The Border

Robert R. McCammon

2015 • 441 pages

Ratings8

Average rating3.4

The Border is the saga of an Earth devastated by a war between two marauding alien civilizations. But it is not just the living ships of the monstrous Gorgons or the motion-blurred shock troops of the armored Cyphers that endanger the holdouts in the human bastion of Panther Ridge. The world itself has turned against the handful of survivors, as one by one they succumb to despair and suicide or, even worse, are transformed by otherworldly pollution into hideous Gray Men, cannibalistic mutants driven by insatiable hunger. Into these desperate circumstances comes an amnesiac teenaged boy who names himself Ethan--a boy who must overcome mistrust and suspicion to master unknowable powers that may prove to be the last hope for humanity's salvation. Those same powers make Ethan a threat to the warring aliens, long used to fearing only each other, and thrust him and his comrades into ever more perilous circumstances.

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Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

Scott

Not really his best work, but I was still excited to see him return to writing different genres again. There were some elements of Swan Song in here. Maybe some elements of Stinger. Mostly I'd say it was a unique work though. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

June 11, 2015

John

Holy cow what a surprise. This may be one of my favorites this week although part of the reason is because the narrator for the audiobook did such a great job with the voices. I'm also a huge fan of Sci-fi horror so this is right up my alley. I would call this a love child of Dead Space, Presidents Day, and The Last Of Us.

You have a boy who wakes up with amnesia in the middle of an alien war, but they're not there to attack humans per say. There are 2 different races fighting over Earth because their border line goes through the center of our world. They have annihilated most of the humans but this boy, who doesn't know who he is, has special powers that could save all humanity but he doesn't know how, he just knows there is a voice in his head guiding him.

The world-building and supporting cast of this book is wonderful and Robert's prose is perfect. Two five star reviews in a row for this author, making him a must read going forward.

October 28, 2023