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Stinger
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McCammon's novel "takes place during a single twenty-four hour period in Inferno, Texas. Inferno is a town in trouble, driven to the brink by racial tension, gang violence, and a collapsing economy. But things can always get worse, and they do so with astonishing speed when an unidentified spacecraft crash lands in the desert outside of town, followed by a second craft bea
...more
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Kindle Edition, 542 pages
Published
October 18th 2011
by Open Road Media
(first published April 1st 1988)
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Easy 5 Stars!
“Cody Lockett is a human being. You are human beings. What is the difference?”
And there lies the secret to life, right? The only race that truly matters is the human race. So why is it so difficult for us to let go of all the petty bullshit?
***
Inferno, Texas, is a dying town. Hell, it's already dead, since the school will be closing permanently after tomorrow's graduation, so what will be left? Will the Rattlers and the Renegades, the two gangs, finally declare a full scale war to ...more
“Cody Lockett is a human being. You are human beings. What is the difference?”
And there lies the secret to life, right? The only race that truly matters is the human race. So why is it so difficult for us to let go of all the petty bullshit?
***
Inferno, Texas, is a dying town. Hell, it's already dead, since the school will be closing permanently after tomorrow's graduation, so what will be left? Will the Rattlers and the Renegades, the two gangs, finally declare a full scale war to ...more
That was pretty damn good!!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more
STINGER by Robert Mccammon is simply 80's horror F-U-N! With the entire book taking place over the course of one night, it's a great example of the horror being written during that time.
This is the story of a duel alien invasion-one alien crashed on earth due to a ship malfunction, (Daufin) and the other a bounty-hunter come to track the first one down, (Stinger). All of this takes place in the town of Inferno, in west Texas.
With a variety of small town characters putting aside their differenc ...more
This is the story of a duel alien invasion-one alien crashed on earth due to a ship malfunction, (Daufin) and the other a bounty-hunter come to track the first one down, (Stinger). All of this takes place in the town of Inferno, in west Texas.
With a variety of small town characters putting aside their differenc ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Deep down, in the centre of the blackness, something might have shifted—a cautious, slow stirring; an ancient thing, contemplating the shine of light that touched it through the murk. Then it was still again, pondering and gathering strength.
McCammon takes some time to set up his story and his characters. This is one of the aspects I enjoy about Horror novels like these; it’s quite the immersive experience. On the other hand, I didn’t care much for the whole Renegades vs Rattlesnakes gang war th ...more
McCammon takes some time to set up his story and his characters. This is one of the aspects I enjoy about Horror novels like these; it’s quite the immersive experience. On the other hand, I didn’t care much for the whole Renegades vs Rattlesnakes gang war th ...more
Holy Stinger, this was unbelievably good! I'm in shock.
McCammon is cementing himself as one of my favourites.
What can I say about this book?
- It's one of the creepiest books ever Where's the guardian?
- The atmosphere is vividly described and stays with you throughout
- The characters are all great and you learn to care for them as a collective
- I like what it says about humanity
- Two alien races who aren't just dumb monsters laying waste to the land, they have purposes
- The writing is c ...more
McCammon is cementing himself as one of my favourites.
What can I say about this book?
- It's one of the creepiest books ever Where's the guardian?
- The atmosphere is vividly described and stays with you throughout
- The characters are all great and you learn to care for them as a collective
- I like what it says about humanity
- Two alien races who aren't just dumb monsters laying waste to the land, they have purposes
- The writing is c ...more
Jun 09, 2012
Char
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
not-loanable
I'm pretty sure I read this as a teenager, but if I did, I sure don't remember it, so this book was entirely new to me. And what a great book it was!
I'm a HUGE fan of Robert McCammon and have slowly been reading and re-reading all of his books. By doing so I've been treated to to the birth and growth of an incredible author, and a damn fine good time.
Stinger has everything a horror fan could want, great characters, a great setting, humor, wit, and downright creepiness. Oh, and nasty monsters, ...more
I'm a HUGE fan of Robert McCammon and have slowly been reading and re-reading all of his books. By doing so I've been treated to to the birth and growth of an incredible author, and a damn fine good time.
