Come, just stroke them, they won´t lacerate you and if, it will be so immediately fatal that you will at least feel no pain, except if bitten by a blue glowing vampire before, that could complicate both the dying and getting all the pop culture references and innuendos.

It´s getting a bit complicated with all the interconnections to the other parts, but King does a great job by using new and established settings, symbols, and artifacts to keep it suspenseful and demanding to read at the same time. There is no of his works or series with a similar emphasis on fusing it all together with as many character lines and mentioned elements, there are works taking place at the same or similar setting or with the same characters such as The Shining or the Mr. Mercedes series, but nothing close to this.

Look forward to one of the creepiest, best demonic possession scenes ever.The setting surrounding Mia is so creepy, I mean, I am a man and I can luckily not give birth, because I wouldn´t survive it, weak as I am, but I imagine reading it as a mother so terrifying that I couldn´t find a name for it. Perverting the symbol of love, the reason to live, the essence of life to breeding the freaking antichrist, playing with the most essential element of human relationship on such nerve wracking claviatures of terror is ingenious.  This scenery, allocated to different parts of the series, is one of the best King has ever written, it won´t ever leave your memory again, even if you wish, scream, and plead for it, it will haunt you until after the grave, each new incarnation, and yes, it may be you who it is. Try to handle that, getting reborn as: see spoiler.

It´s not just that King is referring to his own work, characters,  he even integrates himself, I mean how cool is this? He is caricaturing himself and his weaknesses, something one needs much self- reflection and self-criticism for  and many are unable to because they deem themselves so over the top.

This part is essential for understanding the whole deeper meaning King integrated into his work and I couldn´t name all the innuendos and especially the interconnectivity floating through this series, but I am not sure if some parts are not just over the top philosophy and glitter or if King was, next to his literary ingenuity, also so clever to add so much second lawyer under the skin of the story.

How I loved this creepy setting, the mutations, some Sci-Fi elements with open questions fermenting in the background, the good oldfashioned handle me kids each whatever melodramatic time period I choose or…, the explanation of the backstory,… it has everything.

And how could I not love an evil megacorp and no, this time I won´t start driveling about how cool it would have been if King would have written more Sci-Fi…oopsie. However, I would have loved to have seen more of this element and plot level, because King has everything else, the standard crew, check, the personified evil and the meta evil, check, but what is kind of missing is the evil mega conglomerate that is once not tinkering with alien technology or invasive alien species, but with the dark side itself.

A stronger focus on this aspect would have made it even more dynamic, but King prefers to show the evil characters, not the evil ideologies, but I imagine an evil parallel universe where he might have written it this way as part of a historic nonfiction book. Because, the saddest thing of this dystopic uchronia, he wouldn´t have been allowed to work in forbidden creative jobs and would have had to work as propaganda indoctrination demagogue black magic somewhat teacher instead. Sigh, if I could just have been in one of his classes, possibly necromancy or mind control by demonic possession, it would have rocked so much…

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

This 5th book in the Dark Tower series was "the worst" for me so far.

The Ka-tet arrive at the valley town of Calla Bryn Sturgis. The town, at least in my mind, is very Wild West-ish. Lots of farmers and ranchers, a hard life at a sort of frontier. The frontier to what? Well, the Thunderclap - home to "wolves" that steal children in regular intervals from the community (always one of a set of twins). Now, some farmers and ranchers want to rise up while others don't dare. So when the Gunslingers come through the area, they are asked to help.
In the town, our four "heroes" meet Pere Callahan, who turns out to be the priest from King's Salem's Lot. So we get his story in a flashback (all the events since the other novel's end) while the town is explored, people met, secrets uncovered and magical instruments used to visit parallel worlds.
Because another story thread here is what happened to a certain bookstore back in our New York after Jake left to join the Ka-tet. Turns out, he - or, rather, some land he owns - is very important in this epic struggle between for the forces of good and evil.

