8.5/10

Another stonking effort from the Dark Tower series in a book that has left me drooling at the prospect of what the last two books hold. Initially it seemed like a slow read, this might not be so much the book as external factors making me unable to get chance to read it, and it plodded along and then all of a sudden I was swept up with it all and was engrossed and the last few hundred pages flew by. I would go as far as saying this is in my top two DT books but the slowness of the start means that it can’t pip “The Drawing of the Three” for me but there were plenty of positives that would mean I would gladly look forward to re-reading this in my, inevitable, series re-read.

The nuts and bolts of the plot was basically the Gunslingers defending a helpless village from invaders who would take their children. This is a very basic view of the main plot but that isn’t the main attraction here. All the sub stories are what adds to the story here and make for a great read. I’d read some negative reviews of the story saying it took too long and was all filler but I would disagree with the filler part of that argument and say all the extra bits, whilst maybe at first glance, don’t appear to add anything to the story but when the whole thing is looked at it’s clear that they add to the tale overall and make it a great story. I feel reading some of King’s other works first may have helped, such as 'Salem's Lot as there is a main character drawn straight from that novel but I’ve never come across due to me never reading that one yet.

The ending leaves it open as to where the story can go but I’ll be keen to read the next book and see what comes from the ending of this book. Overall, a really good read adding to a series that is slowly climbing up my list of all-time favourites.

If you like this try: “The Ecstasy of Gold” by Metallica

Stephen King’s Dark Tower series is an epic with few peers.

The first novel, The Gunslinger, was first published in 1982 and the final installment, The Dark Tower, came out 22 years later.

This one, the fifth in the series, was first published in 2003. By this time SK had built up speed and was cruising towards the finish and truth be told, this is my favorite so far.

After I read the Gunslinger I conceded that I was on the outside looking in, that I was missing the punch line to a story loved by hundreds of thousands. When, years later, I picked up the story again in 1987’s The Drawing of the Three, I was finally ready to pick up what King was throwing down and I was all in after that.

The Wolves of the Calla describes Roland and his Ka-tet as they take on the role of Western saviors for a town that has been beset for generations by mysterious riders who come in and abduct children. Stephen King’s use of the western template is masterful, as is his continued and inspired world building in this great American fantasy.

While this is an engrossing tale told by a great storyteller, it is King’s great design and ambition that are on full display here as he draws from popular culture, myth, legend, fantasy and literature to create a tapestry of unsurpassed detail and complexity.

He’s rolling, so I’m on to the next one.

Para mí este quinto libro de la saga de la torre oscura e Stephen King ha sido el mejor de todos, será que ya conocemos este raro mundo de la Torre Oscura, dónde los mundos y los tiempos se mueven, ya tambien hemos conocido a cada uno de los miebros del grupo, ya manejamos el vocabulario ( Ka, Ka tet)

Además, normalmente los finales de las historias de Stephen King no son su fuerte ( desde mi punto de vista ) pero en este se lucio, un final , para que les digo , único

It never ceases to amaze me how much of this series isn’t actually in active pursuit of the Tower. I feel like there is so much languish and toil that it detracts from the momentum. I need more time to process and appreciate how these tie into broader themes or plot elements, but it often drives me crazy when in the midst of reading.

This wasn’t my favorite entry, but also wasn’t my least favorite. About 300 of the 700 pages are among the best I’ve read in this series. It’s the extraneous, non-plot critical, meandering verbosity that made me put this book down at several points for a respite

n  Character I Loved & Hatedn

Still loved Eddie, but low-key loved Tower. I mean, the man’s name is Tower and obsessed over rare books, including a Stephen King classic. A man after my own heart

Didn’t hate Father Callahan, but did hate how much of his story we got here. It was completely superfluous and unnecessary in my opinion, and I say that as someone who loves Salem’s Lot.

n  Themesn

Love, betrayal, and standing for what’s right without promise of recompense.

n  One Thing I’ll walk away withn

Roland’s dance scene for sure. I never thought I’d say those words together in a sentence, but he straight up “Step Up”’d they ass

May it do ya fine. This book did me real fine. Say thank ya.

I must be picking up the language from Calla Bryn Sturgis/Mid-World because it seems lately, I've been saying the speech of the people. I almost said, "Thankee-sai" as I was handed my receipt today at the grocery store. "Say thankee" I didn't.

Anyways, I'll stop being silly. (The grocery store thing is true, however.) What a fan-freaking-tastic book. I really enjoyed the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis, the people, and I LOVED the way they spoke.

The story in this volume was just about as great as The Waste Lands....ahem...my favorite installment so far. So, I put this tied with The Drawing of the Three as my second favorite installment. Things were kind of mysterious in some parts, such as who was the snitch, and who or what were the wolves. The end with the 'Salem's Lot mention was also pretty brilliant. Father Callahan's part in the quest for the Dark Tower, the voices at the bottom of the cave, and just all of the connections to the number 19, Calvin Tower, the bookstore, etc....just brilliant.

