The Five

Sep 24, 2012 Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: february-2012-list, mystery-thriller, horror, supernatural

The song track 'Highway to Hell' by AC/DC comes to mind and as I am singing this chorus I think of the band featured in this novel The Five and their very rocky journey in a kind of hellish circumstances. This is an excellent rock and roller story that is fully of high quality storytelling that should be absorbed in small doses. Within you will find characters that have some good old rock and roll demeanour with some darkness. Writing with a quality of excellence that really makes you forget tim...more The song track 'Highway to Hell' by AC/DC comes to mind and as I am singing this chorus I think of the band featured in this novel The Five and their very rocky journey in a kind of hellish circumstances. This is an excellent rock and roller story that is fully of high quality storytelling that should be absorbed in small doses. Within you will find characters that have some good old rock and roll demeanour with some darkness. Writing with a quality of excellence that really makes you forget time and feel that you want the story to be even more longer.
The five are about to be catapulted to stardom due to unconventional occurrences, that they could never fathom to occur. They find that hits of their YouTube views and other media outlets rise due to a death toll rise.
This story does cover a lot to do with rock and roll and all that comes with it and also you will find the story covers a journey of resolution and discovery. The author Robert hits the cords right and strings out a melody that touchs the heart with themes of pain, loss and survival.
He really is an masterful writer and communicates here about the horrors of war, the delight of human struggle and the love of music.

This novel would definitely appeal even more to fans of music bands, artists and also veterans of war.
Without giving too much away there is an element to this story, that Robert is known for, involving that which the human eye cannot see.
Due to the length of the novel and a band being the main feature of the story, at first I was wondering how he was going to make it an interesting read. Once I started and embarked upon this journey of The Five I was really in praise of awesomeness!
Definitely one to remember, that lurks behind in the mind for a time.

"He is proficient with his rifle, but a pistol is a different animal. You have to be close. You can easily miss with a pistol, unless you're really close. He has always thought of a pistol as a defensive weapon, a rifle as offensive."

"Business was booming among this demographic. He saw blue,red and purple flames tattooed on bald heads. He saw faces transformed into Escher artwork. He saw the calligraphy of a hundred hues written across shoulders and chest and breasts and stomachs, each man and woman their own Book of Life. Here, dancing and capering, was a bearded figure whose original colt of birthflesh had disappeared beneath the new skin f blue ink and black proclamations; there whirling 'round and 'round was a topless female with red pigtails and an intricate painting of a multicoloured dragon clinging to her back, its arms extending down across her shoulders and the black tails of its claws circling her nipples. Technicolor serpents coiled around throats, arms, thighs and calves. Flowers grew from navels and foreheads were crowned by shooting stars and pentagrams. Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Alice Cooper and Hitler pushed their faces forth from sweat-glistening meat. And there in the crowd...and there...and over there....stood in this blur of constant motion the few motionless figures who stood staring at the performers on the stage with eyes in a visage no longer recognisable as being earthly; they were creations from another realm, a strange and frightening beauty of human matter craved upon and recoloured by needles both the insane and awesome. The was a face made of layered scales like the gray hide of a desert lizard; there was a face created from a dozen interlocking other faces like a grotesque human jigsaw puzzle; and there was the face that was none at all, but rather a pair of eyes, nostrils and a mouth suspended against a bruised-coloured, crackled parchment of indecipherable markings. It seemed to Nomad to be a document of rage."

Review also featured here.

Visit my webpage to read the interview during March 2012 >>>>http://more2read.com/review/interview-with-robert-r-mccammon/(less)

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May 30, 2011 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

In "The Five," Robert McCammon takes his time telling the whole story, and I am so glad that I gave him my own time to take it all in. The story gently builds around the members of the eponymous band and a few individuals closely tied to it. Each band member has a history, and McCammon introduces each of these in their own time throughout the tale, revealing just enough to realize personalities and motivations while leaving other parts in the shadows, where their palpable presences pulsate with...more In "The Five," Robert McCammon takes his time telling the whole story, and I am so glad that I gave him my own time to take it all in. The story gently builds around the members of the eponymous band and a few individuals closely tied to it. Each band member has a history, and McCammon introduces each of these in their own time throughout the tale, revealing just enough to realize personalities and motivations while leaving other parts in the shadows, where their palpable presences pulsate with mystery and the potential for bigger happenings. Dark tones and plots arise and spread forth, and just as McCammon settles events into a recognizable passage, he pounces with a brutality that changes up the story and throws previous assumptions into questions. The greater conflict of the story, once introduced, looms somewhere on the edges, born on "black wings" that beat with dreadful patience. I could almost imagine a storyteller behind the prose saying, "Wait, wait. Wait and see where this all goes."

