The Providence Rider - Robert McCammon

   2012; 516 pages.  Book 4 (out of 10) in the “Matthew Corbett” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Historical Fiction; Colonial America; Thriller.  Overall Rating: 8*/10.

 

    New York City, 1703 CE.  Someone is blowing up buildings!

 

    Whoever’s doing it is also painting graffiti on walls next to be exploding buildings.  Actually, the graffiti is rather minimal: just a single name: MATTHEW CORBETT.  It’s logical to suppose that’s the perpetrator, bragging about his crimes.

 

    When Matthew Corbett arrives upon the scene, he’s quite astonished to see his name scrawled on the walls.  He knows he’s not the arsonist, even if others in the crowd are giving him distrustful looks.  He’s more than ready to start investigating the crimes, and an obvious question is already giving him a starting point.

 

    Why is the real perpetrator painting Matthew’s name on a nearby wall each time he blows up a building?

 

What’s To Like...

    The Providence Rider is the fourth book in Robert McCammon’s “Matthew Corbett” now-completed ten-book historical thriller series.  The riddle of Matthew’s name being in close proximity to blown-up buildings is readily solved and Matthew and two companions, Berry and Zed, quickly find themselves on a ship headed for Pendulum Island in the Bermudas.  Several shady characters accompany our heroes in order to make sure they don’t change their minds.

 

    An old adversary is there to greet Matthew when the ship reaches its destination, wanting him to do a sleuthing job, and promising him ample recompense.  I love it when good guys are persuaded to get in cahoots with bad guys.  The book’s title references Matthew’s acceptance of the job; “Providence Rider” is colonial slang for “Problem Solver”.  Not surprisingly, the straightforward assignment rapidly becomes more complex and dangerous.

 

    The Providence Rider is first a foremost a Historical Thriller, with lots of Action and Intrigue infused into it.  Things proceed at a rapid pace, with a bunch of baddies for Matthew to rub shoulders with, a couple of which are beautiful and deadly women.  The 34 chapters average out to about 15 pages/chapter and there are five drawings included which I thought added a nice touch.  Timewise, the story is set in 1703-04 CE, and I’m really loving this historical fiction series because of the rarely used era that it's set in.

 

    Things build to an exciting climax that, with everyone—good-guys and baddies alike— fleeing for their lives.  There are casualties amongst both the white-hats and the black-hats.  The scene then shifts back to New York, where several secondary plotlines are resolved, plus one major romantic one.  The tale closes with a teaser for the next book in the series.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Fearnaught (n.) : a thick, heavy, shaggy woolen overcoat.

Others: Puffet (n.).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.5*/5, based on 998 ratings and 171 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.24*/5, based on 3,517 ratings and 349 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “I may sit?”  Sirki motioned to a chair.  Matthew nodded again, though he was concerned about the chair’s survival.  Sirki eased himself into it and stretched out his long legs.  “Ah.  Now, I’m in . . . how would you say? . . . pig’s paradise?”

    “Hog heaven,” Matthew suggested.

    “Exactly.  Let me show you I have no weapons.”  Sirki lifted his arms, shrugged off his cloak, and patted around his midsection.

    “Do you need any?”

    This time a grin burst forth.  “No, I do not.”

    Matthew reasoned it was time to keep his mouth shut.  (loc. 842)

 

    “You had some trouble today.”  It was a statement of fact, as dry as the fish bones in the skeleton collection.

    “A mite,” Matthew allowed.

    “Hm.  One of my stone seahorses is missing from the library balcony.  Also the curtain cords are gone.  There is—was—a wine bottle on the ledge.  What can you tell me about that?”

    “Nothing.”  Matthew shrugged.  His heart was a furious drummer.  “Much.”

    “You shield your enemies.  Why?”

    “I take care of my own business.”

    “That’s admirable.  Stupid, possibly . . . but admirable.”  (loc. 3941)

 

Kindle Details…

    The Providence Rider sells for $11.99 right now at Amazon.  The rest of the books in the series generally range in price from $11.99 to $15.99, with occasional discounts on select e-books, usually to $2.99.  Robert McCammon has other series and standalone novels for your Kindle; they normally range in price anywhere from $2.99 to $11.99.

 

It was a good day, he decided, to not be a ghost.  (loc. 3651)

    I noted 19 cusswords in the first 20% of The Providence Rider, all of them being of the “milder 4-letter words” type.  Later on, there were a couple of f-bombs, plus some references to female dogs and posteriors, as well as one roll in the hay.  There were a couple of typos: assinine/asinine; whether/whither; was/were; and treel-imbs/tree-limbs; but these were sparse enough to not be distracting.  A number of mysterious “Kk” notations popped up between paragraphs, but I suspect this was more the fault of the conversion-to-Kindle software, not the author.

