Wolves of the Calla

Executive Summary: While I don't feel this to be as strong of an entry as the previous two books, it is still a good book in it's own right. Besides if you've made it this far in the series, how can you really stop now?Audio book: Since I listed to the revised edition of [b:The Gunslinger 43615 The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) Stephen King http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309288354s/43615.jpg 46575], I got a taste of George Guidall at the start of my audio journey with Roland on my quest for the tower. I found him to be good, but not great.Then with [b:The Drawing of the Three 5094 The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2) Stephen King http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309281704s/5094.jpg 2113248], it reverted back to Frank Muller who originally read books 1-4 on cassette tape. Unfortunately for Mr. Mueller (and to a much lesser degree all of us), he got into a car accident and eventually died a few years later from the complications. This is the first book where I've gone back to Mr. Guidall.He is a great reader, but he's not Frank Mueller. I like Mr. Guidall's voice for Roland better than Mr. Mueller's. Everyone else's however are not as good. Though to be fair to Mr. Guidall, I'm not sure he's really trying to make them sound like he thinks they would, rather than simply trying to make them sound distinct from one another.I particularly miss Mr. Mueller's voices for Eddie and Susannah. That said, I enjoyed Mr. Guidall once I got used to him.Full ReviewI liked this book better on this re-read than I did originally. I think part of the reason I was down on it was how much I love [b:Wizard and Glass 5096 Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) Stephen King http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327946510s/5096.jpg 750558]. After that book, and how long I had to wait for this one, almost anything was going to feel like a letdown.But this story mixes elements from several things I enjoy. It's like a cross between some of the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, and Kurosawa film, which King himself acknowledges as influences to the story at the end of the book.This book probably more than all the others pulls in pop culture from all over the place, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Marvell Comics and even some of Mr. King's own work ([b:'Salem's Lot 11590 ‘Salem's Lot Stephen King http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327891565s/11590.jpg 3048937]).In many ways it's another diversion for Roland's Tet from their quest to the beam, but an important one as several developments occur here that make it possible for them them progress further.As this series is really all about the journey anyways, it's an enjoyable entry that not only gives us more insight into what a Gunslinger did in the time before the world moved on, but it's first real taste of what his Tet can do collectively as Gunslingers themselves.With this re-read and some time from my original read, I was better able to appreciate what this book has to offer. It does take a bit of a turn in direction from the previous 4 books that originally left me a bit disappointed, but now I found highly enjoyable, and probably inevitable.The Dark Tower runs through just about everything Mr. King writes, and he fully embraces that notion with this book, but it really started in [b:Wizard and Glass 5096 Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) Stephen King http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327946510s/5096.jpg 750558] and Randall Flagg.I'm eager to finish my journey with Roland, but will be taking a hopefully short break to do 1 or 2 other books before continuing on with [b:Song of Susannah 5093 Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, #6) Stephen King http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347565645s/5093.jpg 1178083].

I think this is my favorite in the Dark Tower series because the world building, sitting around the campfires telling stories, and reminiscing, is done and the action begins to move forward in time. Also the overlapping of worlds and other King stories is very prominent.

[in honor of Jenny “Reading Envy” Colvin]
#jennyguycolvin

The 5th installment in the Dark Tower series.

When you think by now that the Dark Towers series is a bit weird then you are in for a surprise. King takes some story elements to the next level of weirdness. Most books, even Kings own books, are in one prevailing genre, mixed with some elements of other genres.
But here, King takes western, robots, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, magic, SF, horror and creates a hotchpotch. And it works! As with other authors this probably would end up in one giant train crash, King is able to create a cohesive and immersive story.

King is at his best in small town settings, describing the different characters and the interactions between the villagers. This is the overarching storyline, where, in between, we get the backstory of an old acquaintance from Salem's Lot.

Parallel, there are developments around Susannah. This was, to me, the least attractive part of the book and makes it a 4 star book instead of 4.5 to 5 stars

Makes me want to read Salem's Lot. Clever on the author's part!

I enjoyed the previous novel in the series more than I did this one, but they both get three stars. This one was entertaining, and good enough to hold my attention enough for me to delete unheard podcasts to make way for it. A good sign. But it feels bloated, with too much padding.

I was somewhat of two minds with this. On one hand, it's another book with a long, drawn-out flashback. BUT, this one was more integrated to the main storyline, and it featured Father Callahan, protagonist of one of my favourite King novels.

Susannah continues to get short shrift in this one, two, with the rest of the ka-tet holding back important information from her and leaving her out of some important councils. BUT, they admit this is a stupid idea, and there are some other interesting, active female characters throughout the book (the Sisters of Oriza).

Mostly, the good outweighed the bad - lots of “easter egg” type stuff about Breakers, and Low Men, which make me hopeful that Ted Brautigan and Bobby Garfield are going to show up in the future, and lots of interesting stuff about the nature of the Tower.

The ending bothered me, though. I know that King's been weaving modern myths and stories into the series (not just his own), but the ones that he chooses here felt ... silly. Not that they're not good stories in their own right, but because they're still so new and modern, it felt cheesy to have them included.

After a very long break, I have continued the Dark Tower series with the fifth book, Wolves of the Calla.

It was great to be back with Roland and the ka-tet. This book is also a pseudo-sequel to Salem's Lot, and I wouldnt particularly recommend reading it until you've read Salem's Lot, because that entire novel is spoiled here and is very relevant to this book.

The thrust of Wolves of the Calla involves Roland and the gang being recruited by a settlement to fight against the titular Wolves - a group of questionable immortals who show up once a generation to steal the town's children. The town has decided to fight back, and need some gunslingers to help them. Cue, magnificent seven.

