Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial

Hardcover
$77.74

Paperback
from $40.00

Learn more

Read for Free

OR

Digital List Price:	$17.99
Kindle Price:	$11.99 Save $6.00 (33%)
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Promotions apply when you purchase

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the authors

Blue World Kindle Edition

by Robert McCammon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 490 ratings

See all formats and editions

Masterful and macabre short fiction from the New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song.
Father John has lived his whole life without knowing a woman’s touch. Hard at first, his self-denial grew easier over time, as he learned to master his urges with a regimen of prayer, cold showers, and jigsaw puzzles. That changed the day that Debra Rocks entered his confessional. A rough-talking adult film actress, she has come to ask him to pray for a murdered costar. Her cinnamon perfume infects Father John, and after she departs he becomes obsessed. Around the corner from his church is a neon-lit alley of sin. He goes there hoping to save her life before he damns himself. That is “Blue World,” the novella that anchors this collection of chilling stories by Robert R. McCammon. Although monsters, demons, and murderers fill these pages, in McCammon’s world the most terrifying landscape of all is the barren wasteland of a lost man’s soul.

Print length

468 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Open Road Media
Publication date

October 18, 2011
File size

5954 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

Report an issue with this product or seller

Robert McCammon
481
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $2.99
Robert McCammon
566
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $4.99
Robert McCammon
1,618
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $9.99
Robert McCammon
1,671
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $7.99
Robert McCammon
229
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $11.49
Robert McCammon
1,052
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $11.99

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"We will travel, you and I, across a tortured land where hope struggles to grow like seed in a drought. In this land, a place with no boundaries, we'll run the freeways and back roads and we'll listen to the song of the wheels and peer into windows at lives that might be our own, if we lived in that land." So Robert McCammon introduces this superb collection of 13 stories, nominated for a 1990 Bram Stoker Award for Best Story Collection. The standouts are "Blue World" (a richly imagined novella about a priest facing temptation); "Nightcrawlers" (a World Fantasy Award-winner about a Vietnam vet in a roadside diner); "Night Calls the Green Falcon" (has-been fictional hero dons his old costume to fight real evil); "Yellowjacket Summer" (fateful stop for gas in backwoods Georgia); and "Pin" (dare you to read that one). All of the stories are excellent.

From Publishers Weekly

Rapid-fire action alternating with intense introspection, plus imagery that conjures visions of movie special effects, make McCammon's ( The Wolf's Hour ) multifaceted collection of new and reprinted tales worthwhile despite some uninspired story lines. In the title novella, Father John Lancaster battles temptations of the flesh and becomes a better priest as he saves the life of a cocaine-snorting porn queen. At the end of the world, described in "Something Passed By," the laws of nature go awry: water becomes combustible, concrete turns to quicksand, people move swiftly toward old age or infancy. A Vietnam veteran's nightmares materialize in "Nightcrawlers," yielding terror and death for his associates. "He'll Come Knocking at Your Door" trivializes the Faustian pact by having the devil arrive for trick-or-treat on Halloween to collect his due. An old-fashioned cliff-hanger concludes each segment of "Night Calls the Green Falcon," in which a retired cinema superhero takes up his cape again to stalk a real-life prostitute's murderer.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

McCammon skillfully weaves elements of horror and adventure with a variety of writing styles to create 13 exceedingly readable pieces. Travel through his universe and meet such inhabitants as Chico, a special child who exacts subtle revenge on his mother's abusive boyfriend, or a Vietnam vet whose deadly nightmares become real. The pi ece de r esistance , especially in terms of character development, is the novella "Blue World." Father John Lancaster discovers that he has put his faith and his life in peril when he falls in love with a porn star who is being stalked by a deranged serial killer. A powerful, well-written collection. --John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Rapid-fire action alternating with intense introspection, plus imagery that conjures visions of movie special effects, make McCammon's multifaceted collection of new and reprinted tales worthwhile.” —Publishers Weekly “A true master of the Gothic novel.” —Booklist “McCammon keeps the story moving.” —Library Journal

