The Border
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4.4 • 87 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
World Fantasy award-winning, bestselling author Robert McCammon makes a triumphant return to the epic horror and apocalyptic tone of his books Swan Song and Stinger in this gripping new novel, The Border, a saga of an Earth devastated by a war between two marauding alien civilizations.
But it is not just the living ships of the monstrous Gorgons or the motion-blurred shock troops of the armored Cyphers that endanger the holdouts in the human bastion of Panther Ridge. The world itself has turned against the handful of survivors, as one by one they succumb to despair and suicide or, even worse, are transformed by otherworldly pollution into hideous Gray Men, cannibalistic mutants driven by insatiable hunger. Into these desperate circumstances comes an amnesiac teenaged boy who names himself Ethan—a boy who must overcome mistrust and suspicion to master unknowable powers that may prove to be the last hope for humanity's salvation. Those same powers make Ethan a threat to the warring aliens, long used to fearing only each other, and thrust him and his comrades into ever more perilous circumstances.
A major new novel from the unparalleled imagination of Robert McCammon, this dark epic of survival will both thrill readers and make them fall in love with his work all over again.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Genre-busting author McCammon (The River of Souls) pulls out all the stops for this exhilarating alien-invasion epic, which harkens back to his 1987 blockbuster, Swan Song. The spectacular opening introduces an amnesiac teenage boy who abruptly becomes aware of himself in a full-tilt sprint through a post-apocalyptic battlefield, with wounds that should have killed him, and knowledge and abilities he doesn't understand. Ethan, as he calls himself, is clearly more than he appears a fact that doesn't escape the apocalypse's survivors, expressively depicted in their despair and desperation, with whom he holes up outside Ft. Collins, Colo. Two years prior, alien species nicknamed the Gorgons and the Cyphers brought their own war to Earth's atmosphere, killing many humans and turning others into mutant cannibals. As revelations about Ethan become increasingly poignant, McCammon expertly turns up the tension, and the group embarks on a riveting journey toward a destination they have little chance of reaching. This story blends the gripping horror and action of McCammon's earliest novels with the empathy of his more recent work, making it one of his finest.
Customer Reviews
The Border
Ok, it's Robert McCammon. He wrote "Swan" which is one of my favorites. I'm going to read some more of his work soon. Just an awesome storyteller.
Complaints? Something's bugging me, can't put my finger on it. I'll have to let it sit and digest. World building is terrific in it's horror and suffering. I bought into it. Characters had plenty of what I like, love, loathe, and despise about human beings. Was the ending too pat, wrapped up and tied with an orderly bow? Maybe. I'm into the totally unrealistic, implausible idea of a profound reset for human beings. Humans growing up, gaining some wisdom and humility. What would that be like? It IS present in the resolution of the story. I just have a tiny sliver of dissatisfaction. Still....a really good story. Worth reading. Well done.
Just Plain Old Satisfying
I REALLY enjoyed this one! I only recently found McCammon and have been absorbing all of his work since my very first McCammon book - Swan Song. What I think I love the most is the diversity in his story topics, much like King. I'm going to be sad when I finish the last of his books.
The Border
By far the best book, since Swan Song. Truly a great read.