Author Topic: Wolves of the Calla  (Read 2443 times)

fuzzyoctopus

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Wolves of the Calla
« on: November 10, 2003, 01:06:52 AM »
Ok, so since I was on airplanes this weekend, I bought (ok, begged my husband to buy) a copy of Stephen King's book Wolves of the Calla - the next Dark Tower book.

If you haven't read the Dark Tower series, go soak your head and then read it.

If anyone has comments on this book put them here, and if not, I will when I'm done, and there will be spoilers, so read the book, darnit.
"Hr hr! dwn wth vwls!" - Spriggan

I reject your reality, and substitute my own. - Adam Savage, Mythbusters

French is a language meant to be butchered, especially by drunk Scotts. - Spriggan

Mistress of Darkness

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Re: Wolves of the Calla
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2003, 12:43:20 PM »
No reading for you! You're supposed to be writing!
" If i ever need a pen-name I'd choose EUOL, just to confuse everyone. " --Entropy

fuzzyoctopus

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Re: Wolves of the Calla
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2003, 01:02:15 AM »
Pssht.   Make me!
"Hr hr! dwn wth vwls!" - Spriggan

I reject your reality, and substitute my own. - Adam Savage, Mythbusters

French is a language meant to be butchered, especially by drunk Scotts. - Spriggan

Mistress of Darkness

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Re: Wolves of the Calla
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2003, 01:28:54 AM »
Umm . . . No!!!

Curses
" If i ever need a pen-name I'd choose EUOL, just to confuse everyone. " --Entropy

fuzzyoctopus

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Re: Wolves of the Calla
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2003, 09:34:22 PM »
I thought that since I finished the book I should update this, in case anyone wants to read it.  THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS.

SPOILERS I SAY.

-
It was good.  I was fearful that I wouldn't enjoy this one as much since I first read the other 4 books in 2000, and had gotten my brain used to them, but King keeps his tone the same and so I liked it just as well.
It was good, so I have to talk about the things that I didn't like.

We actually get back to New York to see the Rose again.  I was glad, because I really wanted to. And there is a lot more about it.  I love how his research of New York is good too.  The Dutch really DID own Manhatten for many years, you know.  This man knows what he writes about.

The plot was quite different; there was less epic journeying in this one.  In fact this was definitely a Western feel.  Roland and his ka-tet come in as the stereotypical 'town tamers'.  Now this is mentioned in the book a few times, so it's not like it's accidental, but I enjoyed Wastelands best of all the books because of the epic journeying across strange lands and having wild adventures.  The western feel works fine though, and it's good for the characters to have a break.  Just personal preference on my part, and a new awareness of western influence.

It crosses over very very importantly with the book Salem's Lot, which I did not enjoy.  Frankly, Stephen King's early stuff isn't as good as his later stuff and also I hate vampires.  So I didn't like Salem's Lot.  Now however I need to reread it, so we'll see if I like it better now.  This book involves much killing of vampires, so I like it.

He keeps the dramatic suspense up to ridiculous measure on some things.  Dude, I KNEW it was Andy who was the traitor, so why did you play the games where the characters will tell each other the 'secret' but not write the dialouge to keep the reader in suspense?  I guessed about the robots too.  It really really bothered me.  I think it could have been done better.

King wrote himself and his books into this world.  It seems rather cocky, much in the way that Shyamalan's character in "Signs" had a role that made him look cocky as a director.

The ending!  This book ends just as badly as
Wastelands does- huge cliffhanger between books.

One last thing.  When I read Wastelands, I'd never heard the ZZ Top song "Velcro Fly." When I read Wolves of the Calla, I'd never heard the Elton John song "Someone saved my life tonight."  I downloaded both of course- and he's right.  That song is downright catchy.  Stephen King is the only person to consistantly be able to put songs in his writing that I have never heard.  And I admire it.
"Hr hr! dwn wth vwls!" - Spriggan

I reject your reality, and substitute my own. - Adam Savage, Mythbusters

French is a language meant to be butchered, especially by drunk Scotts. - Spriggan

Mr_Pleasington

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Re: Wolves of the Calla
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2003, 05:36:49 PM »
Whoa, totally missed this topic somehow.

As a huge DT fan, I picked this up on Thanksgiving day, I think.  Read through it in about 2 days.

Overall, I was very pleased.  Things just keep getting better and better.  I like how he marked which books he considers part of the DT now in the front, though I had deduced most of them myself.  We still have yet to see the Insomnia-DT crossover moment from Roland's side of things.

Another huge cliffhanger though.  Won't be a long wait this time for the next book, which is good.

The only problem I have with this is that King wrote himself into the book.  The end with Callahan's "Am I real of fiction" was a little weak for me.  Supposedly in the next book the ka-tet is actually going to visit King back in 1977.  I don't know whether to look forward to that or dread it.

Still, very pleased overall.

Some company needs to liscence the setting and turn it into a roleplaying game.   How much fun would it be to play a gunslinger in Gilead before the world moved on?  

Have you picked up the revised version of the original Gunslinger yet?  I haven't as I haven't heard it adds or changes that much.  

fuzzyoctopus

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Re: Wolves of the Calla
« Reply #6 on: December 15, 2003, 06:17:49 PM »
I personally am very very frightened of him writing himself into the book.  But we'll have to see.

No, I haven't gotten the new release.  I will someday, when ALL the books are out.  The problem is my husband and I each had a copy of 1-4, and so it seems VERY wasteful to buy more copies now, since we are dead broke and have no room.  Some day we'll buy a nice set that matches, and we'll have THREE copies of 1-4 and I can continue to underline things in mine.
"Hr hr! dwn wth vwls!" - Spriggan

I reject your reality, and substitute my own. - Adam Savage, Mythbusters

French is a language meant to be butchered, especially by drunk Scotts. - Spriggan

fuzzyoctopus

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Re: Wolves of the Calla
« Reply #7 on: December 15, 2003, 06:41:49 PM »
Ok, Mr. P - When I saw your sig I just about fell over laughing.

Why don't we all use Spriggan quotes as our signatures?
"Hr hr! dwn wth vwls!" - Spriggan

I reject your reality, and substitute my own. - Adam Savage, Mythbusters

French is a language meant to be butchered, especially by drunk Scotts. - Spriggan

Mr_Pleasington

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Re: Wolves of the Calla
« Reply #8 on: December 15, 2003, 06:45:42 PM »
Funny you should say that... about six months a whole bunch of us were :)

The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

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Re: Wolves of the Calla
« Reply #9 on: December 15, 2003, 06:45:59 PM »
We did once. You were inactive at the time.

Spriggan

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Re: Wolves of the Calla
« Reply #10 on: December 15, 2003, 06:54:13 PM »
Ya, I was even advertiseing my quotes.
Screw it, I'm buying crayons and paper. I can imagineer my own adventures! Wheeee!

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