Cormac McCarthy is my favorite living author. I just finished his new book, The Road. Unfortunately, I have to say that (despite the glowing reviews on Amazon) it is sub-par. Of course, that's a little like saying Tiger Woods had a so-so round. It's pretty incredible by ordinary human standards.
No one can render desolation and evil as beautifully as McCarthy, and make no mistake, this book has some incredible moments. I just wanted desperately to know more about the characters. It's a post-apocolyptic story with a man and his son (no names) struggling to get across country to the coast, where they hope there'll be warmth, food, and good guys. As opposed to the bad guys, wandering raping hordes who will rape you, kill you, and then eat you. Plus they'll take your stuff. The bad guys are pretty scary, we just don't see that much of them, which is unusual in a McCarthy book, and disappointing.
I don't want to knock it too much, cuz it's still a really good book, and especially poignant today. But as soon as I was done, I reread No Country for Old Men, which was much more satisfying, even the third time around.
