Dark Tower V : Wolves Of The Calla

Unabridged
Author: Stephen King
Narrator: George Guidall
Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Dark Fantasy
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date: October 2007
Length: 26 hours
Ratings:
Formats:
  • CD

Suggested Titles

Overview

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. Followers 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 towards 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.

Selected Reviews

WOLFES OF CALLA

by Heather Stevens
  • Book Rating: 4/5

Wolves of the Calla

by Lynn Smoak
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 12

Reviews (12)

WOLFES OF CALLA

Written by Heather Stevens on November 20th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

THE BEGINNING OF THIS BOOK STARTED OUT SLOW BUT HAS YOU GOT TO THE 2ND PART OF THE BOOK IT GOT REALLY GOOD IT IS A MUST READ TO GO WITH THE OTHER BOOKS A LITTLE DIFFERENT BUT STILL GOOD

Wolves of the Calla

Written by Lynn Smoak on July 7th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I loved it. I can't wait to continue the series with Dark Tower VI. I am beginning to believe that this is Stephen King's best work, especially in the audio version. He is able to make you relate with all of the characters. I started this series many years ago with Gunslinger, which I didn't this was that great but as the series has continued, every volume gets better. I can't wait to see how it ultimately comes out, who survives, who doesn't, etc.

Guidall is no Roland

Written by Chris on February 8th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I see from reading the other reviews that I'm not the first to be disappointed by the narrative change. It does ameliorate the pain somewhat to hear the reasons, but I feel that Guidall would have been at the bottom of my list when scouting for a replacement; he is dry, uninteresting and seems to spend more time admiring his own voice than attempting to portray each character as a unique, distinct individual. The story itself was well done - not as good as Wizard & Glass, but still satisfying in its own way. The introduction of Callahan was beautiful; I love the constant resonance of other worlds and other stories in this series - it's like King's tying an entire universe that spans decades into one tidy knot. I'm still going and am looking forward to the next... even if Guidall weaseled his way into the narration.

thrilling

Written by Tami Whalen on January 19th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I loved this one too on thw whole. I was very disappointed that the reader was different and that put me off for the first 2 CD's later in the Autor's note King explained why and then I understood and felt a little quilty for being so irritated in the first place. I do wish that note had come at the beginning instead of the end, I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I could have gotten past hearing a different version of Roland right away. The book overall was compelling though no 4 is still my favorite. I also didn't care for all of Susannah's alter ego stuff but I know that is just building into the next book which I can't wait to read.

Dark Tower V : Wolves Of The Calla

Written by LRS on August 17th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I enjoyed the audio. I was interested from the start and can’t wait to see how the audio finishes. It was a little confusing at first with the different character moving back and forward between their worlds. Still I highly enjoyed this audio. LRS.

The story is great, but the narrator...

Written by Jessica Gassner on March 2nd, 2006

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I would give this review 5 stars based on the story, but the new narrator lacks the depth and range of Frank Muller, who narrated DT 2, 3, & 4. Frank Muller had it down! He really brought these characters to life, and I don't see how it could have been done better. The new narrator, George Guidall, does not do Eddie Dean's trademark New York accent, and gives him a whiney voice that doesn't sit well with me. Guidall doesnt appear to have read/listened to the books, as he is always mispronouncing words and character's names. This is unfortunate, as when you are enjoying an audio you become involved in the story, but these annoyances really pull you back out. I don't think anyone could have done as good a job as Frank Muller, and it's unfortunate he was unable to finish King's great work before passing. I don't think anyone could have held a candle to Muller, so my 4 stars is based on narration not story content.

Slow Moving Story

Written by Anonymous on September 25th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 3/5

I was a huge fan of the Dark Tower series, rabidly waiting for each story to come out. I still remember each story in detail and was looking forward to listening to the rest of the books - now I see why reading a Stephen King novel is better than listening to it. He really needs to check his ego and get an editor. The meat of the story is fantastic - the first and last set of cds are all you really need to listen to to get the gist of it and be able to move on to the rest of the books. I think you also need to have started these books when they first came out and have the desire to see the tale through to the end. Had I not had the experience with the books in the past I never would have made it through the first set of cds. I skipped through a lot of chapters as the repetativeness made me insane. I liked the narration - and I think I listened to more of the book because of it.

Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla

Written by Deborah Daughter of Earl from , on September 22nd, 2005

  • Book Rating: 3/5

I am only half way though this but I love the story line so far. However, I am not too crazy about the narrator, he’s dry and he doesn’t add depth to the character like the narrator of Dark Tower 2, 3, 4. He also, mispronounces some of the characters names, it’s so hard to LOVE this book the way I know I would if it had been read by a different narrator. My hopes are that 6 & 7 are not read by the same person. Happy Reading

Great Next Installment

Written by Dan Pressley from , on September 14th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I enjoyed this story even more than the previous book IV. The story was immersive and the characters were well-defined and distinct. The ending of this installment gave some feel of complete but left a cliffhanger again as in previous books. While every book has been very different from the last, it is necessary to make the journey to fully understand the next book.

