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Wolves of the Calla by
Stephen King
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- Hardcover: 736 pages ; Dimensions
(in inches): 1.99 x 9.46 x 6.24
- Publisher: Donald M.
Grant/Scribner; (November 4, 2003)
- ISBN: 1880418568
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Book
Description
Roland Deschain and his
ka-tet are bearing southeast through the forests of Mid-World,
the almost timeless landscape that seems to stretch from the
wreckage of civility that defined Roland's youth to the crimson
chaos that seems the future's only promise.
Readers of Stephen King's epic series know
Roland well, or as well as this enigmatic hero can be known. They
also know the companions who have been drawn to his quest for the
Dark Tower: Eddie Dean and his wife, Susannah; Jake Chambers, the
boy who has come twice through the doorway of death into Roland's
world; and Oy, the Billy-Bumbler.
In this long-awaited fifth
novel in the saga, their path takes them to the outskirts of Calla
Bryn Sturgis, a tranquil valley community of farmers and ranchers
on Mid-World's borderlands.
Beyond the town, the rocky
ground rises toward the hulking darkness of Thunderclap, the
source of a terrible affliction that is slowly stealing the
community's soul. One of the town's residents is Pere Callahan, a
ruined priest who, like Susannah, Eddie, and Jake, passed through
one of the portals that lead both into and out of Roland's world.
As Father Callahan tells the
ka-tet the astonishing story of what happened following his
shamed departure from Maine in 1977, his connection to the Dark
Tower becomes clear, as does the danger facing a single red rose
in a vacant lot off Second Avenue in midtown Manhattan.
For Calla Bryn Sturgis, danger
gathers in the east like a storm cloud. The Wolves of Thunderclap
and their unspeakable depredation are coming. To resist them is to
risk all, but these are odds the gunslingers are used to, and they
can give the Calla-folken both courage and cunning. Their
guns, however, will not be enough.
King's masterpiece further expanded, January 7, 2004
Now, I have to admit that when I read the first of the Dark
Tower novels, I was not much impressed. The Dark Tower: The
Gunslinger had been difficult to find at first, so when I finally
found it, I was really looking forward to jumping right into it. I
was disappointed--there didn't seem to be much going on, and Roland
was not a very captivating character.
I have since learned to be fairer on this subject, as the DT
novels have been the backbone of King's career since his graduation
from the University of Maine in 1970. Thus, the non-DT novels that
connect to this series are made that much more interesting, and the
rest just seem peripheral and duller by comparison to me now.
I didn't really give the DT series a second chance until I read
Wizard and Glass in 1998. I really connected with the romance and
the sadness (my feminine side asserting itself?) in that book and,
contrite for my hasty judgement, went back and re-read the first
book along with The Drawing of the Three and The Waste Lands, then
re-read Wizard and Glass with the context firmly set in my mind. I
became a DT fan, and waited anxiously for Wolves of the Calla.
Now it's here, and I am most of the way through it, and I must
say it was worth the wait. I agree that the characters have really
matured--Eddie Dean is more thoughtful and less annoying, Jake and
Susannah both are proven to be much deeper than they might have
initially appeared, and I wish I had a pet like Oy.
Roland, too, is not just a taciturn, morose cowboy--Wizard and
Glass proved that conclusively enough--and a much more sympathetic
character now. I actually find the quirks of Calla speech to be
rather endearing (find myself wanting to use them, do ya, in regular
conversation, say thankya big-big), although I'm still trying to
figure out the Mid-World accent (seems to be a strange mixture of
Highland Scots, Mexican, and Down East Yankee).
What I find most encouraging, however, is to note (in the Final
Argument) that the sixth and seventh (i.e. the last two)
installments in the series are due out within this year. Perhaps
King's finally run out of story material, and plans to retire with
these last two books as his legacy to modern literature?
-William from Upstate New York, USA
WOW!, January 6, 2004
So far, this is one of very few stories to ever captivate
me. I don't mean just interesting. When Wizard and Glass was
released, I read it in two days. for a total of about 8 hours.
When I was finished, i felt sad, honestly sad, I had seen the
candy in the store, bought it and ate it ravenously.
Now, nothing is left, except the anticipation and longing for
the next installment. Well, after a few years of waiting, I got
another candy bar, savoring this one a bit more than the last.
This story is a must read. It almost appears to be the center of
the King Universe, as many of his other Characters have either
ended up here, or even originated from here... BUY IT, READ IT,
YOU'LL LOVE IT -An Amazon.com Customer
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