Review of WINGS TO THE KINGDOM by Cherie Priest (see her website)

AN EDEN MOORE STORY

Tor, October 2006

The ghosts are walking at Chickamauga--and they've got a message to tell. Unfortunately, nobody can seem to understand them--or get the message. So Eden Moore decides she's got to sneak into the battlefield and meet with them. Eden has a knack for talking to ghosts. Whether the knack will be enough, especially with the non-ghost, Old Green Eyes, wandering around, is anyone's guess.

Getting to the battlefield is half the fun as Eden and her buddies decide to sneak in from a party, but once there, things go very wrong. Someone has a gun and is shooting--and those aren't ghost bullets but very real metal. Whoever is messing with the battlefield is upsetting the ghosts something fierce, but the ghosts have forgotten how to speak--and even Eden's most sensitive equipment only picks up a few nearly incomprehensible words.

Disregarding the advice of her friends and the professional ghost-catchers who have come to investigate the multiple sightings, Eden pushes forward--trying to unravel multiple mysteries that seem connected by the ghosts.

Author Cherie Priest creates a very human character in Eden Moore. Her sense of place, both in Chattanooga and Chickamauga enriches the story. I think, however, that the story could have been stronger if Eden had a more compelling goal driving her forward. Her interest in the ghosts and in Old Green Eyes never quite seemed important enough for the risks that she put her friends and herself in. In the second half of the book, however, as the action and stakes escalated, Priest managed a page-turning ride.

Three Stars

Reviewed 2/05/07

Ready to buy it? Click the button: