Wolves of the Calla

Dark Tower V

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

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 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.

Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, The Dark Tower series is unlike anything you've ever heard. Here is Stephen King's most visionary piece of storytelling, a magical mix of fantasy and horror that may well be his crowning achievement. Don't miss the other volumes of Stephen King's The Dark Tower.

©2003 Stephen King (P)2003 Simon & Schuster, Inc., All Rights Reserved, Audioworks is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Gonna be a humdinger of a fight! Fore and aft of the showdown, King stuffs the book with juice...One of the greatest cavalcades in popular fiction is back on track." (Booklist)
"The high suspense and extensive character development here...plus the enormity of King's ever-expanding universe, will surely keep his 'Constant Readers' in awe." (Publishers Weekly)

Great book, awful narration

I don't usually write reviews. I've listened to at least 50 books this year, and I can always get used to a narrator if I don't love them at first. The narrator to this book does not compare to Muller. I really hope I can finish the series with the new narrator.

My

Favorite book in my favorite serie. This is as said in rewievs before, I think this is my 5th reading. And this is always the one I look forward too, however when thinking about it, it is one of those I would never skip. (when read it 5 times, I admit the first and 4th may not be so entertaining as first rounds. I do not count 4.5 as a legit part of series and this I may only heard 2 3 times).

However, it is kinda unfair to the other books to look for flaws to praise this.

On a final note if this is the first time ... Just buckle up , it gets even more intence (better?) in last 2 books...

This is an excellent series of books!!

This book hooks you in from the first paragraph, it picks up where Wizards in Glass stopped. I can’t wait to start the next book!!

Muller. you are missed. RIP.

These books are a wonderful work of art. Captivating and addicting. Muller gave the first four books the voice they needed. After you will find it hard to follow for the exceptional turns to a underwhelming narration. for that I'm saddened but the reasons out weigh my disappointment. The story is all I care about now, for it's all that matters. I need to find the tower and I'm both excited and wary. With only 2 books remaining, I don't want this to end.

frig you this book rocksssss beeotch

yo you can go unalive yourself if you don't like cheeseburgers you uncultured swine. pee on my chest

Great story, terrible narrator

Maybe the last narrator was just very good. But the narrator for this novel is awful.
I cannot differentiate which characters are speaking, until the occasional " Said Eddy" or whatnot .
I understand the previous narrator passed away and was not available, but there are far better voices they could have picked to continue this epic story.
I honestly have a hard time even wanting to listen to the novel with the current narrator. And I thoroughly enjoyed it until this narrator.

audio file improperly divided

The following are the start times for each part:
Part 1 at 01:23:36
Part 2 at 07:14:49
Part 3 at 17:23:55

Epic as hell!

How is this not a mini series yet?! The movie was all right but you can’t fit this epic tale in a two hour setting. Not even three hours. Of all the streaming services out there, there has to be some service that will turn this epic tale into one of King’s best ever adapted feature film series!

Good, but Frank Muller is Greatly Missed

Overall, this was a great Dark Tower book. After the boring, soap opera nature of <i>Wizard and Glass</i>, this was a nice change of pace more in the vein of <i>The Waste Lands</i>. By the end, I found myself once again eagerly awaiting the sequel; fortunately, Mr. King is going to satisfy that craving quickly this time around. My main gripe is that George Guidall is just not the right person for this series. I guess I was spoiled by Frank Muller's exciting readings, but Guidall, on the other hand, seems bored with the reading and his voice is just too "old" for the characters. A better choice would be Scott Brick (High Druid of Shannara, The Company) or even Ron McLarty ('Salem's Lot).

WOW!

I could not wait to start this fifth book, and I was not at all disappointed. The reader change was difficult to take at first, but I got used to him and enjoyed the story very much. At the end we learn why Mr. King was forced to change readers, it was very sad. I look forward to the last two books in this story with great antisipation.