Swan Song And The Stand


This was originally posted 10/10/09. I'm reposting it with some corrections and some new quotes. In other words. . . this is the complete and uncut version of this article! I love both these novels!
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A King Like Review Of SWAN SONG:
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In The Library Policeman, Liberian Mrs. Lortz give realtor Sam Peebles a hefty dose of reality. In response to his suggestion that her signs might be a bit harsh -- over the top -- she responds by telling him what kids really read. "According to the poll. . . Their favorite novel was a paperback original called Swan Song. It's a horror novel by a man named Robert Mccammon. We can't keep it in stock, Sam. They read each new copy to rags in weeks. I had a copy put in Vinabind, but of course, it was stolen. By one of the bad children." Four Past Midnight, The Library Policeman, p. 431 (HB)
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Now, that's pretty close to a good review -- in the world of Stephen King. If a prudish librarian doesn't like the book -- it's must be good. She probably wouldn't like Dracula, either.
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Swan Song and the Original Edition of The Stand:
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Swan Song, by Robert Mccammon, is often compared to Stephen King's The Stand. Of course, when it was written the world only knew of the old version of The Stand. King had not yet shown his full hand on this masterpiece.
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Swan Song Stands On It's Own!
I should point out that Swan Song stands on its own. It is not a rip-off of The Stand. It moves in its own directions. Mccammon is no hack! There's an interesting blog entry titled, "Swan Song is Not Like The Stand." The author writes, "I was perusing McCammon’s Facebook page and one of his fans posted a question asking (I’m paraphrasing) the author why he never really discussed Swan Song. McCammon answered that it was because when the novel was originally released there were critics who lambasted the novel for being similar to King’s."
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I agree with his sentiments as further stated: "McCammon’s novel is a quality read and is good enough to stand up on its own; it is unfortunate that McCammon should feel shameful for writing such a great book and always have to go on the defensive every time Swan Song is brought up in conversation. The criticism should instead be directed towards the critics who were so unimaginative that they could not differentiate between the scenarios of McCammon’s to those of Stephen King."
http://readingwriting.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/swan-song-is-not-like-the-stand/
Comparing The Two
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By comparing the two novels, I am not saying they are the same! I am not suggesting either author took ideas or themes from the other. I am simply pointing out some common things between the novels. Like comparing Salem's Lot to Dracula.
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It is interesting for me to note how personally intertwined these books are for me. In fact, when I first posted this article, I noted that both The Stand and Swan Song have sympathetic black female characters. Some of you rightly pointed out the error of my way! Sister Creep isn't black! That startled me. How had I made that mistake? Well, the answer was simple: I had recently read The Stand, and Mother Abigail was on my mind. Sister -- Mother . . . somehow she was a street-smart mother Abigail in my imagination.
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Both novels are long, sweeping novels of good and evil. The primary difference I noted was the way in which each author got rid of the bulk of society. Mccammon used nukes. King used the "super-flu." Years ahead of Swine Flu or SARS, he imagined a world wide plague that would devastate the countryside.
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By the way, note the importance of women in both novels. In Swan Song it's Sister Creep, and, of course, in The Stand it's Mother Abigail. God is also a main character in both novels!
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Of interest: King does not use nukes to end the world, but they do play a critical part in the plot. It is Trashcan man who brings the nukes to Vegas, and God himself who pushes the button.
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King never moves into high places. He doesn't concern us too much with the government (except when Stu is taken captive). The story is told simply from the views of the main characters. But Mccammon takes is right into the oval office and Air Force One. I like the president in Swan Song.
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Brian Schwartz at You're entitled to my opinion writes, "It’s not hard to see the influence of Stephen King. There are too many parallels between The Stand and Swan Song. That does not diminish the power of this story, its characters, or the barren wasteland that is America after it is nuked. While the stories are similar, the characters are remarkably different. Besides, a tale can be retold in a number of ways and be enjoyable." http://brian1984books.blogspot.com/2006/05/swan-song-by-robert-mccammon.html
I do wonder if Mccammon was inspired by The Stand. So which one's better? Why bother -- both are worth multiple readings.
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Craigs Book Club rightly notes, "Epic in scope, Swan Song approaches 1000 pages. This may turn some off, but the pages are full and not a word is wasted. Fans of The Stand may scoff at the similar plot, but I can say that, even as a fan of The Stand myself, I was able to lose myself in this horrible world and forget all about Stephen King's."
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Available Editions:
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Strangely, I went to look for a hardcover copy of Swan Song, since the paperback was experiencing a pretty ugly death. But Pocketbooks offers no hardcover that I can find. Turns out there is a hardcover edition from Dark Harvest. Back in the day, it was $21.95. Now, it's looking more like $147 to $943 -- IF you can find it.
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In fact, a book this good begs a questions:
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1. Where's the audio edition?
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2. Where's the movie? (mini-series) The Stand mini-series will soon become dated. Maybe it's time to give Mccammon's novel a shot (instead of remaking The Stand).
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Differences:
Again, Brian at yourentitledtomyopinion, pointed out some itneresting differences between the two novles in the area of landscape. He has done some great work reviewing these two books.
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he writes: What sends The Stand above and beyond the others is the deconstruction of society that unfolds in the first third of the book. In Matheson’s tale, some of that deconstruction is told in flashback. In Swan Song, society is wiped out in an instant by a nuclear blast. King’s book starts with men lazing about a small town Texas gas station. As the flu spreads, we read as Americans first become suspicious that what is happening is more than your average flu epidemic. That suspicion turns into fear as the Army begins quarantining cities and killing those who resist. Finally, with their ranks decimated by the flu, the military gives way to the mobs who also eventually succumb to the virus."
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and:
"Another striking difference in The Stand versus other post-apocalyptic fiction is the quiet beauty of the post-apocalyptic world. McCammon’s world is scorched. Matheson’s is haunted. Cormac McCarthy paints an even bleaker picture in his book, The Road where the world is dead and covered in gray ash."
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http://brian1984books.blogspot.com/2006/05/swan-song-by-robert-mccammon.html
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See also: Swan Song Is Not Like The Stand: http://readingwriting.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/swan-song-is-not-like-the-stand/

Please feel free to add in the comments section any similarities you see between the two books.

