Category: The Five

Hi, everyone. Thank you for checking in on the website and Facebook. I’m so glad to have you as readers and fans because, as I’ve said before, what would a writer be without readers. Unread, is what! So thank you again.

I realize that in the course of a year I’ve written over a thousand pages. That includes THE FIVE, THE HUNTER FROM THE WOODS, and THE PROVIDENCE RIDER. Way over a thousand pages, really. At this point I have about another hundred pages to go on RIDER, so this book should be finished pretty soon. I think you’ll find it’s very different from MISTER SLAUGHTER and from the other episodes in Matthew’s ongoing career, but my plan was always to make each book “different”, so there you have it.

I wanted to talk a little bit about THE FIVE and why I wrote it. I’ve always loved music, of course—as you might be able to tell from the podcasts—but I was sitting in a California Pizza Kitchen restaurant one day for lunch and I heard a song being played through the sound system. As I listened, I realized…that song is speaking to me. There were things going on in my life at that time that this particular song seemed to be zeroing in on. I thought…wow, this is for me. This is speaking to me in a way that possibly no one else in the restaurant could understand. That song was “Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve.

So I started thinking…what is it about music that touches a person? And why suddenly can you hear a song and believe it is speaking, for some mystic reason, directly to you? I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I began framing THE FIVE right there in the CPK. A band down on its luck, having suffered many hardships, struggling from one gig to another trying to make ends meet…and suddenly they are part of a larger picture they can’t understand, but they are presented with an opportunity and a path they come to feel they need to follow.

I hope THE FIVE finds a large readership. I do believe it’s the best book I’ve ever written, because it has so much of “me” in it. Not to sound big-headed about that, but THE FIVE was written from a very personal place. So I do hope the emotions and passion in it—and my love for music—translate well to other people.

Let me also talk a little bit about RIDER. Wow, what a journey this has been from SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD! In RIDER, we leave a cold and snowy New York for a trip to a mysterious island in the Bermudas, where Matthew meets…

Yes, you got it. Matthew meets Professor Fell, face to…face?

I will tell you that Professor Fell has summoned—another word for ‘kidnapped’—Matthew for the purpose of solving a problem. The professor needs, as he puts it, a ‘providence rider’—a scout, to seek out a trail—so in essence Matthew is the providence rider of the title, working for Professor Fell among a conference of very colorful and deadly criminals.

The next book I’m working on?

Okay.

It’s going to be a big science fiction/horror novel. I’ve been convinced that readers are eager for my return to doing some kind of contemporary ‘horror’ novel, but I want it to be big and different and have a worldwide scale. I want it to have meaning beyond being a simple scarefest or pot of gore. So…I’ve come up with the idea and the theme and I’ll begin work on that in October. Well…as you can tell, I’ve already started work on it, putting the characters and the scenes together. But the actual writing will begin in October.

After that, Matthew returns. That next book is put together—mostly—and takes place in the hot and swampy Carolina colony in the summer. So get your tarsoap ready to keep the mosquitoes off, make sure your torch is burning bright, and beware the creature that—

Teasers are such a bitch, aren’t they? Heh.

I do have a lot more work to do. As I’ve said before, I write books I want to read. I am blessed that others want to read them too, and get something from them. I have been really blessed to know that many readers feel connected to me through my work, not only in the States but around the world, and so we come back to the idea of a work of ideas speaking to someone, giving them a message or a pat on the back or a word of encouragement as well as—hopefully—a good story to be enjoyed.

There are changes in the works regarding the website and my Facebook page. I’m going to become more involved with both. All praise, of course, goes to Hunter Goatley for keeping things going and for being such a vital presence in my career. Also…for being such an excellent friend. Hunter has really gone the distance for me, and every day he shows his value as a cheerleader and supporter of my work. Thank you, Hunter!

So there are many new things coming, as well as some changes and some surprises. We’ll have some new videos coming up soon and some other cool stuff. Please keep checking back in to see what’s going on.

It’s almost summer! Time to put on the shades, because the future is awesomely bright!

Take care, everyone, and happy reading!

Best Wishes,

Robert McCammon

The Five, which Stephen King says “isn’t just Robert McCammon’s best novel in years; it’s his best novel ever…” has been sent to the printer, on schedule for a late May release. You can head over to the book’s page to check out the full-color endsheets and one of the interior illustrations by Vincent Chong. (These are exclusive to the Limited and Lettered Editions.)

As we’ve mentioned before, we’re flying Mr. McCammon in to sign and inscribe copies of The Five for readers. The deadline to get in a request for an inscription is May 1, 2011. You may order flat signed copies up until signing day—we’ll let everyone know the date once that’s firmed up.

Subterranean Press has posted a new McCammon update:

The Five

As we near sending Robert McCammon’s The Five, an epic thriller with a supernatural backbone, to the printer, early reviews and blurbs are starting to come in.

