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A review by ojtheviking
Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King
5.0
4.5 rounded up.
Now five volumes in, King has hit a solid stride in terms of the narration of this Dark Tower series, and he appears to expand his world-building with great ease.
One thing that I've really enjoyed about this series so far, is that each installment is a sort of hybrid between episodic adventures and a larger, overarching storyline. It's a great way to add a new flavor to each installment, yet keep it within a familiar setting. And it truly makes this entire story one, great odyssey of a great journey where one along the way meets friends and foes, characters and creatures, pleasures and dangers.
This time, we are introduced to a town dealing with mysterious creatures known as Wolves. So some time is spent establishing what is going on in that context, as well as Roland and his ka-tet deciding to help the townsfolk fight the Wolves.
Here we also meet Father Callahan - originally from one of King's earliest novels, 'Salem's Lot - reminding us once again how all his stories appear to be connected, tied together by the Dark Tower's multiple beams. A great portion of Volume V: Wolves of the Calla is therefore spent on establishing Callahan's backstory, to help us understand how he ended up in Mid-World after we last read about him. This part of the book almost feels like a sequel to 'Salem's Lot that King ended up weaving into the fabric of the overall Dark Tower series. These were some of my favorite parts of this volume.
Then it gets really interesting towards the end. Not only does this volume end with quite a cliffhanger, but it introduces a certain self-referential element that I had previously heard about but was wondering how it would be added to the story. I have some questions and reservations about this particular part right now, but will hold off on commenting too much until I've read the next book.
All in all, it was another great read, and it's mindblowing that I'm now already over halfway through the entire series!
Now five volumes in, King has hit a solid stride in terms of the narration of this Dark Tower series, and he appears to expand his world-building with great ease.
One thing that I've really enjoyed about this series so far, is that each installment is a sort of hybrid between episodic adventures and a larger, overarching storyline. It's a great way to add a new flavor to each installment, yet keep it within a familiar setting. And it truly makes this entire story one, great odyssey of a great journey where one along the way meets friends and foes, characters and creatures, pleasures and dangers.
This time, we are introduced to a town dealing with mysterious creatures known as Wolves. So some time is spent establishing what is going on in that context, as well as Roland and his ka-tet deciding to help the townsfolk fight the Wolves.
Here we also meet Father Callahan - originally from one of King's earliest novels, 'Salem's Lot - reminding us once again how all his stories appear to be connected, tied together by the Dark Tower's multiple beams. A great portion of Volume V: Wolves of the Calla is therefore spent on establishing Callahan's backstory, to help us understand how he ended up in Mid-World after we last read about him. This part of the book almost feels like a sequel to 'Salem's Lot that King ended up weaving into the fabric of the overall Dark Tower series. These were some of my favorite parts of this volume.
Then it gets really interesting towards the end. Not only does this volume end with quite a cliffhanger, but it introduces a certain self-referential element that I had previously heard about but was wondering how it would be added to the story. I have some questions and reservations about this particular part right now, but will hold off on commenting too much until I've read the next book.
All in all, it was another great read, and it's mindblowing that I'm now already over halfway through the entire series!