Oh, you just had to get me started, didn't you, Avengersoul? :)
I'm a *huge* McCammon fan. He was one of the best, and I've really missed him. If I could be half the writer McCammon was when he was really churning stuff out on a regular basis, I would die a happy man.
Did you know he has a new one out? Non-horror, but then good writing transcends genre, IMO. Check it out -- I haven't read it yet, but folks are saying it's his best ever. It's called SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD.
My favorite McCammon novel, strangely enough, was BOY'S LIFE. Believe it or not, it wasn't horror, but a sort of coming-of-age/suspense tale in the vein of King's "The Body" (but on a much more epic scale).
Not only is BOY'S LIFE my favorite McCammon novel, but if I had to pick just one favorite novel of all time, this would be it. A masterpiece. I re-read it at least once every couple of years, and to this day it is the only book that has ever made me cry . . . .
And I'm not ashamed to admit that. Man, what a book! :)
James N.
http://members.tripod.com/~NEWMANATOR/index.html