Thunderbird by Chuck Wendig

Miriam Black is back, bitches!

In Thunderbird, the fourth installment of the series, Miriam is seeking a mysterious psychic she hopes can finally rid her of her curse – the ability to foresee the death of those she touches.  During her search, she becomes mixed up with a group of domestic terrorists with grand ambitions.  Following inadvertent skin-to-skin contact with a member of their troupe, Miriam has a vision of their horrifying plan.  Will Miriam make the choice to alter fate or say “screw it” and continue her search?

Sweet cream on an ice cream sandwich, this was fan-freakin’-tastic.  I had my doubts that ol’ Chuck would be able to match the intensity of the original trilogy but it was all for naught.  Wendig stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park with all the vigor of a steroid-shooting Mark Maguire.

Wendig proves he hasn’t missed a beat when writing for Miriam.  More than ever, it’s clear that Miriam uses her brash, aggressive humor and foul-mouthed insults to create a front for her increasing fragilility.  In Thunderbird, Wendig really pulls back the layers of Miriam and lets the reader feel the extent to which she is suffering because of a lifetime of guilt and self-loathing.  I think that to date, this is the strongest book in the series regarding Miriam’s development.  Some of the scenes in which Wendig write about Miriam’s growing hallucinations and subsequent interactions with “the trespasser” – a visual manifestation of her unwanted power – are Dr. Strange-level weird.  I loved them.

Like its predecessors, Thunderbird takes a lot of twists and turns before arriving at its final destination – and what a destination it is!   I had to make sure my jaw was still attached given how far and fast it dropped.  With at least two more novels in the pipeline, to say Wendig has his work cut out for him is an understatement.  If you aren’t already reading this series, you need to rectify that immediately.  Tell them Brandon sent you.