SK Saturday: The Final Update
Category: The Dark Tower series
SK Saturday: Wolves of the Calla
It took quite a bit longer than expected, but I’ve finally finished reading The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla. To say it was a large book is an understatement. I had a lot going on in my life this past couple of weeks that kept me from reading every minute I wanted to. I also picked up an erotic romance to read at the same time to temper some of the ick I felt when reading about Susannah’s ever growing chap.
In this one we find Roland and his ka-tet growing much more in tune with each other. They’re still traveling along the beam toward the Dark Tower and find themselves in the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis. This town has a serious problem and a quartet of gunslingers (and one billybumbler) is just what they need to aid them.
We learn a bit more about each of the characters in this book. Roland can dance, Jake is really still a boy despite all he’s been through, Eddie can be quite the politician when needed, and Susannah hides yet another within her skull. This book is almost three stories in one binding.
I had forgotten much about this installment of The Dark Tower series. Most importantly, that it ends in a cliffhanger. I hate that. SK also does a lot of foreshadowing with ominous single lines at the ends of chapters. I kind of hate that too. But for all his little idiosyncrasies I still really liked this book. It gets us further along the path to the tower and Roland is given the chance to be a little more human.
On to the next!
SK Saturday: Wolves of the Calla
Okay I have a confession to make. I’m not actually done with this, the fifth, installment of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series just yet. I’m about halfway there and it’s very slow going for me.
Part of the problem is I feel no sense of urgency with this one even though I don’t remember everything that happens. Of course, the fact that there is more to the series tells us at least Roland carries on the quest after this tale. Another reason may be that it is a slow tale. There’s much telling going on and at least three different threads.
First we have Father Callahan’s story. To muddle things up he is the priest from Salem’s Lot. That wasn’t a problem for me the first time I read this but time has had a way of changing me as a reader. It kind of bothers me now that SK decided to put so much of himself in this book. I know there’s much more later on but had forgotten how much was in this one. Not only is Salem’s Lot mentioned, but also characters from a few others. It’s not confusing to me just kind of annoying.
Second is the story of the Rose sitting in an abandoned lot in New York. The ka-tet has to save it by buying the lot to prevent an evil corporation from doing the same. Right now their plan is simple in word but difficult in deed. It involves time travel, which I’m not a huge fan of in stories, as well as for the cosmos to align correctly and shine favor on them. That’s not something SK is known for. We’ll see what happens.
Third is what the book is named for, the wolves who are on their way to Calla Bryn Sturgis. The farm/ranch town has been suffering from these invaders for centuries and need heroes to save them and their children. Roland and his crew arrive just on time to do so, but will they succeed? Time will tell.
So right now I’m at the point where all of the stories are told but it still remains to be seen where the chips will fall. I’ll get back on it this week in the hopes of finishing by next Saturday.
Happy reading!
SK Saturday: Update VI
So, I nearly forgot to post this today…I was reading. I hate to admit I wasn’t reading Wolves of the Calla, though I’m not done with it. I picked up a paranormal romance to balance out the acid trip feel of SK’s 5th installment into The Dark Tower Series. Don’t know that it worked but I promise to get back on it tonight. I’m finally at about the halfway mark. Next Saturday will bring a review whether I’m done or not, promise.
SK Saturday: Update V
As I sit here writing this it’s actually Thursday evening. However, the current installation I’m working through, Wolves of the Calla, is a massive tome and I’m not even to the halfway point yet. So, I promise to read more and hopefully more quickly, this next week. But my muse has been active and I can’t ignore her when she starts yapping in my ear.
Happy reading!
SK Saturday: The Wind Through the Keyhole
And so I finished reading this one with time to spare, amazingly. It was…different. A story, within a story, within a book. I don’t know that I really liked the format. I guess it was a little too much storytellin’ for me.
This book is listed as installment 4.5 in The Dark Tower Series. In it we find the ka-tet of Roland, Jake, Oy, Eddie and Susannah still traveling along the path of the beam, heading toward the Dark Tower. They come to a river and meet a friendly man to get them across. He reminds Roland of a horrible storm that appears out of nowhere and is easily predicted by the billy-bumblers. Oy has been acting strangely and Roland has a “duh” moment as he realizes it’s for this reason.
That’s my first problem with this book. It’s one of those things (if there’s a term I’m not certain) that’s too contrived by the author to mesh well for the reader. Perhaps deus ex machina? Except there was no real reason for this book to happen in the first place. I don’t think I learned anything new about the characters that I needed to know so long after Roland’s journey ended. He does have a few tidbits about his mother, some introspection that makes him more human. However, I don’t think this book did that justice. In the book Roland tells everyone a story. That story is mostly about a situation where Roland tells someone else a different story. That story takes up most of the book. It’s not a bad story. I was actually quite enthralled. I just don’t know that it was worth taking up the thread of The Dark Tower series again, and getting my hopes up that it would be another piece of the puzzle.
So, taken at face value as a stand-alone book, this is a good read. Depending on my mood I might even say a great read. But as a part of this series, being placed where it was, I just don’t know. Keep in mind that I began reading this series again solely because of this book. I received it for my birthday and wanted to remember every detail that came before this story took place. I’m in the thick of it now so will continue on with the series. But of course, I remember how it ended and know that’s not going to change.
SK Saturday Update IV
Just know that I’m not yet done with The Wind Through the Keyhole. It’s more of a story within a story and now that I’ve finally gotten to the heart of it, I’m about halfway done. More next week…
SK Saturday: Wizard and Glass
And so it is done! Yes it took me three weeks instead of one, but I am finally finished with the fourth installment of The Dark Tower series, Wizard and Glass. Why did it take me so long? Well, it was a longer read than the three before it, and life has been a little busier. But the real reason, I finally confessed to myself as I wiped the tears away, is the story itself. In this book we learn what a true tragedy Roland’s life has been and what he has sacrificed in the name of The Tower.
Most of this book is a flashback to Roland’s youth, a time when he becomes a gunslinger and passes his test of manhood. He learns many harsh life lessons, kills for the first time and meets the love of his life. Just knowing what we do of his future self tells the reader this love is doomed. After all, there is no love present at his side in his quest. It is a tragic tale that must be lived through as he tells it again to his ka-tet in one endless night around the campfire. As Eddie tells Jake, it’s a western just like all of Roland’s stories. It’s a love story and a tragedy. It’s also a huge chunk of Roland’s personality. It explains much about his motivation and to me is the best of the entire series in revealing just how he thinks. SK often accuses Roland of having a romantic spirit, but I hadn’t really seen or understood what he meant by that until this book.
The very end of the book, once everyone wakes from Roland’s story telling of his past, is awkward and unnerving to me. They find the emerald city without following a yellow brick road and the Wizard isn’t of Oz. It’s such a strange twist that it felt tacked on as an afterthought to me. It’s the only one of the series so far that has SK’s bad habit of ending the story by whatever means necessary whether it makes any sense or not (see Needful Things, etc). I can’t say I like it. I understand the part where Roland must face the final tragic act of what happened in his youth. I understand SK creating a dramatic exhibition for the telling of that part of the tale. I just don’t understand what all the scenery was for. Did we really need that connection to Jake’s, Susannah’s and Eddie’s worlds? I don’t think so. It kind of sort of worked, but almost took away from the story itself. In short, I didn’t like it.
Now I will finally pick up a fresh installment. Book 4.5 of the series, The Wind Through the Keyhole, is the only one I haven’t read before. No promises on the time-frame at this point.
SK Saturday Update III
My dear readers, once again I must cry your pardon (as Roland would say). It appears The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass has gotten the best of me again this week. Even with the holiday I haven’t gotten much further than before. I’ll muddle through it in the next few days and adjust the schedule accordingly next week.
Happy reading!
SK Saturday: Update II
Author Missy Jane 