I appreciate the care that McCammon (must have) put into this novel. The members of the Five are full characters that invite interest and empathy and further reading. Each is experiencing something significant in the story, and each reacts to these forces in different--and sometimes unpredictable--ways. McCammon does tread across waters that sound and feel familiar (one member of the band is the "lone wolf," another is the "young hippie girl"); still, he gives this material the same genuine, earnest tone that he does to everything else in the story. Reading this novel made me glad that I am not completely cynical, and that I can still hear music that moves and overcomes me. I also very much like how McCammon suggests supernatural happenings with just enough emphasis to tantalize, but not enough to spell out another iteration of the "magic in the real world" trope.

"The Five" is a full, thoughtful, and satisfying read. I can't say that I have read anything like it in the past, and I will be surprised if I ever find anything like it in the future. For its size, it is not so much a story of epic proportions as much as it is a quiet tome that meditates upon the emotions, histories, creations, and desires of a group of individuals who are compelled to make music and play it for others to hear--an act that is itself epic, heroic, and also magical.(less)

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Sep 10, 2011 wally rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mccammon

vacation w/wife, iowa of all places....and there's this borders having a going-out-of-business sale...so...i go in and sniff books. found this one. yay.

i'm almost done with it...p405.

a good story. it is fascinating reading about.....music....the making thereof...there was a story in that shivers vi that included....or wait now...maybe it was that other story collection...the hanging gardens of split rock/mike faloon....and that collection, that writer, is big into music, possibly the making ther...more

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Dustin Hi, Walt!

I'd be interested in your thoughts/overall opinion of The Five once you're done..:)
Sep 10, 2011 11:40am

wally What say! Dustin!
Happy belated anniversary!
Anyway...good story! Like I said, picked this one up at a Borders, going out-of-business. Man, I picked up...more
updated Sep 10, 2011 12:58pm

Dustin Hi, Walt!

Thank you very much.:)

I appreciate your input. I haven't read it yet, but I did add it to my ever-growing "to-read" list awhile back. The o...more
Sep 11, 2011 10:29am

Aug 06, 2012 Debra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sai-king-recommends, mystery-thriller, horror-supernatural

Stephen King says: "The Five isn't just Robert McCammon's best novel in years; it's his best novel ever. Terrifying, suspenseful, unputdownable, and full of rock and roll energy. It's also uplifting, a book you'll finish feeling better about your world, your friends, and your music. Here's one you'll beg friends to read."

He also said this: "One of the finest horror-suspense writers of the late ’70s and ’80s returns with a riveting novel of a rock band (the Five) pursued by a mentally unstable Ar...more

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Oct 22, 2011 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was like finding an old friend. I was a fiend for the work of Robert Mccammon back when I was in high school. He did a quartet back then that I fell in love with (Wolf's Hour, Swan Song, Boy's Life,, and Gone South) and I've easily read each one of those novels four or five times. I lost track of him over the years, having heard that the novels in the Mathew Corbett series were in serious need of some editing. I had forgotten how much I enjoy his work until now.

The Five is a novel that...more

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May 10, 2013 Ben Jackson rated it 2 of 5 stars

So I read this book because Swan Song was a real favorite of mine as a teenager back in the 80s. TO be fair, I haven't read it since then, so I don't really know how it holds up twenty-five years later, but I sure dug it then.

I was crushed at how bad this was.

It reads like Christian fiction. And come on, even hardcore born-agains have to admit that most Christian fiction is just really, really bad. It's simplistic, and it feels like its coming from a place the rest of the world has passed by whi...more So I read this book because Swan Song was a real favorite of mine as a teenager back in the 80s. TO be fair, I haven't read it since then, so I don't really know how it holds up twenty-five years later, but I sure dug it then.

I was crushed at how bad this was.

It reads like Christian fiction. And come on, even hardcore born-agains have to admit that most Christian fiction is just really, really bad. It's simplistic, and it feels like its coming from a place the rest of the world has passed by while it remained stubbornly and obstinately in a world which never really existed outside of small, church-related communities.

This is the story of The Five, a band made up of a guy who's kind of like Alice Cooper, a girl who's kind of like an Indigo Girl crossed with Taylor Swift, a guy who's kind of like Meat Loaf cum Liberace cum white Billy Preston, a girl who's kind of like Meg White mixed in with a bit of Grumpy Dwarf, and some bass player. Because that band would totally make sense. Except they all love Stephen Stills, and talk about Stephen Stills more than even the fanniest of the Stephen Stills fan blogs (of which I was able to locate exactly none, even though I think he's pretty swell myself).

This whole book feels like a born-again hippie trying to reconcile his dated version of cool with the cool of today and show that they are the exact same thing, except the hippie might know some of the words people use today, but has no idea of the context in which they are used.

A stage manager fist-bumps the Alice cooper-esque lead singer and says thigns are "heezy." Also, the band has a manager who wears penny loafers, and this is regularly commented on.

OH. And there's kind of an angel, and kind of a demon-assasin. And they are angry. Because politics. And because Jesus (maybe?). And then even the rough and tumble athiesgnostics of the band find out that maybe there is some rock god in the sky, filling their vulnerable hearts with terrible music. And really, REALLY bad lyrics.

On a more serious note, there is an attempted rape scene in this book which is both fairly graphic and fairly infuriating. The gist of the scene, and what follows, is that "If I don't really fight back, and I mean fight hard against my rapist, who has done much to take away my physical abilities to fight back, well, I'm just giving the demons what they want. So, if I don't fight back and go on like nothing happened, it's like I'm helping the demons." I very nearly gave up on the book then. I wish I had.

Subterranean Press usually does much better than this. They have stuff by Joe Lansdale and Neil Gaiman. Maybe they are just capitalizing on McCammon's name? Because the writing just isn't there anymore.
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Dec 20, 2012 Beau rated it 5 of 5 stars

It may be a cliche that the first review I've taken the time to write in a long time is one I really, really liked, but so be it.

There are some books that choose to be about one thing while being about everything, ever. In much the same way some of James Ellroy's crime books are about life, the universe, and everything, Robert' McCammon's The Five tells a road story about a band with some thriller elements and even a nudge or two of horror. And that's what it's like, but that's not what it's ab...more

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Aug 14, 2012 Brian Sweany rated it 3 of 5 stars

When I was teenager in the the 80s and early 90s the three biggest names in horror were Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Robert McCammon. Two of these writers became ensconced in the imaginations of readers worldwide. One retired from writing altogether, and even went so far as to purposely take his books out of print and prohibit them from being reissued. At the time of his retirement this author could claim something King and Koontz could not: from 1987 to 1991 he had six consecutive works of fic...more When I was teenager in the the 80s and early 90s the three biggest names in horror were Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Robert McCammon. Two of these writers became ensconced in the imaginations of readers worldwide. One retired from writing altogether, and even went so far as to purposely take his books out of print and prohibit them from being reissued. At the time of his retirement this author could claim something King and Koontz could not: from 1987 to 1991 he had six consecutive works of fiction win or be nominated for the Bram Stroker Award. Three of these six works also won or were nominated for the World Fantasy Award.

That author was Robert McCammon, and after reading his newest novel THE FIVE, all I have to say is, man, I missed this guy.

More psychological thriller than horror--actually, more musical biop than psychological thriller--THE FIVE tells the story of a five-piece rock band that goes from fighting obscurity on the fringes of the music business to fighting for their lives. Stalked by a psychopathic Gulf War vet, the band fights both external and internal demons while author McCammon injects the narrative with liberal doses (maybe a little too liberal) of music biz insider speak.

