Stephen King Fans discussion

This month we are discussing Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon. Please mark all spoilers for those reading along so they can check the thread throughout the month.

I won't be reading this again - I just read it in February - but I can discuss.

I'll be reading it this month :D

Love this book! I think it's time to reread it. Been 20+ years.

I started yesterday and till now I like it. There first part is a kind of introduction to a great variety of characters.

Certainly an interesting tale....

One of the best novels of all time and better than The Stand, in my opinion.

Maybe not better, but it certainly ranks right up there. Might be time to reread both of them.... and compare....

I didn't think it was anywhere near as good as The Stand. I couldn't care less about most of the characters, good or evil, and I got extremely tired of the repetition of character trait material. Each POV was like having the character's resume shoved in my face. "Here's who I am and what I do!"

@Becky, I get what you mean on that score 100%. It seemed unnecessary.
I also agree about the no comparison with The Stand, their apples & oranges. King is a Master & McCannon is a "Great" writer, I'm a King super fan but as I love the horror genre in general I do hav 2 giv props 2 others like McCannon. I recommend his other works like Speaks the Nightbird.

Baal is also a disturbing (a plus in my taste) read, his first novel in fact. Swan Song was pretty good as well but it doesn't giv a good indication of his other work. Swan Song comes highly recommended, alot of ppl really got this book, maybe I just missed something... I'd giv it a 7 out of 10 in my humble opinion as a constant reader. I read for the shear pleasure of it, when I read its the only time I fly... other than in my dreams...

There has been a fevered debate between the two novels since the 1980s. You have two camps that are very passionate about their favorite and I've seen some heated exchanges between them. King is the most famous horror author on the planet and rightfully so. His stories are legendary and he put horror on the map with his brilliant writing. I, myself, was first mesmerized as a 12 year old kid when I picked up Pet Sematary for the first time. That book changed my life and I still love it after repeated readings over the years. In fact, I love most of King's work and The Stand ranks right up there, for me, as one of his best. With that being said, for me and many others, McCammon's Swan Song ranks at the top. I understand that The Stand came first and many people can't get over that the two stories have similar premises. But that's like saying that because Night of the Living Dead was the first big zombie movie, that The Walking Dead is a rip-off and must suck because it came after. Both authors have a mutual admiration for each other. King, himself, has said that he loves Swan Song. I don't think there is a definitive right and wrong answer here on which one is better. Goodreads members rate The Stand a 4.31 and Swan Song a 4.28. That tells me that they're both great stories and that many people not only like them, they love them. Again, I'm not trying to get people to choose one or the other. I love them both. But for me, Swan Song's story and characters moved me like few other books have and I recommend it every chance I get simply because of the impact it made on me. Either way, they are both wonderful books. I hope you all enjoy finding out which one you like better.

I'm excited to read it. I love The Stand, but I love a lot of other similar end of the world type stories too. I'm hoping it's going to be great. It'll only be my 2nd McCammon book I've read, but I really liked the other one I read of his, Boy's Life :)

It has been a good little while since I read Swan Song, but among the few that I read of his I thought Usher's Passing was the best.

Nice! I've got that one on my TBR pile too, so that's good to hear :)

I just joined this group, I'm so excited! I have read and absolutely loved Swan Song. I'm looking forward to next month's book, Desperation.

I just joined the group and I haven't read any Robert MacCammon books yet. But I'm excited. I have heard that he is a master of Horror.

It's kinda funny. I read Swan Song a couple of months ago, and I don't remember much of the details. I gave it 4-stars and I remember enjoying it while reading. But it didn't stick with me....

Whereas The Stand is one of my all time favorite novels.

Since the comparison struck this thread, I'd have to say that The Stand is to Swan Song as Olive Garden is to Spaghetti-O's.

Probably one of the more detailed and frightening accounts of a holocaust I have ever read. The first half sticks with me vividly now with the current situation that has occurred in the news with Putin flexing his muscles and storming into Ukraine to take Crimea.
The rest of the book was well done but pretty predictable.

I read the first part of the book, just after the beginning of the holocaust and I admit that this situation is described with a vivid sense of anxiety and terror. If the story contine with this pace, it will be a great novel.

I just finished Swan Song and I really liked it, but not nearly as much as The Stand. I'm very grateful for your suggestions, though. I never even heared of Robert MacCammon before you mentioned him(I live in Belgium). So thank you for that. At the moment I'm reading Boy's Life. Like that one too!

