142 books
—
3,644 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Wolves of the Calla” as Want to Read:
Wolves of the Calla
(The Dark Tower #5)
by
Roland and his tet have just returned to the path of the Beam when they discover that they are being followed by a group of inexperienced trackers. The trackers are from the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis, and they desperately need the help of gunslingers. Once every generation, a band of masked riders known as the Wolves gallop out of the dark land of Thunderclap to steal one
...more
Get A Copy
Mass Market Paperback, Pocket Books Premium Edition, 931 pages
Published
February 1st 2006
by Pocket Books
(first published November 4th 2003)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Wolves of the Calla,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Wolves of the Calla

(B+) 76% | Good
Notes: Essentially one long side quest, it's hampered by a plodding back-story but recovers and ends on an interesting twist. ...more
Notes: Essentially one long side quest, it's hampered by a plodding back-story but recovers and ends on an interesting twist. ...more

If someone would have told me back in the ‘90s that the way to get Stephen King to finish up the Dark Tower series quickly was to hit him with a minivan, I would have been on my way to Maine to rent a Dodge Caravan before you could say, "Bango Skank was here."
I confess this not to do more complaining about the long suffering years waiting on some advancement in the Dark Tower books, but to illustrate how utterly obsessed and frustrated I was with this goddamn series. Then King nearly came to the ...more
I confess this not to do more complaining about the long suffering years waiting on some advancement in the Dark Tower books, but to illustrate how utterly obsessed and frustrated I was with this goddamn series. Then King nearly came to the ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

Mar 03, 2011
Rhiannon
rated it
it was ok
Recommends it for:
Fans of westerns, masochists
Recommended to Rhiannon by:
Uwdave
Shelves:
read-in-2011,
end-of-the-world
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 ...more
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 ...more

“If," Roland said. "An old teacher of mine used to call it the only word a thousand letters long.”
― Stephen King, Wolves of the Calla

Come-come-commala back to the world of The Dark Tower, do I beg. On the path, our Ka-tet come across Calla Bryn Sturgis, one of a surprising, but limited number of thriving Western (as in Wild West) like communities in this area. An area under siege by Wolves; every 20 odd years the Wolves visit a Calla, did I say visit? I meant raid, a raid of their most precious ...more
― Stephen King, Wolves of the Calla

Come-come-commala back to the world of The Dark Tower, do I beg. On the path, our Ka-tet come across Calla Bryn Sturgis, one of a surprising, but limited number of thriving Western (as in Wild West) like communities in this area. An area under siege by Wolves; every 20 odd years the Wolves visit a Calla, did I say visit? I meant raid, a raid of their most precious ...more

Nov 17, 2018
megs_bookrack
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
stephen-king-read
5-stars yet again...

....to the surprise of absolutely no one.
Earlier:
Yes, it is just over 900-pages.
Yes, I have over 1,200 other books on my TBR.
Yes, I am reading it again.

Original:
All hail the King!

Full review to come...stay tuned!!!
10/14/20: Completely forgot that I never wrote a full review for this masterpiece.
Perhaps a project for the weekend...
...more

....to the surprise of absolutely no one.
Earlier:
Yes, it is just over 900-pages.
Yes, I have over 1,200 other books on my TBR.
Yes, I am reading it again.

Original:
All hail the King!

Full review to come...stay tuned!!!
10/14/20: Completely forgot that I never wrote a full review for this masterpiece.
Perhaps a project for the weekend...


The 2011 re-read:
Roland and his ka-tet of gunslingers ride into Calla Bryn Sturgis, a town with a problem. Once every generation, a gang of marauders called The Wolves ride out of Thunderclap and steal half of the town's children. The ones that return come back roont, or brain-damaged. Can Roland and the others stop the Wolves before Susan gives birth to the demon in her womb?
It was a long wait between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla. Was it worth it? Well, does a horse piss where it pl ...more
Roland and his ka-tet of gunslingers ride into Calla Bryn Sturgis, a town with a problem. Once every generation, a gang of marauders called The Wolves ride out of Thunderclap and steal half of the town's children. The ones that return come back roont, or brain-damaged. Can Roland and the others stop the Wolves before Susan gives birth to the demon in her womb?
It was a long wait between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla. Was it worth it? Well, does a horse piss where it pl ...more

