Reviews

Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King

mathman329's review

3.0

While I read books 2-4 of The Dark Tower series in a span of a few months, it has been close to 3 years since I last stepped foot into Mid-World. And yet, once I rejoined Roland's Ka-tet in "The Wolves of the Calla", it felt like I'd never left. The characters, the quest, and the colloquialisms came back to me easily, and once again I fell into the story in what Roland would describe as a Todash state rather quickly.

The story itself was a bit slow to start and mildly bland for me compared to the previous entry ("Wizard and Glass") in the series. The story took a bit to gel together, and some aspects of the story seemed recycled, but the introduction of new characters and the culmination of each of these numerous storylines ultimately left me wondering why I'd stepped away for so long in the first place. While I planned on starting another King novel like "It", I think perhaps I should stay in Mid-World a while longer before returning to somewhere else.

kleedc73's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

apathetic_teapot's review against another edition

4.0

Great story and an ending I enjoyed. Really made you appreciate the concept of a lot of planning with 5 minutes of blood and stupidity.

dyanna456's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

4.25

bchristian541's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Roland, Jake, Eddie, Oy, and Susannah continue on their journey to the Dark Tower when they are followed by a group from the town Calla Bryn Sturgis. A town where singletons are rare. Every few decades, "wolves" come to the callas and kidnap a twin. The twin is returned "roont" (their term for mentally handicapped). They turn to Roland and his ka-tet in hopes that they can save them from the wolves once and for all. While all of this is occurring, Susannah is going through her own struggles. More mysteries arise as others are solved. Can Roland save the people of Calla Bryn Sturgis? 
This is full of twists and turns and loveable people. The detail is grand and Stephen King proves once again how masterful of a storyteller he is. The books make references to Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz, and Star Wars, among others which I found amusing. I can't wait to continue the series.

bradland's review against another edition

4.0

The 5th book in the series and the first King started working on after his own horror story of 1999 I found was needlessly wordy. Wordy books can be a good thing, as many of King’s previous tomes prove, however wordy books do require that certain ‘something’ in order for the reader to still enjoy the experience. Like lyrics to a song with a good beat, some of those you can listen to for hours without getting bored because it flows effortlessly. Unfortunately Wolves doesn’t have that good beat you can go with like the other DT books or something as huge as The Stand. And there was a certain level of disappointment that the story didn’t have the big journey feel of Gunslinger or Waste Lands. However, it was great to sit down and read the adventures of Roland and the gang once more, armed with the knowledge that the series is finally finished and we won’t have to wait another 5 years for the next edition like times passed. The story is good as you learn more about Roland’s world and the people who populate it. You also get to meet another character from one of Steve King’s other popular books who becomes a main player in this story. But as I alluded to before, the novel’s large amount of pages doesn’t justify the amount of steps the journey takes here. In some ways it seems like King didn’t know where he was going with the whole story, only writing situations with lots of filler and adding in a few past characters until half way through then knowing instantly where he was taking the reader. If nothing else, the ending makes you want to find out what happens next as it takes a sudden intriguing turn.

morganp24's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

scarbaur's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mike_nz's review against another edition

5.0

What a fantastic book! I was hooked right from page 1 and just couldn't put it down. Up until now The Drawing of the Three was my favourite Dark Tower novel but Wolves feels more rounded, more complete somehow. And that ending! What the hell? How? What?

One of Kings very best.

emilyrosebooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

This book absolutely gets the ka-tet back on track of the quest for the Dark Tower. It is a bit of a side mission, helping the town escape the clutches of the terrible wolves, but there is much connection to the original quest that it doesn't feel out of place. One of my favorites of the series overall.