For years and years I used to have these terrible dreams about being an an auditorium of some sort. In the auditorium I was seated with all these manic housewives. In the front of the auditorium was a stage, and on the stage people played games. The games didn’t make much sense but the stakes were high. Prices were paid. Decisions were made. There were cameras and lights everywhere. The people in the audience made as much noise as they could. Cheering. Hollering. It was too much for me. Then they would call people out of the audience. One by one, people would be chosen to play the game. Finally, I knew in my bones that they were going to call my name, and it would be the end of me. I, a hideous monster, would have to stand in front a crowd of cheering people. Then always in my dream the man on the stage would yell, “Dark in the Dark: Come on down!” And I would wake up screaming. “Ahhh! Ahhhhh!”
Years later I described these horrible dreams to a monster who knows a lot about human culture and I was shocked to find out that it was a real show and that somewhere, these things really happened. Sometimes I can’t sleep in the day, thinking about it. *Shudder.*
This made me especially ready to believe the story of Eden Moore, who is the protagonist of the horror novel Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Eden grows up haunted by ghosts, and has the distinct idea that she is different from everyone else because of it. She ends up being ostracized by her peers and having more than a few creepy adventures as a girl. Unknown to her, there are several plots woven around her life that will change it forever.
The first half of the book reads very much like a memoir of an orphaned, maladjusted, and haunted girl in the South. The last half reads more like a supernatural murder mystery. The book is definitely a page-turner. The writing is vivid. The ghost scenes are awesome, and the plot is interesting. I also felt that the characters were compelling.
At the same time, I have a lot of mixed feelings about the book. Although it’s an entertaining read, it lacks psychological depth, and has a disappointing ending. To me the high point of the book is the part that the title Four and Twenty Blackbirds comes from, which is a great little horror story involving two girls who experience a haunting at camp. The last half of the book ends up seeming a little like someone wrote a plot outline and then filled it in.
Despite its warts, I think that I would still recommend it to someone looking for a good entertaining page turner. Also, the ending really sets the stage for sequels, of which there are two. So if you are the sort of person who enjoys sequels like I am then you’ll be happy to be reading this novel and knowing that there’s more.
Creepy Factor: 5 out of 5
Suspense Factor: 3 out of 5
Weird Erotic Tension Factor: 0 out of 5 (and a big ho hum here.)
Final result: If you ever wondered what Harry Potter would be like if he was a girl of mixed heritage who grew up in the South, and never got saved by Hogwarts this book is a pretty good answer to that question. I felt like it was worth reading and definitely plan to check out the sequels.
Have you read this book? Did you feel like there was some influence of horror video games in it? Let us know in the comments!
Four and Twenty Blackbirds – Cherie Priest – TOR – 2005
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