Finished rereading Gone South last night. It's held up pretty well since I first read it in the '90s. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it the second time around (not the case with some rereads, like novels by John D. MacDonald). The characters are believable and the pacing is good, however, I still think the ending lacks logic. When the protagonist goes to rescue his bounty hunters, I rolled my eyes at the unbelievably and how they defeat the drug dealers; maybe McCammon was watching too much Miami Vice. And this time around I didn't hate the last couple chapters, where the Bright Girl is revealed, though I still think it should have been supernatural or paranormal instead of a pedestrian explanation.
Anyway, I give it 4.5 stars out of 5. And here's a letter from the author discussing the novel's inspirations and themes.
Some of the things he'd seen, both in Vietnam and afterward, had convinced him that if any supernatural force was the master of this world, it smelled of brimstone and devoured innocent flesh as its sacrament. (p. 43)
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