Mystery Walk (Robert R. McCammon)

Mystery Walk introduced me to this terrific author and while I read it first years ago, I recently finished reading it again and I'm eager to move on to the other books of his on my keeper shelf. Living with Billy as the true nature of his abilities takes him through one tragic encounter after another, the pain he becomes a part of, and then later, the strength he has, made me feel an exhausted satisfaction with him at the end--as if I had been on a real journey myself. Of course, not being able to put it down and staying up late probably helped :) But I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

Lately I've been working my way through McCammon's books. Back in Horror's heyday, I kind of ignored him, since I felt at the time he was following, a bit too closely, in the footsteps of King. That's probably unfair. "Swan Song" is a really good read, and stands up well to King's "The Stand." And "Stinger" is a wild ride that goes places King only wishes the terrible "Tommyknockers" had of gone. In other words, McCammon is a considerable cut above your average horror writer. And he possesses in equal measure King's greatest strength: the ability to develop believable small town characters. "Mystery Walk" is no exception. The Creekmore family is a likable, if haunted, bunch. The flawed, but good, husband and father John, his Choctaw wife (and mystic) Ramona, and their gifted (cursed?) son, Billy. Further, McCammon's character sketches are deft enough to capture within the "bad" characters (most of them anyway) their humanity, and thus make them sympathetic. You may not like them,... Read more

McCammon once again delivers a fast-paced, attention-holding plot with well-developed characters. The basic plot involves two young men -- one who one who talks to the dead, the other who heals the living. In years to come they are haunted by the same dream, they grapple with restless spirits, and they become deadly rivals on this earthly plane -- and beyond. The first half of the book and the last chapter or two were 'unputdownable." I found myself glued to my seat anxious to see what was to happen next. However, the second half dragged on too much during several passages. Overall, this book would have been better if it was 50-75 pages shorter. Nonetheless, if you are a fan of horror stories, Mystery Walk is a book I think you will enjoy

This book has been around for ages, I know because I've glanced over the cover probably a thousand times. Always the same cover, a dark sky with a strange feline-esque face shrieking out of it. Having never heard of McCammon until recently I'd glance at the cover and shake my head assuming the book was more over-hyped badly written horror. Magically this book, whose cover had turned me off for so many years, appeared on my shelf, so out of morbid curiosity I began to read. By the following evening the book was finished and I decided that this book was worthy of a review. I was impressed with the writer's skill, even when discussing mundane details or goings on, it felt important and the writing style was brilliant, artistic, and simplistic. McCammon was genius without trying to jam down the reader's throat that he was genius. The story follows two boys, starting at a young age: Billy, the son of a Choctaw mother and her fervently Christian husband, and Wayne, the son of an e... Read more

a wonderful book.Told by a great gifted story teller,the story of two men with two wonderful gifts.One can talk to the dead the other can heal the living is a very satisfying read through and through.Pick this one up.You wont be disapointed