Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #448716 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-17
• Released on: 2006-10-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Eden Moore sees dead people. To be more precise, she sees ghosts; and it just so happens that in her hometown of Chickamauga, Ga., ghosts seem to be a dime-a-dozen, especially at the memorial park that was once a battlefield where thousands of Confederate and Union soldiers died in the Civil War. Unexpectedly, regular folk in the county have started seeing ghosts of the fallen soldiers-all pointing off into the distance. Eden isn't keen to get involved in the matter until her demented cousin Malachi (who tried to murder her in 2003's Four and Twenty Black Birds, the first volume in this wonderfully eccentric Southern-gothic series) calls her from the local looney-bin, even more freaked out than usual after catching sight of Old Green Eyes, the local legendary supernatural creature. What is it that connects Old Green Eyes to the pointing ghosts on the battlefield? And why is someone shooting at battlefield visitors? Those questions finally entice Eden to play detective and ask the ghosts what it is they want. Priest has brought to life a spunky mixed-race young woman, who does double duty as an able detective and off-beat metaphysical magnet.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
The Civil War battlefield at Chickamauga, Georgia, where thousands of Confederate and Union soldiers died, is the country's oldest national military park. There have long been tales of sighting Old Green Eyes, said to be the guardian of the battle's dead, and now there's a new wrinkle. To wit, sightings of ghosts trying to communicate vocally but ultimately resorting to pointing frustratedly across the battlefield. What do they want? Enter Eden Moore, first introduced in Priest's Four and Twenty Blackbirds (2005), who enlists the aid of a couple of college classmates to try to photograph and record the ghosts. All hell breaks loose as a pair of celebrity ghost hunters shows up, and also a crazed killer shooting at anything that moves on the field. The plot, which begins slowly by setting the stage, builds a roiling crescendo and climaxes in an explosive scene at the top of the tower at the battlefield's edge. The flamboyant mix of ghosts, the preternatural Old Green Eyes, and murder keeps one on edge. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Praise for Four and Twenty Blackbirds: “Priest kills as a stylist. Debut novel? You could have fooled me. Four and Twenty Blackbirds feels like it was written by an author with the assurance and experience of already having many books under her belt . . . . the book has everything going for it and you should definitely pick up a copy to see for yourself.”
--Charles De Lint, Fantasy & Science Fiction

“Breathes fresh life into the suddenly resurgent ‘I see dead people’ subgenre of horror fiction. . . . a remarkably assured debut, a creepy modern-day Southern gothic that doesn't rely on cliché but delivers an emotional powerful tale of self-discovery and the supernatural.”
--San Francisco Chronicle

“… There’s mystical, sultry appeal in the thick Chattanooga atmosphere and strong characterizations (Eden’s tongue is as sharp as the heels of her signature black boots), and a mixed-race heroine lends welcome diversity to a genre well populated with porcelain-complected heroines.”
--Booklist

“The classic Southern gothic gets an edgy modern makeover in Priest’s debut novel . . . . neo-goth chick Eden [is] a heroine for the aging Buffy crowd.”
--Publishers Weekly

“Southern Gothic at its best. An absorbing mystery told with humour and bite.”
--Kelley Armstrong

“Cherie Priest has created a chilling page-turner in her debut novel. Her voice is rich, earthy, soulful, and deliciously southern as she weaves a disturbing yarn like a master! Awesome—gives you goosebumps!”
--L.A. Banks

“Breathlessly readable, palpably atmospheric and compellingly suspenseful, Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a considerable debut. It's written with great control and fluency, and it looks like the start of quite a career.”
--Ramsey Campbell

“Spooky and engrossing, this revenge play is as sticky as a salmagundi made from blood and swamp dirt. Priest can write scenes that are jump-out-of-your-skin scary. This is the first installment in what I can only hope will be a long and terrifying friendship.”
--Cory Doctorow

“Fine writing, humor, thrills, real scares, the touch of the occult . . . had me from the first page. I read straight through. An absolutely wonderful debut, and a book not to be missed.”
--Heather Graham

"Wonderful. Enchanting. Amazing and original fiction that will satisfy that buttery Southern taste, as well as that biting aftertaste of the dark side. I loved it."
--Joe R. Lansdale

“Cherie Priest kicks ass! Four and Twenty Blackbirds is lush, rich, intense, and as dark and dangerous as a gator-ridden swamp.”
--Maggie Shayne

Customer Reviews

Is it Oct yet?
My biggest problem with Wings to the Kingdom is that after going back to Four and Twenty Blackbirds, I have to find something worthy to read until Oct 2, when Not Flesh Nor Feathers comes out. I loved Eden. The combat boots, the Death Nugget, the whole thing. And every time Benny nearly pees in his pants from glee or horror, I have to laugh, because he reminds me of that classic dork in all of us, the one who lights up like a six year old at the thought of ghosthunting, no matter who's in the room who might argue. The characters are spelled out just like all Southern literary characters should be- colorful, lovable, and with screws popping loose all over the place.

cherie priest does it again
cherie priest is slowly replacing donna tartt as my favorite american female novelist of our time. *wings to the kingdom* is a somewhat slower story than *four and twenty blackbirds*, but every word is heavy with seduction, pulling the reader in with such force that it is hard to stop reading.

in brief, things have happened since *four and twenty blackbirds*. the protagonist eden moore is somewhat older, but still in every aspect a fascinating and multi-dimensional character. the setting is the same as in *four and twenty blackbirds*. new characters are introduced, old characters resurface. eyes glitter in moonlight and the mist grows heavy over chattanooga as the story progresses in a labyrinth of excitement and allure.

cherie priest is a wizard with words, and *wings to the kingdom* is a rich testimony of her magic. read it. I am very glad I did.

outta the park
Pardon the pun.
One might worry whether CPriest's follow-up to _Four and Twenty Blackbirds_ might suffer the notorious "sophomore slump", but that would be needless suffering.

_Wings to the Kingdom_ builds on the foundations laid in the first novel, yet works on its own for readers who missed the first book (though, really, you're missing out on a good story if you haven't read it).

_Wings_ is engaging and dynamic. The storytelling is solid, the setting and the characters are real, and the mystery/tension is a treat.

I'm looking forward to the next in the series