 

    Each character had his/her unique traits, but they were all either “all good” or “all evil”.  I’m partial to "gray" characters, but have to say it was interesting to watch white-hats and black-hats forced to cooperate with one another.  There weren’t a lot of plot twists, although that’s what you hire a Providence Rider to minimize.

 

    Enough of the quibbling.  For me The Providence Rider was a well-written page-turner, with oodles of action, intrigue, and skullduggery jumping up on almost every page.  Next up is The River of Souls, which is on my Kindle, awaiting my attention.  Stay tuned.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  There is a lifesaving scene in The Providence Rider that’s incredibly over-the-top.  It reminded me of an old James Bond movie where Pierce Brosnan jumps out of an airplane in mid-flight over mountains, without a parachute, and ends up somehow deftly skiing up to ski lodge café.  If you remember and enjoyed that Bondian antic, you'll love the one here.

Mister Slaughter - Robert McCammon

   2010; 440 pages.  Book 3 (out of 8) in the “Matthew Corbett” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Historical Fiction; Intrigue; Thriller.  Laurels : Goodreads Choice Award for 2010 Mystery & Thrillers (nominated).  Overall Rating: 9*/10.

 

    New York, 1702.

    Everybody already knows Mister Slaughter is a dangerous killer.  The courts in England want him delivered so they can give him a fair trial, and hang him afterward.

 

    Mister Slaughter currently is in the care of a sanitarium in Philadelphia.  New York has been chosen as the seaport that will extradite him to London, and Matthew Corbett and his mentor, Hudson Greathouse, have been assigned the task of taking a wagon to Philly and picking up the prisoner.

 

    They are quite aware of how dangerous this mission is, but it pays well.  Slaughter will be handcuffed, leg-cuffed, and forced to carry a heavy metal ball around that is chained to his shackles.  Matthew and Hudson will work as a team; one will drive the wagon while the other keeps a pistol cocked and aimed at Slaughter.  They can switch positions as needed.  I don’t see any way things can go wrong.

 

    But Mr. Slaughter can.

 

What’s To Like...

    Mister Slaughter is the third book in Robert McCammon’s “Matthew Corbett” historical thriller series, and so far I’ve been reading it in order.  The first two books were very exciting, and this one continues that streak.

 

    Mister Slaughter admits he’s killed frequently in the past, but always for good reason.  He’s aware of the fate awaiting him in London, and offers an alternative “win-win” solution to our two protagonists.  The reader gets to sit in the wagon alongside Matthew and Hudson and weigh Slaughter’s proposal versus directly delivering him to New York for the standard fee.  I love it when the baddie is just as clever and resourceful (if not more so) as the heroes.

 

    There are lots of other plot threads to keep things interesting.  Can Greathouse find enough money to buy a black slave’s freedom?  Does Slaughter really have access to the riches he claims?  What makes “Sutch’s Sausages” taste so mouthwateringly good?  Is High Constable Lillehorne’s wife (and several other women) playing hanky-panky with Dr. Mallory?  Who the heck is Sirki?

 

    The thriller aspect is done well.  I enjoyed trying to figure out Mr. Slaughter's angles, and Robert McCammon wove plenty of excitement and intrigue into the tale to keep my interest.  The historical aspect also kept me turning the pages.  New York City’s population in 1702 included lots of both English and Dutch settlers, since it had been a Dutch possession until about 40 years earlier.  There were also several Native American villages beyond the city limits, which play a key role in the tale, and I loved the attention Robert McCammon pays to realistically presenting their way of life.

 

    The ending was a two-stage affair, the first being suitably exciting and the second being suitably filled with intrigue.  Plot twists were plentiful in both finales.  The book’s main storyline—the fate of Mister Slaughter—is tied up nicely, and the series' main storyline—an earlier death sentence that has been imposed upon Matthew—edges him closer to his demise.  Mister Slaughter is told in the third-person POV, and is a standalone novel as well as part of a series.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Higgler (n.) : a peddler; a person who travels around selling small items.

Others: Bustarole (n.); Ferrago (n.).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.6*/5, based on 790 ratings and 188 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.32*/5, based on 3,993 ratings and 170 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    “Said suspect,” Greathouse continued reading, “also charged to stand in connection with the disappearances of Anne Yancey, Mary Clark, and Sarah Goldsmith and the concurrent robberies of their family estates, on or about August 1689 through March 1692, under the aliases of Count Edward Bowdewine, Lord John Finch and . . .”  He hesitated.  “Earl Anthony Lovejoy?”

    “I was so much younger then,” said Slaughter, with a slight shrug.  I had the imagination of youth.”

    “So you don’t deny any of this?”

