Priest, Cherie: Wings to the Kingdom
Wings to the Kingdom
Writer: Cherie Priest
Genre: Horror
Pages: 395
It's been over a year since I read Priest's debut, Four and Twenty Blackbirds. It was one of my favorite books of the 2006, but for whatever reason, I never sat down with the second until now. Why now? It's fall, and Halloween snuck up behind me and demanded a good ghost story. Realizing that Wings to the Kingdom would be a perfect fit, I was more than happy to curl up with it.
There used to be a time when I had a really good memory for details, especially when it came to reading books in a series. I'd remember the most random things, and could pick up right where I left off no matter how much time stretched between my reading of books.
I suspect this little random talent of mine is fading, that or it's relocated itself for use in my own work or critiquing those of my friends. Whatever the case, when I first started reading Wings to the Kingdom, I found myself a little confused about the tiniest of details.
I couldn't remember if certain characters, not Malachai or Dave and Lulu, were in the first book or not. And the more I thought about it, I couldn't remember exactly how the first book ended. I remember the big stuff, but the little stuff, not so much. Serves me right for speeding through it so quickly. I'm very tempted to pick up that first book once more and give it another go.
But once I got situated with the cast of this book, as well as its plot direction, I was fine. And if my memory serves me right, I think that while this book is different from the first (in the first, we get some lovely chapters from Eden's childhood), I want to say that this book is better. More focused, contained. Whereas Four and Twenty Blackbirds read to me as Southern Gothic (or whatever, if you've read Southern Lit, you KNOW what flavor I'm referring to), this book read to me more as paranormal fantasy. It'd be urban if it took place in more of a city, but even the characters joke that this is all rural, not urban, even though they're referring to something else.
What I love about this book is the sense of place and legend. It doesn't hurt that Chattanooga is two hours south of me, and that I've been there, and can easily picture the place and atmosphere, especially guided by Priest's expert hand, but the fact she uses local legend in which to build her story just knocks this book out of the park. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about Celtic/Norse/Greek/pick-your-favorite mythology when it comes to say, epic fantasy, and I'm all about the retelling of well-known fairy tales. I'm also thrilled to find tales that deal with those mythologies I'm less than familiar with, but this local stuff, this I can sink my teeth into. And maybe I should clarify my description: not just the local ghost stories, but regional ghost stories. Hell, American ghost stories. Myths that are rooted in our OWN history, and not anyone else's. There's a power in those stories that I don't see often explored, but then again, maybe I'm just not reading the right kinds of books.
Whatever the case, Priest nails it. Tying local legend with a solid plot, I found myself sucked right in. Eden's narrative voice is right on, and to be honest, the tone almost reminds me of Kitty Norville from Carrie Vaughn's Kitty series. Down-to-earth, practical, smart-ass. Doesn't detract from the story at all. I suspect if these two characters ever met, they'd probably get along fabulously. ;)
It's a good fast read, relatively self-contained. There's a framework relating to the first book, which allows Eden to worm her way in to the current tale, and the book ends with the tying up of that frame. There's also some questions raised about Eden herself: her abilities (this fast-healing bit confused me only at first, because I can't remember if it's referred to or not in the first book) and her need to seek out others like herself. She might be trying to live a normal life, but even she recognizes that she needs support if she's not going to end up like Kitty (a ghost-seer stuck in the loony bin, blonde haired too: I wonder if that's a nod or something at Vaughn?). I did have some questions about the details of this one: did Sentry really lose an eye (it would've been nice if the legends popping up about Green Eyes were amended to refer to his ONE eye instead), and why exactly didn't the ghosts of the battlefield have "wings to the kingdom?" It sounded as though they didn't have a choice to pass on from this world, but I couldn't help but wonder why, if there was some kind of internal logic to that?
I'm very much looking forward to the next volume, Not Flesh Nor Feathers. In fact, as soon as I get my hands on it, I might very well read it, simply because I don't want the detail-monster biting me again (and it magically appeared in the mail today, woot!). But I was really pleased with this volume. As much as I loved it, I thought the first book lost some steam as it reached its ending, and it definitely changed in tone, I felt this book is consistent through-out, even with the couple of third-party, third-person chapters that we do get to flesh out the story.
It's a good book. I'm not sure if it's a wise thing to read it without having read Four and Twenty Blackbirds first, but both are definitely worth getting your hands on. Plus, it's perfect Halloween reading. Ghosts, desperate killers, and green-eyed monsters. What's not to love?
Next up: Selling Out by Justina Robson (ARC)