The Southern Novels: Boy's Life, Mystery Walk, Gone South, and Usher's Passing

by Robert McCammon

Four chilling tales from the New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song and the “true master of the Gothic novel” (Booklist).   From rural Alabama to the Louisiana bayou to the North Carolina mountains, World Fantasy and Bram Stoker Award–winning author Robert R. McCammon has made the American South his own Gothic playground in these four unforgettable novels.  A Boy’s “Strongly echoing the childhood-elegies of King and Bradbury, and every bit their equal,” McCammon’s World Fantasy and Bram Stoker Award–winning novel takes place in 1964 Alabama, where a twelve-year-old boy’s idyllic life takes an abrupt turn into a dark world of mystery when he and his father witness a car roll into a lake—only to discover a corpse handcuffed to the steering wheel (Kirkus Reviews).   “It’s McCammon’s The Prince of Tides. . . . Incredibly moving.” —Peter Straub  Mystery Two boys with mysterious powers—a psychic who speaks with the dead and a faith healer—share a common bond and hold mankind’s fate in their hands in an epic showdown of good versus evil.   “As finely a turned tale of horror as the best of them.” —Houston Chronicle  Gone A veteran’s moment of rage leads to a grisly murder and a heated chase deep into the bayou, where he encounters a pair of bizarre bounty hunters—and a strange new friend, who might help him find redemption.   “A gothic picaresque that mixes gritty plot and black comedy.” —The Wall Street Journal  Usher’s Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” is no fiction in this Gothic novel of ancestral madness in the mountains of modern-day North Carolina, as the heir to the Usher legacy—a horror novelist—confronts his terrifying inheritance.   “A frightening pleasure.” —St. Louis Dispatch

Genres: Horror

2152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 13, 2018

About the author

Pseudonyms: 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.

Reviews

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the first of Robert McCammon's books I've read and they make me want to read more of his stuff! Boy's Life and Usher's Passing both would get five stars if each book could be rated separately. Boy's Life is such a tender story and reminds me of Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Usher's Passing takes the Poe tale The Fall of the House of Usher and fills in a backstory that is very imaginative and engrossing. The story did lag a bit about half-way through but then, O.M.G., I really couldn't put it down until it was finished. Mystery Walk pretty much supports how I feel about televangelists - evil. Mystery Walk was my least favorite of the 4 books - 3 stars, but the book was fun to read even when it got ridiculous in places. Gone South was saved by the author's prologue explaining where his head was when he wrote the book. It's a bitter story of bitter people looking for redemption. It was an enjoyable read but beware of the physical violence if reading that kind of thing bothers you.

[Ron D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four Unique Novels

It’s hard to believe the author wrote all four novels; because they all came with a different voice. Definitely original plots, and completely different characters from book to book. I think the author excelled in character development. Scene settings could have been better. I did however liked the way the stories were told.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great one. It invokes many other stories/authors as it goes:
- To Kill A Mockingbird (takes place in the 60's, addresses racial issues, right vs. wrong)
- The Sandlot (Boys of a certain age (11-ish), a magical quality to some aspects of the story mainly driven by a boy's imagination)
- Steven King (his novels involving young teens/pre-teens, and elements of horror)

But it also stands solidly on its own. It captures a magical quality of what it meant to grow up in an Alabama town in the '60s that is compelling, engaging, and hard to put down.

[Jessica Nix · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) Boy's Life - just can't go wrong with that one. I need a movie!
2) Mystery Walk - my least favorite of the collection.
3) Gone South - really loved this one too. It would make a great movie.
4) Usher's Passing - read at a really cool time in my life when I had watched a The Pale Blue Eye and tried my best to find some good Poe to read.