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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Wow, man. One of the best, if not the best, post-apocalyptic books I’ve ever read.
Everyone compares to The Stand as if that is a reason not to read this book. That's like saying ignore every post-apocalyptic book with a battle between good and evil because The Stand is the last word on that topic. It is not. I love The Stand. One of my all-time favorite books. But I really enjoyed this book too - it was a good story with great characters and well written. I can like more than one good post-apocalyptic book and I liked this one!
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Similar to "The Stand" but better! I loved this book....I'll definitely read it again. It's a long book but I loved every minute of it.
A riveting fable of how a nuclear holocaust might play out from beginning to end: how a certain cast of characters, common people, survived and were chosen for roles in the age-old battle between good and evil. As the main characters travel on their quest, the book is filled with detail about the landscape, cities, animals, people, and armies of the aftermath.
I couldn't put it down. If you like Stephen King's The Stand, Elizabeth Moon's Paksennarion series,
Frank's Alas Babylon, Walter Jon Meyers The Rift, or Dean Koontz' Odd series, then you will probably like this book. I come to it late, having seen it on a list, can't remember which list!
I couldn't put it down. If you like Stephen King's The Stand, Elizabeth Moon's Paksennarion series,
Frank's Alas Babylon, Walter Jon Meyers The Rift, or Dean Koontz' Odd series, then you will probably like this book. I come to it late, having seen it on a list, can't remember which list!
I'll admit that at first, I had a hard time. It starts as Cold War paranoia and destruction as the US and the USSR nuke the hell out of each other. There's a lot of darkness.
But ultimately, and even from the very beginning, this is a story about hope. It's about returning to life and beauty; it's about forgiveness and recovery. While there is a lot of evil, there is also good. And whether you see the book as praising good or evil may say more about the reader than about the novel itself.
No matter how dark things are, the sun will eventually rise, and life will begin again. The Cold War has ended, but we still need to be reminded.
But ultimately, and even from the very beginning, this is a story about hope. It's about returning to life and beauty; it's about forgiveness and recovery. While there is a lot of evil, there is also good. And whether you see the book as praising good or evil may say more about the reader than about the novel itself.
No matter how dark things are, the sun will eventually rise, and life will begin again. The Cold War has ended, but we still need to be reminded.
5 stars!! This book was epic and fantastic!
I think I might be one of the last horror lovers to read this door stopper, but I’m glad that I finally got to this.
I’ve been a McCammon fan for some time.
He’s a favorite author of mine but I’ve never read Swan Song.
It was due to book size, not because I wasn’t interested in the overall plot or genre.
Swan Song is an apocalyptic masterpiece that starts with the world being destroyed and showing the battle between good vs evil.
Sure, there are many books out there with this type of plot, but this is one of the best!
The plot is excellent from the beginning of the nuclear apocalypse, the journey of our brave characters, to the evil that hunts them down.
The amazing thing about this book is not just the writing, which is brilliant, but it’s also the characters.
Characters to love and HATE. Not just “kind of” hate, but despise. A blinding rage of hate that will have you hoping good will prevail.
This type of characterization will not let you be BLAH about your emotions. It will be strong, emotional and you will be gripped with anxiety not only for characters you love, but for the world at large.
One last thing that I loved about this book is the magical realism with Swan, the Job's Mask condition, Friend, and many other things. I loved the fantasy piece to this book as well!
Definitely recommend Swan Song to everyone.
Don’t sleep on this one because of page size. Try to get to it one day, and the sooner the better!
I think I might be one of the last horror lovers to read this door stopper, but I’m glad that I finally got to this.
I’ve been a McCammon fan for some time.
He’s a favorite author of mine but I’ve never read Swan Song.
It was due to book size, not because I wasn’t interested in the overall plot or genre.
Swan Song is an apocalyptic masterpiece that starts with the world being destroyed and showing the battle between good vs evil.
Sure, there are many books out there with this type of plot, but this is one of the best!
The plot is excellent from the beginning of the nuclear apocalypse, the journey of our brave characters, to the evil that hunts them down.
The amazing thing about this book is not just the writing, which is brilliant, but it’s also the characters.
Characters to love and HATE. Not just “kind of” hate, but despise. A blinding rage of hate that will have you hoping good will prevail.
This type of characterization will not let you be BLAH about your emotions. It will be strong, emotional and you will be gripped with anxiety not only for characters you love, but for the world at large.
One last thing that I loved about this book is the magical realism with Swan, the Job's Mask condition, Friend, and many other things. I loved the fantasy piece to this book as well!
Definitely recommend Swan Song to everyone.
Don’t sleep on this one because of page size. Try to get to it one day, and the sooner the better!