Rating: 
Summary: Very Good!
Review: It's hard to articulate and put in perspective these two books (really one book just split up) because if I compare it to Swan Song or Boy's Life..well, there just is no comparison. But that's like comparing something really good with the sublime. Either Swan Song or Boy's Life could be considered a once in a lifetime achievement for the writer, but this said, I would say that the volumes of Speak The Nightbird are really good, especially considering that I never thought that the premise would be that interesting. The fact that Mr.McCammom pulled it off is a testament to his talent. I found that I pretty much sailed through the 900 pages as smoothly as a hot knife goes through butter. The story is very "interesting", and honestly there was rarely a dull moment in the books. It rarely reaches that high pitch that some books reach, but it sustains a steady, very readable pitch all the same. If you are a McCammon fan, then you must read the two volumes. If you're a new reader, than there are others of his I would read first, but I would get to these all the same eventually. Of course, I will read ANYTHING McCammon writes and I hope he's not done!
Rating:
Summary: McCammon gathers the darkness again
Review: McCammon doesn't know how to disappoint. In the two volumes of "Speaks the Nightbird" (and don't buy this one without buying the other. They are a single story, not a novel and a sequel; and there is no danger that your interest will flag), he strikes out for a new territory: historical Gothic. And there he takes up residence and reigns.In the Carolinas in the 1600s, a fair-minded judge and his inquisitive clerk make the dangerous journey into the wilderness to the beleaguered colony of Fount Royal, to hear and pass judgment on the case of Rachel, an accused witch. From the opening set-piece, a narrow escape at a slovenly wayside inn, which stews in a man-made miasma of evil more bone chilling than any supernatural bogie, we're in the presence of a master storyteller. When our protagonists arrive at Fount Royal and start investigating, Rachel's prospects look ever more grim. In formal testimony, eyewitnesses swear to her congress with the Devil, and they clearly believe their stories. Meanwhile the clerk's informal inquiries turn up unspoken rottenness under every log; some evil deeper than witchcraft is destroying the colony. But can he piece out what it is, from far too many clues, before Rachel is claimed by the flames? The puzzle of the town's two murders, the appalling and touching secret lives of its inhabitants, the exotic presence of the alien otherworld that presses on its edge, full of Spaniards, swamps, pirates, and Indians, introduce a riot of memorable macguffins and details. Every promise is kept, every gun displayed in Act One is fired before the final curtain, and in the meantime the suspense and the grand guignol never let up. This is a model of well made, gripping, intelligent narrative. It's closer in spirit to his earlier works, in the horror genre, than it is to his three more recent books. But he's more grounded and sober than he was then, with a subtler touch drawing characters. Both the horrors and the victories over them are now governed by a respect for the limits of the real world.
Rating: 
Summary: Hugely Disappointing
Review: The only other books of McCammon's that I have read were Boy's Life and Gone South, which I understand were not what he became known for: namely books in the horror genre. I thoroughly enjoyed those two however, especially Boy's Life. In that telling of one year in the life of a boy growing up in the South in the mid-sixties, his writing was engaging, his voice absolutely authentic, and his story-telling gripping. Almost the opposite is true on every page of Speaks the Nightingale. This story of a magistrate and his clerk traveling into the "wilderness" of South Carolina in the 1690's to investigate a woman charged with witchcraft suffers first of all from McCammon's attempt at using the vernacular of the period. The language draws attention to itself (fatally) with its awkwardness and just plain wordiness. Where were his editors? Also, in what was apparently an attempt at "atmosphere", he goes way overboard with the gross-out factor. Scatalogical material saturates every page; sexual references are ugly, explicit and constant. If you're a reader of horror, you expect a certain amount of this, but it seemed excessive and ineffective here. I was also surprised at completely I was unable to engage with any of the characters -- especially after the way I was drawn into the lives of the characters in the two books I mentioned earlier. In fact, this book was such a disappointment I honestly wondered if it could possibly be the work of the same author! I cannot recommend this book, unfortunately. But I would URGE interested readers to check out McCammon's other works -- Boy's Life is among my all-time favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fat Book with a Better, Thinner Book Trying to Get Out
Review: After a long hiatus, the author gives us a book with interesting characters, a great plot, and fine sense of historical time and place, drowning in too many words. At 900 pages this book is merely okay, but at 400-500 it would have been great.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Robert McCammon's latest work "Speaks the Nightbird" will NOT disappoint. A powerful look at early America, there are numerous parallels to today's society with regards to "witch hunts" and scapegoats that makes this such a satisfying read. All the characters come to life and are quite memorable. The plot kept me turning pages and the prose made you feel like being in 17th Century America. All of RM's books are great, my personal favorite was Wolf's Hour (see my review).