I can see why people were disappointed with THE FIVE. It's different than anything McCammon has written and certainly falls short of his masterworks. But to be fair, given that SWAN'S SONG might rival Stephen King's THE STAND in the category of Best Horror Novel of All Time, McCammon could fall short and still win a Pulitzer. Much like his peer Mr. King, McCammon nails character and setting in a way that puts him between true commercial fiction and the overwrought cerebral set pieces of literary fiction. His obvious passion for music appealed to me personally, but an editor willing to reel him in a little more is probably the difference between this being a 3-star and 4-star book. On several occasions, just when the suspense picked up speed, the Behind the Music asides seemed to suck the air out of the room. (less)

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Jan 08, 2012 Lori L (She Treads Softly) rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've been looking forward to reading The Five by Robert McCammon and I wasn't disappointed. The Five is a thriller that celebrates McCammon's love of music and includes in the mix an element of the supernatural along with the suspense. The Five are a struggling rock band following a brutal schedule playing at small venues during what will likely be their last tour together when an unstable veteran decides that their video is an insult to veterans and the members of the band must be killed. The m...more

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Sep 08, 2011 Reclusive rated it 4 of 5 stars

Let me just say right up front that it is a pleasure to have Robert McCammon back in his old stomping ground. McCammon was one of the rare breed of writers who seemed to get better with each novel and in the 90s he pretty much kicked serious ass with Boy's Life and Gone South, and true to form The Five can be fairly and happily displayed right next to those two books.

I enjoyed the plot as a music lover and as a reader. The characters are likewise enjoyable and I was so shocked when, as I started...more

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Jul 23, 2011 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

At the top of the cover on this first edition is an advanced quote from Stephen King. "The Five isn't just Robert McCammon's best novel in years; it's his best novel ever." While I admire King's works, having read just about all of them, I disagree with his assessment on both counts. First of all, The Five is McCammon in fine form and, as with almost everything he's written in the past 30 years, it's a good book. I just disagree that it's his best novel now or recently. McCammon just wrote three...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

For me, comparisons to Stephen King are a compliment and this, more than any other past McCammon book, feels like it could have just as easily been written by King. It's loooong, but mostly not in a bad way, there's a toying supernatural element, overarching themes of the creative process, loads of music and pop culture references and lots of small character moments that quickly make the reader care for this rag-tag group.

In summing up this story, it feels small, a loner latches onto a small roa...more

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Jun 28, 2011 Chuck Wendig rated it 5 of 5 stars

THE FIVE is Robert McCammon’s messiest, strangest work of fiction.

That may not sound like a good thing.

You’d be wrong.

See, this is a novel about the last days of a hardscrabble indie rock band — the titular “The Five” — and the horror they endure at the hands of a schizo sniper, a horror that ultimately brings them together before properly setting them apart. Contained within the story is this ghostly vein of the supernatural, a delicate component of good versus evil that never shows its full fa...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Philtrum rated it 4 of 5 stars

An unsigned rock band – The Five – just about keep body and soul together as they tour the clubs and bars of the American south-west. Things begin to unravel when first the manager (the unofficial sixth member of the band) and then the keyboard player announce their planned departure at the end of the current tour.

A mentally scarred US marines sniper veteran decides he does not like the anti-war tone of the band’s latest video when he sees it on TV and decides to take out the members of the band...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Jo Anne B rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book rocked me to my core and made me so emotional that I cried about it afterwards while listening to the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony.”

The book begins with a quote from the song “Bittersweet Symphony” and Robert McCammon mentions it was what inspired him to write this book. At one point in the book, Nomad, the leader of the band The Five, says “I believe a song can speak to a person.” I believe that too. I also believe that books can speak to a person too. This book spoke to me.

I have ne...more This book rocked me to my core and made me so emotional that I cried about it afterwards while listening to the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony.”

The book begins with a quote from the song “Bittersweet Symphony” and Robert McCammon mentions it was what inspired him to write this book. At one point in the book, Nomad, the leader of the band The Five, says “I believe a song can speak to a person.” I believe that too. I also believe that books can speak to a person too. This book spoke to me.

