58. Dark Tower 5: Wolves of the Calla, by Stephen King.

The fifth book in the Dark Tower series. Roland and his ka-tet are back on the Path of the Beam, and travel through the village of Calla Bryn Sturgis, which is having a problem. Wolves come down out of Thunderclap, End-world, and steal one of every pair of twinned children in the village, sending them back roont. As gunslingers, they are compelled to give aid, despite the delay. As it happens, the Calla contains many things they need to continue their journey - Father Callahan, another tet member, Black Thirteen, knowledge of Nineteen and of Susannah's pregnancy. The fight for the rose begins in earnest, with Eddie travelling to New York to begin negotiations with Calvin Tower.

Wolves is a great book, that highlights the aspect of what gunslingers used to be, especially the political aspect. We've seen Roland as the lone relic, but it takes the Calla to show us how manipulative he can be with a large group of, for lack of a better word, normal people. The ka-tet is struggling to stay together, but they manage to talk things through. After the lull while we hear of Mejis and Susan, Wolves picks the pace right up and lets us know just how close the Tower is getting.

In regards to Flagg, Wolves is pretty definitive. In the introduction, we're flat out told several things. The boys (Roland, Cuthbert, Alain) were sent to Mejis to be beyond Walter's reach, The Pusher is Mort (not Walter, but a representative of sorts), and we're also told that Marten is Flagg, who is also Richard Fannin (rescuer of TickTock), who is also John Farson. Since these revelations occur in the introduction, I feel that it's safe to take them as fact - and not misleadings that different characters believe, which may be wrong. Although later in the book, Roland does connect Walter with Flagg and Flagg with Marten, while talking to the Manni. Walter has been meddling here also, leaving tape recorders

We don't learn more of the Guardians or the Bends O' The Rainbow, aside from the encounters with Black Thirteen, which lives up to the reputation its name suggests quite thoroughly.