New York Times Bestseller: A young girl’s visions offer the last hope in a postapocalyptic wasteland in this “grand and disturbing adventure” (Dean Koontz).A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick Swan is a nine-year-old Idaho girl following her struggling mother from one trailer park to the next when she receives visions of doom—something far wider than the narrow scope of her own beleaguered … the narrow scope of her own beleaguered life. In a blinding flash, nuclear bombs annihilate civilization, leaving only a few buried survivors to crawl onto a scorched landscape that was once America.
In Manhattan, a homeless woman stumbles from the sewers, guided by the prophecies of a mysterious amulet, and pursued by something wicked; on Idaho’s Blue Dome Mountain, an orphaned boy falls under the influence of depraved survivalists and discovers the value of a killer instinct; and amid the devastating dust storms on the Great Plains of Nebraska, Swan forms a heart-and-soul bond with an unlikely new companion. Soon they will cross paths. But only Swan knows that they must endure more than just a trek across an irradiated country of mutated animals, starvation, madmen, and wasteland warriors.
Swan’s visions tell of a coming malevolent force. It’s a shape-shifting embodiment of the apocalypse, and of all that is evil and despairing. And it’s hell-bent on destroying the last hope of goodness and purity in the world. Swan is that hope. Now, she must fight not only for her own survival, but for that of all mankind.
A winner of the Bram Stoker Award and a finalist for the World Fantasy Award, Swan Song has become a modern classic, called “a chilling vision that keeps you turning pages to the shocking end” by John Saul and “a long, satisfying look at hell and salvation” by Publishers Weekly.
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I read this novel when it first came out and was quite taken with it. A long, well-written volume filled with interesting characters. I keep meaning to read it again.
I read this book when it first came out. From the first page I was hooked. I grew up during the time when we expected our world to be blown up. I have read it over and over again. It’s still relevant today. It’s one of my favorite books of all time.
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I read it years ago, but the enjoyment I got from the book is still memorable.
This is a fantastic apocalypse novel. I actually read it twice, first after college, then many years later after all the zombie novels were so popular. It is relevant today as many years ago. Some of the passages still haunt me. Excellent
One of my all time favorite books! The first few chapters are slow but it will make up for it trust me! You will be unable to stop reading after that! A truley scary adventure!
Masterly post-apocalypse epic from horror and, more recently, historical fiction maestro Robert R. McCammon. In an America plunged into chaos and factional warfare by the aftermath of nuclear armageddon, supernatural powers begin to manifest in the survivors whilst an immortal agent of chaos plots the final destruction of humanity. Biblical in …
I read this back when it was first published and rated it way up there with “The Stand” Highly recommended! (everything by Robert McCammon is fantastic)
Amazing post-apocalyptic novel with believable original characters.
Best post-apocalyptic book ever. (And I include The Stand in this statement, which says a lot).
Astonishing book and story. IMO it matches The Stand in story telling and in fact it may surpass it. Excellent characterizations with solid realistic motives for what they do. I have re read it and plan to again.
Easily the equal of Stephen King’s The Stand. I highly recommend both. This has been my 4th trip through this book.
my favorite post-apocalyptic novel of all time. Some King fans criticized RM insinuating he was a King wanna be by copying the Stand. First of all they are different, but like any novel you can look hard enough and find similarities. I think Swan Song is better then the Stand–but I do like both.
number one: at 850 pages, waaaay to long.
number two: although story is compelling it has been done too many times already
number three: story is a combination of Mad Max characters and Steven King’s ‘The Stand’
So disappointed that there is nothing new. The story would have been much, much better without the good vs. evil and magic storylines. …
I so loved this book I can read it over and over again!
Robert R. McCammon is right up there with Stephen King and that`s saying a lot!
This is really Stephen King’s The Stand again. Different apocalypse. Different set of characters. Same final clash. Same general structure to the story.
That being said, don’t skip it because you’ve read it before. His character development is fantastic. The adventure is larger than life. McCammon has a talent for wringing the tension out of a …
One of my favorite books of all time!
I bought the paper-back when it hit the bookstores. (don’t ask me what year that was, I don’t remember) I have read it twice since then and will read it again soon, as in, you just made me go to find it on my bookshelf. It is an excellent book, very well written and very scary!
This one took a few chapters to get into, but once you hit a chapter with a repeat character, it takes off. Settle in because this book is long, but worth the read!
After a nuclear blast, Swan, a 9 year old girl, starts having psychic abilities. She has survived and meets other people some who are helpful and others who are not.
The interesting storyline deals with good and evil and which will prevail in rebuilding the world.
What made this book so spellbinding were the characters, imagination, and …