Boy's Life

Robert McCammon

Oct 2011 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

An Alabama boy’s innocence is shaken by murder and madness in the 1960s South in this novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song.

It’s 1964 in idyllic Zephyr, Alabama. People either work for the paper mill up the Tecumseh River, or for the local dairy. It’s a simple life, but it stirs the impressionable imagination of twelve-year-old aspiring writer Cory Mackenson. He’s certain he’s sensed spirits whispering in the churchyard. He’s heard of the weird bootleggers who lurk in the dark outside of town. He’s seen a flood leave Main Street crawling with snakes. Cory thrills to all of it as only a young boy can.
 
Then one morning, while accompanying his father on his milk route, he sees a car careen off the road and slowly sink into fathomless Saxon’s Lake. His father dives into the icy water to rescue the driver, and finds a beaten corpse, naked and handcuffed to the steering wheel—a copper wire tightened around the stranger’s neck. In time, the townsfolk seem to forget all about the unsolved murder. But Cory and his father can’t.
 
Their search for the truth is a journey into a world where innocence and evil collide. What lies before them is the stuff of fear and awe, magic and madness, fantasy and reality. As Cory wades into the deep end of Zephyr and all its mysteries, he’ll discover that while the pleasures of childish things fade away, growing up can be a strange and beautiful ride.
 
“Strongly echoing the childhood-elegies of King and Bradbury, and every bit their equal,” Boy’s Life, a winner of both the Bram Stoker and World Fantasy Awards, represents a brilliant blend of mystery and rich atmosphere, the finest work of one of today’s most accomplished writers (Kirkus Reviews).
  

Ratings and reviews

At first I thought there were just too many cutesy images but then the story line drew me beyond them. It may be hard to swallow some of the improbabilities or fantasy but, if so, you have forgotten being young. Tragedy, suspense, bullies and what can be done about them, mystery, racial differences, parental indifference and over protection together with good parenting, all this and more await you when you reside in this story.

Such an awe inspiring and at times heart thundering read. I fell in love with the folks in Zephyr and Bruton, and it made me nostalgic for a different time. The blend of the supernatural elements, the culture of the South, and the wildness of a boys imagination came together in a profound mix that can't be remade. The horror of loss and the feelings we are left with after seeing something awful are so well described that it feels like you're right there along with the characters. This was one utterly outstanding read!

McAmmon is a raconteur to be reckoned with. His storytelling it's earthy and almost oral in its immediacy. When lesser authors would give in to the urge to become overwrought and dramatic, he skates along matter of factly, telling you What happened. Super writer. Super book.

About the author

One of the founders of the Horror Writers Association, Robert McCammon (b. 1952) is one of the country’s most accomplished authors of modern horror and historical fiction. Raised by his grandparents in Birmingham, Alabama, McCammon published his first novel, the Revelations-inspired Baal, when he was only twenty-six. His writings continued in a supernatural vein throughout the 1980s, producing such bestselling titles as Swan Song, The Wolf’s Hour, and Stinger.   In 1991 Boy’s Life won the World Fantasy Award for best novel. After his next novel, Gone South, McCammon took a break from writing to spend more time with his family. He did not publish another novel until 2002’s Speaks the Nightbird. Since then he has followed “fixer” Matthew Corbett in two sequels, The Queen of Bedlam and Mister Slaughter. His newest novel is The Five. McCammon and his family continue to live in Birmingham.