Usher's Passing

”There were dark blue hollows beneath his eyes, his lips were gray and slack, and the cheap brown suit he wore was blotched with mud and mildew. The front of his white linen shirt and his tattered black ascot was dappled with sherry stains; his frayed cuffs shot out of the coat like a poor schoolboy’s. He radiated the heat of fever, and as he shivered in a sudden chill he lay down his pen and put a trembling hand to his brow; his dark hair was damp with sweat, and tiny beads of moisture in h [...]

Well this was one bizarre and creepy book! Rix Usher comes back home because his father is dying. He's been away from some years writing horror stories under a pen name. He hasn't wanted anything to do with his wacko family. Rix sister Katt is there but she comes as goes as she's a model making her own fortune. His brother Boone lives there with his wife Puddin'. Boone is an arse btw. And they all live in the house with their mother and father. The Usher's are rich beyond reason as they own Ushe [...]

Okay, this book made me a fan of this author. I was sort of convinced by his previous material, and thought this book was okay for the first half, but then it took off. I mean it really took off. The ending felt like it moved faster and faster with surprise punch after surprise. Nothing was what I thought it was going to be.What began as a trip down Fall of the House of Usher memory lane for Poe fans quickly spiraled into something else entirely. Rix, the protagonist, travels home to his family [...]

This book is so, so, so good. The story is so suspenseful. The characters are great and the background of the Ushers is so awesome. It's a hard one to put down once you get into it.

There are so many things that I could comment on with Robert McCammon's books. I think what stands out the most, is the fact that his endings never disappoint--they live up to the expectations set during the course of the entire storyline. Absolutely riveting book that will remain a constant on my "favorites" shelves.*Latest reading ended October 1st, 2016 (although technically our October group read, I spent most of the past week in doctor's offices/hospitals with the kiddos, so much reading wa [...]

Cover of the 1985 Ballantine mass-market I have. But I prefer the later editions with the Rowena Morrill J. Thiesen art:My friends keep informing me that there's something deeply, deeply wrong with me since I'm kind of "meh" on the McCammon I've read (other than Boy's Life), so I figured that if this southern gothic-seeming novel taking place in a mansion in the North Carolina mountains doesn't work for me, nothing of his will.

This is a book about a very dysfunctional family and the curses that they lived with. The main focus of the story deals with Rix Usher. Rix is a horror writer, who wants to make it on his own. Rix is a outcast of his family and wants nothing to do with the family fortune. Rix, is called back to Usherland, because his father is dying. You add some creepy monsters and a scary abandon house, which holds many dark secrets and much more. McCammon, pulls everything together, weaving the past and the p [...]

“Spiritual darkness. Moral darkness. Blasphemy and decay.” His eyes closed. “Poe’s tale may have been fiction, Rix, but it cut very close to the bone. The Ushers have everything. Everything. But they are dead in their souls.”This was supposed to be part of my Halloween Reads 2017 but missed the October dateline by a whole week, due to the shortage of time and the book’s length (416 pages, not exactly a doorstopper but this kind of length takes me one or two weeks depending on free ti [...]

Robert McCammon, Where have you been all my life! I know, forgive me, I just found out how fucking amazing Robert McCammon is as a writer! He's literally Astounding. His style is a no nonsense, pull you in And keep you wanting more.Even though Ushers passing is the first and only book of his I've ever read in my life. I'm a new fan and will be looking for more of his book's in the future! I love the cover works to the paperbacks in the original late 1970s/1980s vibe I'm a total sucker for that.U [...]

'Usher's Passing' was a fun drive-in movie. If gentle reader, you know what a drive-in movie means, then maybe you are as ancient as me and maybe we both are out of the range of the age group who would enjoy this book. I found the book lacking in one area - the writing. For me, it was too pedestrian. However, the gothic plot was full of mystery and scares! It is a grand October read, perfect for creating the mood before going to a Halloween Haunted House! An ancient unsavory family, skeletons in [...]

So all in all I wish I had liked this book more. I loved Robert McCammon's other work I read, "Boy's Life". I thought this book would be more like that, instead it was not as engaging and I ultimately did not feel connected to one character in this book.Usher's Passing starts off with an Usher confronting Edgar Allen Poe and how that man came close to revealing the secret of the Ushers. I got to the ending and I am still at a lost everyone how Poe was anywhere near the reveal that was the ending [...]

As one famous review of Sense and Sensibility once read: "This novel is goth as fuck." I might be misremembering that, but THIS novel, by the always reliable Robert McCammon, is indeed gothic as fuck. Inspired by a famous Poe story: check. Huge old mansion in a deep rural area: check. Which sits next to a huge, scary, lodge filled with secret passages, hidden rooms, and dead ends, and more? Which sits next to a burned out zoo AND a graveyard on the mountainside? Which sit below a comet-blasted, [...]

Robert R. McCammon has got to be one of the greatest storytellers I've ever had the pleasure of being introduced to. The quality of his work never ceases to amaze me the way he can just draw you right in and create such realistic characters and sweeping dramas that don't feel like it's taking as long to get through as the book actually is (especially when you're listening to the audiobook version). It's amazing to me. As a writer, I'm humbled, astounded with admiration, and intimidated by this [...]

