I swear I could read Chuck Wendig’s writing exclusively, he’s THAT good. THUNDERBIRD does not disappoint. This time, Miriam is taking on a band of anarchists in the hopes of stopping a major event and shedding her “curse.” She has battled with knowing how people die for long enough. Can Mary Scissors help her out?

I really hoped not. I like Miriam’s inner conflict and that she’s learned to do good with her bad self. At least, as close to good as I think she’s capable of. The birds, man… that was intense.

I can’t rave enough about the progressive character arc of not only Miriam, but of the supporting cast. Gabby. Louis. Miriam’s mom. Relationships grow and become more binding. Motivations change. Help comes from unexpected places. The “All is Lost” moments get progressively darker from one book to the next. If this wasn’t Miriam’s series, I’d have never guessed she’d make it out of this episode alive.

Rapid-fire pacing, excellent descriptions, and characters so tragically flawed that you can’t help rooting for them keep me coming back to the Miriam Black books. I have two left in the series and I can’t decide whether to read them both or savor them a bit longer…

Next up: THE WREN AND THE RAPTOR.

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I started reading this last year (December, but still). It's the election's fault it's taken me this long to finish it; I've found it difficult to stay focused on harrowing reads. But, Miriam, as we know by now, is persistent and so I channeled her. And now, here I am, staring at the end and cursing her author as he certainly could've foretold. *grumble* ( )

Wendig's a great writer, both of fiction and non-fiction (and if you don't read his blog at terribleminds.com, then shame on you).

This book though... I can't put my finger on exactly why it didn't resonate with me, but it just sort of...didn't.

The writing's there. The characters are there. The plot was decent. I don't know. Maybe it was the too-long wait between [book:The Cormorant|13793061] and this one. Maybe it's that I've gotten used to Miriam's particular brand of snark.

I can't put my finger on it. But this one didn't grab me. It was very much a check mark to say I've read the next in the series, now, bring me back something better with the next one. ( )

Miriam Black is a take-no-prisoners girl, who have a special ability whereby when she touches someone, she is able to see how and when they die. She also can enter the minds of birds and control them. Miriam wants to be more human and less of a freak, and is seeking a woman named Mary Stitch, whose name she acquired in the last book from Mary's sociopathic brother, who she has been told can make her powers go away. However, along the way, Miriam meets up with other people with special abilities, who are being recruited to join a cult of domestic terrorists, and Miriam and her girlfriend decide they must stop the group before they commit a heinous crime.

I was somewhat disappointed because what makes Miriam so great is her edginess, which seems to be waning. A cliffhanger ending though, but happily Book #5 was recently published. ( )

I'm so glad there was another book in this series! looking forward to maybe yet another one..... ( )