This novel is actually sucking me in more than I thought it would. I never heard of Robert MacCamon before I saw the group book read, so I'm glad this book was selected because I like his style. (view spoiler)[ When the missiles were coming down during each character's POV, I kept startling my boyfriend with all my gasping and "OH NO." Quite descriptive. (hide spoiler)] I haven't read many apocalypse books like this, so this kind of story line is new to me. Gotta say, I really want every character to make it. Usually some of them annoy me too much haha While for some the character introductions may be too much, I liked it. I feel like it connected me more with who they are and I became more emotionally attached with each one. :)

It is hard to top THE STAND, however I think Robert McCammon is often overlooked. It seems Stephen King and Dean Koontz have pushed the other horror writers to the back of the classroom.

Hi Gary:) Just wanted 2 add that King is in a class on his own & in his own words he's inspired by OG Masters such as; E A Poe (ah I'm so in2 him), Lovecraft, Bloch, just to name a few plus his love that started in his childhood of horror comics like Weird Tales etc.
King is a voracious reader & loves a gr8 story, he's fond of Clive Barker as am I. His son Joe Hill is doing awesome as well. Any1 can see my shelves 2 know all the different writers I'm a fan of that write in this genre so well. Seems like Koontz is now mainly suspense, I wish he'd go back 2 his horror roots, I miss his work

That was very informative, H. Some of it I knew and some I didn't. Thanks!

H wrote: "Hi Gary:) Just wanted 2 add that King is in a class on his own & in his own words he's inspired by OG Masters such as; E A Poe (ah I'm so in2 him), Lovecraft, Bloch, just to name a few plus his lov..."

H: Before I wrote paranormal romances like Alicia, I wrote 6 horror novels. Now they're coming out on Amazon. The first one, Bloody Bess and the Doomsday Games, will be out next month... inspired somewhat by Salam's Lot and, of course, Dracula. Not sure It will measure up to your high standards, or the incredibly high bar set by King... but I hope so.

I would be willing to take a look at these, Nick. If you want, just send me a message when the first one is available, and I'll check it out! I also like paranormal romance (as long as it's not too explicit sexually), so I'd appreciate some information about those as well.....

Gary wrote: "It is hard to top THE STAND, however I think Robert McCammon is often overlooked. It seems Stephen King and Dean Koontz have pushed the other horror writers to the back of the classroom."

Has anyone read "Mine" by McCammon? It has stuck with me for probably 20 years. It's one of his best.

And the Manitou books gave me nightmares when I read them in my teens and twenties. Wait, that was Graham Masterson. Well, he scared the heck out of me with that series, so I left this comment in. Somebody may not know about him...

I have read Mine many years ago, and it was good, but to me Usher's passing is his best.

Donna wrote: "I would be willing to take a look at these, Nick. If you want, just send me a message when the first one is available, and I'll check it out! I also like paranormal romance (as long as it's not too..."

Thanks Donna. I'd love to have you take a look at those. Unfortunately, Bloody Bess is quite explicit. It was hard to keep those Vampires in line, although it was actually the humans who misbehaved the most. Alicia is much milder and some readers say they're grateful for that. Anyway, I'll send you a note with all the details.

Nick wrote: "H wrote: "Hi Gary:) Just wanted 2 add that King is in a class on his own & in his own words he's inspired by OG Masters such as; E A Poe (ah I'm so in2 him), Lovecraft, Bloch, just to name a few pl..."

Also, H: Thanks for suggesting Baal. I really enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to starting Swan Song this evening.

I loved this book. It was given to me as a gift to bridge the time till a new Stephen King novel came out. I didn't give it much thought at first but I was quickly drawn in and could not put it down! This book was actually a gateway book for me. It opened me up to not only new authors but also new genres. I am now an avid reader of post-apocalyptic, dystopian and survival stories.

I just finished this book and I like the story and the context created, a world so near to the real world, yesterday like today. Perhaps read many years later, reminds the reader a lot of b-movies seen on tv. This is a negative side for me, but in the complex a good novel.

Chris wrote: "Since the comparison struck this thread, I'd have to say that The Stand is to Swan Song as Olive Garden is to Spaghetti-O's."

As both an Italian American and a huge fan of The Stand, I'm doubly offended by this comparison. ;)

I haven't read Swan Song, but I've heard good things about it and about McCammon generally. I may try to fit it in to my reading this month and join the discussion.

I read Swan Song a long, long time ago. I remember it being good, but not a lot of details. Noting these positive comments I'm thinking about reading it again.

Andy wrote: "Chris wrote: "Since the comparison struck this thread, I'd have to say that The Stand is to Swan Song as Olive Garden is to Spaghetti-O's."

As both an Italian American and a huge fan of The Sta..."

