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Business Stationary Mart - Swan Song
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List Price: $7.99
Our Price: $4.41
Your Save: $ 3.58 ( 45% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Pocket
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780671741037
ISBN: 0671741039
Label: Pocket
Manufacturer: Pocket
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 960
Publication Date: 1987-06-01
Publisher: Pocket
Studio: Pocket
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great post-apocalyptic survival depiction - but this esoteric/magical feel is... not so great
Comment: This is the story of several groups of post-apocalyptic survivors in "modern days" America. Hell has been unleashed in the form of nuclear ICBM's that have struck both the US and Russia, leaving only a few living beings alive and, most importantly, a long-lasting nuclear winter. In the aftermath of this mutual destruction, nature has been ravaged and has turned some of its "creatures" genetically altered forever. What remains unchanged, though, is some of the survivors' struggle for power, whatever the cost. Swan is the key girl survivor that counts among the good characters, which the book story is centered around.
The story offers a mix of down-to-Earth, as well as quite spiritual, sometimes even magical/esoteric events that surround the demise of the various groups of survivors. It provides a Mad-Max like, quite realistic depiction of the nightmarish post-apocalyptic world.
The down-to-Earth aspect of the book shows the ugly side of a society that tries to find some purpose in life and the future, to reconstruct itself out of its own ashes, in a sterile environment where the most valuable goods are canned food, gas, basic utilities. I have thoroughly enjoyed that aspect of the book. Also, from a sociological standpoint, this book is interesting as it revels society's fears of a long-gone era, the 80's, and its obsession with nuclear disaster/war.
What prevented me from giving it a five star rating was the magical/esoteric touch in the book. That was beyond my reach. Devil himself is featured in the book as a malevolent, yet neither too bright nor almighty, character. The Glass Ring is a nice feature, but in spite of the reader's own explanations, is difficult to justify.
I might be a little over rational in my review, but I love coherent, cohesive and plausible stories. The magical/esoteric feel of the book just kept bugging at me. Without it, no doubt, I would have given the book a full 5 star rating.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a romp through a post nuclear war america
Comment: If you liked The Stand, you will love Swan Song. McCammon creates a world that he envisions after a major nuclear war involving the major super powers of the world and some smaller nations. The US believes that a Soviet "first strike" is imminent and takes steps to back the Soviets off. The President falls to pieces as the crisis deepens. There has already been some small scale nuclear attacks started by terrorists bombing Beirut and leading to some small scale nuclear use by governments. Finally, during the heat of summer the fateful decisions are made with no real leadership on the American side since the president cracks up. His decision making ability has failed him in the most mundane decisions such as what tie to wear with his suit.
The characters are likable and most are complex people although their are a couple of card board cut outs.
The writing is great and descriptive. McCammon really succeeds at creating an environment that you can really get in to or envision. The books is rather long, but there is not a lot of "filler" stuff. It's just that there is so much going on, therefor it doesn't feel long.
The book starts by following several different groups of people whose lives are ultimately connected, eventually leading to the battle of good and evil. There is a supernatural element to the book, but I think it was done well and adds to the story and is actually the theme of the story. There is a lot of action in the book and most of it isn't supernatural at all. Unlikely characters doing some really crazy stuff helps lead to some incredible action and scary situations.
The only thing I didn't like about the book is the length of time (years) of the story without any military or government help. After all, at any given time there are 10's of thousands of people out on boats and presumably not every continent of the world was affected. Therefor, you might expect that aid would have arrived from those far away places. But this is not enough to make the book any less enjoyable.
Ultimately this book of good vs evil is an excellent read and I highly recommend it, you won't regret it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Cool start, cool finish, sloooooow in the middle
Comment: Good: (1) Very bleak picture of a post-apocalyptic world with fantastic details of how the natural world and human nature have been warped. (2) There were interesting characters that I came to care about and villains that I detested, which is rare for a book in this genre. They're usually cookie-cutter. (3) I didn't see this particular ending coming, so it was a nice surprise.
Bad: (1) Annoying confirmation and repetition of statements (my own example: "I'm so thirsty right now. Oh yes, I'm so thirsty.") is everywhere in this book, and it drove me crazy because that's not how people talk... anywhere... ever. That was so amateur and should have been caught by an editor. (2) Goofy names like Sister, Friend, Swan, Black Frankenstein, Mule the horse. I know they're memorable, but they detract from the story because they're so far out of reality. Admit it: the people you know have names like Chuck and Jenny and Mike. (3) The book was too long, and it slowed down in the middle. There were times I felt like dumping it in the trash, but I persevered.
Also, be aware that this was not written in a real-world, what-we-could-expect-after-nuclear-war fashion. The framework of the book is built entirely around the supernatural (a glass crown that help people have dreamwalks, a girl who functions much like a druid, plants growing in radioactive soil, the devil, a sort-of "god", and magically re-created faces), which I personally didn't care for.
In the end I'm glad I finished the book. It was definitely so-so in the middle, but the last 200 pages or so made up for it, and the ending was solid though a bit abrupt. If I can confirm some improved writing, oh yes, if I can confirm it (I had to say it like that, right?), I'll check out the author's other work.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Perfect Epic Novel
Comment: if you like your books long with interesting characters and an awesome story you will love this book
Customer Rating:
Summary: Outdated - Predictable Nonsense
Comment: I would have loved this when I was 12. Then again, it would not have seemed so dated. The plot has all the complexity of a Dungeons and Dragons adventure. The character, while seemingly exotic, are cardboard cutouts. People die, and it makes no impact - they are the Star Trek 'Red shirts' - extras who come along to be killed. Very very disappointing given the high ratings. Worst thing I have read in years.
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Editorial Reviews:
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An ancient evil roams the desolate landscape of an America ravaged by nuclear war. He is the Man with the Scarlet Eye, a malevolent force that feeds on the dark desires of the countless followers he has gathered into his service. His only desire is to find a special child named Swan -- and destroy her. But those who would protect the girl are determined to fight for what is left of the worldŠand their souls. In a wasteland born of rage, populated by monstrous creatures and marauding armies, the last survivors on earth have been drawn into the final battle between good and evil that will decide the fate of humanity....
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