Honestly, I liked seeing Father Callahan here, but my god, King could have told his story much more quickly. Just like I enjoyed the mystery of this little town and Andy, but that could have passed more quickly as well. The only thread that had the perfect pacing in my opinion was that of NYC and the bookstore.
I am really concerned that Callahan will become an official member of the Ka-tet, that they're 5 from then on (or 4 if Susannah actually dies), because as interesting as I find Callahan / his appearance in this series, I do NOT see him as part of the Gunslingers!
But I very much like(d) the mystery of what the wolves actually are. Clearly, they work for the Crimson King, the big bad here, but the big questions was WHAT ARE THEY EXACTLY? You know that feeling when reading a Sherlock Holmes story and people believe in magic and stuff and you are following the clues to find a reasonable explanation? It's a bit like that - only, you can't be sure magic ISN'T involved.

The further puzzle pieces we got - such as the significance of the numbers, more about the directive in the tech, why the wolves took the children (and returning them mentally retarded), the connection between the worlds, Mia and the pregnancy,  the black Maerlyn ball as well as those corporations frequently mentioned both in the universe's past and NYC's present - were all very fascinating once again.

Like I said before, this was too drawn out, even for me, even for a SK novel. Callahan's story as well as the preparation of the valley town could have been told much more quickly and it would still have had all the information and suspense. I sincerely considered deducting a star because it was the worst in all the books of the series so far.
Then again, I'm still enjoying the romp through the multiverse, I am still discussing intensely all kinds of theories with my buddy-reader, SK still fascinates me with details such as different bodily features displayed by different personalities of one and the same body (there are scientific studies about this kind of phenomenon where a person's one personality is blind while another isn't, or a person whose's one personality has diabetes while the other hasn't), the people keep me engaged (I either roll my eyes at them or want to kill them, usually) and once there is action, there is no time to breathe.

And then there was this cliffhanger. My god, SK is cruel! I knew there would be SOMETHING happening with / to Susannah because of the child / Mia, but THIS?! Sheesh! I'm hoping, despite the ominous title of the next book, that there is a way for Mia to leave Susannah's body or that ONLY Mia is killed and Susannah therefore freed from this personality when the "chap" is born. I mean, it was said several times that the kid will kill its mother most likely. Not to mention the introduction of SK himself within his own book series. I had known about this but fuck me, that is a weird (and risky) choice! I won't continue with the series right away, maybe only on Monday, but I'm glad I don't have to wait for the next volume to be published as that would be torture. I'm obsessing over the story and its details so I guess there is no reason to rate this lower after all.

this book is an intentional homage to the magnificent seven; you can't really go wrong with that plot and Stephen king's writing is always enjoyable but he began to introduce some elements that have me worried about the ultimate direction the story will take.

`Las antorchas eran naranjas. Roland estaba bajo su luz desarmado, tan recto de caderas como un muchacho. Por un momento se limitó a otear los rostros silenciosos y expectantes, y Eddie sintió la mano de Jake, fría y pequeña, deslizándose en la suya. No hacía falta que el chico dijera lo que estaba pensando porque Eddie hacía otro tanto. Nunca había visto un hombre que pareciera tan solitario, tan alejado de la corriente de la vida humana, de su fraternidad y candor. Verlo allí, en aquel lugar de festejo (pues aquello era un festejo por muy trágico que fuera el asunto que los había conducido hasta allí), solo ponía de relieve la verdad: era el último. No había otro. ´

`Después de todo, los adioses que recibimos y los adioses que damos son los adioses que nos dicen que seguimos vivos. ´

` — Las tumbas llegarán más tarde. — Roland levantó la mirada al cielo, pero las nubes habían avanzado hacia el oeste y habían ocultado las estrellas— . Recordad, los vencedores son los que cavan´

`Como siempre, jamás se sentía más feliz de estar vivo que cuando se preparaba para lidiar con la muerte. Cinco minutos de sangre y estupidez. ´

