What do you think?
Rate this book
Boy's Life / Gone South
Two extraordinary novels in one volume from the New York Times bestselling author Robert R. McCammon (Swan Song, Stinger, The Wolf's Hour).
Both set in the South, Boy's Life tells a haunting tale of a young boy's seemingly ordinary life in a town called Zephyr, until one day he witnesses a car with a man at the wheel plunge deep into Saxon's Lake. "This superbly told tale combines the sensibilities of Mark Twain, Flannery O'Connor, and Steven Spielberg...a solid coming-age story and a fine mystery...Devour this bountiful book." -- New York Newsday.
In Gone South, a moment of rage and fear, and a past filled with disturbing memories turns Dan Lambert into a unwitting killer. When he flees South and meets a woman named Arden in search of a faith healer, there ensues a riveting, twisting tale of desperation and discovery. "A gothic picaresque that mixes gritty plot and black comedy...a thriller..." -- The Wall Street Journal. "Gone South is an absorbing, bizarre thriller that blazes through the dark and swampy bayous of Louisiana like a jagged bolt of hot summer lightning...McCammon is a truly original American author." -- Lansing State Journal.
Both set in the South, Boy's Life tells a haunting tale of a young boy's seemingly ordinary life in a town called Zephyr, until one day he witnesses a car with a man at the wheel plunge deep into Saxon's Lake. "This superbly told tale combines the sensibilities of Mark Twain, Flannery O'Connor, and Steven Spielberg...a solid coming-age story and a fine mystery...Devour this bountiful book." -- New York Newsday.
In Gone South, a moment of rage and fear, and a past filled with disturbing memories turns Dan Lambert into a unwitting killer. When he flees South and meets a woman named Arden in search of a faith healer, there ensues a riveting, twisting tale of desperation and discovery. "A gothic picaresque that mixes gritty plot and black comedy...a thriller..." -- The Wall Street Journal. "Gone South is an absorbing, bizarre thriller that blazes through the dark and swampy bayous of Louisiana like a jagged bolt of hot summer lightning...McCammon is a truly original American author." -- Lansing State Journal.
816 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1998
8 people are currently reading
309 people want to read
About the author
Robert McCammon
168 books5,768 followersPseudonyms: Robert R. McCammon; Robert Rick McCammon
Robert 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.
His newest book, Leviathan, is the tenth and final book in the Matthew Corbett series. It was published in trade hardcover (Lividian Publications), ebook (Open Road), and audiobook (Audible) formats on December 3, 2024.
McCammon resides in Birmingham, Alabama.
Robert 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.
His newest book, Leviathan, is the tenth and final book in the Matthew Corbett series. It was published in trade hardcover (Lividian Publications), ebook (Open Road), and audiobook (Audible) formats on December 3, 2024.
McCammon resides in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 26, 2022
“ I look up, into the bright blue air.
I think I see four figures with wings, and their winged dogs, swooping and playing in the Rivers of light.
They will always be there as long as magic lives.
And magic has a strong, strong heart”
pg.475
I think I see four figures with wings, and their winged dogs, swooping and playing in the Rivers of light.
They will always be there as long as magic lives.
And magic has a strong, strong heart”
pg.475
December 4, 2017
This review only reflects the Boy's Life, the first of the two novels within this volume. I read it because this was the highest rated piece of fiction in my Goodreads to-read shelf. Ironically the two titles together scored higher among Goodreads reviewers than the stories individually, so perhaps I should have pressed on and read Gone South, but while I really enjoyed this book I think I'll take a little rest from McGammon for awhile... Oh yes, the review. Five stars. Why? I've never read a novel where every chapter could stand on its own as a short story. Each chapter is built around a dramatic moment - some of them central to the murder mystery at the heart of the book, many of them not, but equally gripping nonetheless. I think the author got it right though - the life of a twelve year old boy is naturally pretty dramatic, from first crushes to school bullies; and of course, as a child starts to gain independence from his parents it is natural that the number of unique life-defining moments would start to increase. I was a bit concerned that the story of a boy growing up in the south in the sixties would be too young for my taste, but the style and content are quite definitely aimed at an adult audience (probably men in their thirties or forties who revel in looking back at their own lives, and the young lives they've helped produce). I'm glad I finally got around to reading this. I think it had been on my shelf for at least ten years. My late grandmother gave it to me for Christmas one year. She always had an amazing knack for buying books for me all through my life. I look forward to reading Gone South someday and thinking of her again.
