Wolves of the Call is the fifth novel in the Stephen Kind series, The Dark Tower.  The Dark Tower tells the story of Roland, the Last Gunslinger of Mid-World as he tries to make his way to the Dark Tower in order to save his world.  The journey is long and dangerous but he is joined in the second book by his new allies, his "ka-tet".  The first novel, The Dark Tower (The Gunslinger) first introduces us to Roland & his quest.  We get bits & pieces of his past, and the world he lives in. The second book, The Drawing of the Three, gives us 2 new characters - Eddie Dean of New York (from 1987) & Odetta (Detta) Holmes of New York (from 1967) whom has a split personality (thus the Detta part). The third book, The Waste Lands, deals with pulling the 3rd member, Jake Chambers of New York (1977) into theworld, Odetta (now Susannah Dean due to her personalities merging) & Eddie training & becoming Gunslingers along with Roland & the continuing quest. The fourth, Wizard & Glass, has the 5 (now joined by a dog-like animal)hear Roland telling the story of his first mission & love.

Wolves of the Calla picks up shortly after that the end of book four with the "ka-tet" entering a region called the Calla (with different towns having the Calla pre-fix). The Wolves are coming (like they do every so often) & they kidnapp half the children in town & return them as "roonts" (very strong but simple minded). Most of the children are twins (with the rare "singleton") so 1 from each set is kidnapped. They turn to Roland & co. to stop the Wolves from kidnapping anyone this time.  Of course, events will also tie into what has been happening and what will happen later on. 

Like the other books, King has connected many of his novels to the Dark Tower series (because the Dark Tower holds together all Where's & When's). In this book, King  connects it to: The Regulators, Hearts in Atlantis &, most importantly, 'Salem's Lot. One of the key characters is Father Callahan from 'Salem's Lot. We learn his back story & what he has done since the events in 'Salem's Lot. In total, the books King has connected directly to his Dark Tower series are: The Stand, The Talisman/Black House, Everything's Eventual, The Dead Zone, Eyes of the Dragon, Bag of Bones, Insomnia, Rose Madder, & the ones already mentioned.  I've been a fan of this from the get go as it really adds something to the series.  Most of Kings more modern books have direct tie-ins to the Dark Tower series within them but older books, like 'Salem's Lot, are fitted in in other ways.

King has also, tried to keep things from the "real world" in the books. He has a GREAT connection to Marvel comics (I don't wish to spoil it) & the Harry Potter series (these two bits had me laughing when they were confirmed). King even pokes a little fun at himself at the very end of it!  As mentioned, this works for the book since the Dark Tower is suppose to hold everything (and all realities) together.  So some mixing is good.

One of the downsides is the connectiviness.  In order to truly appericate the book you do have to read the other four novels that come before it.  On top of that, to get all those "ah ha!" moments, reading, or at least knowing of a lot of King's other works is going to be helpful. This isn't a novel one can just pick up and read if they haven't done a bit of work beforehand. 

King does a good job of keeping the reading going in the book.  There aren't many spots that slow down at all to give the reader a break.  It is a hard book to put down.  King is able to blend mystery, action, intrigue, horror, and love seamlessly into Wolves of the Calla. 

Overall, if you're looking for an interesting read, pick up the Dark Tower series. You do not need to be a King fan to enjoy this series, as it is really different from a lot of stuff he has written (think of it as a Medival Western with connections to the modern world).

Recommended: Yes