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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
I feel like this may be the weakest volume in the Dark Tower sequence, but then the wait for this one was so long that it's hard to imagine how it wouldn't be disappointing. It's an odd episode in a sequence of many odd episodes. I'll have to read it again to be able to exactly explain why.
I have wrestled with this series since book two. Book one was intriguing and made me want to read more. From there on, I was torn between love and utter dislike, but I still wanted to know where the story would take me. Book five finally threw me off. I couldn't finish it and won't pick it up again. The story drags and drags and all the 'do ya fine' and 'say thank ya' REALLY annoyed me. I wanted to love The Dark Tower series, but I'm not interested in Roland or his ka-tet anymore. Sad, but true (for me).
Wolves of the Calla is a weird one. While it’s the first time I’ve cared about the Dark Tower present-day story since Drawing of the Three, the majority of the book amounts to little more than a side quest. At least we got Callahan out of it, who is a legitimately fascinating character. And luckily the todash segments help keep the fantasy kookiness grounded, overall making this just a bit more engaging than most of the entries so far.
3 out of 5
Bright-red Pennywise Clown Noses
3 out of 5
Bright-red Pennywise Clown Noses
Spoilers for whole series---
I find the Dark Tower series very uneven. Sometimes the prose is surprisingly good, sometimes it's just no....no. I feel like, if only King would have kept to Rolands fantasy world, these books would be somewhat good fantasy, but when he has to write in characters from his other books in sometimes strained ways (according to me), the story drops alot. I also cringe when they have to travel to New York all the friggin time, whats up with that? But the worst was when King wrote himself into the story, that was just laughable. As I said if he only would have kept himself to Rolands world, I would have appreciated this story alot more!
I find the Dark Tower series very uneven. Sometimes the prose is surprisingly good, sometimes it's just no....no. I feel like, if only King would have kept to Rolands fantasy world, these books would be somewhat good fantasy, but when he has to write in characters from his other books in sometimes strained ways (according to me), the story drops alot. I also cringe when they have to travel to New York all the friggin time, whats up with that? But the worst was when King wrote himself into the story, that was just laughable. As I said if he only would have kept himself to Rolands world, I would have appreciated this story alot more!
Man this was tough. First 70% was a slough of palaver and boredom. Lots of info that I hope comes into play later of course.
This shit has an after credits scene that has more impact than the entire first half of the book and that drives me nuts.
This shit has an after credits scene that has more impact than the entire first half of the book and that drives me nuts.
a much easier 3 day read with the milder narrator
“And as they walked, that sense of rightness grew. A feeling that all his hard decisions, al the pain and loss and spilled blood, had not been for nothing. after all. There was a reason. There was a purpose. There was life and love. He heard it all in the song of the rose, and he too began to cry. Mostly with relief. Getting here had been a hard journey. Many had died. Yet here they lived; here they sang with the rose. His life had not all been a dry dream after all.”
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
"The sickness was coming now. The feeling of uselessness. The sense that he would fight this battle or battles like it over and over for eternity, losing a finger to the lobstrosities here, perhaps an eye to a clever old witch there, and after each battle he would sense the Dark Tower a little farther away instead of a little closer. And all the time the dry twist would work its way in toward his heart."
This has easily been my favorite of the Dark Tower series so far. Though it was almost a month from start to finish, I read half or more just over the last 3 or 4 days. After being slightly let down by Wizard and Glass in September, I took a several month break reading a few other books, but now I'm back in full Tower mode. I'm glad I took the break, it really got me itching to be back with Roland and his ka-tet.
This novel finally feels like we're getting somewhere haha. A TON of plot lines that were set up as far back as books 2 and 3 are coming back and appearing essential to the story, especially the empty lot in Manhattan with the rose from The Waste Lands. I absolutely loved the concept of "todash," that as Roland and company neared Black Thirteen it sent them into a pseudo-dream world version of Manhattan. And then watching them learn to use the ball and Doorway Cave were some of my favorite parts of the novel. When they took the ball out of Callahan's church and up to the cave for the first time I was actually so tense. Of those little missions back to earth, my favorite by far was Eddie's defense of Calvin Tower. He got to stand up to some old enemies from book 2, but as a full fledged gunslinger. It was badass and I had a huge smile on my face the whole time.
The others have come into their own as well. Jake spends some time investigating who of the Calla could be the traitor, and we see that he's been well trained with guns as well. I enjoyed the lore of the Lady Oriza and the throwing plates that Susannah learns to wield. Also the subplot of the demon baby or "chap" growing in her belly from book 3 is really intriguing. Quite the cliffhanger with her escaping with Black Thirteen at the end!