I have never had a book touch me and effect me in this way before. This book was so deep and heavy hearted making you think so much about your own life and its purpose. There is no way I can write a review that truly captures the emotional toll it left on me and do it justice. All I can say is that Robert McCammon is a genius. How he can write such a profound book like this is beyond me. It just makes me think of what he wrote in The Five. This is a quote from Floyd Fisk to his stepdaughter Berke: “If you ever doubt what your place is in your profession, or if you ever doubt what changes for the better music can make in this world, open these boxes and start reading. I believe that at its best music exists to give a voice to people who sometimes can’t speak on their own. I believe it helps weak people find their strength, and frightened people find their courage. I believe it helps people understand with their hearts what their minds can’t comprehend. I think it may be the truest link to a higher power. Never ever doubt that you have an important place in this world.”

This book was about a rock band The Five that had struggled to make it for years but suddenly become famous overnight when one of their band members gets killed by an Iraq war Marine sniper. The Marine was in the midst of committing suicide when he heard their song on the tv. He was angry at the lyric’s the band member Ariel sang about the soldiers killing children in Iraq. This book follows the band on their tour with an FBI agent pretending to be their manager to try to catch the sniper. This book brings in a lot of music history knowledge that I know very little of but appreciate. It also gave the reader a backstage view of what it is like to be in a rock band. Nomad asked himself “How long did you give your life to the dream, before it took your life?”

So much of this book was about people’s roles and if they were good enough. Felix Gogo’s advice to the band’s leader Nomad was “know your role”. In the beginning of the book Nomad didn’t believe people had to know their role. He was so full of anger he acted on impulse ignoring the confines of any “role”. Nomad had thought that the middle-aged Denny’s waitress that served him was “all too happy in her role so she must be dense”. Nomad was used to being angry and unhappy because it was the familiar feeling he had always felt as a kid. Anyone that was happy, especially an older woman that was just a waitress, “must be a little dense to be truly happy or oblivious enough to think you were.” Nomad became scared when they became successful because lost his role in the band. He was the angry one. But he started to lose his anger and thus his role and questioned whether he was good enough. Ariel told him “No one’s good enough! Everybody has to push, and push, and try to break through some kind of wall. I know I’m not good enough. But I hope-I plan- on being better tomorrow. You start from where you are.” Berke’s stepfather said she told him at a concert that she could do better than the drummer and that is what inspired her to become a musician.

This book had a lot of spirituality and faith in it. Nomad was questioning whether or not he believed in soul mates like his friend Thor did wondering why God would make it so hard to find one. Thor told Nomad, “God is not a nice guy. He’s a hard teacher. He’s tough, nothing soft about Him. Oh yeah, He can show mercy. He’s all about mercy. But He’s all about teaching, too. He’s the hardest fucking teacher you could ever have. Sometimes you don’t want to hear it, so you turn your back. Sometimes the lessons are pushed right in your face, you can’t turn away. What we call cruel, maybe He calls….necessary, in some way we can’t wrap our minds around because we only know the right here, right now.”

The Marine sniper that was trying to kill The Five was humanized by the FBI agent who was also a former Marine. He tried to explain to Nomad how the Marine no longer knew his role. “So he’s the best of the best, doing what he’s been trained to do, and then something terrible happens to him there (he kills a kid) and at home (his wife and son are killed in a car accident) and the spirit drains out of him and leaves him basically a broken shell. But he has no serious and long-lasting physical injuries, and maybe he can cover up his psychological wounds because he’s been trained to be tough and to deny pain, and his own father has taught him a lot of that (through abuse). The VA hospitals are understaffed and overworked, so solid tough guys like Jeremy Pitt are given a certificate that says how much the Marine Corps appreciates their service. Maybe their awarded a medal too, like Pitt was, so they can remember what sets them apart from men like you and remember that you were somebody. Then this broken young veteran who’s been trained to kill people at over 800 yards goes out into the world looking for work. And there’s so much competition for jobs and you take what you can get. And maybe, if you were Jeremy Pitt you’d had plans set out for your entire life, but you know plans don’t work out. After you keep hitting a wall and you realize you live in a world that can’t ever measure up to what you once knew…you start trying to find a new enemy, because only a battlefield makes you feel worth living.”

