Gone South

This is the second McCammon book I’ve read, and both were beautifully written with distinctive visions and quirky characters. This one was a particular delight and what we used to call a thumping good read. The author has a real gift for throwing obstacles in front of his protagonists and, for that matter, his antagonists too. They deal with each new challenge in ways that are logical if often unexpected.

McCammon’s antagonists are usually pretty dark, but they are always interesting. His protagonists are damn near saintly and the end of their journeys often tickles the edge of sentimentality. Don’t take that to mean that you’ll get a happy ending though.

The story itself is pretty linear, which, in my old age, I’m starting to appreciate more than flashbacks, flash forwards and the rest of it. I read this novel as an audiobook, and because of its linear presentation, it’s easy to stay on top of the story, even if you’ve been away from it for a while.

Lots of bayou atmosphere. Lots of interesting, if troubled, characters. Good story, and thigh-slapping funny at times. One of the best reads of the year.

Another excellent novel by an excellent writer. Gone South is very crisply told. It's a blend of suspense, humor, crime, and action, with themes such as acceptance and identity. As always, McCammon develops a group of three-dimensional, sometimes wacky characters. Such a shame that McCammon, fresh off Boy's Life and Gone South, took nearly a decade off, though of course when he came back he delivered the excellent Speaks the Nightbird.
Gone South is very descriptive, which is a great thing, because as the characters travel through the southern part of the united states you can see exactly what they see.

McCammon just seems to excel in any genre he wishes. I love that authors are allowed to be diverse, as the bottom line is a great story--and Gone South is great indeed--is special, regardless of genre. It's a shame that this hasn't been made into a film. All they have to do is follow the book closely, and it would be a winner. I hope somebody realizes this, it's a story that should definitely be heard.

I think the British term is "gobsmacked"! What a book! This has been my lunch book for a few weeks and I must admit it caused me to take a few longer lunch hours than normal. I picked this up at a used bookstore for $1.25 because I thought I had read "Boy's Life" by the same author. Turns out if I did it was so long ago I forgot it but it will become my new lunch book shortly based on the reviews.

At any rate, this has to be one of the most creative and well written novels I have ever read. Others have given the basic outline - Viet vet suffering from Agent Orange induced leukemia gets in trouble and goes on the run, pursued not only by the police, but by two bounty hunters. The characters are some of most unique I have encountered, at least in a single novel and the plot twists and turns will keep the reader entertained while the almost poetic writing in terms of descriptive power will provide a powerful sense of place.

It may sound grim but it is humorous in places, tender in some, uplifting in others. In short, what a great read should be. He seems to combine the writing skill of Dean Koontz with the story telling power of a Stephen King - a powerful combination.

This book starts with a dying, good hearted, decent Viet Nam veteran, who accidentally kills the banker trying to repossess his one true treasure -- his pickup truck. He is pursued by the law, and two bounty hunters are on his trail - a man only seeking respect from others, but who gets ridicule when it is discovered that he has an attached Siamese twin, and an Elvis Presley impersonator - hiding his true musical talent under his Elvis Presley personna..and oh yes, he carries around a little bulldog called "mamma" and drives an old Cadillac. The Viet vet comes across and befriends a young beautiful girl - with a full facial birthmark who is off to the Louisiana swamps in search of the "Bright Girl" the magical faith healer that she thinks will take away her facial disfigurement and make everything in her life all right again...All of our characters are off through the swamps, meeting all sorts of crazy characters, plus a slew of drug dealers - it is ! a "Perils of Pauline" type of story with impossible situations, and at the last minute, rescue -- and after this roller coaster ride of adventure we come to the last three chapters which tie up the story. After the violence there is peace, after the ordeal, we end up with changed lives in all of our characters, and to the reader, a real understanding of exactly what this book is all about...

I've just heard that Robert R. McCammon has retired from writing. I am saddened by this because I feel that he was just beginning to find his own very unique voice with his last two books, Gone South and Boy's Life. However, like the characters in Gone South, he has his own path to follow and his own dreams to pursue. It would be wrong for any of his fans to demand he write another book, although we all hope he does (he's still a fairly young man). His latest novel Gone South ranks up there with Swan Song and Boy's Life in my opinion. What makes this one special is his ability to make even the most bizarre and unreal characters seem real. He gets into the hearts of Flint and Pelvis and makes you care for them dispite their absurdity. Dan and Arden are also fascinating and sympathetic characters. But in the midst of McCammon's excellent characterization the action never stops. The book is chock full of chases and shootouts and unexpected plot twists. Also the ending with the revelation of Bright Girl is a beautiful surprise that reaffirms McCammon's message of making the best of the hand you're dealt in life. One review wrote that the ending was Koontz-like in its positiveness. I disagree. In a Koontz book Dan and Arden would have fallen in love and become cured of their ailments and live happily ever after. McCammon is a much better writer than Koontz in my opinion, and leaves the fates of the main characters up in the air. All in all, this is a terrific book, so by all means check it out.