From the Inside Flap

In this expanded edition of Robert McCammon's classic short story collection, you will encounter horrors and delights in equal measure, including: -A man who awakens one morning to find a skeleton in bed where his wife had been the night before.-A small-time thief who steals a makeup case, and learns a dead horror star's secret.-A roadside diner, where a Vietnam veteran comes seeking shelter from the storm.-A young man in prison, who finds beauty and hope on the wings of a yellow bird.-Halloween in a very special residential area, where trick-or-treating is deadly serious.-A red house on a street of gray houses, and a breath of sweet fire.-The adventures of a has-been serial hero, who dons his old costume and goes in search of a serial killer.-A priest obsessed by a porno star, and his realization that both of them are being stalked by a third shadow.-An old woman who channels early, simpler times in a melancholy Bradburyesque future.We will see worlds within worlds through the windows of these stories. We might even see the end of the world, and we might sit on a front porch for a while and sip a glass of gasoline on a hot December day.

About the Author

One of the founders of the Horror Writers Association, Robert R. 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.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005T54I04
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (October 18, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 18, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5954 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 468 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #214,713 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #284 in Fantasy Anthologies & Short Stories (Kindle Store)
- #389 in Horror Short Stories
- #567 in Fantasy Anthologies

Customer Reviews:
4.3 490 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Robert McCammon
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Robert McCammon is the New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including the award-winning BOY'S LIFE and SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD. There are more than four million copies of his books in print. His latest novel, THE KING OF SHADOWS, is the eighth book in the Matthew Corbett series.
He recently completed the ninth book, SEVEN SHADES OF EVIL, which is expected to be published in 2023.
Visit his websites: www.robertmccammon.com and www.matthewcorbettsworld.com
See more on the author's page
Robert R. McCammon
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Robert McCammon is the New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including the award-winning BOY'S LIFE and SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD. There are more than four million copies of his books in print. His 2018 novel, THE LISTENER, is set in the 1930s and is available now from Cemetery Dance Publications.
His newest novel, CARDINAL BLACK, was published by Cemetery Dance in 2019. It is the seventh novel in the Matthew Corbett series, which started with SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD.
Mr. McCammon is currently writing THE KING OF SHADOWS, the eighth novel in the Matthew Corbett series.
Visit his websites: www.robertmccammon.com and www.matthewcorbettsworld.com
See more on the author's page

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

490 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Michigan Parents

ONLY the Blue World Story

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2015

Verified Purchase

Blue World by Robert McCammon
January 11, to January 15, 2015
Buddy read from Goodreads HR

Here we have a story of the nightmare the XXX—rated life style can create. A beautiful girl is shot through the head while satisfying her killer. I know, how creepy is that? Her friend, Debby (also part of this life-style), is so upset and frightened. When she finds out what has happened she goes to a priest and partakes of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but really she just wanted to talk to someone (she thought she could trust) about it. Could she trust Fr. John, was he really the loyal priest she thought he was? Time will tell

Once again, Mr. McCammon does not disappoint this reader. The story is well written, with enough character development for 3 novels. This author takes us through the streets of San Francisco with the swiftness of a ten-speed bicycle. We get the feel of the small neighborhoods that make up this city, both good and bad. We meet friends and enemies of our two protagonist. We learn about the secondary problems of the X-rated life-style and the temptations of a good and holy priest.

For me this story was a study of God's love for all of us, no matter how far down in trash we are lying. He is ready to forgive and forget the transgression of those whom have fallen into sin, no matter the circumstances. Most importantly God can change the hardest of hearts and make something wonderfully courageous out of the worst of circumstances.

I recommend this book to any Christian who is willing to have an opened mind to see how God can work if we only allow it. Also one can see in this book how sin can so gradually come into someone's otherwise holy life, that it is hardly noticed until it's almost too late. In this novel God works in mysterious way. Maybe it's not what McCammon intended, but it's what I took from the book.