Thank you Robert McCammon.
In addition to this book I also highly recommend "Instance of the Fingerpost" by Iain Pears.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Finale
Review: After reading Volume I of "Speaks the Nightbird," I immediately bought the second part because I felt obliged to finish this monster. The pre-American mystery of Rachel Howarth caught my eye within mere chapters of Judgment of the Witch. Where the first one diddle-daddles with detail and has slow movement and many dead-ends, the second volume clearly prides itself on action and surprises. There are twists, and the twists are clear; gruesome murder indicates Matthew's imminent arrival to his beloved truth. But even more enrapturing are the ends to the mystery, the clue that was the overlooked and the clue that was unfound. All Matthew needed was a little help, and when the murderer makes a minor slip, Matthew finds the answers. Clearly a worthy conclusion. Read the first; you'll find yourself buying this one right after.
Rating:
Summary: Great Writer - Great Story
Review: Robert McCammon is the best writer out there. There's no one else out there who could pull this story off. Unlike King and Koontz, McCammon never wastes a word.
Rating:
Summary: HUNGRY NO MORE, THOUGH STILL WANTING MORE!
Review: Picture a starving man who has not eaten in ten years, finally getting a huge feast put before him, and then carping about its quality. That would be me in regard to Robert McCammon's SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD, the book I have been drooling for for a decade. First, let me say this. I am a McCammon nut. I have read SWAN'S SONG twice, and believe THE WOLF'S HOUR to be the best in its genre, period. As for BOY'S LIFE, I put that right up there with TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD in its exploration of the joys and sorrows of youth. I have recommended McCammon to all of my friends, and have given his books as gifts for years. So saying, there are McCammon's that I liked but didn't love; STINGER, THEY THIRST, MINE and GONE SOUTH, and one that I found unreadable, USHER'S PASSING. But, all in all, a good McCammon is better than the best output from most other writers; great McCammon, simply breathtaking. Then ten years of drought with me searching the bookstores and Google for news of this excellent writer. Nothing! One day, in a supermarket, of all places, there are the two volumes of NIGHTBIRD on the rack. Needless to say I scooped them up and put them in my shopping bag with the rest of my nourishment. I read them in a gulp and walked away, sated, if not totally satisfied. Why? One thing McCammon never did, in his best books, was overwrite. Here I felt he could have used a good editor. Like a filmmaker using establishing shots again and again, not trusting the audience to "get it," McCammon goes over and over the same ground to a point where I thought, "enough already." His description is so evocative that you feel you are "there," but again, ten or fifteen descriptions of the town would have been more than sufficient. His ending, too, is a letdown. After all those pages to find that the villain is who you thought he was all along is a downer, and the reasons for his actions a bit forced. BUT when McCammon hits his pace he is better than ever. Cases in point; the scenes at the inn on the way to Fount are as good as anything he has previously written, and almost as good as Dickens. The Indian village and the hero's "acid trip," are amazing. The ratcatcher's dance of death, terrifying, heartbreaking and memorable. The slow and painful sickness of the judge, sure, thought provoking and, finally, revelatory. So...is just good McCammon better than no McCammon at all? You betcha! Am I recommending this book to others? Sure, but with the caveats mentioned. Am I hungrily awaiting the next book from McCammon? With my literary napkin tied around my neck and my knife and fork in my hands, I am waiting anxiously to dig back in. Mr.McCammon....it's so nice to have you back where you belong! Don't stay away so long next time.
Rating:
Summary: A Different McCammon
Review: While I did enjoy the Speaks The Nightbird books, and am hopeful for more books from Robert McCammon, I was just a little disappointed that these books were not along the same awesome lines of his usual horror stories. No one write horror like McCammon, and I wish he would continue to write horror. His unique skill of taking a tired ole character like a werewolf (Wolf's Hour) and putting a totally new spin on it is unsurpassed. If you're just starting with Speaks the Nightbird, go back and read ALL his previous novels for a real trip! Speaks the Nightbird, while not exactly a horror novel, is however a great story and a real page-turner. I, too, am glad he's back!
Rating:
Summary: Glad your back
Review: This book is awesome, I've was waiting months for it to come out and it was worth it. I hope Robert McCammon continues writing. He's a great writer and I recommend him to everyone.
| 