This was the last McCammon novel to be published, and it was done so in 1992. Not exactly his best novel but far from being a bad one either. A man who commits a murder in a moment of blind rage finds himself pursued by two bounty hunters who are very peculiar. One has a third arm and a head coming out of his chest and the other is the second coming of Elvis Presley. They pursue this man, Dan Lambert who is in his last years of life after getting leukemia from Agent Orange poisoning and who is paired up with a girl named Arden Halliday who would be a beauty were it not for the port-wine stain covering half her face. Arden goes on to pursue the "Bright Girl", supposedly a faith healer who would remove the port wine stain from her. Dan ends up being in charge of Arden and both are pursued by the bounty hunters and the police. The bounty hunters, in turn, are pursued by drug dealers. Theres a lot of chasing going on all through the book and theres a heavy dramati! c accent to it as well. Its a pretty good read, but not on par with Boy's Life or Swan Song, two absolute classics of McCammon's. If you like him, you nevertheless should read him.

Gone South opens with one of the most compelling first lines I've ever read: "It was hell's season, and the air smelled of burning children." From there the novel introduces us to Dan Lambert a Vietnam Vet who's been kicked around by life until he reaches the end of his rope. When the bank plans to repossess his truck, the only thing he has left, Dan loses his temper and accidently kills a bank loan officer. Dan ends up on the run. Along the way he picks up a misfit, a young woman (Arden) with a disfiguring birthmark who believes that a mystical faith healer called the Bright Girl can change her life. Dan and the young woman are pursued by two unusual bounty hunters; Flint, a former circus freak who carries the half-formed head and arm of his twin brother in his chest, and Pelvis, a junk-food eating Elvis impersonator.

The novel is strangely uneven. Dan's story is initially gritty, real, and horrifying. Flint and Pelvis add an `over-the-top' slapstick comedy element and Arden brings a mystical new-age vibe to the story.

The novel starts off strong, gets a little tedious through the middle, and has an ending that is tough to swallow. The set up is great. McCammon does an excellent job of bringing the reader into Dan's world - the horror of his tour in Vietnam, the unfairness of his cancer due to agent-orange exposure, the desperation and frustration that leads to the tragedy at the bank.

The novel starts to get tedious for me once Dan is on the run in the Louisiana swamp. It becomes a pretty standard adventure novel - which I know is supposed to be exciting - but it feels to routine to me. Dan is a killer, but he isn't really a bad guy. The bounty hunters are misfits just doing their jobs, so they aren't bad guys either. So McCammon gives us some bad guys in a group of drug dealers who use alligators to smuggle their commodity. An inevitable shootout ensues and our four misfits end up on an island where their destinies are fulfilled in the most unlikely of fashions.

On a positive note, this is a novel that makes an impression on the reader. That first line is memorable enough - but it isn't likely I will forget a three-armed bounty hunter with an Elvis impersonating side-kick either. McCammon was reaching for something more than just another crime/adventure yarn when he wrote Gone South. I don't think he quite achieved his goal, but I appreciate that he tried.

Carpenter Dan Lambert is having a tough haul. He's having trouble finding a job after returning from Vietnam, he attacked his son in a terrible flashback episode leading to divorce, and he has creditors on his back. Yet despite losing his cool at a bank meeting regarding the repossession of his truck(his livlihood)and attacking and sccidentily killing a bank employee he remains a sympathetic character. The reader can feel his desperation as he heads south with two colourful bounty hunters, one a "freak", and the other an Elvis impersontor on his tail.

That has always been one of McCammon's strengths the, the portrayal on paper of fictional characters that are believable to the nth degree, and that can touch the reader's hearts and minds. There are no heroes or villians in this slight departure from some of McCammon's well-known works, but rather a collection of anti-heroes colourfully brought to life to drive a powerful narrative.

What a clever novel. Without wanting to include too many spoilers in this review I may say it should be no surprise the title is in fact a phrase with double meaning.