"Now I think that all of us are born with a hole in our hearts, and we go around looking for the person who can fill it. You...Eddie, you fill me up."
The fifth book in the Dark Tower series finds Roland and his ka-tet in Calla Bryn Sturgis, where they must help the residents overcome a formidable enemy.
Even though this book took me what felt like a million years to finish, I thoroughly enjoyed pretty much every page (well... I’m not the biggest fan of the New York plot in this one, I’d rather ha ...more
The fifth book in the Dark Tower series finds Roland and his ka-tet in Calla Bryn Sturgis, where they must help the residents overcome a formidable enemy.
Even though this book took me what felt like a million years to finish, I thoroughly enjoyed pretty much every page (well... I’m not the biggest fan of the New York plot in this one, I’d rather ha ...more

Jul 25, 2015
Ahmad Sharabiani
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
childrens-young-readers,
literature,
fantasy,
science,
horror,
adventure,
21th-century,
united-states,
fiction,
thriller
Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower #5), Stephen King
Wolves of the Calla is a fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the fifth book in his The Dark Tower series. The book continues the story of Roland Deschain, Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean, Jake Chambers, and Oy as they make their way toward the Dark Tower.
After escaping the alternate Topeka and the evil wizard Walter O'Dim and weathering the starkblast, Roland's ka-tet begin to sense they are being followed in their travels.
During t ...more
Wolves of the Calla is a fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the fifth book in his The Dark Tower series. The book continues the story of Roland Deschain, Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean, Jake Chambers, and Oy as they make their way toward the Dark Tower.
After escaping the alternate Topeka and the evil wizard Walter O'Dim and weathering the starkblast, Roland's ka-tet begin to sense they are being followed in their travels.
During t ...more

Calla Bryn Sturgis is a quiet farming town with good simple folken, with almost every birth producing twins. Once a generation, wolves on horseback from Thunderclap strike like lightning, grabbing up and making away with one twin from each pair. They will be returned eventually, but forever changed in a most terrifying way, they are "roont". There is no fighting back, just a dull, resigned acceptance of this practice, it has always been this way. As Roland and his ka-tet continue along the B
...more

"𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵."
Roland and his three companions come to the aid of a Wild West type village which is plagued by the "Wolves" who raid the village once a generation, steal half the children; then return them "roont", doomed to giantism, idiocy and agonising death.
The Ka-tet which are now proven gunslingers themselves muster the villagers in self-defence and try to uncover the truth about these malevolent "Wolves"
The plot is full of twists, sus ...more
Roland and his three companions come to the aid of a Wild West type village which is plagued by the "Wolves" who raid the village once a generation, steal half the children; then return them "roont", doomed to giantism, idiocy and agonising death.
The Ka-tet which are now proven gunslingers themselves muster the villagers in self-defence and try to uncover the truth about these malevolent "Wolves"
The plot is full of twists, sus ...more

Commela Come Come!
Our journey has left so many behind. We have been attacked, beaten, and threatened. Yet, we persevere. Onward wayward travelers. Let us continue on our quest to the Dark Tower. Let us travel safely along the Path of the Beam
Our band of crazy MahFahs, led by the craziest MahFah yeh’ve ever encountered- Yours Truly- has seen and done much. I even let Jeff out of his
Bac ...more

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 s ...more
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 s ...more

This book took me the longest to get through of the dark tower series, but I blame that more on school than the book itself. I found this book to be fascinating, and so important to the connection of all the worlds and universes surrounding the dark tower. It's funny though, the conflict stated in the title of the book acted more as a clock than an actual tense moment. It was a side quest you knew they were going to win so there wasn't much stress or tension. The real important parts of the stor
...more

A prequel to a sequel or a sequel to a prequel of a previous Dark Tower “review”.
Both women’s hands moved like a blur as they obliterated their targets - moving and stationary. Their pistols were still smoking as they were returned them to their holsters.
“Well met,” said the fat rancher, as he moved towards the taller of the two women, “and mighty impressive.”
“Thankee, Sai”, said the taller of the two blonde katet members and by her calm and authoritative bearing, obviously the group’s dinh.
“I’m ...more
Both women’s hands moved like a blur as they obliterated their targets - moving and stationary. Their pistols were still smoking as they were returned them to their holsters.
“Well met,” said the fat rancher, as he moved towards the taller of the two women, “and mighty impressive.”
“Thankee, Sai”, said the taller of the two blonde katet members and by her calm and authoritative bearing, obviously the group’s dinh.
“I’m ...more

