In the fertile lands of the East, the farming community has been warned the wolves are coming back. Four gunslingers, led by Roland of Gilead, are also coming their way. And the farmers of the Calla want to enlist some hard calibers. Torn between protecting the innocent community and his urgent quest, Roland faces his most deadly perils as he journey through the Mid-World towards the Dark Tower.

About the Author

Stephen King is the bestselling author of more than thirty books including the epic Dark Tower series, On Writing and Bag of Bones. He lives with his wife, the novelist Tabitha King, in Bangor, Maine.

Reviews

Fans of King's long-running "Dark Tower" series have been waiting over five years for the book to succeed 1997's Wizard and Glass. In Wolves, our band of gunslingers (Roland Deschain; Eddie Dean and his wife, Susannah; Jake Chambers; and the Billy Bumbler, Oy) continue their journey toward the Dark Tower along the Path of the Beam but pause to assist the small farming community of Calla Bryn Sturgis, which falls prey once every generation to the fearsome "wolves," stealing away one child from each pair of twins. While preparing for this fight, Roland's posse finds a door to 1977 Manhattan, where a vacant lot on the corner of Second Avenue fosters a very special red rose. As listeners, we can appreciate the skillful reading by George Guidall, while at the same time mourning the loss of Frank Muller as narrator-Muller's enlivening and energetic readings of the previous volumes of the series continue to resonate. Highly recommended and essential for all collections holding the earlier "Dark Tower" books.-Kristen L. Smith, Loras Coll. Lib., Dubuque, IA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

'Classic King, fine characters, compellingly written in a gripping, well-honed plot' -- Daily Express on WOLVES OF THE CALLA 'Superbly energetic, it's King at his best' -- Mail on Sunday on WIZARD AND GLASS 'Pulse-poundingly engaging' -- Sunday Express 'Join the quest before it's too late' -- Independent on Sunday

"Time is a face on the water," stretching and contorting reality as gunslingers Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake and their talking pet "billy-bumbler" Oy continue their quest to prevent the destruction of the Dark Tower and, consequently, save all worlds from Chaos and the Crimson King's evil, red-eyed glare. Roland-the primary hero of King's epic tale, the first volume of which appeared in 1982-and company momentarily fall off the "Path of The Beam" to help the residents of Calla Bryn Sturgis, a farm town. But as Dark Tower fans know, everything follows The Beam, so what looks like a detour may really serve the will of "ka" (destiny). Roland and his posse learn that every 20-odd years the "Wolves" kidnap one child from each set of the Calla's twins, bring them to the Tower and, weeks later, send them back mentally and physically impaired. Meanwhile, back in 1977 New York City (the alternate world of Roland's surrogate son, Jake), bookstore owner Calvin Tower is being threatened by a group of thugs (readers will recognize them from The Drawing of the Three, 1987) to sell them a vacant lot in midtown Manhattan. In the lot stands a rose, or rather the Rose, which is our world's manifestation of the Dark Tower. With the help of the Old Fella (also known to `Salem's Lot readers as Father Callahan), the gunslingers must devise a plan against evil in both worlds. The task, however, is further complicated as Roland and his gang start noticing behavioral changes in wheelchair-bound, recovered schizophrenic Susannah. As the players near the Tower, readers will keep finding exciting ties between the Dark Tower universe and King's other books, with links to Black House, Insomnia, The Eyes of the Dragon, The Stand, `Salem's Lot and Hearts in Atlantis. The high suspense and extensive character development here (especially concerning Jake's coming-of-age), plus the enormity of King's ever-expanding universe, will surely keep his "Constant Readers" in awe. (Nov. 4) Forecast: This fifth installment of the series (after 1998's Wizard and Glass) precedes two more novels about the Dark Tower, reported to be King's last published works before retirement-so expect massive publicity and sky-high sales. Viking has just published a revised edition of the Dark Tower series' first book, The Gunslinger, which could attract new fans to the series, and Scribner recently released Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance, Volume I, by Robin Furth, to give series readers a thorough refresher course of who's who in books I-IV. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.