Twilight Universe

I like to read, but I’m extremely picky about what I read. Fiction-wise that is. Writing style is all important to me, it’s what I concider the craft of writing, and like any craft is probably more than I little subjective in the appriciation of it.

Thankfully Cherie Priest’s debut chimes right into my brains chords and strums them like a master harp player. She writes smoothly and you really don’t want to put the book down - reading it is really a pleasure.

Four & Twenty Blackbirds isn’t a new release, in fact this first edition from Tor is in fact a greatly expanded second version of the novel (the first edition being a lot shorter, and mired in another publishers version of hell). However Tor’s edition is so changed and expanded that comparing the two isn’t fair, plus it has that lovely Jude John Palencar cover. It just looks classy on your bookshelf.

It deserves the work and effort that Tor have put into it: this is modern horror at its best. It is so good in fact that Cherie was signed to produce three books based upon the central character Eden - the second of which is out later this year.

To call the setting “Southern Gothic” is both accurate and lacking. Yes, it is set in the Florida to Tennessee corridoor, mostly in or around Chattanooga, and yes you can almost smell the swamp water and feel the black mud under your feet… but that is only half the story. It’s much like lumping King Arthur and Harry Potter together by calling them both “british fantasy”.

With the central character, Eden, Cherie has produced a vibrant and real person who is practical, sarcastic, emotional and - above all else - familiar. You may not agree with Eden, you may not have said what she says, but you will recognise her. Eden is like that friend you know who is cool, but probably a bit too cocky for their own good. She is fun, flawed, and you won’t find yourself saying “Goddamn it, don’t be dumb” like you do in many horror novels.

Also this isn’t really exactly horror - no blood running down the walls or many fanged beasties here - just one of the best ghost stories I’ve read in years. Mysticism, occult rituals, family secrets, mysterious pasts and many more delicious plot points lurk inside.

As her second book is out later this year now would be a perfect time to pick up this wonderfully spooky tale from your local bookshop and get aquainted with a writer who is sure to be dominating horror best seller lists for a while.

(disclaimer - I am friends with Cherie, and have been for a few years now, that still doesn’t change the fact that she’s a great writer - friends must be willing to tell you if you suck ;))