2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King the fifth book of The Dark Tower series.

Pages: 931 pages

Length: 1 Month (May)

Participants: Trisha, Bailey, Alison .

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Nice timing. I'm 1/3 of the way through rereading Salem's Lot and Wolves is next.

Hi, Jarrod...glad to have you join us! :)

I started this book yesterday and am about 10% in....

Hi, I would like to join the discussion as well. I started reading this a couple of days back and I'm almost 50% done.

Thanks Alison! I'm curious, are people reading this for the first time? If not, (view spoiler)[you know why I wanted to revisit Salem's Lot first (hide spoiler)].

Vivek, so happy you can join us! :)

Jarrod, It is the first time that I have read Wolves of the Calla...actually the whole Dark Tower series... and I believe that it is Trisha and Bailey's first time reading also. We have been in a Buddy Read of the Dark Tower series since January :) We started with The Gunslinger in January and will finish with The Dark Tower in July...Feel free to join us for the rest of the series if you would like to!

I do know, however, what you are talking about because my husband is reading along with us and this is a reread for him so he gives me some insights when I have questions ;)

Yay, welcome to the buddy read Vivek and Jarrod!! I am also reading this series for the first time like Alison mentioned. It's been an interesting run since January but I'm so glad I joined.

Trisha, Alison, and I also decided to buddy read The Talisman in July and Black House in August as they are somehow related to The Dark Tower series (I'm trying to avoid spoilers so I don't know how they're related but I believe Alison's husband knows. We're also planning on reading Insomnia in September but I can't remember if that has any ties to this series or not. All are welcome to join, the more people in the discussion the more we have to talk about!!

Thanks for the warm welcome! This is my second time through the series and I'm spacing the books out a bit. For that reason, I don't know that I'll keep pace with you for the rest of the way, but I might go right into Song of Susannah. We'll see. If not, I'll be sure to check back on this thread whenever I do read 6 and 7! I'll be curious to see what everyone's favorite book was. Mine is (view spoiler)[The Drawing of the Three (hide spoiler)]. (And my least favorite is (view spoiler)[Song of Susannah, though we'll see if that holds after I read it again (hide spoiler)].)

Jarrod, so far my favorite book has been a tie between:
(view spoiler)[ The Drawing of the Three...it was such a good story and a pleasant surprise because I had been very confused after The Gunslinger
AND Wizard and Glass because I loved the backstory of Roland (with Alain, Cuthbert and Susan Delgado in Mejis :) (hide spoiler)]

Well, I have made it to Part II - Telling Tales (pg 216) so here are my thoughts on Part 1 - "19":
(view spoiler)[ OK, can we talk about Mia and "the chap"? I feel for Susannah because at the end of Part 1, she is starting to realize that her personalities may have divided again! Mia is "not nice" and Roland really does not want Mia to know he is aware of her! I was amused by Susannah have "gas" after her bog-eating adventure because as I was reading this, I was wondering what effects all those gross things she ate would have on her system (King must have had the same thoughts ;)
I have a feeling that the Susannah/Mia storyline may come to a full on problem for Roland when he is trying to fight the Wolves...I did think I read that he stated that it would be an impossible situation for him if this was to happen...

Eddie is realizing 2 things:
1. that Time has softened (and why is this happening...because the Dark Tower is in peril?) I find it interesting that Roland said he has quested for the Dark Tower for over 1000 year :0
2. The number 19 is very important but I don't think we know why yet?! I liked the quote: "The whole world is losing its shit, going nineteen":) My husband reminded me that Stephen King wrote The Gunslinger and started the Dark Tower series when he was 19...so of course this number is important! :)

It will be interesting to see what happens with the Black Thirteen Wizard's Ball! Callahan is afraid of it and if I was any of the Ka-Tet, I wouldn't want that thing near me! I think the bag that Jake brought back from the field/lot where the rose was (the "bowling bag" he picked up) may be for carrying the Black Thirteen Ball in?! Roland told him to store it safely so I think that is its purpose in the future?

I think Andy is a double agent or plays both sides of the field! He won't tell the Ka-Tet or anything about the Wolves (when they ask him, he uses a creepy, cold voice and invokes "Directive Ninteen") but yet he warns the people of Calla the Wolves are coming...
(hide spoiler)]

Through part 1, chapter VII, part nine: (view spoiler)[ Holy crap this book took off out of nowhere! I wasn't expecting another side quest type of story for this series because it feels like most of the books have been 'side quests'. But I always enjoy learning more about the different people who live in Mid-World. And I'm glad to see directive 19 show up again after reading about it in The Wind Through the Keyhole.