A pesar de que el anterior volumen de la saga me gustó más, este no se queda demasiado corto, diría que es también de lo mejor de la saga, una saga que dice mucho de por sí, un trabajo ambicioso de muchos años y que ya está llegando a puntos el ocaso de esta aventura, de las mejores que he leído y que inspiró a muchas otras que vinieron después. En esta entrega profundiza más en sus conexiones con otros mundos, incluso en el plano que tenemos ahora por realidad, eso le da a la obra cierto aire de verosimilitud y reflexión, el padre Callahan se convierte en un personaje importante de la saga, conectando de forma magistral y directa con Salem´s Lot, con su leyend ay sus criaturas, que mucho tienen que ver con la torre.
Están tan bien desarrollados sus personajes que no necesita de demasiada acción, ya que, son los mismos los que aportan todo el peso a la trama, siendo la más interesante la del Padre Callahan, de alguna forma el Misterio De Salem´s Lot, con respecto a este personaje no fue del todo autoconclusiva, incluso llegando a parecer que Stephen King lo tenía preparado para que apareciera más adelante.

Hay partes que son narrativamente más lentas que otras, está claro que mantener un ritmo trepidante en una saga como esta es algo imposible, a pesar de eso, sabe manejar muy bien los tiempos. Quedan claras más conexiones y muchos conceptos que antes parecían ambiguos, familiarizado ya, con todo su universo.
En resumen, a mi parecer, una de las mejores sagas que se han escrito jamás, con una épica hay unas influencias de la cultura popular que te sumergen de lleno en todo.
Veremos que depara el siguiente volumen, ganas no me faltan, pero, por otro lado, me da pena estar terminando ya con esta saga, una saga a la que en algún momento, más adelante, volveré.

There's a lot going on here. Luckily, it has the page count so nothing feels rushed. Because there's a new character (really an old one if you read a lot of King) and his backstory, and travel between worlds, and a demonic fetus, and a child-stealing evil to vanquish... Plenty to keep me avidly listening through 22 discs of audiobook.

That new-but-now character is Father Callahan, late of 'Salem's Lot. I wasn't exactly clamoring to see this guy again, and I doubt very many other people were. But here he is, and you know what? His story is one of the most compelling things about this book. I really like Callahan as a character, and his story only made me like him more.

For me, it was interesting to Roland at work as an actual Gunslinger. It's a side of the role we haven't really seen before. Sure, we've seen bits and pieces, but never the whole thing all in one time and place. It's kind of cool to see Roland's politician side, and he puts it to very good use here in winning over the townsfolk. It's kind of interesting to me how the vast majority of the book is planning, while the actual battle goes relatively quickly. That was also the case in the previous book, and it must be intentional. Maybe King doesn't particularly like drawn out action scenes, but it also seems like something that would define a Gunslinger: the battle is all in the planning. I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind. Maybe this will make the book slow going for some, but I was fascinated the whole way.

Speaking of, I want to make an aside to specifically say how much I liked that, though there's a divide in the town, the ones who are against accepting Roland's help are not portrayed as being in any way evil. Sure, they're wrong, but from their limited point of view they have legitimate concerns: if Roland and his ka-tet are unable to stop the Wolves from stealing half of their children, the Wolves might steal all of them, and raze the town, and kill all left standing. It would have been so easy to show them as stupid, as evil, as traitors. But by and large, they aren't, and that's a far more difficult thing to write.

The todash elements are also very interesting. It's the major fantasy element in this book, and I liked that there was more than one way to go todash. Revisiting New York at this point was actually kind of jarring, as well it should have been. And even more so when the vagrant dead show up.

At this point, is each book in the series going to be better than the last? I have no problem with that, though that's an increasingly difficult task.