    “I deny,” came the smooth answer, “that I am a common criminal.” (loc. 1399)

 

    He looked at Matthew and nodded.  “Someday you’ll see your world and not know it, and think it strange . . . monstrous, even.  And you and your Englishmen will yearn for what was lost, and never be able to find it again, for that is the demon’s trick.  To point the way forward, but to close the way back.”

    Matthew ventured, “I suppose that’s called progress.”

    “There is progress,” Walked agreed, “and there is rushing toward an illusion.  The first takes wisdom and a plan, the second can be done by any drunken fool.”  (loc. 3708)

 

Kindle Details…

    Mister Slaughter sells for $11.99 right now at Amazon.  The rest of the books in the series range in price from $11.99 to $15.99.  Robert McCammon has other series and standalone novels for the Kindle; they cost anywhere from $2.99 to $15.99.  He also offers several short stories for $1.99 apiece..

 

“But, dear sir, never blame the wind for wishing to blow.”  (loc. 1455)

    It’s hard to find things to quibble about in Mister Slaughter.  The cussing is moderate (12 instances in the first 10% of the book, and at least one f-bomb later on) but not distracting.  Thrillers inherently contain violence, and that is true here.

 

    There were a couple of typos, including Edmond/Edmund, curtsey/curtsy, and everytime/every time, but overall, the proofreading was good.  Annoyingly, there were no page numbers and the “time remaining” estimates were based on the six sections of the book, not the 35 chapters.  And a dog dies.

 

    But I pick at nits.  Based on the first two books, I had high expectations for Mister Slaughter, and it fully delivered.  There's lots of action, lots of intrigue, lots of twists, plus great character development—even for the secondary ones.  The story is capped off by a thrilling finish and a warning to Matthew to never let down his guard.

 

    What more can you ask for?

 

    9 Stars.  One last thing.  At the back of the book is a short section titled “Matthew Corbett’s World” wherein Robert McCammon details what’s accurate, and what’s inaccurate, in the settings and events used in Mister Slaughter.  I found it utterly enlightening.

Boy's Life - Robert McCammon

   1991 (although it was first copyrighted back in 1983); 611 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Horror; Fantasy; Coming-of-Age.  Laurels: World Fantasy Award – Best Novel (winner, 1992); Bram Stoker Award – Best Novel (winner, 1991).  Overall Rating : 10*/10.

 

    Robert R. McCammon’s Boy’s Life.  Wikipedia notes: “It is considered by readers and critics as his best novel”, and I gotta say there’s sufficient evidence to support that claim.

 

    It won the Bram Stoker Award, which is given by the Horror Writers Association, for Best Novel in 1991.  And yes, there are beasts and ghosts and things that go bump in the night, and some that even go bump in the daytime, in Boy’s Life.  But this is not primarily a horror story.

 

    It won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1992.  And yes, there are some magic moments, some timely spellcasting, and some aerial acrobatics reminiscent of the movie ET.  But this is not primarily a fantasy tale.

 

    Rather, I’d call Boy’s Life a coming-of-age novel.  The main character, Cory Mackenson, is a 12-year-old boy when the book opens, and grows to be a 13-year-old adult by the book's end.  Alas, 600-page coming-of-age books often get tedious along the way.

 

    Which is why the Horror and Fantasy elements make this such a fantastic book.

 

What’s To Like...

    Boy’s Life is set in the fictional small town of Zephyr, Alabama in 1964 and chronicles the strange goings-on there through the first-person POV of our protagonist, 12-year-old Cory, who’s actually writing all this in (his) present-day 1991.  Robert McCammon divides the story into four “seasonal” parts, plus an epilogue:

    a.) The Shades of Spring  (0%-22%)

    b.) A Summer of Devils and Angels  (22%-46%)

    c.) Burning Autumn  (46%-74%)

    d.) Winter’s Cold Truth  (74%-97%)

    e.) Zephyr as It is  (97%-99%)

 

    The primary storyline concerns Cory and his dad witnessing a car plunging into nearby Saxon Lake with a dead man at the wheel.  Cory’s father, Tom, becomes haunted by the brutal image of the corpse, and we tag along with Cory as he tries to solve the macabre mystery murder, all the while experiencing the life of a "tween-ager" hanging out with his friends and enjoying the “magic” that kids can see in life even when adults cannot.

 

    I loved the “feel” of life in America during the early 1960’s.  Cory was born in 1952; I was born two years earlier.  Zephyr is a little bitty place out in the boondocks of Alabama; I spent the first ten years of my life in a zero-traffic-light podunk town in Pennsylvania that had a total population of just over 200.  So, Boy’s Life resonated strongly with me.

 

    It was fun to go sleuthing alongside Cory: we both got fooled by a red herring or two; and when clues did unfold, they were often more mystifying than enlightening and occasionally spawned secondary plotlines.  But it was just as much of a blast to relive the life of a 12-year-old again by activities such as:

    playing sandlot baseball with friends,

    dealing with eccentric family members and boring social occasions,

    meeting a beautiful girl who doesn't flick boogers at you,

    collecting Civil War bubble-gum cards (I had some of those!),

    going to the movie theater to watch The Three Stooges.

 

    The storytelling is superb, and I was in awe of Robert McCammon’s ability to seamlessly blend Fantasy, Horror, Mystery-Solving, and Coming-of-Age genres.  I liked the “worry pebbles”, agreed with Cory’s opinion about wasps, and was saddened by how the evolution of the milk-delivery system impacted his dad.  I enjoyed meeting both “The Lady” and “Lucifer” (who's a monkey, not a demon).  The story of “Carl and Rebel” left a lump in my throat and I could relate to Cory's bicycle dying.

 

    There were also some serious topics touched upon in Boy’s Life.  The preacher’s raving about a demonic Beach Boys’ song (Go ahead, guess which one.  We’ll list it in the comments.) may seem silly at first, but I’ve seen frenzied fundamentalists burning records, and listened to dire warnings of how backward-masking rock-&-roll songs can turn you into a devil-worshipper.  And though the author is born and raised in Alabama, this book makes it clear what he thinks of segregation, the KKK, and burning crosses.

 

    The ending is filled with tension and suitably exciting, even though you know Cory will survive because, well, he’s writing this book.  All the plot threads are tied up, and even the escaped freak-show beast gets its fitting reward.  I guessed the “whydunit” correctly, although I was off as on the “whodunit” angle.  I found that trying to solve the various mysteries before Cory does is an exercise in futility; but keeping your eyes peeled for clues popping up is much more productive.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.7/5 based on 1,779 ratings.

    Goodreads: 4.36/5 based on 26,619 ratings and 2,964 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    We all start out knowing magic.  We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us.  We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand.  But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls.  We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out.  We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible.  Told to act our age.  Told to grow up, for God’s sake.  (loc. 59)

 

    I left Rocket to wait there, and I walked up the hill among the moon-splashed tombstones.  (…)  The white dead people lay on one side, the black dead people on the other.  It made sense that people who could not eat in the same café, swim in the same public pool, or shop in the same stores would not be happy being dead and buried within sight of each other.  Which made me want to ask Reverend Lovoy sometime if the Lady and the Moon Man would be going to the same heaven as Davy Ray.  If black people occupied the same heaven as white people, what was the point of eating in different cafes here on earth?  (loc. 7538)

 

Kindle Details…

    At the moment, you can pick up Boy’s Life for $11.99 at Amazon, although the author periodically offers it at a generous discount.  Robert McCammon has several other e-novels available at Amazon, ranging in price from $5.99 to $15.99, plus a couple of short stories for under $2 each.

 

The need to hear stories, or live lives other than our own for even the briefest moment, is the key to the magic that was born in our bones.  (loc. 533)

    It’s difficult to find anything to nitpick about in Boy’s Life.  There’s a fair amount of cussing throughout the book, but that's to be expected for this kind of tale.  There’s a slew of characters to meet and greet.  Some of them are important, others strut briefly across the stage and then are gone, never to return.  It might’ve been nice to have a “Cast of Characters” section at the front for reference, but I keep my own notes anyway, so this didn’t hinder me.  And finally, since Robert McCammon is a recognized top-tier Horror genre author, if you’re wanting the book to scare you poopless or gross you out, you might be disappointed.

 

    But I pick at nits.  For me, Boy’s Life was a fantastic novel, covering multiple genres, without any slow spots (it was an event-filled year for Cory), and with a perfect blend of excitement, drama, eeriness, and mystery-solving.  I’ve yet to any of Robert McCammon’s "genuine" Horror tales, but a couple of them are on my bookshelf, so I have no excuse not to read one of them in the near future.

 

    10 Stars.   A friend recommended Boy’s Life to me, citing it as being Robert McCammon at his best.  I took that as a challenge since I’ve read the first couple books of his Matthew Corbett series and given them all 9*/10 ratings.  It turns out my friend was right.

The Queen of Bedlam - Robert McCammon

   2007; 645 pages.  Book 2 (out of 7) in the “Matthew Corbett” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Historical Fiction; Murder Mystery; Intrigue.  Overall Rating : 9*/10.

    New York, in the year 1700.  We can’t quite call it New York City yet, since the population hasn’t even hit 5,000.  But it’s growing rapidly, and who knows, it might eventually grow to be as big as Boston or Philadelphia.

There are boatloads (literally) of new colonists coming to New York from England.  But there are also lots of Dutch colonists left over from when the town belonged to Holland, who called it New Amsterdam.  England took it over less than forty years ago.

    Matthew Corbett has been here for about three years now, having come up from the Carolina colony at the conclusion of his adventure down there, chronicled in Speaks The Nightbird and reviewed here and here.  He’s still a clerk, but now he works for the Magistrate Powers.  But his first love is solving mysteries and he's jokingly invented a new word to describe someone who goes about detecting clues to figure out who committed a crime: a “detective”.

    At present, he has a chance to put those “detecting skills” to good use, since someone recently slashed the throat of Dr. Godwin, a local physician.  Most likely it was some crazy person, since they also mutilated the doctor’s face.  It happened at night, out on a dark street, and if the madman has any sense (is that an oxymoron?), he’s probably skipped out to some other town.  Everybody in New York certainly hopes he has.

    But a respected merchant has just suffered the same fate, and when Matthew happens upon the scene right after the murder, it’s time once again for him to go detecting.

What’s To Like...

    The Queen of Bedlam is Book Two in this series, and like its predecessor, is equal parts Historical Fiction, Murder-Mystery, and Intrigue.  All three genres are masterfully done.  Most of the story takes place in New York and the surrounding countryside, but Matthew’s sleuthing will also take him on trips to Westerwicke, New Jersey and Philadelphia.  I found it fascinating to see how traveling on business trips was done back then.

    The character development – even secondary and bit-part ones – is exceptional.  Although for the most part you can tell who the good guys and the bad guys are, I liked that even Matthew has faults.  For instance, he's not nearly as good at tailing a suspect as he thinks he is.

    The depth of Robert McCammon’s research is revealed in the historical details, including visits to a brothel and a mental hospital.  I I enjoyed the glimpse of forensic science in 1700, and chuckled at Matthew’s “acid trip”, which could be described as both “very bad” or “very good”.  I’m always delighted when chess gets worked into a story, and was surprised that even a drag queen could make it into the tale.

    At one point Robert McCammon gives some literary nods to authors who apparently were popular in 1700, and I want to check them out to see if Amazon offers them as free e-books, since any copyrights have surely expired.  There’s also a bit of subtle humor sprinkled throughout the story, which gives some balance to the dark deeds going on.  For instance, we get a graphic illustration of a “bull in a china shop”, and Master Samuel Baiter makes a cameo appearance, when he's addressed by a slightly shorter version of his name.

    There are at least eight plot threads for Matthew (and the reader) to investigate.  1.) Who’s the Masker and why is he carving up people?  2.) Who killed an earlier victim?  3.) What’s troubling Reverend Wade?  4.) What’s the connection, if any, between the three (presumed) Masker victims?  5.) Who’s the Queen of Bedlam and what’s her story?  6.) How does Simon fit in?  7.) What’s the code in Ausley’s notebook mean?  8.) Who and where is Professor Fell?

    The ending is extended (a good fifty pages or more), exciting, packed with action, and suitably twisty.  I love it when not everything in the hero's plans goes smoothly.  The second-last chapter serves as an Epilogue to clear up a couple of the plot threads, and the final chapter serves as a teaser for the next book in the series.

    The Queen of Bedlam is a standalone novel, as well as part of a series.  I don’t think it’s necessary to read the books in order, although I’m doing so.

Excerpts...

    “What are they going to do to us?” (…)

    “They’re going to kill us,” he said.

    Berry stopped.  She stood gaping at him, her blue eyes scorching holes through his head, until Dahlgren gave her a shove that almost propelled her into Matthew. (…)

    “Kill us?” she gasped when she could speak.  “Kill us?  What have you got me into?”

    “An adventure,” he replied.  “I thought you liked those.”

    “I like adventures I can live through!”  (pg. 578)

    In this town of soon to be more than five thousand persons there was a governor who wore a dress, a reverend who loved a prostitute, a printmaster who could crack walnuts on his forehead, a high constable who had killed a boy, a magistrate who was once a tennis champion, a laundress who collected secrets, and a coroner who collected bones.  There was a barber who owned a squirrel named Sassafras, a tailor who could identify a dead man from a suit’s watch pocket, and a black giantess who would put aside her gittern just long enough to kill you.  (pg. 638)

Kewlest New Word ...

Bloatarian (n.) : someone who consumes significant amounts of brewed alcoholic beverages.

Others: Stoggered (adj.).  (both these words are borderline “made up” ones.)

“Spoken like someone who forgot to brush their brain this morning.”  (pg. 485 )

    It's hard to find anything to quibble about in The Queen of Bedlam.  There's a fair amount of cussing, but it fits the story’s dark tone and isn't excessive.  The subject of child molestation crops up, and there’s one instance of forced sex, wherein we learn the meaning of term “the nymph’s itch”.

    The titular Queen of Bedlam doesn’t enter the story until the halfway point; I suppose purists could cavil about that.  And for those who read Robert McCammon’s novels for their paranormal horror content, well, all we have here is a pig that can foretell disasters and a girl’s who is a bad luck magnet.

    Oh yeah, two birds and one farm animal die.

    9 Stars.  I found The Queen of Bedlam to be just as good as Speaks The Nightbird, and I quite liked that book.  I've yet to read any of Robert McCammon’s “horror” novels, and I’m quite curious to see whether he can do those with equal mastery.  But I’ve got three of the remaining five Matthew Corbett books on my Kindle, so I might just as easily concentrate on this series.

Speaks The Nightbird, Volume 2: Evil Unveiled - Robert McCammon

    2003; 418 pages.  Full Title: Speaks The Nightbird, Volume 2: Evil Unveiled.  Book 2 (or Chapter 24-44 in the newer, combined version of the book), out of the 5-book “Matthew Corbett” series.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Horror; Mystery; Witches; Demons; Suspense; Historical Fiction.  Overall Rating : 9*/10.

    Time is running out for Rachel Howarth.  She’s been tried by the magistrate, found guilty of being a witch, and will be burned at the stake five days hence.

    The magistrate’s young clerk, Matthew Corbett, believes Rachel is innocent, and is determined to prove it.  For that matter, he’s rather skeptical about the existence of witches at all.  Still, the evidence against Rachel is quite persuasive.

    For starters, both Rachel’s husband and Fount Royal’s minister have been murdered, clawed to death by an unknown beast, most likely some demon she summoned.  Then there are the various buildings in the town that have burnt to the ground, with the firefighting efforts seeming to have no effect on the infernos.  Surely this is the devil’s work.

    But the most damning evidence against Rachel are the sworn testimonies of three eyewitnesses, each of whom claims to have seen Rachel doing …um… nasty things with Satan himself.  None of the three give any indication that they’re lying, and one of them, little Violet Adams, is too young to think of such vile acts on her own.

    So Matthew has his work cut out for him, and not much time in which to do it.  And for the remaining townspeople of Fount Royal, who are watching their fledgling village turn into a ghost town due to that accursed witch, the five days until the burning at the stake can’t pass by soon enough.

What’s To Like...

    First off, let’s clarify things about this book.  It was originally written as two separate volumes, of which Speaks The Nightbird, Evil Unveiled is Volume 2.  The first volume, Speaks the Nightbird, Judgment of the Witch, is reviewed here.  The two volumes have since been combined into one book, and if you buy Speaks The Nightbird as a new book nowadays, you’ll get this combined version.  OTOH, if you pick it up in a used-book store, like I did, you could get either the combined book or one of the two individual volumes.

    The setting is the Carolina Colony in 1699, the same as in Book 1.  That one ended with lots of questions and no answers yet revealed.  The questions are:

    a.) Who is burning down the buildings in Fount Royal?

    b.) Who Is framing Rachel as a witch?

    c.) Is the Evil in Fount Royal of Natural or Supernatural origin?

    d.) Why is singing heard when Satan allegedly visits, and who’s singing?

    e.) Where did the innkeeper Shawcombe disappear to?

    f.) How did an Indian come into possession of a Spanish-minted gold coin?

       Robert McCammon wastes little time in starting to answer these in Evil Unveiled, and it’s fun for the reader to walk alongside Matthew, trying to make sense of all the weird things going on.  There are 21 chapters to cover 418 pages (chapters 24 thru 44 in the combined version), or if you’re reading it in your Kindle (I was), it starts at 55% in the combined book.  I once again was delighted  by the "Is it Natural or Supernatural?" aspect of the mystery, and I'll not give any spoilers about that here.

    I was again fascinated by the meticulous attention to historical detail.  But in addition to that, I liked the glimpse of the state of medical science back then.  The poor magistrate is at Death’s door, and the town doctor uses the latest medical practices to try to heal him.  Alas, these are things like leeches, a heat-&-vacuum blood treatment, applying a plaster, and last but definitely not least, something called a colonic.  I’ll spare you the details of this last one; let’s just say you’ll have a greater appreciation of the strides that have been made in the last 400 years in the medical field.

    I liked the inclusion of “Greek Fire”, whose composition is truly a lost secret in History.  There’s some French again, which I always appreciate, although I have to nitpick at the phrase “La Florida”.  It’s “La Floride.”  I'm presuming that Spellchecker is at fault for that typo.  Chess once again makes an appearance, and this time with an opening move (with a pawn), which is more in line with opening theory, such as it was in 1699.

    There’s a fair amount of cussing, which fits in appropriately with the frontier setting, one roll in the hay, and one instance of brutal torture.  Evil Unveiled, aka “Part 2”, is not a standalone novel, but most likely you’ll be reading the combined version, which is a complete and self-contained tale.

Kewlest New Word...

Grisard (n.) : a grayish-black color (French).

Others : Vulpine (adj.); Luffing (v.); .); Cattawago (n., and a word not found anywhere else on the Internet except this book).

Excerpts...

    “What can you tell us of the witch?  Does she weep and wail at the prospect of burning?”

    The stew he was about to swallow had suddenly sprouted thorns and lodged in his throat.  “Mrs. Vaughan,” he said, as politely as possible, “if you don’t mind … I would prefer not to talk about Rachel Howarth.”

    Suddenly Cherise looked at him and grinned, her blue eyes gleaming.  “Oh, that is a subject I find of interest!”  Her voice was pleasingly melodic, but there was a wickedly sharp edge to it as well.  “Do tell us about the witch, sir!  Is it true she shits toad-frogs?”  (loc. 8834)

    “Everyone goes on,” he repeated, with a taint of bitter mockery.  “Oh, yes.  They go on.  With crippled spirits and broken ideals, they do go on.  And with the passage of years they forget what crippled and broke them.  They accept it grandly as they grow older, as if crippling and breaking were gifts from a king.  Then those same hopeful spirits and large ideals in younger souls are viewed as stupid, and petty … and things to be crippled and broken, because everyone does go on.”  (loc. 10471)

Kindle Details...

    The e-book version of Speaks The Nightbird (the combined version) is presently on sale at Amazon, for a mere $1.99.  The other books in the Matthew Corbett series go for $6.99, except for Book 2, The Queen of Bedlam, which sells for a whopping $13.99.  Robert McCammon has other books in the Horror genre as well; these e-books are all in the price range of $1.99-$10.99.  If you have patience, the author graciously and periodically puts a lot of these e-books on sale for $1.99, except for the other books in this series.  I should know, I’ve been keeping an eye out for those.

If this was indeed Hell, (…) no wonder everyone was in such a fever to make their reservations.  (loc. 11357)

   The quibbles are minor and mostly technical in nature.  It took me a couple chapters to remember which characters had done what in the first volume.  But their various roles came back to me quickly, and hey, if I’d  read the combined version, or hadn't waited two months to read Volume 2, this wouldn’t’ve been an issue.

    The page-numbering system doesn't work in the second half of the “combined” Kindle version.  Book 1 is okay, but Book 2 starts out at page 484, and never moves from there.  Yeah, I know.  Picky, picky.

    In a similar vein, the number of pages listed for each version seem contradictory.  The paperback format says it has 816 pages, which makes sense: a pair of 400+ page books combined.  But Amazon says the Kindle version only has 500 pages, while the “Mass Market” paperback has 482 pages.  Amazon doesn’t tell you how many pages are in the Hardcover version, but Barnes & Noble says there are 726 pages in it.  That’s quite a variance if you're trying to make sure you're getting the combined story.

    None of this has anything to do Robert MaCammon’s fine storytelling and writing skills.  The only nit I can pick in that regard is that it seemed like the thread involving the innkeeper, Shawcombe, didn't seem to contribute anything to the storyline, and its resolution seemed to occur a tad bit too conveniently.  But hey, Tolkien had his equally irrelevant Tom Bombadil tangent, and nobody, including me, gripes about that.

    9 Stars.  Same as for Book 1, Judgment of the Witch.   For me, this was a great introduction to Robert McCammon’s novels.  I have a couple more on my Kindle, and also one on my TBR shelf.  And here’s hoping the author will someday break from his current pattern, and occasionally discount the other books in the Matthew Corbett series.

Speaks The Nightbird, Volume 1: Judgment of the Witch - Robert McCammon

    2002; 483 pages.  Full Title: Speaks The Nightbird, Volume 1: Judgment Of The Witch.  Book 1 (or ½), of the 6-book “Matthew Corbett” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Horror; Mystery; Witches; Suspense; Historical Fiction.  Overall Rating : 9*/10.

    The Carolina town of Fount Royal is dying, and everyone who still remains there knows why.

    Yes, people are succumbing left and right to the swamp plague.  So are the animals.  To say nothing of those two murders.  Plus the miserable jungle-like weather that seems to keep the sun from shining, which is ruining the crops.  But all of those things are effects, not causes.

    The cause is “her”.  The witch.  And the sooner she is hanged or burned at the stake – it doesn’t really matter which method is used now, does it? – the sooner the curse that is afflicting Fount Royal will end.

    But the town’s residents are civilized, law-abiding people.  The witch is in jail, and she's entitled to a fair and speedy trial.  It should only take a day at the most, after which she’ll be found guilty and sentenced to death.  So somebody get busy making the stake, chopping the wood, and lighting torches, cuz there’s gonna be a public burning real soon.  All that’s lacking is a judge.

    And he’s on his way from Charles Town.  He should be here any day now.

What’s To Like...

    Speaks The Nightbird – Volume 1: Judgment Of The Witch takes place in 1699, a few years after the onset of the Salem Witch Trials in New England.  The fictional (ANAICT) Fount Royal is a day or two's ride outside of the larger city of Charles Town, now modern-day Charleston, South Carolina. Back in those days there was no “North” or “South” Carolina, it was just the single colony.

    Robert McCammon is first and foremost a writer of the horror genre, but to be honest, I was more transfixed by the historical fiction aspect of Speaks The Nightbird.  When’s the last time you read a book that was set anywhere in American in 1699?  The attention to historical detail here is amazing, with now-archaic things like “toss ‘em boys” (a food), “black flaggers” (pirates), slide groat and wicket (boys’ games in those days), and the Spanish method of rolling tobacco leaves into cigars.

    The horror/mystery/thriller aspect of the book is just as good.  The fundamental question is whether the odd goings-on in Fount Royal are natural or supernatural in origin.  I very much enjoy books that keep you guessing about this.  Preston & Child employ the same motif in their Agent Pendergast series, and I’m a fan of them, too.

    I was impressed by the character development.  Our protagonist, Matthew Corbett, a young clerk and the assistant to the magistrate, is a fascinating study.  But the other major characters – the witch, the magistrate, Fount Royal’s founder, et al. – are also interesting people to meet and get to know.  As for the baddies, well, I can’t tell you anything about them because, other than Exodus Jerusalem (who may be more of a shyster than a baddie), they haven’t been identified yet.  More on this in a bit.

    The detailed descriptions conveyed to me a real “feel” for life in America in 1699.  I still haven’t figured out who-or-what “Jack One-Eye” is, but the “toss ‘em boys” food was explained on page 83, ditto for the enigmatic title on page 459.  I chuckled at the medicinal smoking of hemp on page 265; it is a rare treat to encounter some subtle humor in a horror story.  I also liked the chess game on page 193.  My only quibble is the assertion that Matthew’s first move was with one of his knights.  While not impossible, it would be rare for either player making their first move with anything but a pawn in 1699.  Still, Matthew says he was self-taught, so perhaps that explains his odd choice.

    The trial (technically. a hearing) begins on page 219.  The testimony against the accused witch is compelling; even Matthew is forced to admit that.  There is a lot of cussing and explicit sex, so you probably don't want little Tommy or Suzy reading this book.  None of the threads are tied up, but the book ends at a suitably-chosen spot.

Kewlest New Word...

Toss ‘em Boys (n.; phrase) : greasy roast chicken, so named because of the manner in which the fowl is caught.  Google it..

Others : Caliginous (adj.); Sippet (n.).

Excerpts...

    “Alice Barrow has taken to bed as well.”

    “Alice Barrow?”  Bidwell turned from the window to face the other man.  “Is she ailing?”

    “I had cause to visit John Swaine this morning,” Winston said.  “According to Cass Swaine, Alice Barrow has told several persons that she’s been suffering dreams of the Dark Man.  The dreams have so terrified her that she will not leave her bed.”

    Bidwell gave an exasperated snort.  “And so she’s spreading them like rancid butter on scones, is that it?”

    “It seems to be.”  (pg. 57)

    “How old are you?”

    “Twenty years.”

    “Have you always been so curious?”

    “Yes,” he answered.  “Always.”

    “From what I saw today, the magistrate doesn’t appreciate your curiosity.”

    Matthew said, “He appreciates the truth.  Sometimes we arrive at it from different routes.”  (pg. 281)

“Better the company of wolves than the cryin’ of saints.”  (pg. 29)

   Speaks The Nightbird, Volume 1 is not a standalone story, despite being 28 chapters and 483 pages long.  Normally I’d carp about that, but in researching this book, I discovered that if you pick this up new nowadays, you’ll find it to be 800+ pages in length, and is actually Volumes 1 and 2 combined.  That includes the e-book version.

   So it appears I have a very early edition of the book (the publisher is Pocket Books).  Indeed, the blurb in the back exhorts the reader to be sure not to miss Speaks The Nightbird, Volume 2: Evil Unveiled, which is/was "coming out next month”.

   

    Which means the only thing I have left to quibble about is the Wikipedia entry for Robert McCammon.  It really needs to be updated and fleshed out a bit.  The author has issued at least one more book since the Wikipedia article was last updated.

    9 Stars.  Frankly, if the only thing I can gripe about is the author’s Wikipedia page, you just know I thoroughly enjoyed the book.  Highly recommended, and that's from someone who doesn’t read much in the horror genre.  My OCD will demand that I read “Volume 2” at some point in the near future.