Stinger has everything a horror fan could want, great characters, a great setting, humor, wit, and downright creepiness. Oh, and nasty monsters, ...more
McCammon masterfully spins 80's horror/sc-fi tale for the ages. This one ranks right up there with the author's spectacular epic Swan Song as one of his best, most enduring works. I'm completely satisfied with this book. Read it!
...more
Oct 11, 2014
Karl
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
subterranean-own,
2016-09-books-bought
This is copy 285 of 1000 signed numbered copies signed by Robert McCammon.
4.5 actually. I have not read an unentertaining book by Robert McCammon. I've read the great: Swan Song and Boy's Life, and the good: Mine and The Five, but not yet the bad. Stinger is close to being great and I can't quite put in words what it's lacking. The 80s vibe was killer and it successfully straddled the line between horror and sci-fi, with a little bit of the whole teen/angst The Outsiders thread thrown in. Maximum fun-ness.
...more
This was an extremely painful read that I have no idea why I put myself through. To be fair, it started out as a fun, time-honoured sci-fi horror with no need for a reader to question anything too much (well, after the first 50 or so oddly slow pages).
Unfortunately, McCammons editor was either drunk or asleep or both and let pass 300 pages of mind-numbingly boring, repetitive and extremely predictable ‘story’ that I wouldn’t wish on any reader.
At the half-way mark I was thinking that either I w ...more
Unfortunately, McCammons editor was either drunk or asleep or both and let pass 300 pages of mind-numbingly boring, repetitive and extremely predictable ‘story’ that I wouldn’t wish on any reader.
At the half-way mark I was thinking that either I w ...more
A character driven story set over a 24hr period which echoes the best of Stephen King while blending horror and science fiction.
*full review to come*
*full review to come*
Oct 01, 2017
Obsidian
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
tbr-2017,
halloween-bingo-2017
I have to say that it appears besides "Boy's Life" I'm not destined to like any of Robert McCammon's books. "Stinger" dragged forever. I almost DNFed it, but I just decided to finish it so I could count it as a bingo read. I ended up not caring about any character we are introduced to, I wasn't scared, and I just went than goodness when I got to the end.
The dying town of Inferno, Texas is on its last legs. In a few months when the local high school closed there won't be anything left of the to ...more
The dying town of Inferno, Texas is on its last legs. In a few months when the local high school closed there won't be anything left of the to ...more
McCammon delivers for me a second time. Gruesome and riveting but with a lot of heart. My sample size is small yet as this is only my second McCammon, but I might prefer him to King.
A small Texas town is rocked by the crash landing of an object of unknown origin. While something a little strange is going on with a local veterinarians young daughter who interacted with the busted up remnants first, the foreign object is not anything that the nearest air force base and personal can't contain and r ...more
A small Texas town is rocked by the crash landing of an object of unknown origin. While something a little strange is going on with a local veterinarians young daughter who interacted with the busted up remnants first, the foreign object is not anything that the nearest air force base and personal can't contain and r ...more
For the most part, Stinger was a fun read. I love a good mixture of horror and sci-fi, and this tale of an extraterrestrial on the run was an okay one.
I liked the concept of Daufin, and her pursuer, and I liked the relationship between Rick and Cody. Apart from that, though, I don't much else to say about it.
I think the story could easily have survived with 200 less pages. By the time I was 400 pages in, it seemed action was just a little too drawn on, and I was getting to the point of, okay, ca ...more
I liked the concept of Daufin, and her pursuer, and I liked the relationship between Rick and Cody. Apart from that, though, I don't much else to say about it.
I think the story could easily have survived with 200 less pages. By the time I was 400 pages in, it seemed action was just a little too drawn on, and I was getting to the point of, okay, ca ...more
One of my favourite books ever and a study in how a horror book should be made. Great characters, awesome setting, terror at every corner and excellent writing.