King has such a creative mind, and I think this book completely made up for Wizard and Glass for me. Thanks King for delivering a solid book again. It was real trig. Say thank ya. I won't be surprised if Calla Bryn Sturgis/Mid-World speech is here to stay in my English speech.

Osećanja su mi prilično pomešana nakon ove prve polovine petog dela, nisam do kraja ni sigurna kako da napišem ovu recenziju. Ipak, pokušaću da sumiram utiske tako da ne bude spojlera.

Družina na putu do Mračne kule ukršta sudbine sa stanovnicima lokalnih Kala i saznaje da je ono doba kada jednom u generaciji nastupi napad Vukova koji odnose decu. Problem je utoliko čudniji kada se uzmu u obzir dve stvari: prva, da je karakteristika Kala da se deca rađaju kao blizanci i da je retkost da se rodi jedinče, i druga, da Vukovi uvek uzmu jedno od blizanaca i nakon nekog vremena decu vraćaju u Kale izmenjene. Na sve to, ispostavlja se da Čarobnjakovo staklo nije bila jedina kugla sa kojom će se revolveraši susresti.

Za ljude koji nisu čitali Salemovo (prvobitna verzija imena glasila je "Jerusalemovo"), smatrajte da će vam dešavanja opisana u ovoj polovini "Vukova Kale" pokvariti užitak onda kada budete počeli da je čitate jer ne samo da se pojavljuje važan lik iz te priče koji i ovde postaje značajan, već prisustvujemo još jednoj besedi koja nas vodi u prošlost. Takođe, postoji dobra šansa da ostanete zbunjeni tokom nekih događaja ukoliko niste čitali The Talisman, a pojavljuju se reference i na The Stand i Black House. Naravno, King ne bi bio King kada ne bi usputno provukao još nekoliko svojih dela, poput The Shining i Insomnia, s tim da "Nesanica" tek treba da se preplete sa ovim serijalom.

Ono što je meni pokvarilo utisak donekle je upravo povezivanje "Talismana" sa ovim serijalom, delom zbog toga što mi se raspršio mistični doživljaj i što se osećam kao da mi je dobar deo priče otkriven, a delom zbog toga što mi on nije među omiljenim Kingovim delima. Doduše, sa druge tačke gledišta, bilo je naznaka i o preplitanju sa ovom pričom, jednostavno nisam želela da je uvidim. Žao mi je što mi se utisak pokvario u bukvalno poslednjih 30ak stranica.

"-No todos son llamados a la senda de la espada o la pistola o del navío- sentenció Roland-, pero todos sirven al ka"

Stephen King, un autor por el que siento un profundo amor-odio. Siempre que empiezo una de sus obras no sé a lo que atenerme. Lo he intentado con It, El resplandor (sin terminar) o cementerio de animales (abandonado a mitad del libro). Este señor me deja con tan mal cuerpo que tengo dos opciones: o dejo el libro o me aguanto las ganas de tirar el libro por la ventana.

Sin embargo la saga de la Torre Oscura a mí me parece harina de otro costal. Empecé el primer libro hará un par de años, después de ver bastantes buenas reseñas de esta saga. Cuando terminé el primer libro, me quedé con un mal sabor de boca que dejé la saga aparcada durante un par de años más. El año pasado entonces, decidí darle una segunda oportunidad, la segunda parte me chifló y me enganchó tanto que decidí leerme la tercera y cuarta parte de seguido. Este último me decepcionó muchísimo y volví a posponer esta saga un año más.

Tardé demasiado en leerme esta quinta parte, un par de meses quizá. La verdad es que me dio bastante rabia. (Malditos exámenes).

Tras haber reflexionado he llegado a la conclusión que Stephen King no es un autor que se deba tomar a la ligera. Como ya dije en un principio sus historias de terror no me gustan pero eso sí he de admitir que sus ideas son tan buenas como descabelladas, esto incluye su saga de la Torre Oscura. De una cosa de la que sí puedo estar segura es que los personajes son una maravilla.

Por otro lado, creo que voy con pies de plomo con este señor ya porque sé que les va a hacer algo a mis pequeños y no quiero. Por este motivo voy a tomarme un respiro antes de poder leer el sexto libro.

It's been a while since I last picked up a Dark Tower novel and I'm determined to finish the series this year.
I read Wizard and Glass back in 2019, though not quite the 6 year wait fans had to endure when first published!

I loved the idea of Roland and his Ka-tet arriving in the town of Calla Bryn Sturigs and learing of the fate that meets the children each generation.

The inclusion of a well known character from another King novel also added to the intrigue and the thorough sidestep into their past adventures help add to the story within a story vibe that follows most of this series.

