Rating: 
Summary: A terrific book!
Review: If you like King, Koontz, Clegg, Simmons, etc... you will love McCammon. This book is a rare find and one I could not put down. I promise you will love this book!!!!! This book has everything: friendship, love, hate, truth, evil, suspense, an on and on. Take my word on this...DON'T MISS THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: A Heroic Comeback!
Review: What a true treat it was to find that Robert McCammon was back on the shelves after ten long years. With "Gone South," he was just beginning to reach a level of mastering suspense while never quite leaving the world of horror.His latest work does not step into the world of McCammon that his loyal readers remember, but it is a book well worth picking up and reading. It is obvious that McCammon has taken his time to create this rich tale of intrigue. Characters are well flushed out, and his historical references "feel" true. I for one read this book quickly and handed it off to my wife who has also waited with patience for McCammon's next work. Epic, historic and well developed. I only hope that some of my other favorite authors can take a lesson from McCammon, waiting a while before throwing out your next, best, book is a good thing! Good to see you back!
Rating: 
Summary: Such potential...
Review: Let me say first and foremost, as others have, that I'm a very big fan of this author and own and/or have read all of his published works. One would be hard pressed to say that there has ever been a better vampire novel written than "They Thirst" (and I've read them all from Bram Stoker to Anne Rice), or a better coming of age novel than "Boy's Life" (and yes, I've read Salinger, Hesse, and the rest...). Having said that, I was overjoyed at the prospect of this new novel. Needless to say, while in shines in many places, it does not on the whole measure up to his previous works (like those mentioned above). The writing itself is great as is the story and the characters within it, but the novel stumbles on two fronts (both of which tie in with one another). Basically, it's too long and it's filled with a great deal of redundancy. An example of this is the amount of time and energy spent describing the illness that the Magistrate is experiencing, I'm confident that throughout the book no less than 50 pages are devoted to this issue. Unfortunately, this really detracts from the story in many places and slows it's otherwise enthralling pace. These problems aside, I want to say I enjoyed this book, and I'm glad an author like McCammon is back among the writing; anyone looking for some genuine insight into the human condition will be well served by reading his novels.
Rating:
Summary: wow
Review: I loved it. My first introduction to McCammon, and I couldnt put the book down. Took me 3 days to get through it. Very well written...wow. I cant say enough. I will definitly be reading other books by him as well.
Rating:
Summary: Still my favorite author
Review: It's been ten long years since Robert McCammon published a novel, and I've been waiting impatiently the whole time. I read every McCammon novel when I became a fan in 1990, and by the time "Gone South" was published, I had caught up and had read everything he'd written to that point. Little did I know that I'd be waiting TEN YEARS for another foray into the world of RRM's imagination. "Speaks the Nightbird" was worth the wait. I plunged into this lengthy, satisfying novel and it was like speaking with an old friend after a long absence. This novel is a bit of a departure for the writer, as it's every bit a historical novel as it is a mystery story. The closest McCammon came to a historical novel was the WWII setting for "The Wolf's Hour", so I was a bit skeptical about him trying a "period" piece such as this. Thankfully, his knowledge of storytelling keeps "Speaks the Nightbird" from becoming an overly-descriptive "wow look how I can apply the research I've done" bore, like many historical novels unfortunately are. Nay, dear reader, the 1699 southern colonial setting makes for a well-conceived backdrop for a compelling tale in RRM's hands. As you probably know, this novel concerns the incarceration of an accused witch in a fledgling southern town by the name of Fount Royal. The townspeople believe that the witch has been responsible for multiple murders and a number of arson cases in the town, and while the town is falling to pieces the remaining residents want her burned at the stake for her crimes. Enter the Magistrate, who has been sent from neighboring Charles Town to act as judge, lawyer, and jury in her case. The Magistrate's clerk, Matthew, is the star of the story and we follow his interactions with the townspeople. We learn that Matthew's free-thinking and stubborn nature lead him into all sorts of conflict with the supporting cast, mostly centered on his belief that the witch may have been wrongly accused. That's all the plot synopsis I'm going to give you, sorry. Robert McCammon shows us a world in which people behave in ways you would expect based upon their surroundings. Some scenes seem a little over-the-top, and there are a few times during this novel when I scratched my head a bit trying to follow the motivations of certain characters (there is one scene I didn't agree with, but it DID make sense in context.) For the most part, however, the story is crisp and the plot absorbing. Don't go in expecting to get the usual, heavy-handed treatment of "Puritanical witch-burners" like you've read before; I respect the fact that the writer has decided to make these people act in logical ways rather than like overly religious backwoods fools. The characters act according to the way they understood the world at that time; their reasoning when it comes to right and wrong concepts are consistent and makes sense for 1699. The Magistrate, for example, is quite firm in his judgments regarding the guilt / innocence of the witch, and is able to back up his arguments convincingly, even to a reader like myself who knows better than to swallow the archaic beliefs of that time. Robert McCammon is BACK. This novel was a pleasure, and I would rate it 4+ stars. I'm giving an extra star for the simple fact that I am biased toward McCammon. Hey, at least I can admit it! Sue me.
