Boy's Life

A bizarre murder in an idyllic Southern town propels a boy and his father into a world of evil in this World Fantasy Award-winning horror novel. New York Times -Bestselling and Bram Stoker Award-Winning Author Small town boys see weird sights, and Zephyr has provided Cory Jay Mackenson with his fair share of oddities. He knows the bootleggers who lurk in the dark places outside of town. On moonless nights, he's heard spirits congregate in the churchyard to reminisce about the good old days. He's seen rain that flooded Main Street and left it crawling with snakes. Cory knows magic, and relishes it as only a young boy can. One frosty winter morning, Cory and his father watch a car jump the curb and sail into the fathomless town lake. His father dives into the icy water to rescue the driver, and finds a naked corpse handcuffed to the wheel. This chilling sight is only the start of the strangest period of Cory's life, when the magic of his town will transform him into a man. "Strongly echoing the childhood-elegies of [Stephen] King and [Ray] Bradbury, and every bit their equal," Boy's Life represents the finest work of one of the most accomplished writers of modern horror ( Kirkus Reviews).

One of the founders of the Horror Writers Association, Robert McCammon (b. 1952) is one of the country's most accomplished authors of modern horror and historical fiction. Raised by his grandparents in Birmingham, Alabama, McCammon published his first novel, the Revelations-inspired Baal, when he was only twenty-six. His writings continued in a supernatural vein throughout the 1980s, producing such bestselling titles as Swan Song, The Wolf's Hour, and Stinger.
In 1991 Boy's Life won the World Fantasy Award for best novel. After his next novel, Gone South, McCammon took a break from writing to spend more time with his family. He did not publish another novel until 2002's Speaks the Nightbird. Since then he has followed "fixer" Matthew Corbett in two sequels, The Queen of Bedlam and Mister Slaughter. His newest novel is The Five. McCammon and his family continue to live in Birmingham.