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Jun 16, 2011

Titus rated it:

Somehow McCammon splipped through the mass popularity cracks back in the horror heyday of the 80's. Despite writing many of the best genre novels of that era (and certainly the definitive werewolf novel ever written, "The Wolf's Hour"), he never achieved the cult status of King, Koontz, or Rice. Those who read him were avid fans and I remember the early 90's word of mouth buzz that passed from devotees in used bookstores. "If you like horror, you gotta read McCammon." Then ca More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Benjamin rated it:

I am new to the author, Robert McCammon, but he came highly recommended from another blog I follow so I thought it worthwhile to give him a shot. The results? Speaks the Nightbird will be a very strong competitor for my best-of-the-year list and now that I think about it, will probably make my best-of-all time reading list.

Yes, it's that good.

This is an historical novel set in the Carolina territory in 1699. Mathew Corbett is a clerk to a magestrate (judge) based in Ch More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2011

Sam rated it:

I couldn't put this large book down and got through it in a record time for me (I'm a very thorough reader). I loved spending time with these characters, and I loved the atmosphere and setting. This has elements of historical fiction but I got the feeling Mr McCammon was more interested in creating interesting and amusing (and evil!) characters rather than being slavish to the trappings of 1699 America... Which IMO served this book well. It's not the most sophisticated of historical murder myste More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Timothy rated it:

This book was outright amazing, the only comparison I can draw for this novel would be something like Law & Order: Witch Trials. Thereby seeing the first lines of the novel indicating the location in the Carolinas, I hear the distinctive DUN! DUN! in my head just thinking about it. There is definitely some shady dealings going on in the town of Fount Royal where an accused witch is on trial and the one and only penalty for cavorting with the Devil is death by flames. For a town that deems its More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Bill rated it:

I had been looking forward to reading this for some time. Speaks the Nightbird heralded Robert McCammon's return to writing after a 10-year absence, and there was much rejoycing amongst readers.

I must say I was very entertained, for pretty much the full 2-volumes of this story. With the exception of some modern figures of speech, I felt quite immersed in the 1699 Carolinas. It's interesting and disturbing to be reminded of the attitudes towards witchcraft. A highly educated man such More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Craig rated it:

This is a very entertaining pseudo-historical novel about a witch trial in the Carolinas in the late 17th century. More accurately, it's about the stuggles of a small, fledgling colonial town as it wrestles with the impending witch trial and the supposed witch jailed therein. A young upstart lawyer believes the witch's innocence and provides the necessary contrast to the pigheaded townsfolk and to his mentor, the old traditionalist magistrate, who is trying to run everything by the book. Ulti More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Kevin rated it:

"The Carolinas, 1699: The citizens of Fount Royal believe a witch has cursed their town with inexplicable tragedies -- and they demand that beautiful widow Rachel Howarth be tried and executed for witchcraft. Presiding over the trial is traveling magistrate Issac Woodward, aided by his astute young clerk, Matthew Corbett. Believing in Rachel's innocence, Matthew will soon confront the true evil at work in Fount Royal."

I absolutely loved this book! A suspenseful mystery tha More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 26, 2011

Vd rated it:

A thoroughly and seriously enjoyable piece of work. 'Speaks the Nightbird' will deeply impress not only lovers of historical fiction and suspense thrillers but also those who appreciate books that possess genuine literary merit. It is packed to the brim with exciting and intricate details and extremely taut moments. The air of mystery and intrigue does not flag for a second. The scenes in the story are painted with such fine precision and vivid imagination and the characters are so beautifully f More...

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Jul 25, 2011

David rated it:

With every book I read by Robert McCammon, I gain an increasing amount of respect for his skills. Unfortunately, horror fiction fans can be picky. McCammon doesn't get the respect from horror fans that he used to because of a book like this - which is simply a great work of literature that merely contains overtones of horror. It is an outstanding mystery, involving many points of holes in the evidence against a woman suspected of being a witch in 1699 Carolinas coastal town. It is a rich cha More...

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Sep 30, 2011

C.A. rated it:

Don't know if I'll read the next in this series or not. There were parts I really liked, but some of it was too predictable/drawn out.

