Read recently: Stinger by Robert R. McCammon

This book is one of the best I’ve read this year, bar none. It sunk its little claws in me and wouldn’t let me go until I was finished.

The premise: Two warring aliens land on Earth, in a small, dying Texas town. One is the good alien, and one the not so good alien. The people of the town, a disparate group of individuals from a school custodian to the members of two rival gangs, must use all their wits in order to survive the showdown between the aliens.

Yeah, it's a schlocky premise, even McCammon admits it. But it totally works, because McCammon writes some of the best characters I've read in a while, from Cody and Rick, the leaders of the rival gangs, who have a lot more in common than they think, to Sarge, the slightly crazy custodian, to the aliens themselves. They're all compelling.

McCammon also does a good job with the suspense. He just keeps ratchetting it up, and I felt that his pacing was excellent.

A lack of sleep over the last couple of days keeps me from rambling even more incoherently about why you should all read this book right now… but trust me, you should.

ETA: McCammon is totally underappreciated. A- for this one.