This story is atypical as pointed out above of some of McCammon's works, he is known for sharing a genre with Koontz and King after all but this is no horror story, rather a moving thriller that plucks all the heartstrings of a reader. Hopefully this review does not make this tome sound wishy washy as it is far from that, rather the author's storytelling prowess are at their peak telling a tale about a disenfranchised Vietnam vet, that I would argue was even more powerful than King's Hearts in Atlantis. This book would in fact get five stars, but of course it was not PERFECT, there were some issues I shared with fellow reviewers about the ending that did not diminish however the overall impact of the novel.

This book is a departure from the "horror" genre his is known for. This too is not a horror book. It's a book of an adventure by a down and out of work Vietnam vet who loses his sole possession-- his truck, for back payments. There is an incident in the bankers office and the banker is unintentionally shot. So begins the story where he goes on the run down south, and the chase begins. He runs into some strange characters in his travels, none more unique than the Elvis impersonator-turned-bounty-hunter, Pelvis Eisley (who in my mind sounds just like Gomer Pyle when he talks). He's brilliant at descriptions and I found myself laughing at some of the scenarios he paints. He puts his characters in such unique situations and with every page, it's just like watching a movie. You can picture the expressions on their face. It's a great story from a great storyteller.

A Viet Nam Marine veteran, a young woman with half of her face an ugly birth mark, a bounty hunter with two heads and three arms, an Elvis impersonator, and last, but not least another Viet Nam vet named "Train". Only the great author of "Swan Song", Robert McCammon, could put all of these characters together and create a wonderful story such as this one.

This story touches on the pain and suffering of our many war veterans, people with deformaties, and people who just choose to live a life different then most. These are all part of a larger story with tragedy, excitment and suspense based in Louisiana's towns and Southern most bayou. At the same time there is humor mixed in and if you are like me, when you are finished, you will feel a better person for having been part of Robert McCammon.

McCammon is one of those rare authors who has been accepted by his readership as one who writes in several different genres. I'm not necessarily saying that exactly the same readership reads everything he writes. But he succeeds in several genres well enough to get good reviews no matter what.
In my opinion, this book may not be quite as strong as Boy's Life, but it is well written, emotional, and imaginative. He may be trying a little too hard with his siamese twins, sidekick searching for the perfect faith healer, and other assorted strange characters. However, he keeps you turning the pages, and that's one of the most important things any writer must do. This is an extremely talented writer.

After Reading McCammon's "Boys Life" it took me a while to read again. There are books out there that are so good that picking up another book can only result in disappointment. I cried so hard after Boys Life I figured that I should ease back into the waters of "lessor books" with another McCammon. Gone South was perfect for the job. It is a great book but was not as good as his Boys Life to be sure, but tells a story of a Man running from a murder and being pursued by bounty hunters. (One of whom has a conjoined submissive twin growing out of his chest - a disgusting character indeed.) The other is an Elvis Impersonator named Pelvis Easley. While on the run the murderer meets a woman who is searching for a child faith healer. And then McCammon does what he does best - allows a cast of emotionally burdened characters to intertwine and dance from chapter to chapter until this book reaches its powerful climax.
So, when you are done reading Boys Life, and need to recover, Gone South is a good direction to go in.

Relic113

One of my favorite reads(several times). I've been recommending this book to friends for years. it's a good example of the real world. Heroes and villains are never black and white. No one is completely good or bad. Even the villains in the story come off sympathetic.

By the end of this book, everyone will be rooting for the four major characters as they find what they've been searching foe deep in the swamp.

I have read and loved this authors books for many years and this book shows just why those who read him will also continue to look for his books.
He is about to bring out a new book the first in over ten years so i await with bated breath to continue my love affair with this writers books.
The characters in this book are unique, funny, lovable and just very entertaining and the badies you just love to hate, and sometimes the goodies and badies are not always black and white in what they do or what actions they take to resolve a problem. The story is different but as usual with this author it keeps you thinking and involved all the time. Good reading.

Robert McCammon is a fine horror writer, but if you haven't read Gone South, one of his less-horror-more-story offerings, you're in for a treat. This tale starts from a prosaic, hardscrabble start with a down on his luck Vietnam veteran and a girl with a birthmark, and take us on a wild ride through Louisiana to meet freaks, Elvis impersonators, drug smuggling alligator wranglers and a legendary faith healer who's not quite who the legends lead us to believe. It's a good read, well worth the price of admission.

