This is a welcome addition for a "Gunslinger Junkie" I was a little put off by "Wolves of the Calla" (book V), however, I believe "Song of Susannah" (book VI)reaffirms Stephen Kings's dedication to the series. This story puts the reader back into the rollercoaster of time and distance travel. Once again I had to sit back and recount which character was where and in what era. I love how the author begins to tie all of his novels together in this story, almost to reality. This is definitely one that is hard to put down! I am currently waiting on book VII and after reading book VI the final is going to be bitter-sweet. I highly recommend "Song of Susannah", this will bring happy reading!
First off, the book arrived timely and in great condition. I bought it because I was at that point in The Dark Tower Series. While I did love the continuing story that was presented, I felt that King strayed from his other novels in the series too far in presentation and in form, as well as in story development. I felt that much of what he introduced in this story (mainly him as a character interacting with his own fictional creations) was unnecessary and bit vain. While it was kept up to some extent in the last book as well it was a distracting twist that really didn't go very far. Also, anyone who reads King novels is use to long books and long chapters. I enjoy those as they give you a mind world to live in for a good long time. That wasn't the case here. This one has short chapters and half of the time his wording in the 'stanzas' was strange to our ears without adding to the color of the world he had built. In fact those were also distracting. I did not like the illustrations, which I have loved in all the other books. Now for the good. The story is perpetuated in the book at break neck speed, which is not really Stephen King'ish' but it did get you into the unfolding of it easily. Much of this book takes place in our world (or does it? hmmm?) and I found those jaunts entertaining and exciting. The theme of vampires, which was introduced in Wolves of the Calla, was really played with in this book, and nobody writes vampires as well as Stephen King. All in all I did like the book, but mostly I recommend it for continuity with the rest of the story. It is the weakest of his Dark Tower books and has nothing to let it stand alone, as the other book can. It is definitely a bridge between the two surrounding novels and is also unfortunately necessary for the complete story.Read full review
I have to give all the books in this series the full five stars. While most of them can be read as a novel without absolutely having to have read the preceding novels, this is probably the only one that might have trouble standing on its own. I didnt' enjoy it as thoroughly the first time I read it through ( I actually devoured it in less than a day), so I read it again and a third time and enjoyed each reread better and better. King always has a little grief, a little joy, a little of everything really in all that he writes, and this volume is no exception. Just another few chapters in a very, very, very long book called the Dark Tower, and just as worthy as all the other books in the series.
This is an integral part of the Dark Tower series. While it's not my favorite of the series, it is suspenseful and entertaining. It keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering how Roland's ka-tet is going to be reunited, hopefully. Sai King knows how to make his characters real and his stories come alive. Each chapter of this story has it's own verse of a song included. This is a unique technique that works well with the story.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I started reading the Dark Tower series many years ago when the first volume (The Gunslinger) was published. I read all the way up to Volume 4, then SK had stopped writing the series for a while. A few months ago I had realized that he had completed the series, so I started it over again from Volume 1, then began procuring Volumes 5-7 via relatives and E-Bay. The main thing I liked about Wolves of the Calla is how it shows the strength and unity of Roland's Ka-Tet and begins to better explain how this series relates to many other SK novels. This is a very entertaining and enlightening Volume in the Dark Tower series! I recommend it and the entire series to any true SK fan!
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Books
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Books