Not too much to say here. For me this is the last book in the series that showed "The Dark Tower" at its peak. The remaining books did not have the same energy and yes, I am still angry at the conclusion of this series. Though now of course re-reading this one, I do hate the references to Harry Potter. Yeah, not going into it much here, but I refuse to ever read anything again about J.K. Rowling. I forgot how much of a fan of that series Stephen King was back when he was writing this series. There are also some other pop cultural references in this one that was a bit jarring to read now in 2020.

"Wolves of the Calla" is the fifth book in "The Dark Tower" series. We follow our ka-tet, Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and of course Oy. Our ka-tet has been wandering for a long time and finally comes along the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis which needs the help of the last gunslingers. Calla is a town where twins are born (hello references to "The Talisman") and every 20 years, creatures called the Wolves come and steal one set. The twins are taken to a place called Thunderclap. No one knows what is done to them, but they are eventually returned and are left mindless and huge (I read shades of "Desperation" with regards to the growth). The townspeople tell the ka-tet that if they try to fight back, the kill everyone. The wolves are now due to arrive soon and they want to fight back and want the gunslingers to train them.

Ahh yeah. King gives us a good western showdown fight with some random references here and there. And we also get a look at some characters that will make you go what the heck (hello Father Callahan...this isn't Salem's Lot.) We also have Roland and crew dealing with the fact that "the rose" that they all dream of is in danger and trying to figure out what they can do in order to keep it safe.

Things I loved: Our ka-tet and how strong they are together. All of them are gunslingers. I still get a kick out of "Black House" when the gunslingers are referenced in that and we hear how dangerous they are to the Crimson King.

Things I did not love: The pregnancy story line was the worst thing ever and I wish that King had lef it out. I know he wants to play a little into the whole Arthur mythos, but he already did that when you read how Roland's gun came to being. And about Roland's ancestors when you read the graphic novels. The whole split personality thing a freaking-gain. Seriously? Why? It was not needed.

That said, this is still my favorite cause I know what is coming and it breaks this Constant Reader's heart every single time.

It is as though Stephen King:
1. Took me out to an arid, deserted sepia-toned no-place
2. Lit a sputtering campfire that quickly faded to embers
3. Handcuffed me
4. Sat me down Indian-style across from him
5. Proceeded to narrate to me in a hoarse, bored drawl over a series of three-to-four weeks the world's longest, most uninteresting story while my head lolled back, my lips grew dry with thirst, and my bum ached

If this book had been written by any writer other than Stephen King, it would never have been published. I firmly believe that an editor, or any discerning eye, never even glanced at this book.

I will say that the only redeeming storyline in this entire book is Don (Pere) Callahan's tale. In it, King writes some surprisingly beautiful prose. Callahan's tale - which is interspersed throughout the main storyline - moves in a pace that a story like this should move - like hurried steps on a Manhattan sidewalk, like a nervous glance backward as though someone might be following you. Because guess what? Someone is following you - me, the reader! And if I'm following your little ka-tet through the boring, desolate redneck wonderland of the Calla for 925 freakin' pages - you better move! However, how much does Callahan's story actually move the plot? Very little. It seems to serve two purposes: to reinforce coincidence as "ka," and as an example of the quality of writing of which King is capable, but which you, reader, are being denied throughout the rest of the narrative.

Besides the sheer grueling pace of this beast, I had a couple of serious problems with this particular book in the Dark Tower Series:

1. Speech Mannerisms: The language of the Calla is annoying. When Roland's ka-tet continue to use these annoying speech mannerisms in their own "palaver" - it comes off as completely ridiculous. Not to mention - exhausting for the reader.

2. Repetition: Certain tropes (Nineteen, for example) are repeated too often. It is bad writing, simply put. While I do not yet understand the "significance" of Nineteen, it has been implied that it is significant. So, so significant. Yawn.

3. Mia: Susannah already has three personalities. Giving her another one is simply a rehashing and reheating of King's own once-interesting characterizations.