I'm also getting super weirded out by Susannah's pregnancy. Obviously I hope it's Eddie's, but I have a fear that it'll be the product of that demon from The Waste Lands. And this new Mia alter that Roland witnessed during the night kind of makes no sense to me. Where/Why did she come from? Hopefully this is answered later in the book but jeez.

Roland's dream from the todash when he was reliving the fall of Gilead nearly had me in tears. I loved this whole sequence and had to reread it twice 🥲 (hide spoiler)]

Can't wait to get further in and read everyone's spoilers!!

I'm a little over halfway now!

(view spoiler)[ I'm loving that Callahan's storyline is continued in this series and honestly didn't expect to find out what happened to him after 'Salem's Lot (my current favorite SK novel). The development of this story itself is pretty strange though. It kind of feels like the ka-tet isn't accomplishing much but at the same time they're preparing for this--what I'm assuming will be--great battle ahead of them. I recently moved apartments and have had to listen to the audiobook while frantically unpacking rather than with the paperback in my hands so that is also adding to my confusion/discontentment with the story.

Alison, you make an interesting point about Andy being a potential double agent. This isn't something I would've thought of on my own but it's super realistic. Even if it's not of his free-will (if he has that), whoever programmed him could have set him up to be like that. I love this character though even if he does end up being a bad guy; he's sort of like the tin man from Wizard of Oz which I'm guessing is the point. (hide spoiler)]

Hoping to finish this in the next 4 days because my audiobook expires then.

Hi All, I have to say that I finished this book the first weekend of May and then drove to see my son and daughter-in-law in Prescott, AZ for a week (I hadn't seen them in over a year)! I have been busy with outside things/projects since I have been home so am just now sitting down to write my thoughts on the book ;)

I already gave my thoughts on Part I so here are the rest broken down into the following sections:

Part II (Telling Tales)...starts on pg 216: (view spoiler)[ I have to note that when I read about the Battle of Gilead in Roland's dream, I was also sad...Poor Alain (to be killed by friendly fire) and Cuthbert (wounded and bleeding and charging headlong to his death :( :( )! I have to say that Eddie is like Cuthbert (with all his talking and joking, etc) and Jake is like Alain (he has the touch just as Alain did although I believe it is stronger than in Alain...)

I haven't read Salem's Lot (I can't tell you how much vampires freak me out...I had such bad dreams of them as a kid!) I have to say that I did watch the Salem's Lot movie with "Hutch" from Starsky and Hutch (am I dating myself ;) but don't remember any of it...
The fact that there are 3 levels of vampires...UGH!

I enjoyed Callahan's story and the 3 parts in which he told his story! The "Highways in Hiding" or Todash Turnpikes was such an interesting concept and way to travel between worlds! My husband and I had plenty of discussions about this...this part confused us both a bit. I haven't read The Talisman yet (I think that is a Buddy Read for July for us) but my husband said todash reminded him of the "Flipping" in the Talisman. He didn't tell me anything else....

Question: Who told Tower and Depenau to save Callahan from the Hitler Boys? That is whom saved him because of the ring "Ex Libre" on Tower's fingers... (hide spoiler)]

Part III (Wolves of the Calla)...starts on pg 517:
(view spoiler)[ What was the deal with the Grey Horses the Wolves ride on and their Grey Cloaks, etc? Roland and Eddie have seen it before. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what the Wolves were until the end of this section when they were revealed although Roland had it figured out pretty early on...

I loved King's variations on the word "commola"...that section shows what a great writer he is!

Ahhhh...The traitor in the town is revealed and is it: Ben Slightman Sr!! I knew that Andy was a double agent!! That sneak...
When Andy got his in the outhouse (very fitting), his password was revealed...1999! My husband pointed out to me that 1999 was the year of Stephen King's car accident (when the van hit him) and as I am typing this, he looked up the date which is also significant...the 19th of June! Here we have another example of how the number 19 is so important to King!

My one negative thought on this book was: I thought the battle with the Wolves was a little bit too wrapped up/too short! I would have liked to have seen more of a battle after all the build up about the Wolves and the fact that this town has lived in fear of the Wolves for generations! I am glad that the Ka-Tet won, however...

Now...onto Susannah/Mia and the fact that the Ka-Tet + Callahan (I believe he is now part of the Ka-Tet) are going to find her. Sneaky Andy helped Mia get to the cave so she could use the door and Black 13. She took Black 13 with her so the door is sealed shut and the Ka-Tet has to find another way to get to her! Where and when did she go? I am sure we will find out in the next book!
(hide spoiler)]

Anyone catch Dictionary.com's word of the day today?

Palaver