19 comments:

  1. I just heard a piece about the so called swine flu on the radio. The news readers' name was Kevin Tripp!

    Norm

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  2. Both books refer to a bible verse about seeing through a glass darkly. It's an obscure enough term that it makes me wonder how it ended up in both books.

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  3. It comes from 1 Corinthians 13, which is read OFTEN at weddings and public events, since it's the famous "love" chapter.

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  4. It might be interesting to consider King's IT (1986), Koontz's STRANGERS (1986), and McCammons SWAN SONG (1987) since they were written so closely together, are all three apocalyptic visions bringing together a crucial set of characters to understand/combat/defeat a threat. Reading them in sequence might reveal some intriguing parallels.

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  5. I've been a fan of Stephen King's "The Stand" since its release; moreso with the release of the unabridged edition. Having now read the unabridged version some 17 times, it is still by far my favorite of King's books, all of which I enjoy to varying degrees. I have a disabling chronic illness, and the unabridged edition of "The Stand" is the one book that consistently accompanies me to the hospital when I know I'm likely to be there for more than a night or two.

    Until a little over a month ago, I had somehow been unaware of the existence of Robert McCammon's "Swan Song". I finally began reading that novel two days ago and am now nearing its end. Although quite long, it is extremely compelling; so much so that you lose yourself in the book and forget the passage of time. The main reason for my post is to alert those who are unaware of the fact that the book is now available on Amazon in Kindle format and can be found here. Fortunately, you do not need to purchase a Kindle to enjoy this version (which should be sturdier than either paperback or hardbound edition, although lacking somewhat when it comes to the feel of "curling up with a good book"). Amazon now has a version of the Kindle software which will allow you to read the book on your PC. For bibliophiles who have never experienced Kindle for themselves, I have one warning. It is very addictive to have such a large number of books at your fingertips available for download in sixty seconds or less. Personally, I feel like the proverbial kid in a candy shop, and only reminding myself of my other financial obligations keeps me from downloading book after book. Also, one note regarding the price of the Kindle version of "Swan Song". As I wrote this, I went Amazon's site and found the digital version of the book priced at $13.99. I bought it myself on March 18, 2010 for only $6.39, so if you have financial constraints of your own, you may want to watch and wait a bit to see if the book returns to its previous, lower price. In my experience with buying from Amazon, their prices can vary (sometimes wildly and with no apparent reason) from day to day. Hope this somewhat long-winded post is of some help to those who are searching for a means of reading this excellent novel.

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  6. Dr. Collings,

    I had never considered the Koontz connection. I only read the first few chapters of Strangers before losing the rugged paperback I'd been dragging around. Perhaps it's time I re-examined Koontz.

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  7. Sepphira,

    that's awesome news about Kindle. I still wonder why Swan Song and The Stand have never been put to audio format.

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  8. How can anyone in their right mind call The Stand dated? Its a classic

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  9. Excellent post. I loved both books as well and feel that Swans Song easily stands on its own feet. Anyone that simply claims it is an imitation of The Stand obviously never gave it the time it deserves and must have based this on a generalized summery of the book (one that didn’t give the book much credit).

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  10. I'm in the process of reading Swan Song, and have found myself rolling my eyes quite a bit. FYI, I was unaware of the Swan Song / The Stand comparisons until I began reading Swan Song. I noticed the similarities on my own, very early on, and went looking for answers. It is aparent that McCammon was very heavily influenced by The Stand.

    First, the differences noted in this article are trivial. He wore a blue sweater here, but in THIS one it's a red sweater. He fell from a bridge in that one, he was hit by a bus in this one. It's legally distinct, sure, but still obviously not original.

    I'm a fan of apocalyptic novels, and while many of them have similar world-ending events and/or similar human struggles afterward, there has always been a vast difference in plot, characters, and just about everything else. Between Swan Song and The Stand, there are far too many similarities for coincidence. The primary antagonist of Swan Song is basically The Walkin' Dude wearing a different sweater.

    I'll continue reading it, and I hope at some point the stories diverge. If the walkin' man in black who likes movies starts recruiting an army of bad people with promises of the good life and intimidation and Sister Crackigail starts recruiting an army of good people through their dreams, I will be upset.

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  11. Two points...

    1) Swan Song is now available unabridged on audio from Audible.com.

    2) King wasn't exactly being super imaginative with his superflu... Swine flu dates back to 1918 and there was actually a big scare about it in 1976, around the time he was probably working on the novel.

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  12. When the prophecy of revelation starts to come to pass, perhaps God will be accused of copying both authors, but since John wrote it before they were born... God wins. As always :-)

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  13. I'm interested with this Swan Song. Hope to read this soon.

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  18. THERE ARE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO REALLY NEED TO CLUE IN TO THE FACT THAT THE STAND WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1978, SWAN SONG WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1987. I HAVE READ BOTH BOOKS COUNTLESS TIMES THE SIMILARITIES ARE SO OBVIOUSLY OUTRAGES THAT IT MAKES ME WANT TO PUKE! YEAH MCCAMMON IS A FINE WRITER, BUT AT WHAT PRICE!

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