Rating:
Summary: A Case for Taking One's TIME
Review: It took Donna Tart 10 years to release her second novel. Other famous writers NEVER published a second. Harper Lee and Ralph Ellison come to mind. However, there is something to be said for this. Robert "Rick" McCammon was--and is--one of my favorite all-time writers. As suggested by an earlier essayist, he can paint vivid characters and situations that stand out in the mind. Moreover, he defines the "less-is-more" concept. In SWAN SONG, McCammon wrote the book that THE SHINING could have been. In WOLF'S HOUR, he took the legend of the lycanthrope and made it his own, much like the way Brian Lumley has re-realized vampirism. In BAAL and BETHANY'S Sin, McCammon redifined the gothic horror novel. His short stories ran the gamut from the absurd to the sublime. Now, he gives us a huge, sprawling, epic historical novel that combines all the best of his epithets and it only took him ten years. Moreover, I would rather wait ten years for a book that will knock your socks off like this, than to be greeted with chaff like poor Stephen King is now writing. I know I will be booed off the site, but BUICK 8 was terrible. Another writer of whom I thouroughly admired in the McCammon vein is Dan Simmons. He, too, is suffering from the "multi-genre" overly-prolific disease that affects many of my favorite writers. They are so afraid of being pigen-holed in a genre that they try other genres and fail miserably. Moreover, if they took the advice of Rick McCammon and took their time and crafted a novel that the world needed other than the claptrap being foisted on the public today, all readers would rejoice. Welcome back, Rick. We all missed you and are glad you are back. Keep 'em coming. But take your time.
Rating:
Summary: McCammon is back and well worth the wait!
Review: I don't know what I can say that hasn't been said already (except the fact that McCammon did not write Carrion Comfort, as suggested by another reviewer). I almost shed a tear when I found out that McCammon was retiring from writing. He, along with Stephen King, Clive Barker and Joe R. Lansdale formed the group of writers that I've read religiously over the years. McCammon's strength has always been his ability to paint scenes so clearly and vividly that the reader has no trouble picturing them. Of the hundreds (if not thousands) of books I've read in my time, McCammon's have always stood out clearly in my memory. Stories and characters so rich and vital they stay with you long after you put the book down. Well, I was nervous before reading his latest. Had he lost his touch? Did he retire for a good reason? After ten years, was I in for a crushing disappointment? Well, I can happily report that none of the above are true. McCammon's latest may well be his best. The characters jump off the page, the settings are expertly imagined and the plotting is brilliant. This is just a short review since others have summed it up so nicely. My only complaint is the book is so good it upsets me to think it might be his last.
Rating:
Summary: A great Mystery book!
Review: Up until now my favorite McCammon book was "The Wolf's Hour". "Speaks the Nightbird" is my new favorite. McCammon is able to transport the reader to 1699 and involve us in a mystery involving murder and a witch trial. I was quite excited to find this book to be not only a well-written historical fiction but also a great mystery novel
Rating: 
Summary: Great author, subpar book
Review: Big fan of Robert McCammon but this book is not very good. Not horrible, just mediocre and I would have stopped reading on page 20 where I not such a huge fan. I suggest re-reading Swan Song or Carrion Comfort and passing on this subpar tome.
Rating:
Summary: The best McCammon to date!
Review: I loved this book so much, I'm buying it as a Christmas gift for several people. I loved McCammon's horror books, but this is so much richer and more gripping than even the best of those. I flew through it, even thoush it's pretty long. I normally don't like historical novels, but this grabbed me in the first few words. I can hardly wait for another by this author. Please sir, I'd like some more!
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