Parts of this book were fantastic. Everything to do with Salem's Lot, I loved. The beginning was so strange and I was here for it. The ending of this book was exciting and straight up insane. But man alive, is this book too long.

Understand that I love long books. Rarely do I think a book is too long. But, as is sometimes the case with King, Uncle Steve needed an editor with a backbone here. A liberal cutting of 200 pages would have made this incredible; a conservative cutting of 100 would have made it more enjoyable. It was just so boring for so long. And the constant repetition of phrasing drove me crazy. If I never have to hear another person say the word “19” again, it'll be too soon. Just asinine stuff like, “wow that guy's name has 19 letters” “omg 19!” “No way, 19!” “19!!” Shut up. Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up.

Anyway. Besides all that, it was an enjoyable book. Roland is one of the best characters out there. Jake had some great development here. The Dark Tower series is the weirdest, craziest thing I've ever read and Calla keeps that trend going. I'm exciting to see where things go. Mercifully, Song of Susannah is short.

The Path of the Beam continues!

85/100. It's a very entertaining side quest essentially. But it feels like books 4 and now 5 have been flash backs and side quests which is ruining the pacing of the over arching story of this series. But I did thoroughly enjoy this book on its own. Curious to see how he handles the twist at the end though.

Decido qui di raccogliere i miei appunti e le mie varie impressioni per l'intera saga della “Torre Nera” di Stephen King, composta da:

La torre nera I: L'ultimo cavaliere
La torre nera II: La chiamata dei Tre
La torre nera III: Terre desolate
La torre nera IV: La sfera del buio
La torre nera V: I lupi del Calla
La torre nera VI: La canzone di Susannah
La torre nera VII: La torre nera

in un'unica recensione, per dare un'idea generale dell'intera opera, di cui va detto subito che ogni volume è strettamente legato l'uno con l'altro e va letto sequenzialmente, dunque si potrebbe considerare un unico librone, la cui lettura parte dal primo libro per arrivare all'ultimo.

La torre nera è una serie di romanzi di fantasy, fantascienza, horror e western dello scrittore americano Stephen King. La serie è definita dai suoi fan la massima espressione Kinghiana, infatti questa serie ha profondi richiami con quasi tutte le sue altre opere.

La serie è stata recentemente adattata per una miniserie di fumetti della Marvel e da molto tempo si parla di un film per il cinema o per la tv.

La serie si ispira ai poemi Childe Roland alla Torre Nera giunse di Robert Browning, e lo scrittore nelle sue interviste indica tra le varie fonti anche Il Signore degli Anelli e la trilogia cinematografica western di Sergio Leone, tra cui Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. E il personaggio di Roland è stato più volte accostato al viso di Clint Eastewood.

Il personaggio principale, Roland appunto, è l'ultimo membro vivente dell'ordine dei cavalieri conosciuti come pistoleri. Il mondo in cui vive è abbastanza differente dal nostro anche se presenta strane similitudini: organizzato come una società feudale, condivide le tecnologiche con il vecchio West Americano, così come poteri e reliquie magiche appartenenti ad un'avanzata società ora scomparsa da tempo. Tutta la trama verte sulla ricerca di Roland: trovare la Torre nera, un edificio leggendario che si dice essere il punto di snodo dell'universo. Molto spesso nel libro si dice che il mondo di Roland è “andato avanti”, sembra infatti che questo mondo abbia subito una trasformazione e uno sconvoilgimento per una guerra devastante. In questo suo viaggio alla ricerca della Torre verrà mano a mano affiancato da altri personaggi: Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean, Jake Chambers, Oy il bimbolo, Susan Delgado che fronteggeranno personaggi negativi come L'Uomo in Nero e il Il Re Rosso.

Questa la trama molto spogliata e sintetica i sette volumi. Quattromila pagine, scritte in ben trentaquattro anni, non sono affare da poco, un'impresa che pochi scrittori sono riusciti a compiere portandosi dietro fino alla fine svariati milioni di lettori. Il mondo descritto è molto complesso, ma non si può fare una buona recensione di quest'opera senza citare il Ka, che può essere descritto come il destino o il fato, ma in realtà è molto più complesso. O il Ka-tet, che è la convinzione che un gruppo di persone sia unito dal destino, o dal Ka. Questi due concetti sono alla base dell'intero scritto che ruota sopra al “Tutto-Mondo” che è il mondo/universo in cui vive Roland. Il Tutto-Mondo è diviso in regioni, Entro-Mondo, Medio-Mondo, Fine-Mondo e Oltre-mondo. La geografia è molto variegata. È composta da deserti, montagne, pianure e vaste terre desolate.

Sia i personaggi qui accenati, così come i concetti che ho cercato di riportare sono da considerarsi solo i principali di quest'opera che è davvero immensa e che copre uno spazio narrativo davvero ampio.
Considero questa serie la migliore opera di King, insieme all'Ombra dello scorpione; credo inoltre che la lettura sia imprescindibile per chi ama il genere fantasy, questa storia è una delle più belle dell'intero immaginario di questo genere letterario.

La lettura, che come ho detto all'inizio, deve essere continuaitiva, non è mai pesante, ne impegnativa e i sette volumi sono praticamente uno più belli dell'altro. Tutta la storia, dal momento in cui il famigerato uomo in nero fugge nel deserto fino alla sua conclusione, non è mai stata il punto di forza. Sono piuttosto lo stile, le singole situazioni e soprattutto i personaggi che hanno reso la serie avvincente e a tratti irresistibile.

La Torre Nera è anche un'opera pieno di momenti indimenticabili, scritti magistralmente, che restano impressi nella mente per ore e giorni dopo averli letti.

“L'uomo in nero fuggì nel deserto e il pistolero lo seguì” - S. King