First published back in 1988, Robert McCammon’s sci-fi horror novel ‘Stinger’ followed on from the successful novels ‘They thirst!’ and ‘Swan Song’. Already with quite a well respected name for himself within the horror world, McCammon’s ‘Stinger’ was a widely anticipated release for this author.
Set in the not too distant future within a dusty Texas town named Inferno, the books starts off setting the scene in this scorching hot dying town. Work is hard to come by and life is hard for the reside ...more
Set in the not too distant future within a dusty Texas town named Inferno, the books starts off setting the scene in this scorching hot dying town. Work is hard to come by and life is hard for the reside ...more
Apr 22, 2012
Alondra Miller
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-own,
horror-chills-and-thrills
4 Stars
What a blast, that was!
It was like a B-Movie on acid. Much better than Invasion of the Killer Tomatoes.
It had all the elements: Fat, loser sheriff; goody-two shoes family, crotchety old rich lady; town drunkard, racial tension, bullied-by-everyone-town-nerd, and gangs. Oh, and did I mention the gloriously, disgusting monster who also happens to be a "bounty hunter!??" It doesn't get any better than this.
I really had no expectations of greatness, but this was a great horror story, and w ...more
What a blast, that was!
It was like a B-Movie on acid. Much better than Invasion of the Killer Tomatoes.
It had all the elements: Fat, loser sheriff; goody-two shoes family, crotchety old rich lady; town drunkard, racial tension, bullied-by-everyone-town-nerd, and gangs. Oh, and did I mention the gloriously, disgusting monster who also happens to be a "bounty hunter!??" It doesn't get any better than this.
I really had no expectations of greatness, but this was a great horror story, and w ...more
Re-read remains a solid 5 stars!
Could you blend "The Terminator", "ET", "Close Encouters of the Third Kind", "Tremors" and Under the Dome (only with a far more satisfying & better ending)? What would you get?
STINGER, that's what you'd get.
4.5 stars. ...more
STINGER, that's what you'd get.
4.5 stars. ...more
This book was brutal, gory, action packed blast to read!! I love McCammon!!
Robert McCammon is quite gifted at taking old ideas and infusing them with new life. He also tends to write like he is writing with the movies in mind. He wrote Stinger like he had a TV movie in mind. The idea of good alien being chased by bad alien while endangering the human race is somewhat of a standard idea. The author does manage to write some excellent action segments and the ending moves like a runaway train ablaze. Yet his characters are cardboard cutouts. McCammon uses every small town
...more
One sentence review:
Masterfully told story which answers the age old question of who would win in a fight between a dolphin and a scorpion.
Masterfully told story which answers the age old question of who would win in a fight between a dolphin and a scorpion.
Wow! 5 Stars!
Action packed, suspenseful, amazing characters, antagonists and world building. God I love McCammon's writing.
"Stinger" was published in 1988, more than 20 year prior to "Under the Dome" which came out in 2009. Just sayin'.
Summary: Inferno Texas. A town surrounded by desert. Population 1,700, with one fire engine, one doctor, one veterinarian, and a school system that is seeing it's last year of operation. Most of the residents already left when the copper mine dried up, the main s ...more
Action packed, suspenseful, amazing characters, antagonists and world building. God I love McCammon's writing.
"Stinger" was published in 1988, more than 20 year prior to "Under the Dome" which came out in 2009. Just sayin'.
Summary: Inferno Texas. A town surrounded by desert. Population 1,700, with one fire engine, one doctor, one veterinarian, and a school system that is seeing it's last year of operation. Most of the residents already left when the copper mine dried up, the main s ...more
I normally like McCammon but this was far from my favourite horror story. I was doing fine for the first third but then things got a tad cheesy. I know it’s because it’s been decades since this was written, totally not the author’s fault, but when you want to laugh while reading a horror then you know that book isn’t for you.