It's a little difficult to rate this title as whilst I enjoyed much of the book, at times it felt much like setting stuff up for the final two instalments.
I described the last book as a soft reboot, this felt like Part One of a trilogy.

But that ending was so worth the journey I've so far undertaken.
Things are about to get a whole lot crazier and I'm totally here for that!

*Spoilers ahead for this monstrosity*

The Dark Tower is my favorite book series ever. I love every book for a different reason; every book except this one. I don't like this book very much at all. That breaks me to say but it is easily my least favorite of the seven. I just did not care for anything that happened. I was hoping this boring book would be saved by an amazingly epic climax, but no; the final battle was extremely underwhelming and Andy turned out to be a lame villain who didn't do a single thing to thwart our heroes. He was just a big gimmick. I've always been disappointed with this one. And the big bad wolves turned out to be robot comic-book rejects who throw literal snitches from Harry Potter. *Sigh* Man, this book kicks me between the legs. The only reason it gets a 2 is because it is from this series that I hold to such high esteem.

P.S. Callahan is the worst story-teller of all time. Get to the point, man. Time is slipping away. Just get to what we need to hear, please. I wanted Roland to blow this guy's head off by the time he was finally finished telling us about his lonely days in New York. 'Somebody saved my li-ife tonight!' Umm . . . why is Elton John so important right now? Can we stay focused, Callahan? He makes that same reference like 40 times. You ate a really good burger? Oh, you don't say? Get to the part about Black Thirteen. Like, skim some stuff for the sake of your father.

Reread update:

Well, here we are again. Another book that I hated the first time, and rather liked the next time. Don't get me wrong, many of my original complaints still apply. But overall I enjoy the book much more now that I've gone through it again. I'm changing my 2 stars to a 3.5. Still my least favorite of the series . . . but it is not a bad book.

Am I just bipolar or something? It happens way too often that I think a book is garbage, then come back and end up appreciating it. I don't even trust my own bloody opinions anymore.

El tema que ahora aborda esta parte es muy interesante pero las historias alternas me parecen algo aburridas (gusto personal) aveces me da la impresión que se alargan mucho y nos hacen esperar por los capítulos que nos relatan la historia principal.
A partir de este ya nos van preparando para lo bueno, por que los siguientes son magníficos.

The Ka-Tet of Nineteen’s skills are requested when a gang of marauders threaten an entire generation of townsfolk. As Gunslingers, Roland and company are unable to refuse those who seek their assistance so they quickly begin preparing for battle. Susannah Dean, pregnant with a demon’s child, has yet another personality arise during her sleep. Her name is “Mia” and she may prove to be very, very dangerous.

There is a lot going on in King’s fifth entry of his acclaimed Dark Tower saga. Susannah’s ongoing mental issues are straining the relationship between Roland and his pupils while the enormity of their duty as gunslingers lingers in the background. Stress is at an all time high and doubt is running through their veins like blood. Fortunately for those involved, situations like this can help to shape a person and while Roland’s Ka-Tet is undoubtedly united, they are far from the force they are destined to become.

While I’ve read a good chunk of Uncle Stevie’s yarns, I have yet to check out Salem’s Lot. With Father Callahan playing such an integral role in the novel, I couldn’t help but feel I may have missed a few things here and there. However, King does a good job expanding Callahan’s story so there’s a chance it’s all covered.

I would have hated to be reading this series as the books were released. The wait between The Wastelands and Wizard and Glass had been six years. The wait between Glass and Wolves was another six years! Two DT books in a combined twelve years. Too long! Thankfully, I can grab books six and seven whenever I damn well feel like it. A luxury for sure.

Lobos del Calla

Quinto libro de la serie de la torre oscura donde el pistolero y su equipo sigue el camino del Haz hasta la torre.

Como en los anteriores episodios de la serie todo es imprevisible, cualquier cosa puede ocurrir al pasar página. Esta vez llegan a un pueblo llamado Calla en el que los pobladores tienen un problema con lobos que les vienen a perturbar cada cierto tiempo.

Hay que resaltar que en esta ocasión, King recupera un personaje conocido de otra de sus obras para darle un papel muy importante en esta historia. El autor hace encaje de bolillos para introducirlo contando su propia aventura, que no está nada mal. Además, tiene casi más papel aquí que en el libro de origen.

No creo que cuando escribió ese libro en los años setenta pensase que algún día lo usaría en otra historia. Pero el camino hacia la Torre ha durado tantos años, escribiendo a la vez un montón de libros entre medias con tantísimos personajes interesantes, que si puede introducir alguno de ellos hace bien. Me pregunto si este hombre cuando escribe, no se confundirá de personajes en sus libros, como en las familias los padres se confunden llamando a sus hijos por el nombre equivocado