Swan Song

Rating:
Summary: worth the time
Review: A worthwhile read for sure,memorable also. Not in the top 5 books ive read or even the top ten but once you get past the the fall of the nukes its quite unputdownable. I certainly will read his novel "boys Life" at some point as it seems it's a much better read but very different of cause! Give Swan Song a go, it's worth the time.

Rating:
Summary: No Billboard Chart-topper
Review: Like all of McCammon's books and stories, once this one gets rolling, it's difficult to put down. He has a way with words and descriptions that flows smoothly and swiftly and compellingly so that even his thickest novels are easy to tear through and enjoy. Swan Song is not one of his better works, however, standing above his not quite satisfying Stinger, yet quite a ways below his fantastic The Wolf's Hour. There are some technical aspects which don't quite mesh and the sudden, startling leap ahead in time seven years, and the whole thing is rather predictable in many ways, yet McCammon just has that knack for grabbing a reader's attention and holding on tight until the very end. I found Swan Song enjoyable enough, though perhaps it could have matured a little further in the author's mind before he released it. Worth a read. A decent time killer. Thought provoking.

Rating:
Summary: A tasty read!!
Review: Magnificent novel. McCammon's best. A rich, compelling story with amazingly defined characters. The old good vs. evil theme treated in a new way. Deep subplots and nice prose. Very well written, the size of the book might scare some, but the read is a very tasty one, i was sorry when the book was over because i wanted more. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books of the last quarter century!!!!!!
Review: Just as good as the Stand? YES!!! Maybe better! A totally riviting book from front to back! An emotional roller coaster of good and evil.


Y O U H A V E T O R E A D T H I S N O V E L!!!!

Rating:
Summary: "derivative" doesn't mean "bad"
Review: i'm amazed at the number of customers who, in their reviews of this book, claim to see no real similarities between Swan Song and The Stand. There's actually one person who said they can "see where Stephen King got his ideas from." The Stand was published about a decade before Swan Song. It usually only takes John Saul a few months to publish a Stephen King ripoff; why did McCammon need close to ten years?

In fact, the plot similarities are so striking that I'm surprised there wasn't any serious talk of plagiarism. I guess there was, for all I know. Or maybe Mr. King, after hanging up his "Bachman" hat, decided to try on a "McCammon" hat. I probably shouldn't have said that; now I'll probably be the one getting sued.

We've got the ever-popular "end of the world" theme. Okay, that alone isn't dispositive; it's been popping up in literature since...well, since the bible (how long is that?). But start adding other ingredients to the mix, and a very familiar recipe starts to take shape. The world ends. Well, it almost ends (otherwise, we'd have a pretty short book). A few people survive. Some are good, some are bad. The bad ones rally around some kind of demon figure, and the "final showdown between good and evil" takes place. Gotta love them final showdowns. So which book is that a synopsis of? Both, of course!

If I tried to make a movie about guys in space who could move stuff with their minds and hacked away at each other with blue and red flashlights, and one of them was the other one's dad, and he cut off his son's hand, somebody'd probably sue me, even if I changed the names of all the characters and called the big pumpkin the "Destruction Star."

But just because one book is, um..."greatly inspired" by the other (and it is an insult to most people's intelligence to suggest otherwise) doesn't mean it's a bad book. With apologies to Mr. Saul, most Stephen King ripoffs ARE bad. This one is not. McCammon is a different writer than King, but, plot elements aside, this story shares a certain flair with the stand that simply wouldn't be there absent real storytelling talent. Like King, McCammon has a genuine knack for storytelling that's got nothing to do with the "literature" taught in most public schools and universities. Probably King
AND McCammon would tell you that the plot is the least of it; the story's in the telling.

SO, if you've read the stand, and are looking for something new, this isn't it. But, glaring plot similarities aside, if you're looking for another good story, have at it.

I've wondered before whether it was Mr. McCammon, or maybe somebody who signs his checks, that thought publishing Swan Song was a good career move. More important, Mr. McCammon has published several very good (and very ORIGINAL) books besides Swan Song that bear more than passing mention in the same breath with Mr. King's work. Boy's Life, Gone South, Mine, The Wolf's Hour, and Usher's Passing, in my opinion, are memorable (I read these more than ten years ago and still think quite highly of all of them).





Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest Horror Novels ever written
Review: It Hard to put into words how good this book really is. Swan Song stands as one of the greatest horror novels ever written in my opinion. It is over 950 pages long but you will find yourself tearing through them.

The story was very intriguing, and it sucks you in. I would sit hours at a time caught up in this story. I would read till my eyes dried out and started hurting.

There wasn't a character in this story that I wasn't wrapped up in. They all seemed so real to me. There wasn't one wooden character in this book in my opinion. They all had a realness to them that some in other books don't have.

I HIGHY recommend Swan Song to anyone who loved The Stand, or any Horror fan for that matter. It is trip to a terrifying world that I can promise you will never forget.






Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece...absolutely riveting!!!
Review: One of the best books ever written. A masterpiece of epic proportions: good vs. evil, end of the world, hope for a new beginning. The characters are superb, simply outstanding. The writing is nothing short of riveting. This is to Robert McCammon what The Stand is to Stephen King. There are very few books out there as good, read it.

Rating:
Summary: Greatest of all time!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I have read so many books that I have really loved. In all of these books there were things that I had considered to be great. Never before have I ever said that I had truly loved every single part of a book that I have read. This book is the best, I repeat best book that I have ever read in my entire life. I strongly recomend that this book be read. Once you pick it up, you will have a very, very hard time putting it down.

Rating:
Summary: Not The Stand
Review: The only similarity to The Stand is a frightening future, the similarity ends there and Swan Song will captivate you! It will draw you in and paint a picture of a post-apocalyptic world that is all too easy to imagine...a must read!!

Rating:
Summary: This is one of my favorite books of all time.
Review: This book is one of the reasons that though the two often paralell each other on subject matter, I prefer McCammon to King.

I do not often re-read books. This one, I have, several times since I first read it as a youngster. I'm now in my thirties. Having come across it yet again in my collection recently, I picked it up, and read it again. I still loved it. I decided to review it.

McCammon's characterization is excellent, here, as in all the books of his that I've read. He develops, then sticks to what he's developed, and he tends to make things interesting. He doesn't skimp on females (As I've noted that King tends to do, in many of his books), and even when basing within an archtype, he goes far enough to give the character some real depth and form.

His bag lady, Sister Creep, is sympathetic, treated with genuine care, and ultimately, goes so far beyond the stereotype that one might have of a middle aged homeless woman, as to seem genuinely real. The same can also be said for the wrestler, Black Frankenstein. Both of these, in particular, round out to become far more than archtypes, or stereotypes, and make fascinating heroes.

The evil within the book is also very well developed, and thought out. Both the characters, and the form it takes. McCammon doesn't pull any punches, and doesn't depend on puerile repetitions of phrases. If something is repeated, there's a genuine psychological need on the part of the character to do it.

The landscapes over which the characters travel, both internally, and externally, are a dizzying, blasted panorama of horrors and self discoveries.

Those who go for the side of good develop into it, in spite of their troubles, and the horrors they have endured. They do not wallow in self pity, do not debase themselves with selfish acts. For the most part, they are not saints, but they choose to become something better than what they started out to be. In the end, instead of making excuses, and blaming the world, they accept their own flaws, and choose to rise above them. There is actually a process shown.

Those who become part of the side of evil do it in a very human fashion. They descend into their own sicknesses willingly, and sometimes eagerly, for all there doesn't seem to be much joy in it. Evil in McCammon's world is small, and selfish, and seldom satisfied, for all that advantages it might gain. It is a sickness that feeds on itself, and when exposed to the light, scuttles off into the shadows to hide, or perish. Any sympathy for those who turn quickly dissipates with the horror of their actions, and the revolting nature of the choices they make.

Scenes are richly described, and the action builds consistantly, to a real conclusion. By the end of this journey through hell on earth, one cannot help but care what happens to the characters, from both sides. And McCammon does not disappoint. No good character sacrifices in vain, there is hope at the end of despair for those who have endured, and not strayed, and the bad guys get what's coming to them. A good old fashioned moral tale of heroes and villains, good and evil, but done fresh, and very much in his own wonderful style.

Overall, the writing is solid, the plot excellent, and the structure of this epic novel nice and tight. McCammon both takes his time in telling the story, and leaves out the extraneous.

I could not recommend this book more highly.