This was really good. Once again King's descriptions are breathtaking. I thought the buildup to the ending was nicely done. Once everything started to come together, I couldn't put it down! Also I thought ending was quite satisfying. Can't wait to see what happens in the next one....
2021 Reread:
I feel like I'm getting so much more out of my second journey to the Dark Tower! I could not imagine reading these books as they were released, having to wait for the next installment to come out. I don't ...more
2021 Reread:
I feel like I'm getting so much more out of my second journey to the Dark Tower! I could not imagine reading these books as they were released, having to wait for the next installment to come out. I don't ...more

Somewhere further down that Path, mayhaps long beyond the Crystal Palace of Wizard and Glass, our company of four, plus one billy bumbler, stride nearer to the Tower. How much further down that path? Well, even though they walk by foot, it seems impossibly further than the previous book. In Mid-World, time advances in stutters and steps now, but not nearly as fast as the leaps it is taking in “our” world, as Roland and the gang will find while going “Todash” (gee, I love that term). One thing is
...more

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 c ...more
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 c ...more

As my dawdling and ever dwindling ka-tet finally approaches the clearing at the end of the path—praise the Man Jesus—I find myself on the horns of a dilemma. You see, we read Wolves of the Calla nearly a year and a half ago, but I’ve left it unreviewed for a myriad of reasons. Actually . . . no, that’s not entirely true. For some idiotic reason, I began the silly practice of delaying reviews on buddy reads until all, or at least most my friends were finished reading. This delay tactic, commonly
...more

OH RIZA! I think this might be my favorite (so far) of all the Dark Tower series of books....which says a lot.
If you were to combine a Western film with the TV show LOST with Back to the Future with a Horror film, you would *almost* have the vibe achieved here. There is hardly anything I can say that will not spoil at least PART of the book, so I will simply continue to sing its praises.
That ENDING! King continues to BLOW MY MIND. The way that EVERYTHING he has ever written seems to somehow ser ...more
If you were to combine a Western film with the TV show LOST with Back to the Future with a Horror film, you would *almost* have the vibe achieved here. There is hardly anything I can say that will not spoil at least PART of the book, so I will simply continue to sing its praises.
That ENDING! King continues to BLOW MY MIND. The way that EVERYTHING he has ever written seems to somehow ser ...more

I didn't really realize until I'd picked up this book that I was kind of in a reading funk for a bit. Either that, or this book is just that good. Either way, I had a new life of reading when I picked up Wolves of the Calla. I was sucked right back into the path of the Dark Tower, right along one of the 6 beams. And it's not just sucked in, but I was able to pick back up after a year or two with only my rusty memory of the previous 5 (counting Wind through the Keyhole) books.
Wolves is just what ...more
Wolves is just what ...more

As a big SK fan I'm disheartened by how unbothered I am about this series. I guess 'rocky' is the word I'd use to describe the experience so far, some books I've loved and others I'm meh about. Having finished this instalment I'm left feeling fine, its fine, the reading experience was fine. No more no less.
What I totally loved about this one is the obvious link up to Salem's Lot. I couldn't believe my eyes to see Callaghan and as soon as he started talking about Ben Mears and Barlow I was rapt. ...more
What I totally loved about this one is the obvious link up to Salem's Lot. I couldn't believe my eyes to see Callaghan and as soon as he started talking about Ben Mears and Barlow I was rapt. ...more

5 Stars WOW! (just as good as The Drawing of the Three)!
This is such an amazing read oh my DAYS! Like honestly WHAT did I just experience!
The fifth instalment of The Dark Tower – I would advise you to read all its predecessors or you are going to be so confused!
I don’t even quite know how to put all my thoughts into words right now. This is not the most straight forward book in the world and it has so many conflicting storyline and you really need to concentrate with this one but it will be abso ...more
This is such an amazing read oh my DAYS! Like honestly WHAT did I just experience!
The fifth instalment of The Dark Tower – I would advise you to read all its predecessors or you are going to be so confused!
I don’t even quite know how to put all my thoughts into words right now. This is not the most straight forward book in the world and it has so many conflicting storyline and you really need to concentrate with this one but it will be abso ...more

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 h ...more
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 h ...more