The FBI agent said that none of the band members couldn’t relate to the sniper because none of them had really fought for anything worth dying for but Nomad said they have. He said that as musicians they are fighting to be heard. At the end when the sniper is nearing his death he was confessing to Ariel that “’I am not a good guy. But the other soldiers weren’t like him at all. We didn’t go over there to kill children. We went to do our job. They weren’t all like me. Do you hear?’ Only she knew what he needed. She thought to herself it was so simple, yet so important that the lack of it could crush a soul. She told him ‘I hear you’.”

There was a lot said of the music industry too. After it was all over the band’s agent was mad that they were breaking up and refused to do a reality tv show because they were sick of making money off a tragedy. He told them, “All I can say is that we’re talking about the age-old war between business and art. Correct? Friend, business won that war a long time ago. And if you don’t already know that to be the truth then… Welcome to the world.”

The band’s last song was a tribute song to their dead band members that they all wrote together and it was about “just when you think there’s nothing new in this old world” restoring their faith in their profession and their roles. Their song “was about acceptance. Accepting who you are, within the limitations of a hard old world. It was realizing that sometimes things in the tough old world squeezed you, and crushed you, and drove you down into the dirt. But to survive, to keep going, you had to lighten yourself. To cast off things that no longer mattered, things that wore you down or weighed heavy on you. You needed courage to keep going, and sometimes you found it in yourself and sometimes in others. And it might seem hopeless, it might seem a fool’s path, and it was never safe travel even though an angel might wish it were so for you, and some things never changed, they never would, but nothing ever changed unless you believed they could. And it was still the same old world as it had been yesterday. It was still a hard old world, a tough old world. It would always remain so. But it was a world that could not be described in just four minutes (the length of their song), with all its universe of good and evil, strong and weak, light and dark. It was the world, as it would ever be. People lived and people died, and the lives of people were precious; their time to create and exist, live and love, was also precious. The song said, keep trying, keep living in the fullness of life, keep growing and creating, because no one gets out alive. It was not a cry of fear; it was a declaration. You are here today, said the song. One tomorrow, you will not be. The song asked: Between those days, what will you do? Who will you become? Could it be a new world, in this old one? It could be. Might it be a new world, in this old world? That was for each person to decide. Travelling there was an inward journey, across an often fearsome land. The world within each person, the private world help deep within. That was where the change happened, where a world could be made in the midst of the old. And that journey took all the courage you had.”

At the end of the book, Jenn, an anorexic girl whose mom was the Denny’s waitress was starving herself because she wanted to feel closer to her dead father who could barely eat anything in his final days suffering from cancer, listened as the final song of the five spoke to her, “I’m sitting here like a candle on the darkest night”. She thought of her father in his final days telling her he didn’t want her getting sick. “Do you hear me? You have a life ahead of you. Hear me? I want you to be somebody’s candle, Jenn. I want you to show somebody your light. I think with your talent and your heart, that’s what you’re gonna do. But you can’t get sick. You can’t follow me. Do you understand that?” Unfortunately Jenn did understand but her anorexia was out of her control at that point. But after hearing their song and remembering what her father told her, she thought, her father had found a way to get through. “The song had spoken to her in a way she thought it could speak to no other person in the audience. But she thought she could do better. She wanted to give a voice to people who had none. She wanted to speak clearly, and to clearly be heard. And to do that, you also had to clearly hear.” She decided she wanted to “enthrall and delight, to dance to a beat, to have fun, to laugh and help people shrug off the worries of the world for a little while. To help them find their strength when the crows came flying.” So Jenn finally started to eat the breakfast her mother made every morning for her before she left to go to work at Denny’s and thought about that song more, “Some things don’t change, they never do. Some things do change, they change with you.”

I was left speechless with a lump in my throat. So I turned on “Bittersweet Symphony” and cried. I had been spoken to.
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Feb 19, 2012 Bondama rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked this book up at the library primarily because of the quote from Stephen King..."This is not just the best book McCammon has written for years, it's the best book he's EVER written."

