Customer Reviews

Gone South

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

I love McCammon's work. When I picked up Gone South, I was under the impression it would be something dark, gritty...something that might make me hold my breath through a few eye-popping paragraphs of horror or near-horror. What I got was totally unexpected and delightfully welcomed...Gone South is weird! Not quite weird like most of McCammon's books are, but delightfully, touchingly, wacky and weird, and chock full of action and surprises! This should be made into a film simply because it would be the oddest buddy film ever. From page to page you'll have no idea what to expect next, and the whole thing plays out like a fantastic roller coaster ride. Bizarre. Bittersweet. Laugh-out-loud. Shake your head in wonderment. Read this book!

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?

I read this all those years ago, and I have since referred it to a number of people in search of a good story and a great laugh. My brother (a non-reader) has always said that he finds it hard to believe that a bunch of words written on a page can make you emote to exaggerated degrees be they horror, sadness or laughter. No, he is by no means stupid, and yes his imagination is not what one would call extremely active...he's a stock broker. What I told him is...it's all about manipulation. Can an author manipulate your emotions effectively? Well, McCammon proved he could very effectively manipulate emtions in this book...all the way around. There were times in this book, where I was tearing up with fits of laughter, and there were a great many times I was intrigued with his manipulation of the age-old craft of physical description...Has Grisham ever described a swamp better than McCammon did in this book...I can hear the bubbling sounds of water ever now.

This book is tough to classify -- it's a crime novel that combines elements of the road story with the Southern gothic; it's simultaneously humurous and dark.

Here's the setup: An terminally ill, unemployed Vietnam vet kills a bank loan officer in a heat of passion, and then "goes South" towards the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Along the way he picks up a passenger, a girl with a disfiguring birthmark who is seeking a legendary healer. They are pursued by two unlikely bounty hunters -- a wannabe Southern gent with a deformed Siamese twin growing out of his torso, and an overweight Elvis impersonator who's a bit on the slow side mentally. Along the way, of course, all sorts of interesting (and by no means only good) things happen to these main characters.

While it may sound like the story told in GONE SOUTH would be so unlikely and unbelievable as to be ridiculous, in the hands of Robert McCammon it's actually quite an engaging tale. Though perhaps best known as a horror writer, McCammon has proven that he can handle multiple genres, and his literary and storytelling chops are first-rate. The characters in this book are three-dimensional and dynamic, and the narrative and dialogue are excellent. If you appreciate good fiction and good prose, and you appreciate a bit of weirdness, pick this one up.

Dan Lambert is almost at the end of his rope. He lost his job of five years at the construction company that he worked for as a carpenter, his doctor tells him that he has leukemia, most likely caused by his exposure to agent orange in Vietnam, and now the bank wants to repossess his truck since he is two payments behind. Since no truck means no way to get to a job if he finds one Dan goes to the bank , hoping to work something out with the bank manager. Unfortunately Dan finds that the old manager of the bank has been replaced by a man who is out " to turn the bank around" which means that any loan that is late most be paid in full or the bank seizes the property of the borrower. A argument ensues and in the chaos of the moment the bank manager is killed. Now Dan is on the run for a murder he didn't mean to commit and his only thought is to try to explain to his family what happened and then disappear down in the swamps and bayous of Louisiana.

As Dan continues his flight, events continue to spiral out of control and more people are pulled into his path. The first are a pair of bounty hunters, one has a "condition" that made him part of a circus side show until he was found by his boss and trained as a bounty hunter and the other bears a remarkable resemblance to the king of rock and roll, out to collect the reward for Dan if they can catch him. The second is a young woman who is searching for a faith healer known only as "the bright girl", she believes that if she can convince the healer to help her she can finally be rid of the terrible birth mark on her face that has brought her nothing but bad luck.

Why is it no matter what he does or where his journey takes him he seems to be heading toward the healer the girl is looking for? Will he find redemption at the end of his journey or will he have finally after all these years, have gone south?
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This is another one of McCammons books (see boy's life) that doesn't really fit in one category. It is part crime novel, part adventure and bits of it are both comedy and drama. The characters are well written and they never really fall into clichés, except the bad guys which are really bad guys. The story moves along at a good pace and I never got the feeling that events where being forced, they just seemed to flow from one encounter to another. All in all this book is a definite read along with boy's life. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good adventure book that doesn't fit the cookie cutter formula of good guy vs. the world.
m.a.c

I read this on the heels of Boys Life and have to say I'm in love with this author. McCammon's descriptions paint the scene and characters with an economy of words. He brings you to the hellish swamps of Louisiana where a troubled Vietnam vet is chased by two strange bounty hunters. One has his twin brother's arm and head growing out of his chest and the other is a junk food eating Elvis "interperator". While the cast of misfits get in and out of outrageous predicaments, they also have time to do a little soul searching. Very well done.

Again, the most descriptive writer of all times, Robert McCammon's imagination is outrageous! A down and out Viet Nam Vet, in a moment of despair, kills a man and runs. Meanwhile, a nasty man who runs a bounty hunter business sends two freaks after him. One of the freaks has a twin brother growing out of the side of his body. They end up in the swamps where they encounter alligators and drug runners. What a whopper of a great book and when I say you can't put it down, I kid you not. Nobody can top the descriptions of McCammon. You can feel, smell and taste with his novels. Great reading!

I read McCammon's "Swan Song" years ago and I loved it. This book is not anywhere near as good, but a decent read nonetheless. I rarely read fiction nowadays. Only Michael Crichton, Mario Puzo, and occasionally John Grisham can interest me in fiction anymore. I bought "Gone South" years ago and it's just been sitting around waiting to be read.

So, even though I don't read much fiction, I did enjoy this book. It kept me interested. And that, after all, is one of the reasons to read.