Wings to the Kingdom

October 16, 2006
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.

October 15, 2006
The Georgia battlefield of Chickamauga, where 35,000 soldiers died during the Civil War, is haunted by ghostsin particular by Old Green Eyes, whose presence allows the dead to rest in peace. When Old Green Eyes disappears, specters in ragged uniforms seek out medium Eden Moore to be their go-between, whether she wants to or not. Priests sequel to Four and Twenty Blackbirds brings the past to life in a Southern Gothic tale of supernatural adventure and human drama. For most fantasy collections.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2006
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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)