The worst of fears have come true. The ever tightening tension between Soviet Union and USA escalates into full out nuclear war. USA is showered in nuclear bombs, leaving almost nothing but radioactive rubble and desert with nuclear winter. 

In this burned wasteland, two opposite forces rise. A woman named Sister finds an odd piece of glass that holds mysterious powers. Little girl named Swan is set on a journey with giant named Josh who is set to protect Swan at all costs. 

 

On the other side, Colonel Macklin, Vietnam war veteran and commander of commercial nuclear war shelter, rises from the rubble and gains power with young boy named Ronald and a mysterious dark figure who has special powers. 

Earth’s last survivors are to take sides on a final battle between good and evil. In the remaining battle, the future of the world is solved and casualties can’t be avoided.

 

The story

You cannot read Swan Song without comparing it to Stephen King’s colossal The Stand. There are lots of things in common of these two books. Firstly, the setting is quite similar in Swan Song than it was in The Stand. Most of the humanity is swept away in horrifying cataclysm (Swan Song included nuclear war and The Stand the killer was super flu named Captain Trips). Both stories include the lone traveler who is in the dark side, responsible of the armageddon. There are also army of dark and light present in both stories. And both stories definetly would have needed little trimming.

 

Regardless of similarities, Swan Song stands on it’s own legs. The story of both sides trying to survive is interesting but as in The Stand, i feel that the that the story would have been better with little trims here and there. But boasting with over 900 pages, Swan Song is definetly a quite hefty book that will keep you occupied for a while. 

 

The story itself gave me mixed feelings. The story and setting itself are grim and dark. It is the end of the world and death and despair is everywhere. There are bits and parts in the book that can be quite shocking for reader. On the other hand, some scenes especially involving action seem quite silly with people flying several meters from shotgun blast and other little things. These scenes remind strongly of 80’s action flicks and actually the ending itself could be from some action movie. 

 

I had quite mixed feelings after Swan Song. On the other hand Swan Song is a cruel and grim story about end of the world but on the other hand there is bits and pieces that don’t quite fit.  With over 900 pages it is clear that Swan Song does not lack in detail but i found some parts in the book easy to flip through without greater thought. Nevertheless Swan Song is interesting book for everyone who likes post-apocalyptic fiction. Especially if you liked The Stand, Swan Song is something you definetly should be on your reading list.

 

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