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    Gone South
    Gone South
    Gone South
    Audiobook (abridged)3 hours

    Gone South

    Written by Robert McCammon

    Narrated by Will Patton

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    It was hell's season, and the air smelled of burning children....

    With “one of the most arresting first sentences in contemporary writing” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Robert McCammon unfurls his visionary masterpiece of survival, redemption, and the astonishing transformations love can create.

    Gone South chronicles a desperate man’s journey through a desperate land, in “a gothic picaresque that mixes gritty plot and black comedy...a smoothly constructed and satisfying story” (The Wall Street Journal).

    Flooded by memories, poisoned by Agent Orange, Dan Lambert kills a man in a moment of fear and fury—and changes his life forever. Pursued by police and bounty hunters, Dan flees south toward the Louisiana bayous. In the swamplands he meets Arden Halliday, a young woman who bears the vivid burdens of her own past, and who is searching for a legendary faith healer called the Bright Girl. Looking for simple kindness in a world that rarely shows it, bound by a loyalty stronger than love, Dan and Arden set off on a journey of relentless suspense and impassioned discovery...over dark, twisting waterways into the mysterious depths of the human heart.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateOct 18, 2011
    ISBN9781442349230
    Author

    Robert McCammon

    Robert McCammon is the New York Times bestselling author of Boy’s Life and Gone South, among many critically acclaimed works of fiction, with millions of copies of his novels in print. He is a recipient of the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award, the Grand Master Award from the World Horror Convention, and is a World Fantasy Award winner. He lives in Alabama. Visit the author at RobertMcCammon.com.

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    Reviews for Gone South

    4/5

    213 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      There's something for everybody here: suspense, a little shoot-'em-up, some dark humor, and great characters, each of whom are struggling with some pretty heavy personal demons. I sympathized with Dan, was just a bit incredulous about Flint, had to smile at poor ol' Eisley, and just loved Arden and Train. It's a very good read.
    • 4/5
      Gone South by Robert R McCammon was published in 1992 is 392 pages long.Dan Lambert is a Vietnam vet down on his luck. He's divorced, out of work, and sick. His bills are piling up and he is several months behind on his truck payment. When he goes to the bank to speak to the loan manager about working something out so he can keep his truck, he finds a world of trouble. The new bank manager won't give Dan any breathing room and Dan loses his temper. Before it's all said and done a man is killed and Dan is on the run.Dan's plan is to leave the country. Along the way, Dan's situation goes from bad to worse. A reward has been placed for his capture and two bounty hunters, as well as cops from all over are on the lookout for Dan.Dan also meets up with some other folks in need of help and in search of their own peace.Arden, born with a birthmark that has made her life miserable is in search of a faith healer that will heal her. When her path intersects with Dan's ,the two of them start on a journey that will hopefully see them finding the love and purpose and peace they are looking for - If they make it there that is.I've only read one other book by Robert R. McCammon and that was some years ago. (I do vividly remember parts of it of though .) This one sounded a lot different from anything else he had written and I wasn't really sure if I would like this one.The author's work is often placed in the "horror" genre, but this book is NOT horror or fantasy. Actually, I don't know what genre it is really. Basically, it was just good story. Perhaps, a little adventure, some action, some criminal activity, and some drama. In the end, there is an awesome happily ever after.I buddy read this book with my husband. We both liked it a lot. We were a little perplexed because we kept waiting for some kind of supernatural type occurance that never came. But, the story was very interesting. There as never much of a dull moment. If you like feel good stories that appeal to everyone, you will like this one.
    • 2/5
      It's gotta be me.I see this book getting constant rave reviews. I remember expressing concern to a friend when it first came out. "It'll never measure up to Boy's Life," I said. I was told that it not only held up, but was better.

      So I read it back then. I was disappointed.

      Almost twenty-five years later, I gave it a second go.

      What you have to understand is, there are very few novels like Boy's Life. The story, the characters, the setting, the time, the dialogue, the narrative, the word choice...all of it was absolutely magical. It was so many miles above the other novels that McCammon had released to that point that I'd almost swear it was a different author.

