The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 25 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

The fifth novel in Stephen King's magnificent epic, one of the most popular series in publishing history.

Stephen King's epic fantasy series, The Dark Tower, is being made into a major movie starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. Due in cinemas February 17, 2017 USA.

In the fifth novel in King's best-selling epic fantasy series, the farming community in the fertile lands of the East has been warned the wolves are coming back. Four gunslingers, led by Roland of Gilead, are also coming their way. And the farmers of the Calla want to enlist some hard calibers.

Torn between protecting the innocent community and his urgent quest, Roland faces his most deadly perils as he journey through the Mid-World towards the Dark Tower.

©2003 Stephen King (P)2003 Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Guidall has big shoes to fill, does it gallantly

The loss of Frank Muller is palpable and tragic. But Guidall carries on very well. I am hooked on this series and this installment is my favorite yet, I think.

thrilling

I love the dark tower series and this is a cool part that seems like a western story where the Gunslingers must help a peacful town og farmers

Another brilliant story

It was a massive shock to hear a different voice than Frank Muller's come out of my headphones. And I'll be honest I was in a bad mood for a few days following discovering what happened and that not only had his life so tragically ended but that I would never be able to hear the end of The Dark Tower as Frank saw it and told it.

The new narrator at first seemed to still be figuring out how to voice these characters and that upset me even more. But by about a third of the way through he seemed to have it sorted and by the end I was quite enjoying his rendition of these characters. He will never be Frank Muller. But he is doing the series justice.

The story itself was quite enjoyable. I've seen some people saying that King had lost sight of the main story line with this novel, however I feel that those making such accusations were simply blind to all the many elements of this book that explained and foreshadowed the rest of the series.

Great, but audio is off

Any additional comments?

Despite the narrator change (which is explained, sadly, at the end of the book), there are clear re-dubs within this title, especially in the second half. Either another narrator has stepped in, or has been recorded on different equipment, at a different time.

It's not much, but it is jarring. Also, the actual audio quality is not great, very low, very bassy. And for some reason, there are two parts where it seems a sound effect is used... also very jarring considering not a single one has been used within the last go knows how many hours.

Great story, bad recording, narrator is... ok. Mostly maintains the vocal distinctions but does fall flat on some others. Just started the next book and it does seem that some of these criticisms have been addressed though so fingers crossed.

The story moves forward

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was probably faster for me to listen to this than to read it myself. The audio book was long so the paper book would be very long and I would probably take forever to finish it.

Would you recommend The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla to your friends? Why or why not?

Well if you have read the previous four book you kind of have to read this one too.

What does George Guidall bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He has a great voice, so it is like being read a book by some old grandfather.

Do you think The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, and it has one. These questions should probably not show up for book 5 out of 7 in a series.

Any additional comments?

Only two books left in the Dark Tower series now. Let's see where Mr. King takes us.

Another fork in the road

It's a shame that frank muller is unable to continue reading for us. I hope his recovery is progressing.
Wolves of the calla continues to expand on the lives of the travellers and again links other King novels with the dark tower. It is full of all the King delights - good versus evil, the shoot out, the heroes. What's not to like?

Fantastic Story, not so great performance

What made the experience of listening to The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla the most enjoyable?

The story is fantastic. The voice is clear and understandable, but you can clearly hear when the cuts are made. Also all the characters sounds the same

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla?

All of them: it's a great book

What three words best describe George Guidall’s performance?

Sadly Inconstant, not very "in-role".

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

- THE MOVIE THAT DOESN'T TOTALLY WRECK THE ORIGINAL BOOKS -

Any additional comments?

Fantastic story nonetheless. I would have preferred another reader. but it's not that bad.

Peak of the roller coaste

Calla was a valuable step in the Dark Tower saga, though it seemed a little like a distraction at first. We see more of the history and reality of the Tower, the Beams, the Guardians and the Low Men through flash backs and similar devices, with important progression of the ka-tet's mission. Enjoyable, especially because everything really speeds up from here, two books from the end and it really feels like you've hit the peak of a roller coaster, it's all been build up but it's a wild ride from here on in.

I don't get it

There are so many good reviews for this book and I just don't get it. I enjoyed the first three books in the series very much but there are too many side trips.

It is becoming obvious how much time has elapsed between the beginning of the series and the last. So much time that I think Mr King has lost the plot. The storyline is getting lost with the rehashing of other stories from other novels. I don't mind occasional flashbacks and sidetracks if they help complete a story but when they become a distraction, long winded and unnecessary to the plot these diversions become boring. Father Callahan! Boring with a capital B.