Long but Interesting

Written by Jake MacMillan on April 18th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 3/5

I can understand readers who complain about the length and pace of this novel, but taken as a part of the overall story, it is still a fascinating step on the road to the Dark Tower. Also, it is the best narration I've ever heard. George Guidall somehow managed to come up with a distinct voice for every one of the many characters. Not as good as Wizard & Glass, but what are you going to do? You've come this far in the series, you have to finish.

Selected Reviews

WOLFES OF CALLA

by Heather Stevens
  • Book Rating: 4/5

Wolves of the Calla

by Lynn Smoak
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 12

Author Details

Author Details

King, Stephen

" Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21, 1947 at the Maine General Hospital in Portland Maine. His parents were Donald Edwin King and Ruth Pillsbury King. Stephen being the only natural born child in the family and his older brother David having been adopted at birth two years earlier.

The Kings were the typical family until one night when Donald King said he was stepping out for cigarettes and was never heard from again. At this point Ruth took over raising the family with help from other relatives of the family. They traveled throughout many states over several years finally moving back to Durham, Maine in 1958.

Stephen King began his actual writing career in January of 1959 when David King and Stephen decided to publish their own local town newspaper named Dave's Rag. David bought a mimeograph and they created a paper that sold for five cents an issue.

Stephen King attended Lisbon High School, in Lisbon, Maine in 1962. Collaborating with his best friend Chris Chesley, in 1963 they published a collection of 18 short stories called People, Places, and Things-Volume I. King's stories included ""Hotel at the End of the Road"", ""I've Got to Get Away!"", ""The Dimension Warp"", ""The Thing at the Bottom of the Well"", ""The Stranger"", ""I'm Falling"", ""The Cursed Expedition"", and ""The Other Side of the Fog.""

A year later King's amateur press Triad and Gaslight Books, published a two part book titled ""The Star Invaders"".

Stephen King made is first actual published appearance in 1965 in the magazine Comics Review with his story ""I Was a Teenage Grave Robber."" The story ran about 6,000 words in length.

In 1966, Stephen King graduated from high school and took a scholarship to attend the University of Maine. Looking back on his high school days, King recalled that ""my high school career was totally undistinguished. I was not at the top of my class, nor at the bottom.""

Later that summer King began working on a novel called ""Getting It On"", about some kids who take over a classroom and try unsuccessfully to ward off the National Guard. During his first year at college, King completed his first full length novel, ""The Long Walk."" He submitted the novel to Bennett Cerf/Random House only to have it rejected. King took the rejection bad and filed the book away.

Stephen King made his first small sale with his story ""The Glass Floor"" for the amount of thirty-five dollars.

In June 1970, Stephen King graduated from the University of Maine with a Bachelor of Science degree in English and a certificate to teach high school.

King's next idea came from the poem by Robert Browning, ""Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came."" He found bright colored green paper in the library and began work on The Dark Tower saga. But due to his lack of income he was unable to further pursue the novel at great length and it too was filed away. King took a measly job of pumping gas earning $1.25 an hour.

Stephen King then began to earn money for his writings by submitting his short stories do men's magazines such as Cavalier.

On January 2, 1971, Tabitha Jane Spruce and Stephen King were married. And in the fall of 1971, King took a teaching job at Hampden Academy earning $6,400 a year. The Kings then moved to Hermon, a town west of Bangor, Maine.

Stephen King than began work on a short story about a teenage girl named Carietta White. After a completing a few pages, King decided it was not a worthy story and crumpled the pages up and tossed them into the trash. Fortunately for Stephen, his wife Tabitha took the pages out and read them. She encouraged her husband to continue the story. He did. In January 1973, King submitted Carrie to Doubleday. In March, Doubleday bought the book. On May 12, Doubleday sold the paperback rights of Carrie to New American Library for $400,000. Based on the book contract, Stephen King would get half of that. King quit his teaching job to pursue writing full time. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Since then, King has had numerous short stories and novels published and movies created from his work. Stephen King is called the ""Master of Horror"". His books have been translated into 33 different languages, published in over 35 different countries. There are over 300 million copies of his novels in publication. He continues to live in Bangor, Maine with his wife where he writes out of his home.

In June 1999 Stephen King was severely injured in an accident that left him in critical condition with injuries to his lung, broken ribs, a broken leg and a severely fractured hip. After three weeks of operations he was released from the Central Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. Stephen continues to be bedridden and requires intensive rehabilitation over the remainder of this year. He is expected to be able to walk about 9-12 months after the accident. Due to Stephen King's injuries his current projects that he was working on have been hampered and will be delayed at least a year. "