to be answered and the mystery still there. So yes I do recomend reading this book but I am grateful I did not pay $50 for it(as I nearly did) but got it out of the library instead.
Rating:
Summary: One of the better Dark Tower novels....
Review: Finally, after 5 years waiting for the next Dark Tower novel, it is here! We leave off with Roland and his Ka-tet getting closer to the Dark Tower. Now we then run into them again and now something is going on....Susannah has another personality; her name is Mia Daughter of None and now Roland expects the worst; (...) . So now, they run into a town called Calla Burynes and we meet again Father Callahan (the runaway Preist from Salems' Lot) and the towns folk. They then tell Roland that Wolves to the town every 25 years to take their children. So now the ka-tet get ready to fight the wolves and stop them taking their kids once and for all. Now Father Callahan tells his tale of getting out of Salems' Lot and coming to New York City. There he see's vampires there, and the Low Men wanting to get him (To see who the Low men are, read Hearts In Atlantis). So now we then come back to Calvin Tower; a book store owner who Jake brought a riddle book back in Dark Tower 3: The Wastelands. He is now in danger, and he has connections to the Tower, and he is being harrased about this empty lot where the rose lay's. So now the rose is in danger of being destroyed so now they have to get Calvin Tower out of New York City and somewhere safe away from men who want to convince Calvin to sell the lot. So now, we then come back to the ka-tet and now as the time gets closer to the Wolves, Jake then discovers a secret. One of the town's men and Andy; a robot the kids like to play with is involved with the Wolves taking their children. Then Eddie kills Andy and so now the time of the Wolves come and they kill the Wolves with plates and with the ka-tet's weapons.
Now when Susannah disappears, it is then that the demon-child is close to being born, and now he is taking control of her with Mia Daughter of None. If you want to understand the Dark Tower, dont start with this novel, go back to Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger and work your way through. If you start here, you wont understand what the Dark Tower is about, and about Roland and how the ka-tet came to be. Now only a short little while until Dark Tower 6: Song Of Susannah. Oh I cannot wait.
Rating:
Summary: You're missing out if you aren't reading this series!
Review: Stephen King's fans who don't read the Dark Tower series are really missing out. The "Wolves of Calla" is an impressive, well-written, story that raises questions King has been giving us in other works and ties in one of his very first stories in a unique way. The suspense and drama of the books are fantastic, but I think it's the characters that really set this series apart. In "Wolves of the Calla", each member of the ka-tet has agonizing personal choices to make and their decisions, sometimes flawed, sometimes heroic, make this series something beyond classification. This isn't a drawn-out epic fantasy or a gimmicky tie in of other novels. Like "Wizard and the Glass" this novel is memorable both in itself and in what is does for the series storyline. Jake is growing up. The Gunslinger is growing a heart (has been for some time). He's also losing some of his physical abilities, but he's a much more interesting character than when he started out. Susannah's latest personality would defy belief if written by any other writer, but Stephen King handles her masterfully. And Eddie the former junkie is now the one that's desperate to hold the group together. The battle to project a town's children against seemingly unstoppable "wolves" is just one part of the story. The stakes are raised at the conclusion of this installment by a new character with his own stunning background added to mix and Stephen King tantalizes us with the first real glimpse of how this serious might conclude. I hate the spoilers, so that's all I'll say. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best series ever!
Review: The Dark Tower along with Harry Potter are probably the best series I have ever read (I don't count Lord of the Rings since it wasn't published as a series). Roland and his ka-tet are moving closer and closer to the Tower and in their way they reach Calla where the population has been harassed for a long time by the Wolves. The Wolves come every 25 years or so to take away half of the Calla children. Of course, the gunslinger and his group offer help. I have read some reviews claiming that you can enjoy this book by itself without any need to be a King's fan. While I agree that the book is enjoyable by itself, I also think that you need to read the previous books first if you want to fully understand the story and the complex relationships between the characters and the different worlds. It also helps if you have read other Stephen King books, since there are connections to them as well (clear ones with Salem's Lot and Hearts in Atlantis). I started reading this series about ten years ago and when the last book comes out by the end of 2005 I will probably read the whole series over again. I know that there are some fine points in the plot I am missing by not remembering the starting books all that well. My recommendation is...READ THE WHOLE SERIES! You will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Gimmick Infringement!!!
Review: The Rock would say this was gimmick infringement:
Doctor Doom with Light Sabers and Snitches....?
I used to admire King's originality. This book re-treads alot of old stuff. Not sure I liked that.
What is it with authors writing 7-book series like Dark Tower and Harry Potter, having to make each book substantially longer than the last? This book could have been 200 pages shorter.
Rating: 
Summary: Yet Another Miserable Failure in this Drowning Series
Review: Why do I get the feeling that you people will give a positive review to anything that King writes, no matter how painful it is to read. One reviewer hit it right on the head and, what a surprise(!), his review wasn't helpful to any of you. The sassy, street-wise Susannah is a joke of a character. I can say the same for the whiney, exceedingly tedious Eddie. Even Roland is starting to act like these two, with the corny one-liners over and over again. The language used here by the group and the people of Calla Bryn Sturgis is borderline verbicide. Couldn't King think of a dialect a little less annoying? What happened to the morbid, lonesome GUNSLINGER in the first part of the series? These people are supposed to be killers, not a party posse, for crying out loud. People, stop being clones and give this book an honest review. It stinks, almost as bad as "Wizard and Glass", and you know it.
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