The continuation of the new storyline has some good moments but they are few and far between and there is so much old stuff to wade through it becomes boring.

Also, I can't say I like the development of Roland's character much. He was a hardnosed cowboy who let a little boy he loved die and now he's just plain soppy. The story of the Dark Tower hasn't moved ahead very much, i.e. there's not much new happening.

I seriously miss Frank Muller's narration but George Guidall does a fair read.

Amazing book, great series, narrator pretty good

Would you listen to The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla again? Why?

The mystery, the strength of story

Who was your favorite character and why?

Roland, who else?

Which scene did you most enjoy?

So many difficult to choose...

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Any of the scenes to do with sacrifice

Any additional comments?

Just wanted to mention/reply to the above comment regarding the narrator to this book not being as good as the previous series narrator, Frank Muller. Did you listen to the afterword, whoever wrote this review? I think I'm inclined to believe Frank was better-without disrespect to this narrator, cry your pardon, who I don't think as bad - but Frank Muller was all ready and set up to narrate this one and the rest of the dark tower...then he had a horrible motorcycle accident, leaving him with lots of neurological damage and unable to work. So I feel bad being too hard on the guy, or on this other narrator who does do a reasonable job. Here's wishing Frank Muller all the best.

George Guidall is the narrator

I have just started this audibook and was disgusted to discover that George Guidall is the actual narrator. He also narrated the first book. Frank Muller narrated books 2 to 4, and in my opinion is a far superior narrator. For example, I liked the way Frank had Roland sounding like a cowboy, and Eddie sounding like a New Yorker. With George, all the ka-tet sound like each other, even Oy the billy-bumbler sounds like the other characters.



It is going to be hard to enjoy the book.

Excellent

Narration was brilliant, drawing the listener in further in when needed. Story line gripping as in the rest of this series so far. Since using audible I watch a lot less television as I enjoy using my imagination. Being dyslexic I get to enjoy books now.

one of the best books in the series

this book is endlessly re-readable, as is most of the series. Sadly Frank Mueller had a tragic accident and couldn't finish the series, but Guidall does a solid job taking over the narration here

Audio series ends here - Change in Narration

Would you try another book written by Stephen King or narrated by George Guidall?

I Intend to finish the Dark tower and perhaps get more S.K. but I cant say I'm eager to hear more fo Guidall.

What was most disappointing about Stephen King’s story?

Nothing. I wont be finishing it (yet) so cant comment on that score.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of George Guidall?

Frank Muller (RIP). Excellent job on earlier books and over thirty hours in established himself as essential as the words themselves. Changing him for anyone, however good is frustrating. I mean this respectfully. George Guidall however is a poor substitution.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Frustration. Dissapointment.

Any additional comments?

I will read this instead, with the sound of Frank Muller inescapably in my head - the dramatic change is too large to overlook. The importance of a Narrator in some cases, such as this example, is all but equal to the Author and changing the Narrator is akin to changing the Author part way through. I tried the first few hours and Guidall really muddys up the characters and the story suffers as a result. I hope he has better luck elsewhere.

Different (boring) narrater.

The narrater has been changed for the 5th book. I find the new one difficult to follow and very monotone, his range of voices between the characters is awful and quite frankly he bores me. This is very disappointing as I am enjoying the series so far and don't think I can manage listening to this guy any longer.

Big shoes to fill

I love the Dark Tower series but I do feel sorry for George. Frank muller did an amazing job of bringing these books to life and although George does his best to bring that same level of life he cannot do it to the degree that Frank does. However he is still a great narrator and does the stories justice.

Liked it a lot

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes

What does George Guidall bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I liked his voice of the gunslinger. His female voices sounded good, but I did not believe Susanah too much. Susanah, being a black woman would probably sound slightly different, but those are details, really. George Guidhall gave this story a voice that I never heard, and say thankee for that. Thankee big big.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

"No one ever does live happily ever after"

Any additional comments?

I gave the story 4 out of 5 because I got annoyed by Steven King's numbers fetish, especially the... Well just have a listen

The town and the Father

This is one of my favourites of the series. I think it’s the human elements that hold me and the very real emotions and the people. This one I think would be great for the older teenagers and up to read, although I am unsure of the whole series. It depends on their mental age rather than physical.

The twist at the end needs to be paid attention to as it sets the scenes for the next book.

Too Frank

I am touched by the story of Frank and I hope he’s still on the road too recovery, and still fighting the good fight……