Wolves of the Calla

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The Dark Tower V -
Wolves of the Calla

Author	Stephen King
Cover Artist	Bernie Wrightson
Language	English
Genre(s)	fantasy, horror, science fiction
Publisher	Donald M. Grant
Released	2003
Pages	714
ISBN	ISBN 1-880418-56-8
Preceded by	The Dark Tower IV - Wizard and Glass
Followed by	The Dark Tower VI - Song of Susannah

Wolves of the Calla is the fifth book in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. This book continues the story of Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy as they make their way toward the Dark Tower.

[edit] Plot

After escaping the alternate Topeka and the evil wizard Randall Flagg, Roland's ka-tet travel to the farming village of Calla Bryn Sturgis where they meet the townsfolk, as well as Father Callahan, who was originally introduced in 'Salem's Lot. He and the townsfolk request the ka-tet's assistance in battling against the Wolves of Thunderclap, who come once a generation to take one child from each pair of the town's twins. After a few months of being away, the children are then returned "roont". The wolves are due to come in about a month's time.

Father Callahan also tells the gunslingers his remarkable story of how he left Maine following his battle with the vampire Barlow in the novel 'Salem's Lot. Since that encounter he has gained the ability to identify vampires, amongst whom Callahan identifies three types, by a blue aura. After some time he begins killing minor vampires as he finds them; however, this makes him a wanted man amongst the "low men" and so Callahan must go into exile.

Eventually he is lured into a trap and dies, allowing him to enter Mid-World in 1983, much as Jake did when killed in The Gunslinger. He appears near the Calla with an evil magic ball called the Black Thirteen, and is found by the Manni people.

Not only do Roland of Gilead and his ka-tet have to protect the Calla-folken from the Wolves, they must also protect a single red rose that grows in a vacant lot on Second Avenue and Forty-Sixth Street in mid-town Manhattan of 1977. If it is destoyed, then the Tower, which is the rose in another form, will fall. In order to get back to New York to prevent this they must use the sinister Black Thirteen.

To add to that, Roland and Jake have noticed bizarre changes in Susannah's behavior, which are linked to the event recounted in The Waste Lands when Susannah occupies the demon in the stone circle.

[edit] Influences

Stephen King has acknowledged multiple sources of influence for this story, including Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai, its stepchild The Magnificent Seven, Sergio Leone's "Man with No Name" trilogy, and other works by Howard Hawks and John Sturges, among others.

The weapons used by the Wolves, "Lightsticks", are working versions of the Lightsabers of Star Wars. "Sneetches" are diabolical conglomerations of the Golden Snitch and bludgers of the Harry Potter books and the knife-wielding silver orb of the Phantasm movies. The Wolves themselves are based on Doctor Doom's Doombots, a fact which is recognized by Eddie and Jake.

"Andy" the robot who warns the Calla of the coming Wolves, could be a reference to Andrew Martin, the main character from Isaac Asimov's novella Bicentennial Man.

[edit] Editions

• ISBN 1-880418-56-8 (hardcover 2003}
• ISBN 0-7435-3351-8 (audiocassette 2003)
• ISBN 0-7435-3352-6 (CD audio 2003)
• ISBN 0-7432-5162-8 (paperback 2005)
• ISBN 1-4165-1693-X (mass market paperback 2006)

Stephen King
Bibliography
Novels: Carrie (1974) • ’Salem's Lot (1975) • Rage (as Richard Bachman) (1977) • The Shining (1977) • Night Shift (stories) (1978) • The Stand (1978) • The Dead Zone (1979) • The Long Walk (as Richard Bachman) (1979) • Firestarter (1980) • Cujo (1981) • Roadwork (as Richard Bachman) (1981) • The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (1982) • Different Seasons (novellas) (1982) • The Running Man (as Richard Bachman) (1982) • Christine (1983) • Pet Sematary (1983) • Cycle of the Werewolf (1983) • The Talisman (written with Peter Straub) (1984) • Thinner (as Richard Bachman) (1984) • Skeleton Crew (stories) (1985) • The Bachman Books (novel collection) (1985) • It (1986) • The Eyes of the Dragon (1987) • Misery (1987) • The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987) • The Tommyknockers (1988) • Dark Visions (cowritten with George R. R. Martin and Dan Simmons) (1988) • The Dark Half (1989) • Dolan's Cadillac (1989) • My Pretty Pony (1989) • The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition (1990) • Four Past Midnight (stories) (1990) • Needful Things (1990) • The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991) • Gerald's Game (1992) • Dolores Claiborne (1993) • Nightmares & Dreamscapes (stories) (1993) • Insomnia (1994) • Rose Madder (1995) • Umney's Last Case (1995) • The Green Mile (1996) • Desperation (1996) • The Regulators (as Richard Bachman) (1996) • Six Stories (stories) (1997) • The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997) • Bag of Bones (1998) • The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) • The New Lieutenant's Rap (1999) • Hearts in Atlantis (1999) • Dreamcatcher (2001) • Black House (sequel to The Talisman; written with Peter Straub) (2001) • From a Buick 8 (2002) • Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales (stories) (2002) • The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (revised edition) (2003) • The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003) • The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004) • The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004) • The Colorado Kid (2005) Cell (2006) • Lisey's Story (2006)
Non-fiction: • Danse Macabre (1981) • 1988 Nightmares in the Sky (1988) • 2000 On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000) • 2005 Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season (cowritten with Stewart O'Nan) (2005)
Original ebooks: Riding the Bullet (2000) • The Plant: Book 1-Zenith Rising (2000)
Audio Recordings
Audiobooks: L.T.'s Theory of Pets • Blood and Smoke (2000) • Stationary Bike (2006)
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