What did you think?

[Brittany]

I have yet to read this book. The reason I got this novel is because it sounds interesting and I never read a book quite so large and wanted a challenge. Of course a challenge that would be worth it and as a result would love finishing. One other thing that attracted me to this novel was its cover, plot, and the date that it was first published. Old books intrigue me. I would deeply appreshiate your intake on the book without spoilers of course. What did you like about it? What did you not like about it? and do you recommend any other books Robert R. McCammon wrote? Thank you.

[[deleted user]]

I liked that it was very ambitious. I liked the fact that Mccammon chose nuclear war to end the world. Inspite of the topic being dated i still think Nuclear war is a threat. Maybe not today but who's to say that 50 years from now something like that can't happen? Could anybody swear thier life that something like that can't happen?

I also Love the Multible characters. And I fell in love with the little girl in the book. She represents everything that's good in the world. I loved the relationship between the girl and the people who chooses to protect her.

There's a book that came out a couple of years ago, that reminds me of this book. its called . This too is a very good book. But Swansong is better.

Mcammon is the man in my opinion, here is my personal favorite Mccammon Books In no order,




and

Now IMO Mystery walk would be his most underated book and They Thirst is honestly one of my favorite vampire books. You read the prologe of They Thirst and I'll Guarantee you'll be hooked.

[John]

I liked this book a great deal. Although the ending was played out, McCammon is an excellent writer with a talent for character development and describing scenery. Worth the ready.

[Drew]

It's been awhile since I read Swan Song but I do remember enjoying it immensely, I am almost done with They Thirst and even though it has taken me awhile it isn't because it isn't good I've just been super busy. In truth, it is one of the better vampire novels I have read, just under and just above .

[Zac]

I agree with everyone else - it's an incredible post-apoc epic and I was immersed and captivated the entire time. A good mix of horror and fantasy with excellent character development. It probably should have been a series to span some of the gaps better would be my only real 'complaint'.

I definitely also loved Stinger and They Thirst as others have mentioned, but I'm not sure that they really 'aged' well in all respects. Still very very fun reads.

[Wanda]

I loved this book. I mean the fact that people changed to look like what they were "inside" made it so fantastic. Much easier to tell who was good and who was bad. The strength of the survivors also made you think. It showed no matter how much you think you did wrong, sometimes it's your heart that matters.

[Ty]

This was my introduction to McCammon over 25 years ago and I absolutely loved it. I quickly read the rest of his books and with only a couple of exceptions, I'd recommend all of them. In particular I'd go with Boy's Life, The Wolf's Hour, They Thirst, Mine, or his wonderful collection of short stories, Blue World. I hope you enjoy the book and many more of his.

[Brittany]

Thank you guys I really appreshiate and enjoy your intake on the novel. I will definitly read and let you guys know how I enjoyed it. Thank you again.

[Cheri]

Yes.....Swan Song is a great novel.Wow, it's been like 20 some years since I've read that. 'Wolf's Hour' is a werewolf novel set during WWII....surprisingly great book also.

[M.K.]

It was a wonderful story! Although it is an enormous undertaking, it is well worth the time! If you have it collecting dust, you'd be doing yourself a favor to dust it off and immerse yourself.

[Tracey]

Loved it many years ago when I read it and just re bought it to re read. Can't wait :O)

[Timday]

better than the stand :)

[Tracey]

Timday wrote: "better than the stand :)"

bang on !

[Jaime]

The Stand is one of my favorite King novels but Swan Song is better. It has a tighter story, better development and keeps up the suspense. The good vs. evil message is loud and clear.

[Pieter]

This book created a nostalgia and have been hunting around for books that can bring back that feeling again. Been through a spell of books full of promise but have been struggling to turn pages on many of them.
Swan Song remains a RETURN book and i have bought the audiobook .... REWIND REPLAY.

[Kevin]

I'll be the bad guy here and say Swan Song is very mediocre. It definitely has its good points, but I think its way too long. It just dragged on and on. IMO The Stand is far better.

McCammon's best book is Boys Life. Outstanding!

[John]

Yup Boys Life is amazing

[Robert]

I quite liked it and would have liked to have seen it made into a mini-series.

[Darcy]

While I liked this one, I preferred Wolf's Hour, Boy's Life and Mine. Bethany's Sin I quite enjoyed too, but it was a little off-beat for McCammon

[Jim]

Swan Song would have to my all-time favorite book. I first read it when I was 15yrs. old and in the 25 years since then I've re-read it 5 times. Great Story!!

[Brent]

I read this when I was a child and still very much afraid of the Cold War. To this day the book is near-nostalgic in the way it immediately brings to mind the way I would occasionally look at the sky, scanning for the rockets that I surely KNEW were on their way delivering some oblique, nebulous form of death that I never completely grasped but was completely terrified of.

It's not an incredibly well-written book, the characters are archetypes that could be used to define D&D alignment but it has it's own charm, and some of those characters are written well enough that you start to care about them.

At the very least, it's a road that you want to go down just to enjoy the walk and to see the plants sprouting in the spring.

[Shawn]

Swan Song is one of the greatest apocolyptic horror novels. Try the Five.

[Stacy]

This was one of the most amazing books I have ever read. I admit I had nightmares while reading...but I had the book finished in 3 or 4 days.

[Olivia "So many books--so little time.""]

I just finished Swan Song yesterday. I found it an excellent book with characters I cared about. 5 stars.