And it is. I like McCammon, as a rule, but for me, only "The Swan" has transcended the "good book" category. But "The Five is something completely unique. It's a love story written to rock music. The initial plot concerns a fourth-fifth rate band who is gigging, making a living from their music, they have an...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Kealan Burke rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have always maintained that no book Robert McCammon could write would ever compete with my favorite of his works, Boy’s Life. I read that when I was a teenager, a time when I very much needed to hear it’s message. Well, I can’t compare that novel to The Five, which, although there are definite similarities, are very different creatures, but I will say that The Five is a work of astonishing power and indeed had a similar effect on me as Boy’s Life did, only twenty years later.

The premise is dec...more I have always maintained that no book Robert McCammon could write would ever compete with my favorite of his works, Boy’s Life. I read that when I was a teenager, a time when I very much needed to hear it’s message. Well, I can’t compare that novel to The Five, which, although there are definite similarities, are very different creatures, but I will say that The Five is a work of astonishing power and indeed had a similar effect on me as Boy’s Life did, only twenty years later.

The premise is deceptively simple: A struggling rock band, laboring along on the last few dates of their cross-country tour, in what will most likely be their last time together as a band, come to the attention of an unstable and murderous war veteran who believes the The Five‘s latest music video gleefully disrespects everything he, and his fellow soldiers, have fought and died for.

Inspired by a strange encounter during a stop on the road, Nomad (John Charles), the angst-ridden and haunted lead singer of the band, decides that, as it’s clear the band will be no more once the tour is done (thanks to the announcement by both their manager and keyboardist that they’re moving on to other pursuits), they should write one final song together. Somewhat unenthusiastically, the band agrees, but it soon becomes apparent that the song-in-progress has a lot more significance than they realize, and that forces are amassing in an effort to prevent its completion.

To label The Five a thriller is to do it an injustice, because it is so much more than that. And although it does contain the necessary elements of a chase story, the true power of the novel lies in its exploration of themes that are as old as time and as omnipresent in our lives as the air we breathe. It’s a love letter to music, a study of faith and the human spirit, of darkness and light. It’s an odyssey through life and all it would have us celebrate and endure. It’s about friendship and fear, courage and cowardice. It’s about magic, and destiny, the power of music, and the impact our choices may have on others, whether we realize it or not. It’s about people, the good, the bad, and the lost.

It’s about us.

And it is one of the best books I’ve ever had the pleasure to read.

So, Kudos, Mr. McCammon. Just like The Five‘s “New Old World”, I think this book was the song you were meant to write. And what an incredible song it is.

Note: Special mention should go to Vincent Chong for the amazing artwork, which completely nails the tone and spirit of the book.(less)

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Aug 13, 2012 Miguel Torres rated it 5 of 5 stars

A love letter to creativity, rock music and resolution in the face of hardships. 6 stars.

First things first:

1. I'm a sucker for satisfactory endings (meaning it doesn't have to be explicitly "happy", but it does have to close every character's cycle, give some sense of conclusion to each character's journey).
2. I've loved rock music (classic, hard, 80's, 90's, metal, bluesy, you name it...) ever since I can remember. My older brothers used to listen to it when I was 5 and I was instantly hooked...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

What I love about Robert McCammon's books are they so full of surprises. What's particularly surprising about THE FIVE is the range and scope of it. McCammon is a master of imagination and suspense -- of taking the reader to particular place and time, peopling the landscape with fully realized and recognizable characters and creating unrelenting tension by putting these characters in absolute peril. No one is safe in McCammon's world and therefore, neither are you. THE FIVE is no exception. What...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Bob Price rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Five is not Robert R. McCammon's best work...but it's not his worst. Having said that, it is a very good story and a very interesting book.

It tells the story of a Rock Band, the Five, on its last tour through the American Southwest. Through an unfortunate chain of events, they come in contact with an Iraq war vet who is determined to kill them.

McCammon is in his form when he writes about the characters and their back story. Of particular note is the eerie setting and story he gives to the S...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Patrick Nichol rated it 5 of 5 stars

Reading a Robert R. McCammon novel is - like fine dining - an experience to be savoured.
As a bookseller, I'm always challenged by readers to recommend my favourite authors. And McCammon is always top of my list. Somebody once said he was a master painter of word pictures.
I'll go one better; he is an artisan.
And it's a treat to see him finally in print again with The Five, a compelling thriller about a rock band being stalked by a sniper. In the hands of a lesser talent, this could've been a chea...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Glinda Harrison rated it 4 of 5 stars

As always, Robert McCammon is an amazing writer! I read this book as part of the Good Reads group read and very much enjoyed this novel. McCammon's characterizations are detailed and perceptive.

