What do You think about Blue World (1990)?
The BasicsBlue World is a collection of short stories and one novella, all of which seem to be from McCammon’s early career. They’re all mostly horror/thriller and run the gamut on subject matter.My ThoughtsI hate books like this. A story collection is meant to be a balanced read where each story is a cool, little nugget you enjoyed on some level. So that by the end of the journey, you feel that the overall experience was worth it. What it’s not supposed to be is what this collection was. A couple of good stories, a great novella, and then a whole lotta weak stuff. So that by the end, you’re trying to figure out if you even want to keep this thing or not.A lot of these stories felt like tales I’d heard before, only done better by someone else (“Nightcrawlers” and “Pin”). They were bleak in ways that weren’t scary or profound, just empty (“He’ll Come Knocking At Your Door” and “I Scream Man!”). Some were grasping for heights they missed by a long shot (“Chico” and “Yellachile’s Cage”). Stories that should’ve been good and all missed the mark by varying margins.Were there gems? Of course! Were they worth reading the entire book for? That’s where I’m struggling. “Doom City” was a really unique look at an apocalypse setting, or maybe even a hell setting, and the fact that I can’t figure out which it is promotes the story even more. “Something Passed By” had that apocalypse magic, as well. “Night Calls the Green Falcon” is a strong story, especially if you’re a comic book fan, with emphasis on something like Watchmen.Finally, the novella for which the book is named, “Blue World”, was the strongest story of the bunch, in my opinion. The fact that it takes up half the book means that it feels more significant than the rest, and thank all that is good, else this book would’ve been a two star endeavor. It was more about characters than it was about being thrilling, and it gave me what the internet refers to as “feels”. It wasn’t entirely perfect, but after sloughing through the rest of the collection, it felt like a breath of fresh air.I can no longer tell if this is a recommendation or not. Which is why, I repeat, I hate books like this.Final Rating3/5
—Quill
If you read horror, you'd have to have been in suspended animation not to have heard of Robert McCammon. A veritable writing machine, with bestsellers like They Thirst, Night Boat, Stinger, and Swan Song, the man has virtually rewritten the horror genre from whole cloth. (There are some who say he's rewritten Stephen King and done it better.) His new novel just hit the stands as I write this; called Mine, it has no outlandish or fantastic events, just good old aberrant human psychology. The publisher is hoping that it will appeal to the same people who make Thomas Harris a rich man. I think it's a good bet. McCammon's novels are daunting, though, large and epic, what my buddy Tad Williams would term "Winnebagos of a book" (of course, that's the pot calling the kettle black). Luckily, for those interested in dipping their toes into the McCammon river there's a book that just fits the bill: Blue World, a short story collection including "Nightcrawlers" (which was filmed for the revival of The Twilight Zone), "He'll Come Knocking at Your Door," "Night Calls the Green Falcon," the title novella and nine others. Stories like "Yellowjacket Summer," a cross between King's fog from "The Mist" and that Twilight Zone classic "It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby, in which a town is held captive by a lone boy and thousands of stinging insects; the life affirming "Yellachile's Cage," a heartfelt story about prison life and hope; and "The Red House," a story of escape from the small town--literally and figuratively. For those of you that missed the episode of The Twilight Zone in which "Nightcrawlers" aired, run! don't walk to your nearest bookstore and read this story. Instead of giving the story away, let me give you a list of elements diverse and weird, yet all fitting together in this one story: Vietnam, a small Florida diner, nightmares, tourists, ghosts, guilt, fear. And, for those that wonder what makes a good story even better, the best example is the story "Blue World" itself. A priest who learns that lust is something you never rise above, a porn star who discovers real friendship, and a gun-happy star-fucker out to blow away his every fantasy make a strange threesome in this tale of sex, God, and hope. Beginning with all the trappings of the most graphic splatter story ever, it twists in on itself until what you thought wouldn't happen does and what you were afraid might happen, doesn't. McCammon is in complete control, upsetting the applecart of your expectations but serving a fine applesauce with the results.
—Glen Engel-Cox
Re-reading "Blue World," I was reminded of why it's such a pity McCammon doesn't write more than he does."Blue World" is a collection of 12 short stories spanning McCammon's career, and one novella. The stories are all worth reading, offering up a good variety of material, from the frightening ("Yellowjacket Summer") to the disturbing ("Pin") to the sublime (the novella, "Blue World").What this collection brings to mind most, however, is McCammon's skill at setting a mood. He tells a great story, but very few writers can set the stage better than McCammon. While reading "Yellowjacket Summer" the reader can't help but feel the oppressive heat prevalent throughout the story, and how the characters must have felt experiencing that same heat. In "Blue World," he captures equally well the quiet of that soft twilight, just before full dark. In "Night Calls the Green Falcon" one can really feel and understand the frustration and the impotence of a young man's ambition trapped in an old man's body.By so skillfully establishing the mood in each and every one of the stories in "Blue World," McCammon makes the reader experience them as if they were there, inside the story itself. This is the magic of what great writing can do, bring the story home to the reader, and make it an experience.Like my other McCammon favorites, "Boy's Life" and "Speaks the Nightbird," "Blue World" is one of the books that I treasure, from an author who now writes far too infrequently.
—Rich Stoehr