      For me, reading Gone South reinforces the belief that McCammon didn't write that previous novel. Because, for me, this one just dropped right back down to his regular output.

      For me, Gone South simply doesn't go anywhere. It's another road novel, much like Mine, though that one, to my mind, was better. It's got very damaged characters, much like Swan Song though again, that book did them better. I didn't even mind that the promise of the ending wasn't held up. I can take that.

      What I couldn't take was Flint and Clint, and Pelvis. I'm sorry, I couldn't get past the stupidity of these two characters. Hell, I could even muster up a modicum of sympathy for Pelvis, but Flint and Clint simply didn't need to be the way they were. It didn't serve the story.

      And the story itself, though present as Dan's, really ended up more Arden's.

      Bottom line, McCammon is a good enough author to make this book work at a basic level, but there was, at least for me, no wonder and no magic.

      Again, maybe it's just me.
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars!

      I loved this book!

      It's a story of a sick, struggling Vietnam vet who "loses it" when he is denied a loan extension at the bank. That's all I'm going to say about the plot other than general observations.

      The characters in the book are truly unique. I wager that you've never met characters like these in any other book, no matter how well read you may be.

      This story is serious while also being quite funny and adventurous. This is also a spiritual story, which I find to be true of almost every single Robert McCammon book.

      If you are a fan of Mr. McCammon, you are sure to enjoy this novel. If you have never read any of Mr. McCammon's works, this would be an excellent place to start. This story has everything: love, hate, anger, disappointment, and most importantly, redemption.

      I give this novel my highest recommendation! Please do yourself a favor and read it!
    • 5/5
      I'm not worthy of reviewing this book. A modern classic. Enough said.
    • 3/5
      The start of the book had information about a down and out Vietnam vet who screws up in the worse way possible - he kills someone and then runs. It was very depressing, I guess well done, but not what I was in the mood to read, or what I expected from the horror writer Robert McCammon. The story switched focus to a couple bounty hunters that were chasing the Vietnam Vet. This section was a comedy - actually very hilarious stuff, but again - not what I was thinking I was getting myself into. The two story lines kept switching back and forth - the Vietnam vet hooking up with a woman who was looking for someone; and the bounty hunters. At the end of each section, I felt bummed that the storyline switched - wanting to stay with the characters. Of course the bounty hunters caught up with the veteran, and with a few others, the story came to an ending that was - as I said about Robert McCammon in other reviews: adequate.
    • 3/5
      Gone South is a bit of a departure from Robert McCammon’s usual horror fare. The story is part adventure, part fantasy (at least hinted at), and strongly character centric. Dan Lambert is a Vietnam vet slowly dying of Agent Orange. After his wife leaves him, and the bank is going to repossess his truck, his sole source of income, he freaks out and kills the bank loan officer. He then goes on the run, and is being tracked by a pair of strange bounty hunters – one who has the unformed arm and head of his unseparated twin and the other an Elvis Presley impersonator. On the way, Lambert links up Arden, a pretty girl with a disfiguring birth mark. They go deep into the swamplands of Florida searching for a legendary faith healer. In the process they are chased by drug dealers.McCammon did a nice job with the characters in this novel. Despite the horrible act committed by Lambert, he’s a very sympathetic figure. Even though you know he should pay for his crime, he comes off as honorable and kind. He selflessly tries to help Arden. The bounty hunters are also likeable characters. What this novel mostly suffers from is a lack of believability. Some of the action is a bit hard to swallow. The writing is strong, which is what I would expect from McCammon. Although not up to par with his other work, I would recommend Gone South.Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
    • 4/5
      "Gone South" starts on familiar enough ground: a Vietnam veteran with a terminal disease, trapped by poverty and divorce, lashes out and kills someone, then goes on the run.It is the places he runs to, and the people who pursue him, that take this tale out of the dreariness of ordinary life into a modern quest.Although the story rocks along at a good pace, the characters we meet on the ride are sketched with depth and sympathy. And the ending deftly avoids the twin traps of anticlimax and disbelief.
    • 5/5
      A very atmospheric book. I have never been to the swamp lands of the deep South, but this was the next best thing. The ending felt disappointing initially, but on reflection I thought it was done very well.