• Wolves of the Calla

  • Dark Tower V
  • By: Stephen King
  • Narrated by: George Guidall
  • Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (16,919 ratings)

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Wolves of the Calla  By  cover art

Wolves of the Calla

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: George Guidall
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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)

Featured Article: The Best Dark Fantasy Audiobooks


If your favorite genres are fantasy and horror, and you can't get enough of terrifying scenarios with high-stakes action, then you need to explore the winding world of dark fantasy. When the mystic, magic, and incredible world-building of fantasy are combined with elements of grim horror and the supernatural, the result is something truly pause-resistant. But with such a rich variety of titles to choose from, it can be impossible to know where to begin. We've rounded up the best dark fantasy listens that explore chilling settings, morally grey characters, and twisting plots alongside dark magic.

What listeners say about Wolves of the Calla

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Frank Muller will be missed.

The long awaited fifth book of the Dark Tower doesn't disapoint from a story standpoint. The story continues right where the fourth book ends without skipping a beat. As in previous books there is plenty of crossover to other King novels as Father Callaghan from Salem's Lot makes his return in this adventure.

Where the disapointment lies for those of us that have followed the adventures of the Dark Tower and other related novels like The Talisman and Black House on audio is the loss of Frank Muller. George Guidall is mediocre at best and compared to Muller he is terrible. He isn't able to create the division in the different characters or bring the out the emotion of the story the way Muller could. His versions of Eddie and Susannah seem generic and uninteresting compared to the life and energy Muller put into them. Sad they couldn't find someone better to finish such an important story.

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156 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

George Guidall is a poor replacement

The loss of Frank Muller's ability to ever professionally read for audio books hurt this audioseries more than I realized.

Guidall does Eddy's New York accented voice just horrible...and does Suzannah's voice only slightly better.

While the book in its actual print version is awesome, a gripping, entertaining read, the audio versions after Book IV are severely lacking under George Guidall's narration.

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73 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Dark Tower Review - Part Five

<B><U>The Dark Tower: </B> Wolves of the Calla</U> opens with a prologue that introduces listeners to the folken of Calla Bryn Sturgis, people in need of ?hard calibers?; people in need of help from Gunslingers. The residents of the Calla are farmers and ranchers but as listeners quickly learn, they are themselves a crop of sorts, harvested every 20 odd years by the wolves. Roland and his band are engaged to put an end to the raids of the wolves forever.

The narrative elapsed time in <U>Wolves of the Calla</U> spans about the space of a month but it is packed with action, back story and tantalizing links to other worlds in Stephen King?s universe. One of the leaders of the Calla folken is a man called Pere Callahan. In a former life, he was known to a small New England town called Jerusalem?s Lot as Father Donald Callahan.

As the Gunslingers prepare to defend the Calla from the oncoming attack of the wolves, listeners learn more about what is going wrong at the Dark Tower and find new ways to travel between the worlds. We also see the true gunslingers in a maturing Eddie Dean and soon to be tested Jake Chambers. In addition, Susannah Dean is about to face her greatest trial. You will have to listen to the story to find out what happens?

George Guidall does a great job of reading this 5th volume of <B><U>The Dark Tower</U></B>. Listeners will definitely miss Frank Muller?s voice for the first hour or so, as Stephen King himself acknowledges in the Afterword, but Mr. Guidall is an excellent choice to take up this spectacular tale in Mr. Muller?s sad absence.

Must read Stephen King books that link directly to <U>Wolves of the Calla</U>: <U>Salem?s Lot</U> and <U>Hearts In Atlantis</U>, the second of which is available from audible.com. Other King books related to <B><U>The Dark Tower</U></B> include: <U>Eyes of the Dragon</U>, and <U>Insomnia</U>, to name but a couple.

Review continues, Summer 2004, with <U>Song of Susannah</U>?

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

They just keep getting better!

This series just gets better as each page goes by! Stephen King has mingled a lifetime of previous stories into this series. I find that I've been pulled right along with these characters, on the journey to the Dark Tower - an ongoing saga about different whens and wheres, that crosses paths with King's immortal "The Stand". Perhaps King will change his mind and continue to grow this series for years to come. As I, you will not want this to ever end. Truly his best work - and what a mini-series for TV this would make!!

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

George Guidall is not Frank Muller

The story line gets better and better but unfortunately George Guidall puts me to sleep. I keep missing Frank Muller's mastery which made the previous series so memorable. Overall, it's great.

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33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

I miss Frank Muller

Disappointed with George's lack of effort to capture Eddie's accent and made Susannah sound like the witch in Wizards Glass with a southern accent....I am not gonna bother listening to the rest of this book or the remaining books. He does do a good Roland and narration but severly lacks on two main characters

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Wolves of the Calla: Dark Tower V (Unabridged

The story is great, but the NARRATOR SUCKS!!!! His talent is non-existent when compared to Frank Muller. Thank God I am already hooked on the series.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

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).

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Frank Muller is Sorely Missed

I agree with an earlier reviewer who stated that the books in this series keep getting better. I found the first one, The Gunslinger, merely average, but am very glad that I stuck it out through books 2, 3, 4, and now 5. I feel fortunate that I came to the series late, in fact only when they emerged on audiobook, because I was able to emerse myself in the whole series to date - over the course of three month's listening. Frank Muller's narration felt a little over the top at first (in the Gunslinger) but I soon warmed to it, and then grew to love it. That must be why this volume, the first that was not voiced by Muller, felt lacking at first. The characters all spoke differently, of course, and that felt like the sequel to a great film in which a new lead actor replaces the one who made the role famous (Hannibal comes to mind), but by hour 6 or 7 - I was back onboard.

All and all - a great read.

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26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Frank, you are missed...

This reader is so frustrating! He could do a mcuh better job than he does. Eddie's voice is the most unfortunate. Its sounds exactly like ...Jakes. I start to enjoy the book, 'Eddie' speaks, and suddenly the world in my head disentegrates. God Stephen, I know you could have found a better reader.

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25 people found this helpful