My 100th book of the year is done!
I'm not exactly sure why, but I enjoyed this more this time around than I did the first time.
I much prefer this narrator over Frank Muller. (At this end of this audio book, King himself speaks about Frank Muller and why he didn't continue narrating this series-it was due to a motorcycle accident in which he was seriously injured.
(Frank is part of the reason The Haven Foundation was created. It's to help independent authors, narrators and frelancers during time ...more
I'm not exactly sure why, but I enjoyed this more this time around than I did the first time.
I much prefer this narrator over Frank Muller. (At this end of this audio book, King himself speaks about Frank Muller and why he didn't continue narrating this series-it was due to a motorcycle accident in which he was seriously injured.
(Frank is part of the reason The Haven Foundation was created. It's to help independent authors, narrators and frelancers during time ...more

I didn't think it was possible to be any more in love with this series than I already was. But with each book I reread, my love for it just keeps growing. I've become so invested in these characters and their journey that it feels like they've become a part of me. I had forgotten a lot of the details of the story so at times it's almost like I'm on the Dark Tower journey again for the first time. And it's truly a magical experience. I feel like now that I'm a bit older, I'm able to truly appreci
...more

Apr 20, 2017
Emma
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
post-apocalypse
I absolutely LOVED this! The ka-tet get to be actual gunslingers in this story. We find out more about North Central Positronics and it's links to Eddie's, Jake's and Susannah's New York's , as well as Father Callahan. We find out how the Dark Tower is as relevant to their world as Roland's although it goes by a different name. We meet Andy, find about about the Wolves..I didn't see the Big Reveal about them until I was told.. it is a testament to King's skill that we don't get to the actual sho
...more

These books become weirder and weirder with each volume, and this one is the weirdest so far.
To say that I didn't enjoy Wolves of the Calla would be a lie, but the book was too long. Though I love King when he writes big books, but this one was unnecessarily huge and 150-200 pages could have been cut off. This is one of the cases when King turns wordy.
Nevertheless, the book was entertaining and the characters were great, especially Jake, whose character-arc evolve dramatically but powerfully.
I ...more
To say that I didn't enjoy Wolves of the Calla would be a lie, but the book was too long. Though I love King when he writes big books, but this one was unnecessarily huge and 150-200 pages could have been cut off. This is one of the cases when King turns wordy.
Nevertheless, the book was entertaining and the characters were great, especially Jake, whose character-arc evolve dramatically but powerfully.
I ...more

This was a refreshing return to the story of the Ka-Tet and their journey. After what felt like thousands of pages of flashbacks and backstory in Wizard & Glass and Wind Through the Keyhole, Wolves of the Calla returns to Roland and friends in their quest for the Dark Tower. There is so much drama throughout book five, leading up to an exciting ending that leaves you desperate to start the next book right away (which I did!). This book almost feels like a reintroduction of sorts to the main char
...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Around the Year i...: Wolves of the Calla, by Stephen King | 4 | 34 | Mar 05, 2022 04:19PM | |
2022 Reading Chal...:
![]() |
13 | 24 | May 25, 2021 07:45AM | |
Michael & Amy's B...: Ka-tet | 1 | 1 | Mar 20, 2021 07:21PM | |
The Constantly Re...: Wolves of the Calla | 3 | 17 | May 22, 2020 08:07PM | |
Challenge Corner: The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King -> Starting November 8th, 2018 | 11 | 9 | Jan 01, 2019 04:36PM | |
Reading with E.: Dark Tower Reread: WOLVES OF THE CALLA! | 1 | 8 | Sep 18, 2018 11:00PM | |
Stephen King Fans: Dark Tower #5- Wolves of the Calla - Feb 2018 | 114 | 129 | Jul 07, 2018 04:02PM |
4,706 users
1,574 users
1,343 users
482 users
252 users
212 users
200 users
176 users
105 users
102 users
Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, M
...more
Other books in the series
The Dark Tower
(8 books)
Related Articles
It's no secret that around here we love a good twisty mystery, a confounding whodunit, and a heart-racing thriller. So, we asked eight of...
93 likes · 12 comments
9 trivia questions
1 quiz
More quizzes & trivia...
1 quiz
“It was the possibility of darkness that made the day seem so bright.”
—
681 likes
“No one ever does live happily ever after, but we leave the children to find that out for themselves.”
—
395 likes
More quotes…