Horror Aficionados discussion

The runner up for the July read is Speaks the Nightbird. Read, enjoy, have fun! Please use spoiler tags.

Looking forward to this!

Can't wait!!

Yay! This chunker has been on my TBR for a long time!

Really looking forward to this!

Be prepared though! Once you finish, you'll probably want to read the other books in the series, and they're all even better than this first one. My favorite book series!

Richard wrote: "Be prepared though! Once you finish, you'll probably want to read the other books in the series, and they're all even better than this first one. My favorite book series!"

After your comment I had to look up the series. All the books are rated 4+ stars. I had debated about getting into this long one but now it looks like I'm going to have to. :)

Since I banned myself from buying more books (a ban that I very loosely enforce) I decided to read books I own when they come up for monthly reads in the groups I belong. So this month I have The Fireman, The House of Mirth, and now this. I just want to thank everyone on Goodreads for that!!

I'll second what Richard said. This is a very good series and it does keep getting better and better. Mister Slaughter was my fav so far. I'm starting the 6th book called Freedom of the Mask today.
I hope ya'll enjoy this as much as I have.

I read this last year and loved it. Curious to hear how others liked it. So far, it looks like everyone chiming in has enjoyed it.

I'm going to start listening to this today. I really enjoyed Boy's Life last year and want to read more of McCammon.

Usher's Passing and Swan Song are both really good if you haven't read them. I freakin love Swan Song! <3 <3

Just started! I went all out and got the whisper synch audible.

Latasha wrote: "Usher's Passing and Swan Song are both really good if you haven't read them. I freakin love Swan Song! <3 <3"

I read Usher's Passing last August. Loved it.

6% in. Murdering backwoods rednecks, pedophiles, and religious zealots - oh yes American roots.

Latasha wrote: "Usher's Passing and Swan Song are both really good if you haven't read them. I freakin love Swan Song! <3 <3"

I listened to about 30 minutes of Swan Song by accident before I realized it wasn't the right book. It sounded interesting but was unlike any McCammon I had read before.

Yeah it's been compared to the stand but I like it better.

Ooh, now that I've just found out that the rest of the series isn't available in the UK I'm going to hold of reading this one. I know I'll want to read them all if I start and I'll get in a George RR Martin rage if I know I'll never be able to finish the series.

I'll put it on the 'to be read...maybe' pile along with Pat Rothfuss books.

Jennifer wrote: "Ooh, now that I've just found out that the rest of the series isn't available in the UK I'm going to hold of reading this one...."

You should check BookDepository.com. They will ship worldwide with free delivery.

About 20% in. McCammon sucked me right in, but I knew he would. You can tell he really did his research.

I'm doubly damned with this one. Not only does McCammon's storytelling skills have me hooked but, as the 9x great-grandson of a wrongly accused witch, I have a soft spot for the defendant in this case.

11% This is all so sad and unreal... and then I think about how close we are now to living in the Handmaids Tale. They will write frightful, and accurate, books about these times.

16% in. More pedophiles and religious zealots, it's like they go hand in hand, as well conspiracy theories of Spanish invaders. I bought the whispersynch audio which has been good with one exception - the narrator pronounces waistcoat as wescot. Just a bump if it's said once but damn if it isn't said a hundred times.

Lena wrote: "which has been good with one exception - the narrator pronounces waistcoat as wescot. ."

Actually, despite what most people nowadays think, ˈweskət is the correct pronunciation for waistcoat. See below:

http://theweek.com/articles/542820/10...


http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries...

I thought as much considering how out of place it sounded. Like he had been told he had to say it that way. It's unpleasant.

Lena wrote: "I thought as much considering how out of place it sounded. Like he had been told he had to say it that way. It's unpleasant."

I've been pronouncing it that way for years so I didn't even notice. What I just learned from the article I linked is that the primary pronunciation of forehead is forrid which explains Longfellow's little ditty about the 'little girl that had a little curl...'

Tom wrote: "What I just learned from the article I linked is that the primary pronunciation of forehead is forrid which explains Longfellow's little ditty about the 'little girl that had a little curl..."

That makes so much sense. Never thought about it before.

Just finished the book tonight and I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the story.