June 20, 2016
The volume I read only had Boy's Life.
Many authors write books, a special few tell stories. Boy's Life is a wonderful story about the year 1964 in Cory Mackenson's life in Zephyr Alabama. A town that doesn't exist today- no big box stores, no fast food restaurants, but the book has thrills, and mystery, and suspense, and humor. This is a rare wonderful book to read for the summer.
Many authors write books, a special few tell stories. Boy's Life is a wonderful story about the year 1964 in Cory Mackenson's life in Zephyr Alabama. A town that doesn't exist today- no big box stores, no fast food restaurants, but the book has thrills, and mystery, and suspense, and humor. This is a rare wonderful book to read for the summer.
September 19, 2016
I too only read Boy's Life and it was a fantastic story. It will bring back great memories and dreams that were to anyone who reads it.
November 3, 2011
I was a very imaginative child and happily blessed with having a group of very imaginative and almost inseparatable friends. This book brought me back to that time when everything was bigger than life, both the real and what we conjured up in our own imaginations.
I remember my best friend, Beth and I fighting off a group of boys in high school who were picking on one of our mentally challenged friends. It was a defining moment for us as it was for Cory Makemson and his friends when they stood up against the bully brothers. I remembered going to a pentacostal church with my friend and feeling absolutely bewildered by people talking in toungues, but having to calm my sister down when she started yelling out, "Call 911!" in sheer panic, was a hilarious testimony to just how scary church can be to a child. Our woods didn't have a triceratops, it had a big foot. We knew that because we spent hours tracking down it's large footprints. Sleeping outside for the first time, that was huge. We had to count 100 stars first because everyone knows it's not safe to sleep outside if there aren't 100 stars in the sky. There was also a crazy homeless man in our woods that we dreaded and anticipated running into at the same time.He had a house he built and always carried an ax. He was called, The Axman. Danger can be alluring to a 12 year old. We had, Old Man Crabapple. He hated us climbing the tree beside his house. He'd holler at us through his window, then one day he died and his spirit went into the tree. We knew this because the branches became gnarly and it started scratching us. These things had never happened before Old Man Crabtree died, only after it. His ugly spirit took posession of our favorite tree. We all stopped climbing on it. A year later the tree died. We all knew it was Old Man Crabapple that killed it.
There were so many things in the book that I could relate to, the death of a bike, the death of a friend, the death of a pet, the first time I heard Rock -n- Roll, all of it struch a chord in me.
I haven't forgotten what it is to see the world through child eyes. It's magic. I'm happy I read this book. This author brought it all back for me. I loved it's larger than life charactors. I could totally see myself and my childhood friends in this. I want to buy a copy for each of them. The tale of mystery in this was just a small part of a Boy's Life but that is the beauty of this. There is always a little mystery and a lot of magic in being a kid. I think Robert McCammon did an amazing job of capturing that. I'd like to sit and share childhood stories with him.
