Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower, #5) in Beyond Reality

Jul 14, 2009 seak rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own-to-read, on-deck, 2016, stephen-king

I didn't really realize until I'd picked up this book that I was kind of in a reading funk for a bit. Either that, or this book is just that good. Either way, I had a new life of reading when I picked up Wolves of the Calla. I was sucked right back into the path of the Dark Tower, right along one of the 6 beams. And it's not just sucked in, but I was able to pick back up after a year or two with only my rusty memory of the previous 5 (counting Wind through the Keyhole) books.

Wolves is just what I didn't really realize until I'd picked up this book that I was kind of in a reading funk for a bit. Either that, or this book is just that good. Either way, I had a new life of reading when I picked up Wolves of the Calla. I was sucked right back into the path of the Dark Tower, right along one of the 6 beams. And it's not just sucked in, but I was able to pick back up after a year or two with only my rusty memory of the previous 5 (counting Wind through the Keyhole) books.

Wolves is just what I needed and as much as it moves the plot forward, there's plenty more "stories" to be told. It's not quite as much of a stall as in that last book, Wizard and Glass, but it's quite lengthy. But yet again, as in W&G, I loved every minute of it. Back stories have consistently been my favorite parts and King has a gift for backstory and every character has one, that's why they're so rich and why you care so much when they get ripped away from you. In Wolves I was pretty into both the past and the present, you could count them equal.

I'd heard things about this book, that's it's sub-par compared to the previous books, but I didn't find that to be the case. I had a great time and only wanted more. Some commentary on the ending: (view spoiler)

I can't leave this review without pointing out the dialect. I think that's one of the greatest parts of this book. I wanted to use it with everyone around me, it sets such a great ambiance about the area and brings you right into it, yer bugger!

Well played sai King, I can't wait for more. I'd forgotten the face of my father by waiting so long to reenter the path. Thankee sai for this reminder.

4.5 out of 5 Stars (Just under W&G and TW) ...more

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Aug 17, 2008 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, award-nominee-bram-stoker, multiple-award-nominee, 2000-2005, ebooks, epic, 6-star-books, award-nominee-locus, quests

6.0 stars. In a long career which includes more great books and best sellers than I can count, "The Dark Tower" series is Stephen King's masterpiece. Even if you don't like Stephen King, you will love this series as it is one of the best Fantasy series ever written. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!

Nominee: Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel (2003)
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2003) ...more

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Aug 28, 2017 Tom Britz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Dark Tower is being attacked on multiple fronts as our ka-tet moves along the path of the beam. Roland and his band of gunslingers have come across a small settlement, Calla Bryn Sturgis, in need of their "special talents" as the town is attacked by "wolves" from the badlands once every generation and steals half of the children. As this story moves along the word coincidences takes on new meaning. This novel seems to be a gathering place for characters from most of Stephen King's writings, ...more

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Dec 09, 2007 Staci rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasyread

This is the fifth book in King's Dark Tower series. I'm reading an ebook version on my comoputer at work when I have a few free minutes in between doing my work, so it's taking me a very long time to finish this. I started in April & it's now December. I'm about half finished. I read the first four books in this series over seven years ago. My reading habits have changed since then. I used to devour Stephen King's books, the longer the better, but now I haven't really been intersted in reading K ...more

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Feb 15, 2020 Tani rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, male-author, epic-fantasy, 2020-novels, sff-2020, sff-completion-2020

It's so nice to be back at the main series, rather than wandering off on a million different tangents. Note to self: Focus more!

I liked how his was actually pretty focused, despite the length. We get some digressions, but for the most part, things are focused on the Wolves and the Rose. I've also become quite fond of the ka-tet by this point, so it was very nice to see them again. I did feel like the book dragged a bit toward the end, but not enough to be a huge detractor. Looking forward to th ...more

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Sep 18, 2009 Frank Taranto rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Excellent continuation of Roland's Kat-tet's tale of trying to reach the Dark Tower. I love the way the Kat-tet changes the way they speak the longer they are in the Calla. Just another example of King making his characters very life-like; one of his strongest points as a writer.

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