This it the first Robert McCammon story I've read that was not horror, and I absolutely loved it. The characters are portrayed with sympathy and clarity. What characters at that?!?! There were some good laughs along the journey. The ending was beautiful, and not what you will expect.

Am I supposed to feel guilty because I was laughing at the bumbling Flint/Clint and Pelvis Eisley? Or am I supposed to cry at the gritty tale of how Dan came to be on the run?

I just don't know.

The most sensible, "Wow, how true!" moment of the book...when it was pointed out that the bank couldn't let Dan slide for a week on his truck payment, but had no problem with offering a $15,000 reward.

I just don't know.

I guess I developed an EXPECTATION...due to the oddities of the central characters, I expected the climax of the story to contain...oddities. When it didn't, I was disappointed.

Overall, when I consider the journey rather than the destination, it was a good read.

Maybe I was hoping for another Boy's Life, or even a Speaks the Nightbird...(sigh)....

McCammon's last novel before he took a decade long hiatus is a must read for anyone that likes suspense books and has a sense of humor. This book is really funny in parts! The cast of characters are unique to say the least, including a guy who has a deformed twin brother growing out the side of his ribcage and an Elvis Presley impersonator. Certainly the lightest of all of McCammon's efforts, this book is an incredibly fun read.
I rank this book among all my personal McCammon favorites like Mine, Swan Song, Boys Life, and Speaks the Nightbird.

The author is very underrated and has written some great books (Swan Song, Boy's Life among others). While this one isn't quite at the same level, he uses a good mix if humor, supernatural to spin another great yarn. Definitely recommended!

I have just discovered Robert MacCammon and am in the process of reading all his books. He is a wonderful storyteller and writes in the style of the great southern authors who have the ability to write in a way that makes language powerful and beautiful. Authors like this are the reason I read.

McCammon is great. The characters in Gone South are so unique I find myself inspired. And while reading, you may know where the story is going, but that's okay. It's a pleasure to go there.

James Roy Daley
Author of The Dead Parade
The Dead Parade

McCammon's characters begin fairly well developed, although they all seem mostly defined by their various maladies/deformities. Once the protaganist is surrounded by the other characters, any meaningful inner dialogue seems to diappear, and the story plays itself out to a predictable, redemptive ending. The bounty hunters sailing off together is a bit trite.

One of the funniest, and strangest, books I have ever read. It's full of bizarre characters and situations, the dialogue is hysterical (some of it begs to be read outloud), and the action never stops. When are they going to make this into a movie?

No doubt the author is brilliant, and I adore his work. Unfortunately, as a person who is very sensitive to animal welfare, I was unhappy with the extremely graphic and violent scene toward the end of this book, wherein the sweet companion canine is eaten by a beastly human character. It completely marred my reading experience. Mr. McCammon also terminates dogs in at least two of his other books: Boy's Life and Swan Song. Hmmmmm...makes me wonder what past experience(s) may have been responsible for his doggie death wish?!

My journey through the books of McCammon continues. At this stage in his career he appears to have broken free from the shackles of horror and has stretched out into new territories (quite literally!).

McCammon has said several times that his books read like movies, and this book is no exception. With that in mind, I think it's fair to say that this book reads like a road movie, albeit with some unusual characters. But I just get the impression that he's 'winging it'. The story appears to be going nowhere in the latter half of the book (the main character is dying so there aren't too many surprises towards the end) and he injects a little 'Swan Song style' mystery into the story by introducing the Bright Girl character in the hopes of keeping the reader interested, as they move thru the swamps of the south. The same can be said for the gang of drug dealers - why are they in the story? what real purpose do they serve aside from reminding the main characters that life really isn't that bad after all and isn't it great to be alive?

Furthermore, there are only segments where Mccammon's muscular writing really comes thru - you know he can do so much more.

It's a good read but he certainly doesn't grab you by your pants and take you 'along for the ride' as he does so efficiently in other books.

I absolutely LOVE Robert McCammon. I have not read one of his books that I didn't completely enjoy and recommend to everyone who will listen - and this will be my 7th of 8th of his that I've read. This was the last of the 3 Southern Novels I have read, and I think I would rank them:
1) Mystery Walk
2) Boy's Life
3) Gone South
To me, Gone South, though thoroughly entertaining and as usual, displaying an incredibly colorful range of characters, just had a few too many ideas and not enough of a concise plot that made me feel as connected as his books usually do.