We couldn’t be happier.

The first, an unsolicited note from Stephen King:

“The Five isn’t just Robert McCammon’s best novel in years; it’s his best novel ever. Terrifying, suspenseful, unputdownable, and full of rock and roll energy. It’s also uplifting, a book you’ll finish feeling better about your world, your friends, and your music. Here’s one you’ll beg friends to read.”

Second, in a coveted starred review from Publishers Weekly:

“McCammon (Mister Slaughter) delivers a complex, mind-blowing story of a rock band’s last days… Steeped in rock history, infused with power and passion, and laced with psychological horror and razor-sharp tension, this is not an easy read, but a memorable one.”

The Five is right on schedule for its May release. We’re waiting on the author’s final round of corrections, and for Vincent Chong to put the finishing touches on the full-color endsheets and interior illustrations that will be exclusive to the Signed Limited and Lettered Editions.

Don’t miss out on what’s shaping up to be one of the finest suspense novels of the year! Check out the first chapter, and remember, signed and inscribed copies are available. Check out The Five’s page for the full details or to read the excerpt.

You can read the complete Publishers Weekly review on the PW website.

  • Subterranean Press has posted the cover art for The Five. You can click on the image below to see a larger version.
  • Robert McCammon’s Bram-Stoker Award-winning short story “The Deep End” will be reprinted later this year in a new anthology entitled Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters. The book is edited by John Langan and Paul Tremblay. It will be published in November 2011 as a trade paperback by Prime Books. The full Table of Contents for the book can be found here.
  • Fan Kazuki Tamada sent in another illustration inspired by The Wolf’s Hour. You can see the image on Kazuki’s Fan Art page or click on the image below.
  • I recently acquired a copy of the trade hardcover edition of Mister Slaughter that has a full-page, original remarque done by Vincent Chong. I’ve added a scan of the image to the Book Cover Gallery.

 

 

Subterranean Press is now accepting pre-orders for Robert McCammon’s new collection of Michael Gallatin stories, The Hunter from the Woods.
Michael Gallatin should be well-known to readers as the main character in The Wolf’s Hour.

You can pre-order The Hunter from the Woods by clicking here.

 

The Hunter from the Woods

by Robert McCammon

(pre-order—coming in November)

Dust jacket and interior
illustrations by Vincent Chong

 

Subterranean Press is proud to present a series of all new adventures, including several novelettes and novellas, set both pre- and post- Robert McCammon’s classic novel, The Wolf’s Hour. Our edition of that novel sold out on publication, and we had to turn away orders for over 400 copies. The Wolf’s Hour has been steadily climbing in price on the secondary market—we’ve now seen copies going for over $200. Place your order for The Hunter from the Woods now to lock in a copy.

 

*** 

The Hunter from the Woods marks the much-anticipated return of Michael Gallatin, the lycanthropic hero of Robert McCammon’s 1989 classic, The Wolf’s Hour. These all-new, interlinked stories offer a full measure of McCammon’s trademark narrative excitement, and comprise a fascinating composite portrait of a unique fictional creation.

The volume opens with a pair of brief glimpses into Michael’s early life in Russia and his initial recruitment into the British Secret Service. It ends with a haunting vision of the werewolf at twilight. In between, McCammon gives us three stellar novellas depicting different phases of Michael’s long, brutal war against Nazi Germany. “Sea Chase” is a nautical tale about the hazards of transporting a defecting German scientist to a place of sanctuary in England. “The Wolf and the Eagle” is the account of an unlikely friendship between rival men of action and a harrowing portrayal of a lethal forced march through the North African desert. “The Room at the Bottom of the Stairs” tells of an impossible,
ultimately tragic love affair set in the embattled city of Berlin during the latter stages of the war.

Erotic, visceral, and filled with moments of desolating horror and unexpected warmth, The Hunter from the Woods is a triumph of imaginative storytelling. Like the best of McCammon’s earlier work, it offers intelligent, world-class entertainment. In the process, it shines a welcome new light on one of the most uncommon heroes in contemporary fiction.

Limited: 1000 signed numbered hardcover copies — $75

Lettered: 26 signed leatherbound copies, housed in a custom traycase — $250

Table of Contents

  • The Great White Way
  • The Man From London
  • Sea Chase
  • The Wolf and the Eagle
  • The Room at the Bottom of the Stairs
  • Death of a Hunter

 

You can pre-order The Hunter from the Woods by clicking here.

  • Kazuki Tamada sent in another piece of artwork, this one inspired by Robert McCammon’s The Wolf’s Hour. You can view the art here or click on the image to the right. Look for more art from Kazuki soon….

  • Mister Slaughter is now available in ebook form for the Nook from Barnes & Noble. You can purchase it here.

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