I remember my best friend, Beth and I fighting off a group of boys in high school who were picking on one of our mentally challenged friends. It was a defining moment for us as it was for Cory Makemson and his friends when they stood up against the bully brothers. I remembered going to a pentacostal church with my friend and feeling absolutely bewildered by people talking in toungues, but having to calm my sister down when she started yelling out, "Call 911!" in sheer panic, was a hilarious testimony to just how scary church can be to a child. Our woods didn't have a triceratops, it had a big foot. We knew that because we spent hours tracking down it's large footprints. Sleeping outside for the first time, that was huge. We had to count 100 stars first because everyone knows it's not safe to sleep outside if there aren't 100 stars in the sky. There was also a crazy homeless man in our woods that we dreaded and anticipated running into at the same time.He had a house he built and always carried an ax. He was called, The Axman. Danger can be alluring to a 12 year old. We had, Old Man Crabapple. He hated us climbing the tree beside his house. He'd holler at us through his window, then one day he died and his spirit went into the tree. We knew this because the branches became gnarly and it started scratching us. These things had never happened before Old Man Crabtree died, only after it. His ugly spirit took posession of our favorite tree. We all stopped climbing on it. A year later the tree died. We all knew it was Old Man Crabapple that killed it.
There were so many things in the book that I could relate to, the death of a bike, the death of a friend, the death of a pet, the first time I heard Rock -n- Roll, all of it struch a chord in me.
I haven't forgotten what it is to see the world through child eyes. It's magic. I'm happy I read this book. This author brought it all back for me. I loved it's larger than life charactors. I could totally see myself and my childhood friends in this. I want to buy a copy for each of them. The tale of mystery in this was just a small part of a Boy's Life but that is the beauty of this. There is always a little mystery and a lot of magic in being a kid. I think Robert McCammon did an amazing job of capturing that. I'd like to sit and share childhood stories with him.
October 4, 2017
Loved Boys life One of my favorites!
Gone south is good as well
Gone south is good as well
July 31, 2022
Very good. I read it twice in 2 years.
November 14, 2014
McCammon is not viewed as a thriller writer, however Gone South (the novel that I have read) is a taut tale about a dying former-Vietnam soldier who gets sucked into a strange destiny down South. There is no spare language and the whole yarn spins itself with little effort through murder and mayhem in the bayou. Some pretty strange characters emerge along the way, including two sideshow freaks, one with three arms, who try to gold-dig the vet back to their boss in return for his $15,000 head money. Eventually the barmy girl's hopeless dream comes true and her remote convent on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico turns into a haven for both her and the vet. I enjoyed this story: recommended.
May 18, 2014
I read this book many years ago. Boy's Life is perhaps a favorite of all time. So well written with a wonderful sense of a boy's life in an era past.
Gone South, the second novel in this edition is very good as well as being a bit quirky and humorous.
Gone South, the second novel in this edition is very good as well as being a bit quirky and humorous.
July 17, 2015
Great book - I thoroughly enjoyed it! I reviewed this book on my blog. Rather than recreate it here, I'm posting a link to my blog. https://wineandhistory.wordpress.com/...
May 15, 2016
If you get a chance to read Boy's Life by Robert McCammon, do it! It's one of my favorite books. It's got a little of everything...mystery, nostalgia and humor. Loved this one, and it really captures a time and a place so beautifully.
October 7, 2017
I only read Boy's Life. Haven't seen the movie Stand By Me in a long time, but reminded me of that. Young boy in small town America in the 60's. Has a wonderful mix of nostalgia, humor, sadness, and mystery.
February 13, 2012
An outstanding fantasy, thriller, coming of age tale.
October 26, 2012
Boy's Life is a classic. Gone South is okay--I enjoyed it but wasn't over the moon about it.
October 19, 2012
Both great books, Boy's life is a must read for every guy who is still a boy at heart.
December 1, 2012
McCammom's style incorporates the supernatural with a Southern flair. I have enjoyed several books by this author.
Boy's Life is one of my favorite books.
Boy's Life is one of my favorite books.
January 5, 2015
I have this two book set and always have it at the ready. The stories here are so endearing and just sweep you away.
February 29, 2016
This is one of my all-time favorites. McCammon has a way, especially in "Boy's Life," of expressing what the hidden thoughts every boy feels growing up. Outstanding!
March 14, 2016
I used to read this book every year. That's how good it is.
March 22, 2020
I normally don't like fiction. But I am a huge fan of horror. Boy's Life and Gone South are literal must read for fans of McCammon.
September 28, 2021
Excellent! Almost as good as Swan Song.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews