Usher's Passing

4.5 Stars -- Great read from Robert McCammon! I won't say that this stands up to Swan Song or Boys Life, his classics, but this was definitely a great book from an author who, at the time, was branded a horror writer, and was finally finding his voice and stretching his wings. From all I've been hearing, his first four books (including They Thirst) are just okay. Nothing special. Then it was around the time Mystery Walk came out (which I've yet to read) was when the Robert we know now, started to bloom.This book hit all the right notes with me. I loved how awful the Usher family was. The more I hate characters, the better I love the book. It means it's doing its job! I enjoyed the historical moments, mainly when we see Rix studying in the library researching his ancestors, or hearing tales about mysterious family members. This books takes us back to the 1800s many times, to hear anecdotes about various Usher adventures. I loved the supernatural element also! Since I was blind going into this book, I wasn't sure what to expect and had no clue as to where the story was going to go. Every twist was a pleasant surprise. Speaking of twists, there were some plot twists in this book that my jaw hanging. One left me disappointed... not in the story itself, but disappointed in the character itself.I'm glad I got a chance to read this, it has been a long time coming. I've had this on my Kindle queue for a while. I couldn't have chosen a better time to read it, what a way to kick off the October horror season!

When I first started reading this book, I thought it would be a historical fiction novel featuring Edgar Allen Poe and the Usher family that he wrote about over a century ago. It turned out to be set in modern day. I was hoping for historical fiction given that McCammon is terrific as an author in that genre. Having said that, Usher’s Passing did not disappoint.It was an interesting and imaginative tale. In this world, the Usher family is one of the wealthiest in the world, with their fortune tied to the sale of arms. Rix Usher is the outcast of the family. He’s a horror writer (I imagine Robert McCammon put some elements of himself into this character). He’s vehemently against the family business but returns to their compound in North Carolina with his father dying. Although Rix doesn’t want anything to do with the family business, he wants to write an expose/history of the family in sordid detail. But what lurks beneath the surface is the supernatural and how the family has been able to achieve the fortune through ties with otherworldly forces.There are some nice twists and turns in this novel. The main baddie here is the Pumpkin Man, a supernatural character who has been abducting children for decades. When the reveal was finally made about the Pumpkin Man’s identity, I was surprised. It was a well delivered set up that made sense in retrospect but caught me off guard. I thought there was good character development in this novel, with a good many memorable characters. The writing was strong and purposeful. The supernatural elements mixed in well with the parts that were grounded in reality. My only negative was that I felt it dragged in certain parts and could have used some trimming to make it a tighter story.Carl Alves - author of The Invocation

I would have given this work four stars if had been of the same caliber of 'Stinger', but it seemed that even Mr. McCammon was not interested in the people or the story. In the first third of the work we weren't really sure what was going on or where the story was taking us. I continued reading because l love Mr. McCammon's work and I know his reputation for good storytelling. In second third of the work there was too much time spent on building the mystery. I became bored and again almost put the book down. By last third of the work I was hanging on every word. The pieces were coming together and author that I had come to know and love was back.I would only recommend this book to those that know Mr McCammon and have read other pieces. This is not a first book to introduce this author.

Ushers Passing seems to be a novel built around a single idea and a single denouement (which I won't reveal here). It's as if McCammon had one mental image of a situation, thought "thAt's cool!", then tried to build an entire novel around it, leading up to an admittedly exciting few pages of climax. I think it would have worked better as a large short story or novella - felt like I was slogging through excessive build up to get to the point.

I bought the paperback when it first came out and, not knowing where that book wound up, decided to read it again in Kindle. I'm glad I did, it's at least as creepy and atmospheric as I remembered. Having grown up in the TN /NC highlands, these sorts of tales were genuinely part and parcel of growing up, all manner of haints, hants and critters best left alone and undisturbed. Mr. McCammon nailed this story squarely, a great play off of Poe's tale, and just maybe off the Vanderbilts and Biltmore House (North Carolina, just outside of Asheville, unimaginably wealthy, gigantic houses, hard not to draw a comparison). Anyway, great story, one of my favorites! Get it, enjoy it!

What an amazing wild ride!!! This story is like a thrilling run away roller coaster ride. Never a dull or predictable moment. About a mostly insane billionaire family who lived on their own private mountain for 140 yrs . they made over the top guns and ammunition for military all over the world. But who will get to write a book about the family history and who will inherit the business and estate? But most importantly what has happened to the children who have gone missing every month since the turn of the 20th century?!!!

Robert R McAmmon wrote one of the best novels ever written, "Boys Life". Well "Ushers Passing" falls short of his greatest achievement it is still a very good book worthy of your time. This story took about 50 pages before it hooked me but once it did I could not put it down. I have never read a book by this writer that was bad but this one is in the top 75 percent. One of the best writers of his generation. I recommend this book.

A great read. Those who like Stephen King will like McCammon. Hard to second guess where the story is going and although fiction the storyline is plausable too.

riveting story will suck you in so you can t put this book down mccammon is one of the best authors simply out standing

A very well written, page-turner of a book. It was scary but effective. A superior kind of psychological thriller with supernatural overtones.

I love this book and have read it many times. The story has many twists and turns in it and has a powerful shock ending. It weaves a magic spell as it flicks back to the past to inform Rix (and us) of his families history and his own legacy to come. Easy but thoroughly engrossing reading. Highly recommended.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

I really enjoyed this story, It was suspenseful and had some slightly ghoulish aspects which worked well. Some of the final answers were surprising twists that I didn't expect and I am now keen to read the book that inspired this particular story.