The first thing I thought was funny was that an evil alien ship landed on Earth and it turned out to be the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas. Not the actual hotel but an immense bla ...more
The first thing I thought was funny was that an evil alien ship landed on Earth and it turned out to be the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas. Not the actual hotel but an immense bla ...more
Parts of the novel were 5 stars... some parts were 3 stars or less...love several other books by him, but this one didn't pull me into the story....
...more
An alien spaceship crashes near a small Texas border town, its occupant a bounty hunter on the trail of another alien of a different species who has recently escaped from a prison planet. That certainly sounds more like science fiction than horror but the way Robert McCammon unfolds this plot is pure horror. Trust me. The nature of the bounty-hunter alien (nicknamed “Stinger”) is a scorpion-like, mucus producing, monster with the ability to rapidly replicate allies using spare machine parts and
...more
Aug 27, 2016
Cody | CodysBookshelf
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
robert-mccammon
Before reading Stinger I read three other McCammon titles and considered myself a fan. I wasn't a rabid, hardcore fan -- but a fan nonethless.
Stinger changed that. I'm now a very dedicated fan of Robert McCammon.
This book is about two opposing terrestrial forces that comes to a small, dying town in Texas. One -- Daufin -- is on the run and the other -- Stinger -- is a bounty hunter looking for the criminal alien force.
I know what you're thinking -- that sounds like the plot of a cheaply-made ...more
Stinger changed that. I'm now a very dedicated fan of Robert McCammon.
This book is about two opposing terrestrial forces that comes to a small, dying town in Texas. One -- Daufin -- is on the run and the other -- Stinger -- is a bounty hunter looking for the criminal alien force.
I know what you're thinking -- that sounds like the plot of a cheaply-made ...more
Yup, I'm giving this one the ol' "5 Star" rating!
Basic premise: Alien shows up on earth, takes over the body of little girl, another alien shows to bring back the other alien who we find out is an escaped "prisoner".
The power within this book is 100% the characters. McCammon gives us such string characters that we have no choice but to get wrapped up in the story. His whole book could have been about the stuggle between the two gangs, or the relationship between Cody and Curt (son and drunk da ...more
Basic premise: Alien shows up on earth, takes over the body of little girl, another alien shows to bring back the other alien who we find out is an escaped "prisoner".
The power within this book is 100% the characters. McCammon gives us such string characters that we have no choice but to get wrapped up in the story. His whole book could have been about the stuggle between the two gangs, or the relationship between Cody and Curt (son and drunk da ...more
What can I say? McCammon's got it as usual. It wasn't on the same level as Swan Song, Boy's Life, or Usher's Passing, but it was still a solid five star read. Excellent B-Movie style sci-fi horror premise that went on to a fun story with some heart.
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert McCammon: July 2014 Group Read: STINGER | 8 | 24 | Jul 11, 2014 06:35AM | |
| Robert McCammon: Buddy Read for Stinger-We're Done!! | 52 | 27 | Sep 09, 2013 03:36PM | |
| Robert McCammon: Buddy Read for Stinger-Up to Chapter 45-Spit 'n' Gristle | 5 | 8 | Aug 29, 2013 06:46PM | |
| Robert McCammon: Buddy Read for Stinger-Up to Chapter 33-The Flesh | 9 | 9 | Aug 29, 2013 06:36PM | |
| Robert McCammon: Buddy Read for Stinger-Up to Chapter 56-The Chop Shop | 1 | 4 | Aug 28, 2013 10:15AM | |
| McCammon recos or Books for those who loved Stinger, They Thirst, or Swan Song | 15 | 45 | Mar 21, 2013 09:30PM |
Readers also enjoyed
Robert Rick McCammon was a full-time horror writer for many years. Among his many popular novels were the classics Boy's Life and Swan Song. After taking a hiatus for his family, he returned to writing with an interest in historical fiction.
The sixth book in his Matthew Corbett historical fiction series, Freedom of the Mask, was published in May 2016.
His next novel, a standalone book called The Li ...more
The sixth book in his Matthew Corbett historical fiction series, Freedom of the Mask, was published in May 2016.
His next novel, a standalone book called The Li ...more
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