While some have said that the details about the music business were too much, as the wife of a musician and as someone who works in the music industry, I found it unbelievably accurate.

So why only fours stars for a rating? The one thing that I had a difficult time with was trying to figure out in the firs...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, favorite-2011-reads

The Five is amazing. It's not easily summed up, so I won't really try. It's about a band, it's about the forces of good vs. the forces of evil, and it's about love and friendship. Did I mention it's amazing? This is my first book by Robert McCammon and I only picked it up because Stephen King listed it in his summer reading list. But I feel like I've been giving a gift. McCammon's writing abilities blew me away and I found myself reaching for my little book o'quotes time and time again. This is...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Rick rated it 2 of 5 stars

I love McCammon. He's one of my all-time favorite authors, so when I'd realized he was back in business, I was thrilled. I liked "Speaks the Night Bird", but missed his contemporary work, so I was especially excited when I heard about "The Five." Unfortunately, it was disappointing. I've read comments about how his Corbett novels needed editing, but that's how I felt about "The Five." If King said that this was McCammon's best book ever, then he must've only read a couple of McCammon's works, be...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Matt rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Hardcore McCammon Fans

I'm inclined to strongly disagree with Mr. S. King of Bangor. The Five is definitely not Mr. McCammon's best book. It's nowhere even close to that. The Five is not "putdownable," not "full of rock and roll energy" not a book I'll "beg my friends to read" as suggested by Stephen King on the back dust-jacket blurbs. It almost pains me to say this in light of McCammon's other fine novels, but The Five is really not very good at all.

The story of the musicians Ariel, Nomad, Mike, Terry and Berke (Th...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of Robert McCammon

Shelves: thriller

Great book by a great writer. This is Robert McCammmon's love song to rock'n'roll.

The band, The Five, is embarked on a tour of the southwest to promote their latest CD and a video they recorded of one of the songs. This is the one they hope will finally put them over the top. However, things begin to fall apart but then a marine who served in Iraq sees the video and decides that they all must die. Then thing really begin to go downhill fast.

This is a must read (IMO) for all McCammon fans. I esp...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Robert Brase rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: great-reads

A master storyteller sits down to tell you about life and music. You can feel the pulse and the rhythm as it beats its way across every line, page upon page till the bitter end. And than Robert M. does something that only a true master can do, he actually breathes a soul into the book and brings it to life. And if that sounds like some kind of meta physical garbage, put me down for the latest purple lava lamp at the local healing crystal shop. Besides the beat of the music within these pages you...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Lance Judd rated it 4 of 5 stars

Everything is connected meets PTSD. This was worth my time no doubt, it's an evenly paced story about an Austin-based rock band stalked by former sniper. I enjoyed the tour spiels, the clever names and familiar mannerisms of the opening and/or headlining bands and later, the development of the "final" song. I wasn't prepped for the love story angle but I got a kick out of the trembling romantic vibe which smolders for most of the novel. This guy McCammon is pretty darn good. I would suggest this...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Todd Russell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, music

In the body of Robert McCammon's excellent work, this one about a band targeted by a disturbed sniper vet lies somewhere in the middle. Some scenes, like the cafe ones, seemed too meandering. On the plus side, McCammon is one of the best at drawing alive characters. I felt right there in some scenes rooting for and against certain characters. The poetic style, no doubt influenced by one of McCammon's idols, Ray Bradbury, makes his tales--even when some parts start to drag--a treat to read. It's...more

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Oct 18, 2012 John Paul Feehily rated it 2 of 5 stars

A tale following a hard working American rock band that become a target due to the controversial theme of one of their songs. I liked the portrayal of the touring band and musical references most in this book. Robert is clearly a music buff, if the story doesn't make this clear then the 3-4 pages of bands/musicians thanked in the afterword surely will.
My main gripe is the supernatural element didn't work at all for me. The story was there but maybe it wasn't enough to fill the novel so he added...more

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