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Title: Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower, Book 5) by Stephen King, Bernie Wrightson ISBN: 1-880418-56-8 Publisher: Donald M. Grant/Scribner Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (235 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: You're missing out if you aren't reading this series!
Comment: 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: 3
Summary: Sprawling is not the word for this book and series.
Comment: I have read all of Stephen King's other books, including the earlier volumes of the Dark Tower series. As much as I like King, the Dark Tower series -- particularly the last two -- could use some serious editing. The Wolves of Calla has three plot lines going. Of these one -- the confrontation with the wolves of the title -- is resolved in this long book. The other two are left hanging in midair at the conclusion. This is frustrating, even though King has stated he has written the remaining two books in the series in rough draft, and they are to be released in 2004.
It's interesting to contrast this book with King's excellent "On Writing." One would have to conclude that Wolves of Calla should be much shorter. Far too much of the story is dragged out at extreme length; in "On Writing," King advised that a second draft should always be 10% shorter than the first draft. If he followed this rule, then I would hate to see the first draft of Wolves of Calla. Indeed, the entire series has been written at great length.
It would be one thing if the book ended with a well-written confrontation with the Wolves. However, that confrontation is disposed of in a few pages, despite the hundreds of pages leading up to it. King really doesn't seem interested in it. At one point, Roland says that the shooting will be over in 5 minutes, and that seems accurate. King's real interest here seems to be setting up plots for the upcoming two books.
However, I am not saying that this book is a waste of time. Anyone interested in the series will have to read it. And there are sections that are well-written and engage the reader. I never had much of a desire to put the book down. When I did finish it, however, I did not take much from the book. And economy has never been one of King's virtues. He seems to enjoy cramming his novels with as many incidents as possible, even if they stray from the main plot line. I have often found these tangents, while stucturally awkward, one of the pleasures of reading King. Sometimes they work here, sometimes they don't.
Certainly King is stretching himself in the Dark Tower series. If this were the only thing he had ever written, I would expect he would have had difficulty in getting it published. This is not a criticism of the series; much of the problem would have been his original mixture of Western and Fantasy elements in the same book. Most publishers want fiction to fit neatly into genres, and King refuses to do that.
Anyhow, while this book is an improvement over its predecessor in the series, it hardly ranks with King's best. It's worth a read, if only to keep up with the series -- which will be an amazing length when completed. Let's hope he returns to form for volumes VI and VII.
Rating: 3
Summary: Gimmick Infringement!!!
Comment: 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.
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Title: Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, Book 4) by Stephen King, Dave McKean ISBN: 0670032573 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 23 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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Title: Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, Book 6) by Stephen King, Darrel Anderson ISBN: 1880418592 Publisher: Donald M. Grant/Scribner Pub. Date: 08 June, 2004 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) by Stephen King, Michael Whelan ISBN: 0670032549 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 23 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, Book 3) by Stephen King ISBN: 0670032565 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 23 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, Book 2) by Stephen King, Phil Hale ISBN: 0670032557 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 23 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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