The River of Souls

Matthew Corbett, Book 5

By: Robert R. McCammon

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The year is 1703. The place: The Carolina settlement of Charles Town. Matthew Corbett, professional 'problem solver,' has accepted a lucrative, if unusual, commission: Escorting a beautiful woman to a fancy dress ball.

What should be a pleasant assignment takes a darker turn when Matthew becomes involved in a murder investigation. A sixteen-year-old girl has been stabbed to death on the grounds of a local plantation. The suspected killer is a slave who has escaped, with two family members, into the dubious protection of a nearby swamp. Troubled by certain discrepancies and determined to see some sort of justice done, Matthew joins the hunt for the runaway slaves. He embarks on a treacherous journey up the Solstice River, also known as the River of Souls. He discovers that something born of the swamp has joined the hunt...and is stalking the hunters with more than murder in mind.

What follows is a shattering ordeal encompassing snakes, alligators, exiled savages, mythical beasts, and ordinary human treachery. The journey up the River of Souls will test Matthew's courage, commitment, and powers of endurance. It will also lead him to a confrontation with a figure from his recent past, which will alter Matthew's life, setting the stage for the next installment in this compulsively readable series.

Gripping, unsettling, and richly atmospheric, The River of Souls is a masterful historical adventure and a major addition to Robert McCammon's extraordinary body of work. Featuring the continuing exploits of a young hero USA Today has called 'the Early American James Bond.'

©2014 The McCammon Corporation (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

The adventures of Matthew Corbett continue.

McCammom fifth episode of the young problem solver is excellent. I look forward to the next novel.

Corbett just gets better and better!

the story was shorter than the other series titles but no less thrilling. my only lament was that exodus Jerusalem still has yet to be punched right in his stuff prick face. hoping that happens......Robert? please?

Great performance, good story, very weak ending

Took a bit to get started, but amazed at the narrator's performance. Honestly though, the ending seemed unnecessary and tacked on. Other than that, and enjoyable story.

Another terrific storyline!

This story is very good but not great. Nonetheless I enjoyed it thoroughly and know that over the years it will be well worth repeat readings.

Disappointed

I love the Matthew Corbett series but this last publication is very disappointing. The story is trite and the evil characters are recycled from other books in the series. It was almost as if the publisher demanded Mr. McCammon write something, anything.

This is the first McCammon novel that has disappointed and it won't stop me from buying others. However, I'd rather have waited another year from a really good story than to have gotten this disappointing offering.

Flawed but remains a satisfying page-turner

Reviews that complain about the story line ending abruptly or at least without resolution ring true. It does seem painfully obvious that this was a book finished against a deadline, or suffering from some other deficit. But the story itself is vintage McCammon and Matthew Corbett.

The secret of the crying baby and the monster (not a spoiler) is a more satisfying one than the corresponding secret in Speaks the Nightbird - where "secret" = the explanation for the seemingly supernatural and evil lurking force. Magnus Muldoon's character development is as good as any in the series.

The return to Charles Town gave the story a chance to map back to the first book in the series in interesting and clever ways.

Most importantly for me, i finished this in a hurry because it held my attention as a page-turner and I missed it, kept wanting to go back to the storyline for days after hearing the intoning "Audible hopes you have enjoyed this program." I did.

That's It?

I waited a while after listening to this before I wrote a review, because my disappointment was extreme when this one ended. That was partly due to the length of the story - it's short, compared to the earlier entries in the series - but also due to the rather flimsy content.

Just when things would start getting REALLY weird and interesting in one of the previous books, this one just...ended. On a cliffhanger. After a series of events that felt contrived and silly. Man-eating alligators? Quicksand? Amnesia? Really?

There were still some positives here: as usual, the characters are good, the plot is swift, the writing draws you in. Robert McCammon is a good writer, Edoardo Ballerini is a fabulous narrator, you won't get bored.

There were also more negatives: where the earlier books give us meaningful struggles and fascinating character arcs, this one was just a series of implausible and ridiculous pitfalls. There's no satisfying conclusion to any of it - it was all so much sound and fury that served to set up the NEXT book, which promises to be more interesting. I'll chalk this one up to a bad year and look forward to the next entry.

To make this review more useful, I have some recommendations:

1) If you love everything Robert McCammon has ever written, you'll be a little disappointed by the length, but will overall enjoy this story and look forward to the next entry. Get this book!

2) If you like this series, but aren't interested in, or didn't like, anything else by McCammon: proceed with caution. This has nothing but its essential McCammoniness to recommend it.

3) If you only liked a few books in this series: skip this one. If you decide to read the next one, just read the last two chapters of "River of Souls" and you'll be good to go.

4) If you haven't read anything by Robert McCammon: I suggest you try "Speaks the Nightbird," the first book in this series, which is excellent!

I'm Glad It Was Shorter

If you could sum up The River of Souls in three words, what would they be?

Sad, Scary, Engrossing

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

McCammon always keeps you on the edge. In fact, he's a little exhausting that way.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

He's a top notch narrator with a fine voice and just the right amount of dramatic flair.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Once again, it's McCammon. At the very least, you're going to wince.

Any additional comments?

I hesitated to order this one, because I could see it was a lot shorter. But I gave in because I love the series and my curiosity got the better of me. Once I had listened to it, I realized it was a bit of a relief to have a shorter story in this series. McCammon doesn't pull his punches. If he's trying to convince me that the 18th Century was a time of wonders and horrors, he's doing a great job, but 18 hours of that can be kind of trying. Worthwhile, but yowza.

Short book...

I love the story line, but I do feel this one was cut rather short. Without giving away the plot, I feel like the story could have gone longer at the end.

Mixed feelings

Short book for the series but the way it ends had me all feeling bad for Mathew I was hoping to be motivated to listen to the next couple books in the series to see if they are able to take down proff fell but I don’t know now. This book story will make you want to slap Mathew many times. Was really enjoying the series until this book, cmon mr mccammon why did it have to go this route