FIVE brightly colored stars for this entertaining and uplifting book

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ronald Bolvin

Mostly Clever stories

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2013

Verified Purchase

The short stories varied but were mostly entertaining. The ending to the thief who stole a horror actors makeup case was really cool. The actual story Blue World which was last was definitely the best tale and a look into the seedy side of society. McCammon is a great story teller and this book is definitely worth your time to read.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Each story is a surprise full of surprises.

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2017

Verified Purchase

A great book of short stories and one novella. My favorite was "The Night Calls the Green Falcon". The least favorite, "The Red House". These stories prove that Robert McCammon can write any type of story he sets his mind to. He is among my top 5 favorite authors (I read a lot). He is the King of Horror, replacing SK who lets his politics interfere with his job of writing stories to entertain. Robert McCammon does just that; He entertains..

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Danno

For Completists

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2017

Verified Purchase

Robert McCammon has written some great fantasy/horror/suspense novels that are among my favorites. He knows how to compel me to turn the page and to care deeply about his protagonists. I always get the sense that McCammon is an extremely empathetic human being, because he succeeds in repeatedly creating well-rounded and wonderfully imperfect characters. And he works especially well in extended formats - just read "Boy's Life" if you don't believe me.

For those reasons, he isn't as well-suited to short stories. The stories included here aren't bad at all, but they do not allow McCammon the space or the time to do what he is so good at. These are mostly more akin to "Twilight Zone"-style quick takes that are over too soon, have thumbnail characterizations, are forgotten quickly after reading, and which take advantage of twist endings. If that's what you want, you'll find plenty of it here. I just expected better.

The stories also seem dated. What may be a strange complaint coming from someone who idolizes the 60s nostalgia of "Boy's Life," that novel was different in that it addressed universal concerns while set in a fixed time period. These stories, on the other hand, mainly reflect commercial trends of the 1980s and early 1990s instead of expressing themes and issues that age well.

The most fun I reading this collection was the story about the Green Falcon, in which a has-been movie hero dusts off his costume and tries to solve a crime. While I've seen some other examples of this theme from other writers (and this story predates the film "Birdman" by over a decade), McCammon's strong sense of humanity keeps the Green Falcon from seeming like a joke, and his fondness for classic pulp injects this story with sincere passion. This is also probably McCammon's strongest short story.

The title story, on the other hand, goes on for far too long and kept reminding me of the cheap 'erotic thrillers' that turn up as made-for-cable movies. There's some good characterization in this one, with sympathetic portrayals of a priest lapsing into self-doubt and an adult movie actress at a crossroads in her life. Unfortunately, it veers headlong into a stalker-based thriller. I've no idea why this story was padded out to novella length as it definitely did not leave me wanting more.

If you want to read every single story that Robert McCammon has published (and I don't blame you if you do), then this book is essential for your collection. Otherwise, stick with the novels.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Fire JEN

Awesome read!

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2023

Verified Purchase

Every book I have read by Mr. McCammon has always pulled me into the story (or in this case, stories) and taken me for a wonderful, magical journey.
Truly, thank you!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Jean

Also contains short stories

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2018

Verified Purchase

I love McCammon's writing. That said, I was not disappointed, but not overwhelmed. The stories prove his mind is even more macabre than Stephen King's. I enjoyed "Blue World" but felt the plot was simplistic, compared to what he is capable of.

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2021

Verified Purchase

Small collection of short stories. Not too dark, but still fun!

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2014

Verified Purchase

Robert R. McCammon is my favorite writer. His words are so strong and visual that they just suck you right in! This is by far my favorite of his books. It's a collection of stories of crazy situations and ghastly circumstances in nightmare worlds!?!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Christian Hearn

Possibly the best short story collection I've ever read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2016

Verified Purchase

Possibly the best short story collection I've ever read. Absolutely loved the novella of the same title - wish it could have been a full novel. Robert McCammon never disappoints.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Four Stars

Reviewed in Canada on May 8, 2016

Verified Purchase

its a book

Marie (MD)

Two Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2017

Verified Purchase