Few are the best-selling authors with the tenacity and temerity to reinvent themselves not once, not twice but three times … and counting. Alabama’s native son, Robert McCammon, is one of the few.

Not only did McCammon veer from a popular genre-award winning career once to steer and stay the course of an even more popular series of novels — those involving a 17th century magistrate’s clerk with a penchant for unraveling mysteries in Colonia America (visit https://shorturl.at/kDE67 for an exploration of that) — he’s planning to do so again. 

But that is not exactly the subject of this review. The more exactness of this review is to sing the praises of one of contemporary literature’s most undersung authors (I mean, have you read “Boy’s Life”?) as he publishes what is the penultimate book of the planned 10-volume Matthew Corbett series, a number including the book that just dropped in late October, “Seven Shades of Evil: Stories From Matthew Corbett’s World.”

We could argue that this book of stories isn’t really necessary — Robert, please get on with the final volume of the series, you’ve left us hanging … again — but that would be wrong. “Seven Shades” is an immensely important addition to the Corbett canon.

First of all, there are actually eight shades in the book, and that’s important. The stories as presented are non-linear. That’s important, too. But more, this brief departure (McCammon “promises” the final novel, “Leviathan” “will be everything you hope it will be” with the plan that it will publish in October 2024; and a side note, McCammon is famous for keeping his deadlines and publication schedules, pandemics not withstanding and unlike another famous series-driven author who I’ve vowed not to name until he disposes with artificial deadlines stemming from 1996) not only fills in bits and pieces of the overall storyline from earlier in the careers of Matthew, Hudson, Katherine and Minx, it — and this is really important — casts a clue about the identity of who will likely turn about to be the most horrific villain Corbett has ever faced, which fans of the series know is … something.

About those stories

I’ve said it before that I’d buy anything McCammon writes, sight unseen, but “Seven Shades” is no mere looky-look. It’s an appetizer before the final feast completing the Matthew Corbett saga. And even if you’ve somehow missed volumes 1-8, it’s a standalone of its own, should you desire to start there, consisting of eight stories, admirably teased by McCammon himself, from www.robertmccammon.com:

“‘The Four Lamplighters’: Matthew and Hudson sign on as bodyguards to a band of traveling musicians and wind up with mud on their faces.

“‘Night Ride’: Matthew finds himself in the middle of an age-old war.

“‘The House At The Edge Of The World’: Hudson learns that a cyclops is not only a creature of mythology.

“‘The Scorpion’s Eye’: Minx is on the hunt for a stolen jewel with a fantastic and deadly power.

“‘The Pale Pipesmoker’: Katherine and Minx come to the aid of a man who’s been challenged to a duel by a cunning killer.

“‘Skeleton Crew’: Katherine helps an ex-slave being tormented by a band of marauding skeletons on horseback.

“‘Wandering Mary’: A ghost trying to lure a wealthy man to his death takes Matthew to a haunted castle.

“‘Incident On The Lady Barbara’: A disappearance at sea puts Berry in the position of being a problem-solver.” (Included as the eighth shade for a reason McCammon explains, also on the website).

About the book — presentation is everything

Before I finish, and I’ve also said this before, there are no more beautiful and affordable publications of McCammon’s work than the trade editions from Lividian Publications (lividian.com) — especially if you can get a first edition/first printing of “Seven Shades,” (of which a limited number were available at the time of this writing) including (first printing only): full-color dust jacket artwork by Vincent Chong (different from the limited edition); offset printed on an acid-free archival quality paper stock; hot foil stamping on the spine: Smyth-sewn to create a more durable binding; twine head and tail bands; and colored endpapers. Visit the website to order; if it’s still available, the price will surprise you.

But back to the stories. McCammon says on his website that he’s “excited about this book,” and rightly so, but exciting also will be what the author has in store for “after ‘Leviathan’ (when it will be) time for me to move on and do some other projects.”

What those projects might be, McCammon lightly teases in part on his website, but for now, enjoy “Seven Shades.” Maybe even re-read the series. You’ve got 11 months … and counting.