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From Publishers Weekly
Roland of Gilead's quest to save all worlds from evil continues in this fifth installment of King's epic tale, which finds the gunslinger and his companions helping the farmers of Calla Bryn Sturgis fight against the terrifying "Wolves" who threaten to kidnap the Calla's children. Joining them is Father Callahan, who first appeared in King's second book, 'Salem's Lot (1975). Using a low, gruff voice that only Clint Eastwood could equal, Guidall aptly captures Roland's rough-edged character, but it's often difficult to distinguish between the tenors he employs for the book's many male characters. Andy the robot, however, is one character that listeners won't confuse with the others. Wise-guy gunslinger Eddie might compare Andy to Star Wars' C3PO, both in his "complacent, slightly prissy voice" and his lanky, mechanical appearance, but avid listeners will find that the tone Guidall adopts for Andy more closely resembles that of the beloved 1980s toy Speak & Spell. In the afterword, King thanks the narrator of the first four Dark Tower novels, Frank Muller, whose debilitating motorcycle accident in 2001 prevented him from finishing the series. "[A]udio insists you absorb everything," King notes, and in Muller's absence, Guidall does a fine job of bringing this epic tale to life.--udio insists you absorb everything," King notes, and in Muller's absence, Guidall does a fine job of bringing this epic tale to life.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
From Booklist
Wizard and Glass (1997), volume 4 of King's massive, postapocalyptic, chivalrized western, The Dark Tower, was rather a snooze, not for lack of action but because it was primarily a flashback that drew unmercifully on King's stash of horse-opera cliches. "'S'all very nice," one thought, "but let's move it, Steve!" Volume 5--this book--moves it, despite not getting Roland the Gunslinger much nearer the Dark Tower, taking another big backward glance, and continuing to mine an open pit of oater conceits. Roland's ka-tet--himself and three twentieth-century New Yorkers, all of them now fellow gunslingers--approach a ranching and farming community anticipating a recurrent pestilence. After 23 years, the Wolves are coming from the evil-darkened East to abduct one of every pair of prepubescent twins older than three. The children will be returned, but nearly witless and sterile, doomed to grow immensely and enormously painfully in their middle teens, serve (if not too stupid) as workhorses, and suddenly, painfully wither and die in their early thirties. An erstwhile priest in the community knows what Roland and company are, and he persuades a community to send a committee to ask for their help. Of course, once asked, the code of the gunslinger compels acceptance. Gonna be a humdinger of a fight! Fore and aft of the showdown, King stuffs the book with juice, like the big flashback, in which Pere Callahan reveals his past in . . . 'Salem's Lot. One of the greatest cavalcades in popular fiction is back on track. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
You're missing out if you aren't reading this series!,
By AMC "scifiali" (Atlanta, Ga) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (Hardcover)
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.
1.0 out of 5 stars
What a letdown!,
By
This review is from: The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (Paperback)
I finished this book just over an hour ago. The earlier entries drew me deeper and deeper into Roland's world. In this one, it seems like Stephen King lost nearly all creative function and started borrowing from the world's of others - and even his own earlier creations!Dr. Doom makes an appearance! If you like Star Wars, you'll find lightsabers aplenty here! Harry Potter fan? Give this one a go! But if you're a fan of the Dark Tower, this is NOT for you. This book divulges little to no information on the Path of the Beam, the Tower, the ka-tet. Instead of giving what's wanted, King instead draws a portrait of the town of Calla, and probably the most important resident: Father Callahan. This is a character from a previous work of his (Salem's Lot). Later on, Father Callahan will find the book and read it. That's right - Salem's Lot (the book) exists in this book as if it were something REAL, not a piece of fiction. The character's find it, read it, and draw some clues from it. Overall I have a very bitter aftertaste, and hope OH SO VERY MUCH that the series gets back on track in the next book - or the final one. This book does little for the Tower or the ka-tet, save for 30-40 pages. I wish this book could be OMITTED! What a letdown!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Long Live Roland,
By Jon Beckford (Boston) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (Paperback)
Stephen King is a master storyteller, a shaman of the written word(s). The way he has interwoven his lifes work to the greater story of the tower is awe-inspiring. Though I was disappointed with Wizard and Glass, Im glad hes back packing lead. I trudged through Wizard and Glass and moved quickly through Wolves of the Calla with a curious eye.I have to say this though. I miss the writing styles of books one through three. They were shorter and less edited, perhaps more stephen kingish. I found the later books to be heavily edited, which isnt necessarily a bad thing, and long in the tooth. They tend to lag and get bogged down in backstory, sidestory, and every-which-way-story. The narrative of book one moved quickly, pulling the reader through Rolands life like a child being pulled by its mother through an amusement park or the zoo, all these new and bizarre things rushing by in the blink of an eye. The later books read more like the child being forced to ride the merry-go-round while mommy talks to the nice zookeeper about something, or like the child being plopped down in front of the monkey cage while mommy talks on her cell phone for a couple of hours (talking to that long-haired hippie who worked the merry-go-round). In any case, Stephen King has obviously matured as a writer, so Ill just have to get used to it. Long gone are the early 80s. PS I swear I saw Roland at a Knicks game in 02.
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