Robert McCammon Interlude

I had never heard of Robert McCammom until late last year when I went on a bit of a Robert McCammon kick.

The impetus for my "kick" was that I read some reviews/articles that had compared him to Stephen King.  I find it a somewhat apt comparison.  Each of the four McCammon novels that I read had some supernatural overtones with no horror, per se.  I do not recommend all of them, but I did enjoy each of them.

McCammon's an interesting novelist in that he essentially stopped writing after publishing Gone South in 1993 (at the ripe old age of 41).  Then, beginning in 2002, he started his historical fiction Matthew Corbett series, which began with "Speaks the Nightbird," continued with "The Queen of Bedlam" and is set to continue in late 2009 or early 2010 with "Mr. Slaughter."  "Speaks" was reportedly written in the early 1990s and not published until 2002.

Now, on for some quick hits, presented in the order in which I read the books:

1.  "Boy's Life."  Easily the pick of the litter.  There are definite supernatural overtones in this novel, and while the paragraph below describes McCammon's "jumping off point," the novel is really a coming of age novel told from Cory's (12 year old) perspective.  Outstanding and highly recommended.  Here's the first paragraph from the dust jacket:

"The year is 1964. On a cold spring morning before the sun, Cory Mackenson is accompanying his father on his milk delivery route. Without warning a car appears in the road before them and plunges into a lake some say is bottomless. Cory's father makes a desperate attempt to save the driver, but instead comes face-to-face with a vision that will haunt and torment him: a dead man handcuffed to the steering wheel, naked and savagely beaten, a copper wire knotted around his neck. The lake's depths claim the car and the corpse, but the murderer's work is unfinished as, from that moment, both Cory and his father begin searching for the truth."

2.  "Gone South."  You ever have a bad day?  I mean, a REALLY bad day?  Well, Vietnam vet Dan Lambert is impacted by a series of unfortunate events culminating with him being on the run from the law and bounty hunters.

I read this novel during the great Cincy Blackout of 2008.  Mostly by flashlight, pioneer style (ok, I know that the pioneers didn't have flashlights . . .)  Good story and entertaining but only recommended if you really like McCammon.

3.  "Swan Song."  An apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic novel told in the spirit of Stephen King.  Almost like a "The Stand" meets "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy.  As stated earlier on this blog, "The Stand" is one of my favorites.  Reviews of "Swan Song" that I read indicated that "most people" who enjoy one ("The Stand" or "Swan Song") also enjoy the other.  I enjoyed "Swan Song" very much and highly recommend it for anyone who likes apocalyptic fiction or "good versus evil."  I do not recommend this novel for most readers, however.


4.  "Speaks the Nightbird."  Liked it.  Didn't love it.  I have Queen of Bedlam in my pile o' books but haven't read it in the 8 months since I finished "Speaks the Nightbird."  That should tell you something only about my taste, not the quality of the book.  First, "Speaks" takes place in 1699.  I'm not much for historical fiction.  Second, I don't love the authentic speech from the period.