This is Book 5 in the Dark Tower series, and at this point, I have to admit, my insistence on carrying on through this series is pretty much the very definition of the sunk cost fallacy. I've put too much time into this thing to give up now, dammit!

All right, it's not unmitigatedly terrible. If it were, I'd probably find it easier to quit. There really is the skeleton of something interesting and exciting in this series somewhere. It's just buried under so very, very, very many dull, stifling layers of flab and nonsense. This particular volume features a town in desperate need of help, in the grand tradition of Westerns, but with a science fantasy twist, and that's a little bit interesting. Things are also getting increasingly meta, which is normally something I enjoy. But the most relevant fact about Wolves of the Calla is that it's well over 900 pages long, and there's enough story here for maybe 300.

Also not helping is King's continual chalking up of every massively coincidental plot contrivance or random thing he wants his characters to do for no reason to "fate." Although I could probably manage to mostly suspend my disbelief, accept the concept, and wait for a cool, satisfying payoff for it all, if The Stand hadn't taught me decades ago that King is not to be trusted with this sort of thing.

And, on top of all that, the characters themselves are sometimes so awful here that it's getting harder to think of them as the good guys, and I don't think that's exactly King's intention, even if he is trying to make them complicated, or whatever. But I especially have zero patience right now for men taking it upon themselves to "forbid" a woman to have an abortion even thougt the fetus probably isn't even human and may very well kill her. I hope the monster baby kills them instead. Slowly and painfully. Not that I hold out much hope for that. The killing part, I mean. Whatever happens, I think we can count on it being slow, and I'm not exactly betting against it being painful.

Ah, well. Five books down, two to go! I can do it! ( )

In Wolves of the Calla the main objective appears to be getting everything in place for the end of the series. It does not offer a lot in the terms of forward movement, we get more backstory, as well as a side story woven throughout that comes after the end of [b:'Salem's Lot|11590|'Salem's Lot|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327891565l/11590._SY75_.jpg|3048937]. However, at this point, I am so hopelessly in love with Roland and his ka-tet; so much so, that I would willingly (and gladly) read about them doing nearly anything, simply to delay the inevitable parting. I found Wolves of the Calla to be a nice respite from what is shaping up to be a tumultuous end, and was thankful to enjoy this mostly peaceful time with them. My only disappointment in Wolves was the action promised throughout never came; I was expecting this giant showdown between the gunslingers and the wolves and was left slightly disappointed by the end. The appearance of Father Callahan was a nice surprise as I just re-read ‘Salem’s Lot last month, I hope we see more of him in the next two books.

I am slightly nervous how much I will enjoy the next entry, [b:Song of Susannah|5093|Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, #6)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554221361l/5093._SY75_.jpg|1178083], as admittedly the Susannah/Odetta/Detta/Mia mash-up has been from its introduction and still is one of my least favorite parts of the series. As of now, I am unsure how I feel about the addition of this new personality, and how much of the storyline seems to be dedicated to it once again.
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Wolves of the Calla remains one of my favorites from the DT series. ( )

Amazing, my favorite of the series so far. I love how King is weaving his other stories (and himself) into this epic series. I adored the people of the Calla, well most of them. I have become emotionally attached to Oy in a way that is probably not healthy, I love him and his big ole bumbler heart. Oh Susannah, you in a mess friend. This one was intense, late nights were spent flying through pages to see what was going to happen. Almost there, 2 more books (and a half...I've decided to save book 4.5 for after the last installment of the series). Let's go ( )

I'm gonna finish the series, but the excellent atmosphere King created in the first book or two has become a little more cliche. I want more of MidWorld and whatnot and less modern America. Ah well, still all around better than I expected ( )