Upside: I really like the main character, Matthew Corbett. He's almost obnoxiously curious, but in a believable way. He's brave, but not in the impulsive, 'fearless' way; in the real, "you have to be afraid first to be brave" way. He's young and clumsy at times, but his dedication to his ideals is admirable and challenges certain generally acc More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Caroline rated it:

Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon is a historical mystery, but not part of a series. It is steamy South Carolina, 1699, and magistrate Isaac Woodward and his assistant Matthew have traveled from “Charles Town” to the struggling village of Fount Royal to investigate a charge of witchcraft. Fount Royal is a horrible place, full of frightened blowhards and hypocrites. The accused, widow Rachel Howarth is said to have murdered two people, caused sickness and sown fear – the usual bag of tric More...

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Jun 16, 2011

becky rated it:

This was a WONDERFUL book - a total departure from anything I have ever read, although it has some of the same "feel" as Pillars of the Earth. It is a fabulous story, more than an historical "whodunit," superb character development, and many "departures down the path less traveled." I mark it as a "HAVE TO READ" for any serious reader!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 16, 2011

Darren rated it:

In a word - Superb. I've been a fan of Robert McCammon since his horror novel days in the 80s and 90s. For a long time he disappeared off the scene, only to return a decade or so later with this gem. Anyone who loves an epic tale of mystery and intrigue set against a dazzling and raw historic background will love this one.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 13, 2011

Liesl rated it:

My first book by McCammon was Swan Song and I throughly enjoyed reading it.....that was my only book read by him cause I'm not a fan of horror. Recently I came across him again when I read The Passage by Justin Cronin and decided to reread Swan Song and saw he didn't have many ebooks....thankfully one was Swan Song and the other 3 were his new one and two about his character Matthew Corbett. It's to bad Speaks the Nightbird isn't available as an ebook. I did however check it out from library More...

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Dec 27, 2011

Bridgette rated it:

I loved this book -- actually this is the 1st 2 parts combined. It is about 800 pages. McCammon can really speak with an authentic voice that really puts you in the year the book is set - 1699. It is a good mystery & a pageturner that keeps you guessing throughout. Who is the puppetmaster? What lies at the bottom of the fount? Why does the schoolmaster wear the face powder? How did the Indians get the spanish coins? What happened to the first magistrate? What is the secret carried by th More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Rachel rated it:

What a great read! I didn't think I would have time to get through it but it only took a couple of days - I couldn't put it down!!

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Sep 19, 2011

Robert rated it:

Now and then we all come across a book that speaks in a special way to our reader heart. "Speaks the Nightbird" was such a book for me. And, strangely, it was not so much the plot that fascinated me as it was the characters McCammon created.

The story begins in 1699 with a magistrate and his clerk going to a backwoods town to conduct a witch trial. But as I read the book, I saw the witch trial as simply a background for the various character interaction. Though the plot More...

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Jun 19, 2011

Andy rated it:

The only reason its not a 5 star is the ending is a little contrived for me (reminded me alot of The Terror by Dan Simmons). But the build up is excellent. The atmosphere the author creates really makes you feel like you are there. Its a ery intersting location for a story. The pacing of the book is quite slow, but it never feels boreing. And you might as well buy the omnibus as if you like the first part you will want to read the second part immediately.

A very, very good histori More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Angela rated it:

i>A trial for witchcraft proves the tip of an iceberg of intrigues in this absorbing historical mystery, the first newly published novel in 10 years from McCammon (the book was written in the mid-'90s), a bestseller in the 1980s with such supernatural novels in the Stephen King tradition as Usher's Passing and Baal. Set in 1699 in Fount Royal, a coastal settlement in the colonial Carolinas, this latest unfolds the adventures of magistrate Isaac Woodward and his assistant, Matthew Corbett, who More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Ken rated it:

Carolina, 1699: Die Bürger von Fount Royal sind überzeugt, dass der Teufel sein Unwesen in ihrer Stadt treibt und verlangen, dass die schöne Witwe Rachel Horwarth als Hexe auf dem Scheiterhaufen verbrannt wird.
Den Prozess führen der Richter Isaac Woodward und sein junger Gehilfe Matthew Corbett. Von Rachels Unschuld überzeugt, kommt Matthew bald auf die Spur der wahren Übeltäter in Fount Royal.

