A Choir of Ill Children

This lyrical tale of evil, loss, and redemption is a stunning addition to the Southern gothic tradition of Flannery O'Connor and Harry Crews. A Choir of Ill Children is the startling story of Kingdom Come, a decaying, swamp backwater that draws the lost, ill-fated, and damned. Since his mother's disappearance and his father's suicide, Thomas has cared for his three brothersconjoined triplets with separate bodies but one shared brainand the town's only industry, the Mill. Because of his family's prominence, Thomas is feared and respected by the superstitious swamp folk. Granny witches cast hexes while Thomas's childhood sweetheart drifts through his life like a vengeful ghost and his best friend, a reverend suffering from the power of tongues, is overcome with this curse as he tries to warn of impending menace. All Thomas learns is that "the carnival is coming." Torn by responsibility and rage, Thomas must face his tormented past as well as the mysterious forces surging toward the town he loves and despises. From the Paperback edition.

Tom Piccirilli is the author of ten novels, including <b>The Night Class</b>, <b>A Lower Deep</b>, and <b>Hexes</b>. His two collections of short fiction, <b>Deep Into that Darkness Peering</b> and <b>Mean Sheep</b>, collect only a fraction of his published short work, which spans multiple genres and demonstrate his wide-ranging abilities. He has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award and has won the Bram Stoker Award three times.?