Doubly offended because the olive garden is NOT quality Italian food, I hope. But then I'm not sure there is a chain that makes Italian food like my grandmother used to make. There was the Italian restaurant "Iuppa's" in upstate New York. The food there was great... almost as good as The Stand.

Nick Iuppa.

"I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud." - Stephen King

Neither Olive Garden or Chef Boyardee are authentic Italian fare, but that's not what Chris is saying. I don't always want the upscale experience of fine dining or high-brow lit. Sometimes I just want a good burger and a beer, and a Stephen King novel.

I personally would much rather have an Olive Garden dish than the unrecognizable, congealed canned slop called Chef Boyardee... Olive Garden serves items that are recognizable and tasty (oh look, there's a pea!) but it's not fine dining.

Chef Boyardee is cheap, last resort "food". Technically, it's all in there, the "pasta" and the "sauce" etc, but it's a mess. It's all mushed together and all pretty much tastes and feels the same no matter how much you try to pick it apart.

The books bear up to that comparison for me as well. I'd much rather read The Stand than Swan Song, which I felt was repetitive and disappointing. But, as much as I love The Stand (and I do - it's one of my favorite books of all time), it's not high-brow literature... so a comparison to Olive Garden, which isn't gourmet food, shouldn't really be seen as an insult, in my opinion. :)

Becky wrote: ""I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the..."

Okay... except the kind of Italian food my grandmother used to make wasn't fine dining either, it was just great food. The Stand is a great read. Don't want to argue taste in food so I won't push my opinion of The Olive Garden except to say: Chez Panisse > Grandma Iuppa's Cooking > Olive Garden > Chef Boyardee = War and Peace > The Stand > Swan Song > Desperation. I say that having only read the first two parts of Swan Song, so I guess I need to reserve the right to change my opinion.Needless to say I hated Desperation (he repeated). BTW the best Italian Restaurant in the world according to FoodDigital Magazine is Osteria Francescana in Modena Italy.

Grandma food is exempt from comparison. It always wins.

(Well, except the one time my grandma on my mom's side put raisins in spaghetti sauce. That was... not good. *shudder*)

Becky wrote: "Grandma food is exempt from comparison. It always wins.

(Well, except the one time my grandma on my mom's side put raisins in spaghetti sauce. That was... not good. *shudder*)"

Amen!

But as I get deeper into Swan Song I'm liking it more and more. Shaping up to be a really great read. When I finish I'll know the perfect food simile.

Hmm, didn't mean to make anyone overthink the comparison. But Becky's interpretation pretty muched matched my intent.

My grandmother used to make spaghetti. It wasn't authentic Italian, but it was good.

...and my grandfather put ketchup on it. Blech.

Chris wrote: "...and my grandfather put ketchup on it. Blech. "

Ewwwwwww....

Chris wrote: "Hmm, didn't mean to make anyone overthink the comparison. But Becky's interpretation pretty muched matched my intent.

My grandmother used to make spaghetti. It wasn't authentic Italian, but it was..."

In Sicily we execute people who put Ketchup on Spaghetti... but (unfortunately) there's no punishment for overthinking.

A POV (personal point of view), as a voracious reader for purely pleasure & a Stephen King super fan I'm glad of this discussion being that what something is doesn't hav 2b intended in order for it 2b a masterpiece. King is incomparable in his own right and The Stand is literature in my opinion. McCammon is a gr8 writer just not on par with King, Swan Song is a good read, I'd recommend it & have. Ultimately tales are Art & Art should move us emotionally. Any author who has this talent has done their job. I personally am grateful for every traumatic feeling I've gotten @ the hands of a Paper back. As the old saying goes; "The person who doesn't read lives only 1 life... People who do read live a thousand." Thank The Lord for Books & ppl who are blessed @ the craft of writing them. That includes you Nick >(-_-)<

H wrote: "A POV (personal point of view), as a voracious reader for purely pleasure & a Stephen King super fan I'm glad of this discussion being that what something is doesn't hav 2b intended in order for it..."

WOW! Thanks, H.

We'll I guess the Olive Garden comparison makes a littl more sense

Crap. Writing from an app and can't edit that last post. I meant to say that the Olive Garden comparison makes more sense in light of what Becky and others said. I still protest! Olive Garden isn't even enjoyable as a guilty pleasure. Your favorite pizza place would be a better metaphor for something low brow but enjoyable. OK I'm a gonna getta offa my higha Italian soapa boxa now.

Pizza Hut? Sweet! :P

Andy wrote: "Crap. Writing from an app and can't edit that last post. I meant to say that the Olive Garden comparison makes more sense in light of what Becky and others said. I still protest! Olive Garden isn..."

I was trying to be nice, Andy. Olive Garden is... well, you obviously know.