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Summary: A compelling vision of doom
Review: Swan Song is one of the more interesting and compelling contributions to horror fiction. The story takes place in the aftermath of a devastating nuclear holocaust. The world is little more than a wasteland. Freezing temperatures, a blackened sky, and murderous lunatics combine to paint a rather chilling picture. Indeed, the shattered land becomes the most effective "character" in the book. The plot is your rank-n-file good against evil: The good survivors must protect the child Swan. The bad ones must destroy her. Swan, of course, has a special power....Unfortunately, the evil in Swan Song is totally predictable: Colonel Macklin and his murderous army rises amongst the ashes of civilization to kill those who resist, an utterly laughable Satan who seems to have all the power of a school yard bully -- yeah, right. Naturally, Nazism and racism resonate amongst McCammon's villiany.In a way, McCammon practically re-wrote Stephen King's The Stand. But McCammon paints a far more desparing and wicked picture. The apocalyptic world of Swan Song seems more effective, as it relies less on the supernatural than King's work. King should take a note from the psychotic presence of the "Shadow Soldier". This is an excruciatingly plotted book, as it falls short of 1,000 pages. In the end, I found the books best element not in its silly commentary on "hope", but in its depiction of man's animal instinct to survive.
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Summary: Science Fantasy
Review: Not only does Swan Song inspire the reader to dissolve in the fantasy of McCammon's post-apocolyptic world, it invites us to hope. Hope is the last shield against the evil fed by our desires to succumb to our animalism and evil is only defeated by man's desire to transcend the baser instincts. Ispirational. Motivational. Engrossing. You will identify with a character and become an active participant in the story. Enjoy!
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Summary: THIS BOOK IS.........................
Review: THE BEST BOOK IVE EVER READ.THIS IS MY FIRST MC CAMMON BOOK IVE READ.THE CHARACTERS FEEL REAL.WHEN THE ENDING COMES YOU DONT WANT THE BOOK TO END.IVE READ MANY BOOKS AND THIS IS THE BEST.IM STARTING STINGER RIGHT NOW.ROBERT MC CAMMON IS BY FAR THE BEST AUTHOR EVER.I RECOMMEND SWAN SONG TO ANYONE.
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Summary: The very best in horror fiction
Review: It has been over ten years since I read this book, and still at times, it is hard to tell if I read it or actually saw it. The writing style seems to just [draw] you in.Robert R. McCammon creates the most interesting characters in all of horror fiction.While I have read many great works of fiction, I often find myself lacking the patience to sit down for long periods of time to read, even with great books. This is one of the few books that I(sorry for the cliche) could not stop reading. The charcacters, and blasted landscpe are so vividly brought to life that you just seem to connect with and becom part of the story. Yes, I have read The Stand, and not to take anything away from that great epic, I feel that Swan Song is the better book, it is that good. Mccammon's writing seems to get the the story across without wandering off into left field as King often does. Don't miss out on this one.
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Summary: Twice Is Not Enough!
Review: The first time I read this book was about 10 years ago. A co-worker suggested it to me as I was growing bored of Clancy novels. I read the book cover to cover in 4 weeks. Mornings, lunch breaks, before going to bed, whenever I could read it I did. I loved the story so much that I recommended it to my brother, a hard to please reader. He loved it! As a matter of fact, he read it faster than I as he was in Europe at the time on business. I've actually purchased the book 4 times as there were times that I loaned out the book after reading it to "Friends" never to get it back after the reader was done. I just hope that the book was passed on to another reader to spread wonder of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very good
Review: I'm rather befuddled at the many positive reviews. Swan Song is "okay" at best; the kind of paperback you might pick up at an airport bookstore to help pass the time. The writing is approximately of the same caliber as that of Tom Clancy or David Eddings: prolific, seemingly unedited, and not especially skilled. Much of the book is simply ridiculous. Not worth wading through 900+ pages.
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Summary: A Prophetic Glimpse...
Review: into the actual events that would surround a nuclear holocaust. This should be must reading for all world leaders. McCammon blends the real with the supernatural expertly. Wonderful characters, superb story, extremely imaginative. Make no mistake, there WILL be a movie, even if I have to get a handcam and make one myself!
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Summary: Slightly overrated
Review: I would give this book a higher rating but it has entirely too many parallels to THE STAND. For instance, in both books you have 200 pages developing characters before the disaster, about 150 pages dealing with the disaster itself, 200 more focusing on the aftermath in which an Antichrist like character assumes power.... And both books have an exodus from New York City. One escape mirrors the other one. Another problem I have is that the book slips into Mad Max territory with its roaming motorcycle gangs, escaped lunatics, etc. But this book does have its strengths. Nuclear war, IMHO, is a very powerful horror device, and McCammon knows it. When you get to the part about the bomb shelter/resort being destroyed by an aftershock instead of the actual blast, you won't soon forget it. Images like the bomb shelter and the mood presented before the war are done just as well as any other quality depiction of nuclear war like ON THE BEACH. Horror is much more than a genre, it is a feeling. And perhaps the scariest part of the book is its message about how low mankind as a whole has to sink in order in find redemption. While this book isn't bad, it really isn't up to McCammon normal quality. I don't think it is a ripoff of THE STAND. However, both have so many similarities the when you read one, the other one will seem a tad bit stale. It seems that McCammon walked the fine line between brilliance and unoriginality and fell off several times into both directions. Overall rating: 3.5 stars.
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Summary: THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!!
Review: I could not put this book down at all. Every time I did I had to pick it back up to find out what would happen next. I cheered for the good guys, jeered at the bad guys, and teared when one of the good guys died. I loved this book and I was glad I bought it because this is a book that'll urge you to read it again and again and again. I strongly recommend this book to anyone because this is a great read!
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Summary: WOW
Review: I literally lived with this book for 2 weeks, taking it with me everywhere to read every time a minute or two was allowed. This is McCammon's greatest work and I know since I have collected all his work. It made me thankful for even the simplist things like opening my refridgerator to get something to eat or a drink. The book consumed me. READ IT!!!
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