Ich bin eigentlich kein großer Freund von historischen Romanen. Durch die akribische Rek More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Ruthiella rated it:

The book is super long, but not in a good way. I generally enjoy long, involved novels with lots of characters. I picked this up because I had read The Queen of Bedlam, the sequel to Speaks the Nightbird a couple of years ago and was under the impression that this book was better than its sequel. Alas, this was not true, at least not for me. In parts, it reminded me of a very long Scooby Doo episode, only minus Shaggy and Velma et al. Matthew Corbett is a young clerk to a Charleston magistrate w More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Barb rated it:

I happened upon a copy of 'The Queen of Bedlam' in my local second hand store, it sounded good so I took it home. I later discovered that it was the second book in a series. I like to start at the beginning of a series, so I borrowed the first book 'Speaks the Nightbird' from my local library and I'm happy that I did. I recently learned that the author has published a third novel in this series 'Mr. Slaughter' and is working on a fourth 'The Providence Rider'. I'm hoping that all the books in More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Alan rated it:

Another good book about hunting Witches in Colonial America (see The Heretic's Daughter) this one set in the Carolinas in 1699. It is a mystery whose protagonist is a young man, Matthew, who is the clerk of the man sent to Judge a woman, Rachel, of witchcraft. Matthew is a somewhat naive young man,20, who has an unrelenting need to puzzle out the different threads of this story. There are many threads in this story, all of which Matthew is sure are an important piece of the puzzle. Matthew has m More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Les rated it:

Speaks the Nightbird by Robert R. McCammon begins with magistrate Issac Woodward and his young clerk Matthew Corbett traveling to Fount Royal, Carolinas to try an accused witch (and possible murderer), the beautiful Rachel Howarth. Set in 1699, with the country still under the influence of the Salem witch trials, Woodward seeks to provide the accused with a fair trial in a town all too ready to proceed to the burning without bothering with a trial. However, Corbett has his doubts about the gui More...

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Jun 20, 2011

Gina rated it:

Just once I would like to see a man fight to save an ugly woman. Even a sort of average, non-mysterious woman would be nice. He doesn't even have to fall in love with her.

If I had known that Robert McCammon was typically grouped with Steven King, Dean Koontz, and the rest of that gang, I probably would never have read this book. I love historical fiction, especially about witch trials, but this feels like a modern thriller plopped in the middle of 1699. There were anachronism More...

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Jun 16, 2011

David rated it:

One of the thicker books on my shelf but well worth the read. It reminded me of some of the old Dark Shadows episodes from years gone by. The character development was done well, but in more of a "breadcrumb" fashion. You will still be learning about each one right up to the end of the book.
I was expecting more of a blatant horror aspect from the story, but the book was so descriptive that it made up for my preconceived ideas and expectations. One could almost feel the chill More...

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Jul 07, 2011

Debra rated it:

Stephen King says: "Given Rick McCammon's ten-year silence, I was curious about NIGHTBIRD...eager for a new dose of one of America's truly fine story-tellers...delighted it was a BIG dose...and nervous, too. 'Cause writing novels is NOT like riding a bike--you can forget how to do it. Twenty pages in, I forgot everything but the book itself.

"...an excellent story, full of tension and suspense...

"Speaks the Nightbird is a rarity in popular fiction, a book More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Rick rated it:

His first book in ten years, McCammon returns, with mixed results. The story is about an accused witch and the young legal clerk who believes in her innocence and attempts to clear her name and save her life. Set in a small Carolina settlement in the year 1699, the story takes place several years after the Salem massacre. The book draws a pretty evocative picture of life in the wilds of America at the time, but the story doesn’t quite grab the reader the way some of his earlier works did. McCa More...

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Jan 30, 2012

Sherri aka SDMomChef rated it:

This novel apparently was originally two books that were combined. Perhaps it would've been better as two books. As one, it got tedious towards the end. Too much unnecessary detail.

It is a historical mystery set in the late 1690s in South Carolina. In a small settling, two murders have happened and a woman is accused of being a witch. The magistrate for the area, and his clerk, travel to investigate and conduct a trial. The clerk is convinced that she is innocent and a real e More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Djrmel rated it:

A very character driven mystery wrapped up in a whopping historical fiction. The setting what a new one for me - coastal Carolina, 1699, and once again I am amazed that any Europeans survived long enough to get a firm foothold on the new world. The witch trial aspect of the story is turned into a mystery when (slightly anachronistic?) magistrate's clerk Matthew Corbett follows his instincts and his intelligence and refuses to accept that the Devil is behind murder, arson, and whatever else goes More...

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