So, if the pace is slow, the plot overdrawn, surely in 925 pages there is room for some serious character development, right? Wrong! Besides Jake Chambers doing a little "coming of age," the rest of the characters remain stagnant throughout the narrative - to the point where they seem like thoughtless renditions of themselves. Even Mia - a brand new personality! - is derivative of Susannah's older personalities and is largely uninteresting.

I will also say that I find the subplot of the Callahan's meta-fiction interesting. I find it easy to believe that a quest that traverses time/place/universes, can surely traverse the border between reality and fiction. This development of a fiction-bridging reality could be spectacular if done correctly. Or it could fall off, and go nowhere. I cannot say I have faith for the former.

My enjoyment of Callahan's tale is the only reason I gave this book more than one star.

That said - I won't give up now. Not with thousands of pages of this series already read. I mean, I have to get to that Tower. But, God, God God - I want to give up. God, this Wolves of The Calla book was long. I felt like I was reading it for nineteen years.

If this series was written by any less of a writer, we would throw it to the side as the most ridiculous of fan-fiction. We would roll our eyes at the lightsabers and the demon sex and the trains that talk and the bear with a radar dish on its head and the people who somehow still have grenades when most people don't own guns and the magic door opened with a wooden key that they knew how to make just because they did. Actually, all of the times they just know things would normally get this disregarded as complete tripe.

But somehow King makes it work.

King somehow makes completely ridiculous... everything, actually... and makes me not care that it is insane. I can think of very few writers* who could pull off writing these situations and not only have readers not throw it away, but consider it great. I have no idea how he does it, but I am now about 2500 pages into this series, don't even like half the main characters, and would start book six today if the group I'm reading these with wanted to.



* Actually Gaiman is the only one that comes to mind, but if pressed, I could probably think of another one or two

6.0 stars. In a long career which includes more great books and best sellers than I can count, "The Dark Tower" series is Stephen King's masterpiece. Even if you don't like Stephen King, you will love this series as it is one of the best Fantasy series ever written. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!

Nominee: Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel (2003)
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2003)

Un libro que hace un alto en el camino para quedarse en el pueblo de Calla. Allí descubriremos algunos secretos sobre los arrunados y misteriosos lobos que asolan el pueblo. Seremos partícipes de un siniestro embarazo y se desvelarán algunos secretos, pocos, sobre la rosa y algunos libros que tienen relación con la Torre Oscura. King es un cachondo y un gran especialista en marketing, comprobado en el final de esta novela. Ahora solo queda descubrir la canción de Susannah!

King knows how to write a cliffhanger! I think this book might be 4.5 ⭐️ because it dragged in a few spots but the ending was great! I cannot believe I only have 2 books left of my journey to the Dark Tower with Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy!

The story continues.....wow does it. Okay this book is the one that seems at times to take itself a little less seriously yet still does it without once ceasing to be dark, depressing, and foreboding.

Actually a pretty good trick if you can pull it off.

This book continues King's "tying together" his multiverse, but with oh so much more. In this book we get not only parallels with other popular fiction...but comic books and even Harry Potter.... There's also a story element that I can never stop myself from associating with a popular toy...though that may be just me.

The story also answers a question I had in the "what ever happened to" "vein". There's a character who seemed to sort of wander off into the night in one of Mr. King's earlier works (Salem's Lot) leaving many of us wondering what became of him. Mr. King had seemed to hint we hadn't seen the last of the character and now, low and behold, here he is, along with his back story.

We get a strange side event sort of story here. One of those that we see a lot in "western fiction" (by that I mean western as in the American west...okay I'll say it, cowboys, rather than western lit.). The hero needs to be about his business doing the larger more important job only to be side tracked by a duty he can't ignore. In the end we find that the job at hand was more critical than we could have known. This book shows us a different kind of action than we've seen so far in the battle fought. It also sets up the continuing story based on elements we've seen laid out in prior volumes.

I'll close with my regular disclaimer that I really can't say I "enjoy" these books mainly because of their general outlook and Mr. King's vision of his multiverse. They are however well written and the convoluted plot line works within it's own logic and hangs together.