I wasn't familiar with McCammon's work before, but I look forward to reading more of his books very soon.

Steve wrote: "I wasn't familiar with McCammon's work before, but I look forward to reading more of his books very soon. ."

I read Boy's Life last year and was hooked. That's why I committed to reading 800+ pages of this book.

21% in. This is feeling incredibly long and slow and subtle with very little action. It's like an eight hour version of Murder She Wrote. I've upped the audio speed twice now.

Lena wrote: "21% in. This is feeling incredibly long and slow and subtle with very little action. It's like an eight hour version of Murder She Wrote. I've upped the audio speed twice now."

I'm enjoying it but I can't help thinking McCammon was hoping to get paid by the word.

McCammon does have a tendency to overwrite now and then but the series does get better as it goes along. It gets tighter, more focused and even more exciting.

I loved this book (and the rest of the series)!

Jennifer wrote: "Ooh, now that I've just found out that the rest of the series isn't available in the UK I'm going to hold of reading this one. I know I'll want to read them all if I start and I'll get in a George ..."

If you do ebooks, Crossroad Press is releasing the rest of the series in the UK. The Queen of Bedlam and Mister Slaughter are available now. The rest are coming soon.

Hunter
Webmaster for RobertMcCammon.com

Excellent news! That's really made my weekend, I love his books so was quite sad that I wasn't going to be able to read this series.

Thank you for updating us Hunter!!

I'm enjoying the book so far, but I'm anxious for something to happen. I'm at about the 30% point and keep thinking it's about to take a turn... am I getting close?
Again, I like it and am enjoying the read, but I'm ready for the horror to kick in. What do all of you think?

Jennifer wrote: "Excellent news! That's really made my weekend, I love his books so was quite sad that I wasn't going to be able to read this series.

Thank you for updating us Hunter!!"

You're welcome, Jennifer! I hope you enjoy them all!

Hunter

I'm about 65% in, and it seems to be really picking up. There are a lot of unknowns and seems to be a lot of conspiracies that are just starting to become known to Matthew. It's really got me now, and I can't wait to read what happens next.

Tom wrote: "Steve wrote: "I wasn't familiar with McCammon's work before, but I look forward to reading more of his books very soon. ."

I read Boy's Life last year and was hooked. That's why I com..."

Boy's Life is one of my favorites, and also why I committed to this book.

I'm at 25%, lots of suspicion and speculation. It's going to be hard to get to 65% Alyssa.

54% Beastiality. Great, just great.

The horse thing was definitely weird. Reading that scene I was thinking "is this going where I think it's going?" Yes, yes it is. I think the dinner scene where Matthew gets invited over to the bakers lady's house is my favorite so far. Is it just me or is this book hilarious? It's such an interesting mix of genres and styles. I really love it. I'll need a break and read something else when I'm done, but I definitely think a thread moving on through the rest of the series would be fun.

I'm at 74% and interested to see how things are going to start wrapping up. So far none of my theories have panned out.

The incident was based on actual incidents that occurred. McCammon talked about it in this 2002 interview I did with him:

Robert McCammon Interview: January 2002

Hunter

Nickronomicon wrote: "The horse thing was definitely weird. Reading that scene I was thinking "is this going where I think it's going?" Yes, yes it is. I think the dinner scene where Matthew gets invited over to the bak..."

Of course that scene had to be playing on my audiobook the one time that my daughter was in the car with me.

Oh great! He ends it with threats that we haven't see the last of Jerusalem Exodus, the one character whose back I was looking forward to seeing.

Lol, you are officially the weird dad.

63% in. Cupping is made to sound vicious and I guess it looks that way, and it does hurt, but I've found it helpful. I Crossfit.

Lena wrote: "63% in. Cupping is made to sound vicious and I guess it looks that way, and it does hurt, but I've found it helpful. I Crossfit."

The way it is described in the book though has the glass heated up to the point where it would sear the skin.

Yes. I barely feel the heat but the suction does hurt and there are bruises, but at worst dark purple not black.

Finished last week and I really enjoyed it. I thought everything tied up pretty nicely. I'm lookijng forward to reading the rest in the series. Review to come.