Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King

Heads up! I'm probably going to give some stuff away here but I have a lot to say.

Let's talk about Stephen King for a moment. I have a definite love/hate relationship with the man. I sometimes think that he is the most brilliant author alive today, especially when it comes to the Dark Tower series which may very well be the glue that holds the world together. However, he has a tendency to pull some cheap tricks that drive me mad. Example: An elderly gentleman tells a story to Eddie in this book about when he faced the Wolves. When he delivers the vital information to Eddie, he whispers it so the reader can't read it. When Eddie shares this information with Roland, again the reader doesn't see it. And that's cheap. Also, towards the end Roland pulls about three tie ins from other stories (two of which are not his) that almost made me throw the book. Also, there are characters in this book with accents you will not be able to understand. Even worse, you are going to start talking in the Calla accent. Be warned.

Despite all that, I couldn't put it down and you KNOW I'll be reading the rest of the series.

Anyway, we left off with the ka-tet wandering along the path of the beam. This book picks up in Calla Bryn Sturgis where most of the children are born as twins but every 20-25 years the mysterious wolves come out of the east and snatch one of every pair that is of appropriate age. The stolen children are sent back to Calla but they are sent back "roont." They are oversized and developmentally disabled. The town has allowed such behavior for a few generations but one farmer, Jeffords, has had enough. Luckily, they have received word of gunslingers.

Finally, we get to see the gunslingers at work. It's not all death and killing, you know, but a code of conduct and a proper way to ask for help. Roland, Susannah, Jake, Eddie, and Oi spend most of the book in preparation. They must gain the trust and respect of the townfolk. They must figure out as much as they can about the Wolves and how to kill them and then prepare the town for action. To complicate matters, Susannah is now aware that she is pregnant and that she is splitting into two personalities again. To complicate things even further, an ancient relic pops up that allows the ka-tet to go to New York where they discover that the rose is in danger and they must save that and Tower of Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind fame.

There really is a lot going on in this book. Sometimes King can get wordy in his longer novels but I don't think Wolves could have been a shorter book. It was exciting and it was good and I really can't wait to see what happens. As it is, I feel like I have run a marathon and I am glad for a little break!