This lyrical tale of evil, loss, and redemption is a stunning addition to the Southern gothic tradition of Flannery OβConnor 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 motherβs disappearance and his fatherβs suicide, Thomas has cared for his three brothersβconjoined triplets with separate bodies but one shared brainβand the townβs only industry, the Mill.Because of his familyβs prominence, Thomas is feared and respected by the superstitious swamp folk. Granny witches cast hexes while Thomasβs 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 βthe carnival is coming.βTorn by responsibility and rage, Thomas must face his tormented past as well as the mysterious forces surging toward the town he loves and despises.