Swan Song

By: Robert R. McCammon

Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte

Length: 34 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

"We're about to cross the point of no return. God help us; we're flying in the dark, and we don't know where the hell we're going."

Facing down an unprecedented malevolent enemy, the government responds with a nuclear attack. America as it was is gone forever, and now every citizen - from the president of the United States to the homeless on the streets of New York City - will fight for survival.

Swan Song is Robert McCammon's prescient and shocking vision of a post-apocalyptic nation, a grand epic of terror and, ultimately, renewal.

In a wasteland born of rage and fear, populated by monstrous creatures and marauding armies, earth's last survivors have been drawn into the final battle between good and evil, that will decide the fate of humanity. They include Sister, who discovers a strange and transformative glass artifact in the destroyed Manhattan streets... Joshua Hutchins, the pro wrestler who takes refuge from the nuclear fallout at a Nebraska gas station... and Swan, a young girl possessing special powers, who travels alongside Josh to a Missouri town where healing and recovery can begin with Swan's gifts. But the ancient force behind earth's devastation is scouring the walking wounded for recruits for its relentless army, beginning with Swan herself.

Please note: Two chapters were originally missing from Part 2 of this book. We were alerted to the problem on 11/21/11 and have corrected it. We're very sorry for any inconvenience. If you had already downloaded the book, don’t worry - your library has automatically updated with the corrected version. Simply re-download from your library, at no additional cost, to get the complete book.

©2009 Robert McCammon (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

A Great Post Apocalyptic Thriller/Horror

This is a great book! I love it and it is one of my favorite books. I have read this book numerous times over the years. I bought the book when it came out back in 1987. I was so excited when I found it on Audible and got it as soon as I saw it. It is every bit as good as reading it yourself.

The book is well written and keeps your interest during the entire ride. He portrays the characters so well that it allows the reader to bond with them. Which is no easy task. I have read many books that were good, but were missing that aspect to them. When you are able to form a bond with characters in a book, it makes the story all that much more memorable.

This is a great post apocalyptic story. This story takes place after a nuclear holocaust, well before zombies took over every post apocalyptic story (not that I don't enjoy a good zombie story). Those of us that grew up in the 80's will understand the tension between the US and Russia at that time. and how plausible this scenario could have been. This story explains just enough to describe how the missles were launched without delving into any political stuff, which is very refreshing.

Tom Stechschulte does an excellent job at narrating it. He brings life to the characters and their personalities. He uses distinct voices and accents to portray the characters so that as soon as he begins speaking a part, you know exactly what character is speaking. I will say that his portrayal of them didn't match what my imagination had rendered while reading the book, but he did such a great job assigning the voices and accents that his version is all that I hear in my head now and they fit.

Once again, great book and great narration!

I Highly Recommend it!

A book I couldn’t wait to finish

This is one of those books that I struggled to get through, only so I could find out how it ends. The book had a supernatural undertone to it that made the storyline a little weird. I don’t know factually accurate the book is, especially in describing the aftermath of the nuclear attack. overall, a decent story.

Narrator was amazing!!!

loved the characters and the story. I didn't love the ending, but didn't hate it either. This book is absolutely worth reading or listening to.

Great story but worst narrator I’ve ever listened to

The story line kept me listening but my ears were bleeding. His inflections, excited utterances and accents were god awful.

Superb apocalyptic fantasy

Wow--how could I have never come across this book before? A big thank you to Audible for drawing this one to my attention. This is a massive, epic book about the end of the world (as it existed in 1987). Instantly reminiscent of Stephen King's The Stand, Swan Song draws readers into a post-apocalyptic landscape where only the strong survive. With a massive cast of characters to navigate, narrator Tom Stechschulte does a masterful job of presenting each one with his/her own personality and voice. Amazing job! This is a long book, and it's not always fun to listen to; the world of Swan Song is pretty dark. But in the end, the message of hope comes through, and the interplay of fast-paced action scenes with slower, more contemplative interludes provides a nice pacing to the story. Robert McCammon rides a perfect balance between realism and fantasy in this amazing book. Highly recommended!

Best book ive read in years.

You won't be able to hear "Here we go round the mullberry bush" again with out getting the heebeejeebees. Very original book,great naration,keeps you on the edge of your seat. This would make a great movie.

Great Book

I read this book years ago and still have it. Glad it finally came out on audio. I listen to it and going to again. I am sure I miss some of it the first time around. Great listener. Hope more of his books come out on audio too.

Too much fantasy, narrator mediocre

I have red a number of post-apocalyptic novels and as far as these go, I found Swan's song very mediocre. It just doesn't feel like a possible scenario and all characters are black or white

This is one of my faves!

I loved this story. It gripped me, seriously. I cared about all of the protagonists, and worried over their fates. I actually would get to my destination and keep listening with my mp3 player in the car, to find out what happened next. And esp. if you get it in this 4.95 sale, you will be bagging a deal. It's a wonderful story, don't miss out.

I AGREE WITH EVERYONE ELSE .....

This awesome book came out at around the same time as Stephen King's THE STAND, which is another classic I would love to see in Audible. Athough Swan Song is totally different to 'the Stand, it is somehow along the same lines, although Swan Song is more original and totally engrossing from the first to the last word. There are many surprises and nothing goes the way you expect it to. It is the best fictional book I ever read.