Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Robert McCammon rose to prominence as one of the most celebrated writers of the “horror boom” which took place from 1974 through the ‘90s, beginning with the publication of Stephen King’s breakout hit Carrie. However, even as he racked up Stoker and World Fantasy Awards for novels such as Boy’s Life, Swan Song, and others, McCammon was already bristling at the limitations of the genre.
“In 1993, at what would appear to be the peak of his skills, he retired from writing,” writes Richard Bleiler and Hunter Goatley in the 2002 book Supernatural Fiction Writers, “citing variously depression, exhaustion from overwork, a desire to spend more time with his family, and frustration with publishers, who insisted he limit himself to writing genre horror fiction when he wanted to explore other literary forms.” By this time, he had already written three New York Times bestsellers, not to mention some of the most celebrated horror novels of the era.
This self-imposed exile ended in 2002, with the publication of Speaks the Nightbird, the first of McCammon’s long-running series of Matthew Corbett historical novels, set in colonial America – the latest of which, Leviathan, was just published in December of 2024. These 10 novels, from throughout McCammon’s long career, represent some of his best work – and some of our favorite examples of this inimitable author.
Leviathan
The tenth and ostensibly final book in McCammon’s lengthy saga of “problem solver” Matthew Corbett, Leviathan wraps up many of the threads which have been dangling since the 2002 publication of Speaks the Nightbird and sees Matthew and company traveling to Venice in search of a mirror that is reputed to be able to summon demons.
Unfortunately, they are far from the only ones in pursuit of this artifact, and the quest to find it and end his adventures once and for all will tax Matthew Corbett’s resourcefulness to the utmost.
Speaks the Nightbird
McCammon’s return to fiction after a decade-long hiatus was greeted by Publishers Weekly as a “compulsively readable yarn,” hailing that “McCammon’s loyal fans will find his resurfacing reason to rejoice.”
The first Matthew Corbett novel, Speaks the Nightbird took readers back to the end of the 17th century in the Carolina colonies and introduced them to Matthew and the cast of unforgettable characters that surround him, as he struggles to exonerate a widow accused of witchcraft and sentenced to be burned at the stake in his first major adventure.
The Wolf's Hour
Michael Gallatin is a British secret agent who must undertake a dangerous mission behind German lines during World War II. Fortunately, he’s got an edge that may just help him survive – he’s a werewolf.
That’s the premise behind Robert McCammon’s third New York Times bestseller, “a werewolf classic that deserves to be unearthed and rediscovered” (Publishers Weekly). Read it to see Booklist hailed McCammon as “a true master of the Gothic novel.”
Freedom of the Mask
“Fans of the series will race through this hefty page-turner to see where Matthew’s latest adventure leads him,” raves Publishers Weekly of the sixth installment in McCammon’s Matthew Corbett series.
Where it initially finds Matthew is locked up in London’s notorious Newgate Prison, accused of murder and targeted by a mysterious masked vigilante. As Matthew’s friends hurry across the ocean to save him, Matthew must find a way to survive in the punishing interior of Newgate, and unravel the mysteries that surround him.
Swan Song
When it was first released in 1987, this “distinctive and engrossing” (Rave Reviews) book was McCammon’s most ambitious to date, and quickly became his first New York Times bestseller, going on to win the Bram Stoker Award. A story of post-apocalyptic proportions in the vein of Stephen King’s The Stand, Swan Song was named one of America’s “best-loved novels” by PBS’s The Great American Read and has thrilled fans and newcomers to McCammon’s work for decades with its “long, satisfying look at hell and salvation” (Publishers Weekly).
Stinger
Robert McCammon’s immediate follow-up to Swan Song was also his second New York Times bestseller, and a nominee for the Bram Stoker Award – and the basis for the recent Peacock TV series Teacup, from executive producer James Wan.
Hailed as “the ultimate horror novel” by the Philadelphia Inquirer, this tale of an extraterrestrial bounty hunter who transforms a pair of West Texas towns into his private hunting grounds is a McCammon classic and “one of the best suspense novels” according to Science Fiction Chronicle.
The Border
While McCammon’s return to publishing after 2002 was primarily focused on additional Matthew Corbett novels, he also wrote several others, including this tale of Earth trapped in a devastating war between two alien civilizations.
Returning to the vivid apocalyptic visions presented in such classic books as Swan Song and Stinger, “this story blends the gripping horror and action of McCammon’s earliest novels with the empathy of his more recent work,” raves Publishers Weekly, “making it one of his finest.”
Boy's Life
Winner of both the Bram Stoker and World Fantasy Awards, if Swan Song was McCammon’s first hit novel, then Boy’s Life may just be his most beloved.
Described in Supernatural Fiction Writers as “essentially unclassifiable, blending elements from forms and genres as disparate as bildungsroman, magical realism, southern gothic, historical novel, and social commentary,” Boy’s Life follows the adventures of a 12-year-old boy in a small Alabama town in the 1960s as he confronts an all-too-human evil that festers in his quaint hometown.
They Thirst
From werewolves to vampires, They Thirst is one of Robert McCammon’s earliest novels, and it follows a vampiric plague that is overtaking Los Angeles, beginning a plan to overrun the entire planet with cities of the undead. The result is a “suspenseful, exciting, and visceral” book (Kirkus Reviews) that “pays tribute to masters of the genre and raises the standards for the craft a notch or two” (Publishers Weekly).
Long out of print, this early McCammon classic has finally been reissued in ebook form so that new readers can experience it – and old fans become reacquainted.
Usher's Passing
“McCammon delivers terror with skillful ferocity” (Publishers Weekly) in this 1984 novel that’s an ode to the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. “A frightening pleasure” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch), Usher’s Passing sees horror novelist Rix Usher returning to “Usherland,” his family estate, after the death of the family’s patriarch. Generations ago, Edgar Allan Poe looted the family’s secrets for his infamous story, and now the modern-day Ushers must confront their own chilling history in McCammon’s most gothic novel.