[Robert]

Swan Song vs. The Stand...no contest....Swan Song wins by a landslide. I could reread Swan Song...I couldn't bear to reread The Stand after knowing what a disappointing ending I have to look forward to.

[Corrie]

A wonderful read, filled with different characters with a whole story of their own. All I really need say is I am reading it for the third time!

[Adam]

A very good read, loved the book. I will say it took me a bit to get into it at first, but very glad I held out and read the whole book.

[Brenda]

I read Swan Song way back about 30 years ago and I can still remember bits and pieces that is how good I thought it was. I know I read a couple of his other books but this one has stayed in my memory the longest.

[Gina]

This is one of my all time favorite books. I picked it out because it was a very large book. It was my very first book by Robert Mccammon. I have since read everything he has written and has become one of my favorite authors. His characters come alive in your mind and you end up feeling as if you know each and everyone of them. Definitely worth the 1000+ pages!

[Jaime]

This a very good book but hardly my favorite because it is complete fantasy and far-fetched. Mccammon has no knowledge of the nature of the devil which hurts this book in my opinion.

[M]

The devil is also complete fantasy and far-fetched, so I see no problem there.

[Gina]

I like to read books that are fantasy and far fetched. That's what makes a book a book. Otherwise I'd just read the newspaper. :-)

[Todd]

deleted user wrote: "I liked that it was very ambitious. I liked the fact that Mccammon chose nuclear war to end the world. Inspite of the topic being dated i still think Nuclear war is a threat."

The Nuclear Event was one of the only times that I had to put a book down, take a breath, and walk away for a few minutes.

[Barbara]

I read this book years and years ago. I still remember it clearly. I thought it was great. Love McCammon

[Tracey]

Ditto Todd made me shudder. I think I skim read that part when I went back to it .

[Hoche]

One of my all-time best. It's a straightforward story with simple characters some may think of as cardboard cutouts but they were written with a lot of heart. The Stand may be better with the critics but what I hate about Stephen King is he makes incredibly complicated backstories about his characters I get lost in all his ramblings. Swansong's characters get right to the point. And you don't need to go through a dozen pages just to know them better. I read Swansong around 25 years ago. I'm older now, somewhat wiser. Read dozens of other books. I can count on one hand the other stories that thrilled me like Swansong did.

[Migs]

Hoche wrote: "One of my all-time best. It's a straightforward story with simple characters some may think of as cardboard cutouts but they were written with a lot of heart. The Stand may be better with the criti..."

Thanks for the recommendation Hoch! Will definitely try this ahead of the others on my unbegun list. When choices are many, making one can be difficult. (Hope all is will with you at SG. Annie flies there a lot. You guys should catch up.) Cheers!

[Jacquie]

If you have any sort of difficulty reading third-person omniscient narration, leave this one be. I have tried several times to read this, only to be yanked out of the experience of a conversation during which the author describes what each character is thinking and perceiving during that conversation. It's distracting and frustrating and, in my opinion, just lazy writing.

[Tamiya]

i thought even with this being an older book it was well written and amazing!

[Hunter]

Jacquie wrote: "If you have any sort of difficulty reading third-person omniscient narration, leave this one be.

Lazy writing? Since when did third-person omniscient become such a problem for people? Most of the books I read growing up were third-person omniscient. But that does seem to be a point of view that has fallen out of favor, apparently to the point that some people think it's "lazy writing." I find that very strange. Heaven forbid people should have to think about what they're reading and pay attention....

Hunter

[Paul]

Brittany wrote: "I have yet to read this book. The reason I got this novel is because it sounds interesting and I never read a book quite so large and wanted a challenge. Of course a challenge that would be worth i..."<
Avoid this one at all costs.
This book stinks. A muddled mess. You keep hoping it will get better but it never does. I wish I would have quit after the second chapter. Read The Stand instead. Paul

[C.S.]

This is one book I read over and over again until the pages literally fell out. Then I went and bought another copy and read it repeatedly. It's one of the books that has stayed with me for over twenty-five years.

I know a lot of people compare this book to The Stand and insist that if you like one, you'll hate the other. I like them both and have read them both repeatedly, but when given a choice between the two, my choice is always Swan Song.

[Deborah]

I have just finished reading this book and I thought it was a great book. I had posted a request for a good longer book to read and this one was recommended by several people - I am glad I paid attention and read it. I am looking forward to reading it again someday. It rates among some of my most favorite books.

[Gardner]

My all time favorite! Read The Stand first and enjoyed but not nearly as much as Swan Song. I like many others here have gone through a couple of copies!!

[Felix]

Paul wrote: "Brittany wrote: "I have yet to read this book. The reason I got this novel is because it sounds interesting and I never read a book quite so large and wanted a challenge. Of course a challenge that..."
Great book but. IHO "The Wolf's Hour," is by far my favorite!

[Bill]

Jaime wrote: "This a very good book but hardly my favorite because it is complete fantasy and far-fetched. Mccammon has no knowledge of the nature of the devil which hurts this book in my opinion."

Well, since the devil isn't in this book, I'm not sure where your problem lies.

[Zac]

Bill wrote: "Jaime wrote: "This a very good book but hardly my favorite because it is complete fantasy and far-fetched. Mccammon has no knowledge of the nature of the devil which hurts this book in my opinion...."

:)

[Barbara]

LOVE Swan Song! I really have enjoyed everything he has written, but Mine really has to be in the top three, with Boy's Life rounding it out.