Un gran bel racconto di orrore gotico che parte dall'idea iniziale che la famiglia Usher, descritta da Edgar Allan Poe nel suo stupendo "La caduta della casa degli Usher", fortunatamente presente ad inizio volume e che é stato un vero piacere rileggere dopo piú di vent'anni, sia esistita realmente. Dopo un prologo iniziale in cui il fratello di Roderick e Madeline Usher rintraccia in una bettola Poe e lo accusa di avere gettato fango sulla sua famiglia, il racconto fa un salto in avanti nel pr [...]

This was quite a ride. I'm not sure how McCammon came up with all of this from reading Poe's story, but I have to give him tons of credit for his imagination as he really crafted a great story here.The twists and turns never stopped coming, and that ending was not predictable at all. Well, part of it was simply from reading the original Poe story, but the big revelations were not. There were a few things I was curious about, such as the origins of the "good" magic, and a little more backstory on [...]

"The Fall of the House of Usher" is arguably one of Poe's most Gothic stories, a tale of hereditary doom that might be tricky for the reader to get into but also quite likely to haunt the imagination thereafter. McCammon takes a risk in crafting a story so obviously inspired by Poe's classic story but he succeeds in crafting a contemporary Gothic tale with strong horror elements.The first chapter of the novel starts things on a strong note, presenting a fascinatingly sinister picture of one of t [...]

Wow…really, that’s all I can say just as I finished my first McCammon novel. Wow!What a brilliant story teller! There was so much going on, but the author kept it simple yet complex. McCammon writes so effortlessly, weaving a brilliant and intricate tale with several story lines and flashbacks, all with a perfect pitch and level of interest and mystery. (I love the mountain lore and concept of the Pumpkin Man!) Every single one of his characters evolves throughout the novel, each carrying hi [...]

Written as a sort of sequel to The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe's tale, while not being an account of actual events, comes so close that Roderick Usher's brother accuses Poe of copying the true events.Fast Forward to the 1980s and near Asheville, NC the location of the Usher estate, known simply as The Lodge, where the Ushers have lived for centuries. The location is reminiscent of the Biltmore estate in Asheville although only as the location for the tale.The horror writer Rix Usher (obvious [...]

I finally skimmed the last 100 pages or so. It wasn't bad but I wouldn't recommend it when there are so many 4-5 star novels out there. If you're looking for a McCammon read, don't start with this one. Pick up Boy's Life or Swan Song.

A very odd book. So many different people and strange things going on, but it all pulls together at the end and everything is explained.

3.5 actually. An interesting story but it was a bit slow for my tastes. Next up is Swan Songally looking forward to this one.

Robert R. McCammon uses the word phantasmagoric no less than three times in this book. This is a word that I wasn't readily familiar with, but my husband, who was a horror book nut in the late 70's and all through the 80's, knew this word well. It must have been part of trend of the time.For those two of you out there that may not recognize this word, let me enlighten you (from Merriam-Webster):Full Definition of PHANTASMAGORIA1 : an exhibition of optical effects and illusions 2 a: a constantly [...]

I have loved McCammon's book. I find they read so beautifully. But for some unfathomable reason I had never picked up UP. The tale follows the story of the Usher family, made so famous in Poe's haunting story.This book is written so well, and manages to flip between different time periods and different protagonists stories in a way that truly enhances a wonderful story. The characters are written so well, fully formed and manage to surprise.I absolutely loved this book, and can't recommend highl [...]

Great horror story. Picking up right after "The Fall of the House of Usher", it covers the next hundred years through flashbacks while taking place in present time. This book had witches, warlocks, mountain people, a black panther, a haunted house. rotting corpses, blood, guts, a freakshow agent, howitzers, a magic stick, a maserati, pies, and even a word processor. I almost gave it a 5 star. A Goodread.

I really dug this story!

I couldn’t have picked a better book to read around Halloween. This one just has that perfect combination of a spooky old mansion, a tie in to a Poe novel, a villain called the Pumpkin Man, a man eating beast that roams the forest surrounding our spooky mansion, witcheswarlocksyou name it it’s there and all placed in a beautifully described Gothic setting that only McCammon can pull off. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. My only complaint is that it slows down a bit in the middle and I found m [...]

Ten billion dollarsfor a small change of dietplus, a magic stick.

The year is 1847, and a man’s search for Edgar Allen Poe sets the stage for the story’s connection to Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher. The man is Hudson Usher, brother to the deceased Roderick of Fall fame. He is looking for the author in order to ascertain how much Poe truly knows about his family. Poe, sick, drunk, near to death, recalls that he may have read something of the family’s misfortunes, but the story mirrors things in his own mind and soul. Hudson leaves, satisfied that his [...]

McCammon takes Poe’s eerie, atmospheric story, THE FALL OF THE HOUSE O OF USHER and builds upon it, creating a fine homage to one of the pillars of genre fiction. The Poe story is thin on action and contains no backstory on the Ushers or the peculiar malady that afflicts them. McCammon supplies this in USHER'S PASSING and rereading Poe’s classic tale after reading McCammon’s novel improves the experience of reading that 160 year old story.McCammon builds a plausible, modern story around th [...]

This was one of my favorite books in middle school. Would like to find a copy to reread. It's an interesting twist on the Poe story, The Fall of the House of Usher, which I also love.