In spite of this being my favorite installment thus far, I can't give it a full 5 stars just because I think Callahan's backstory was waayy long winded. Really important stuff went on as far as him being able to see different types of vampires in New York, seeing him travel through variations of America being chased by the "low men," and his short interaction with Walter and glimpse into events of the first novel were awesome. But I think that story could have been told in half the pages that King ended up spending on it. He loves following threads and I think that's one of his few weaknesses as a writer. He wants to give space to it all and probably needs to kill his darlings a tad more.
That's my only gripe though. I didn't feel like their stop in the Calla was a "sidequest" or a waste of time because they spent a lot of time using Black Thirteen and learning more about how to get to the Tower. I thought Calla Bryn Aturgis was really immersive with the people's dialect. And there was just something about seeing them all accepted as full fledged gunslingers by the town. I badly want to get to the Tower, but I'd also happily read some novellas of Roland and his ka-tet going on missions along the way, saving people along the Path of the Beam. Also, the ending with Father Callahan discovering the novel 'Salem's Lot was so surprising and fun. With deliberate references to Marvel, Star Wars, and Harry Potter I wasn't surprised about King insterting himself too, but it was interesting. The book ends with Callahan questioning reality, and I'm pumped to see where that goes.
Really excited to see where these last two books take us. I've heard that pretty much no one likes Song of Susannah, so I'm gonna read a couple other things before I read that, but I'll be back soon.
This has easily been my favorite of the Dark Tower series so far. Though it was almost a month from start to finish, I read half or more just over the last 3 or 4 days. After being slightly let down by Wizard and Glass in September, I took a several month break reading a few other books, but now I'm back in full Tower mode. I'm glad I took the break, it really got me itching to be back with Roland and his ka-tet.
This novel finally feels like we're getting somewhere haha. A TON of plot lines that were set up as far back as books 2 and 3 are coming back and appearing essential to the story, especially the empty lot in Manhattan with the rose from The Waste Lands. I absolutely loved the concept of "todash," that as Roland and company neared Black Thirteen it sent them into a pseudo-dream world version of Manhattan. And then watching them learn to use the ball and Doorway Cave were some of my favorite parts of the novel. When they took the ball out of Callahan's church and up to the cave for the first time I was actually so tense. Of those little missions back to earth, my favorite by far was Eddie's defense of Calvin Tower. He got to stand up to some old enemies from book 2, but as a full fledged gunslinger. It was badass and I had a huge smile on my face the whole time.
The others have come into their own as well. Jake spends some time investigating who of the Calla could be the traitor, and we see that he's been well trained with guns as well. I enjoyed the lore of the Lady Oriza and the throwing plates that Susannah learns to wield. Also the subplot of the demon baby or "chap" growing in her belly from book 3 is really intriguing. Quite the cliffhanger with her escaping with Black Thirteen at the end!
In spite of this being my favorite installment thus far, I can't give it a full 5 stars just because I think Callahan's backstory was waayy long winded. Really important stuff went on as far as him being able to see different types of vampires in New York, seeing him travel through variations of America being chased by the "low men," and his short interaction with Walter and glimpse into events of the first novel were awesome. But I think that story could have been told in half the pages that King ended up spending on it. He loves following threads and I think that's one of his few weaknesses as a writer. He wants to give space to it all and probably needs to kill his darlings a tad more.
That's my only gripe though. I didn't feel like their stop in the Calla was a "sidequest" or a waste of time because they spent a lot of time using Black Thirteen and learning more about how to get to the Tower. I thought Calla Bryn Aturgis was really immersive with the people's dialect. And there was just something about seeing them all accepted as full fledged gunslingers by the town. I badly want to get to the Tower, but I'd also happily read some novellas of Roland and his ka-tet going on missions along the way, saving people along the Path of the Beam. Also, the ending with Father Callahan discovering the novel 'Salem's Lot was so surprising and fun. With deliberate references to Marvel, Star Wars, and Harry Potter I wasn't surprised about King insterting himself too, but it was interesting. The book ends with Callahan questioning reality, and I'm pumped to see where that goes.
Really excited to see where these last two books take us. I've heard that pretty much no one likes Song of Susannah, so I'm gonna read a couple other things before I read that, but I'll be back soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Suicide
The story continues in all its weird and mashed-up glory. Is it a Western? Fantasy? Science Fiction? Horror?
Yes. It is.
Yes. It is.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes