Synopsis:
Sister, Maiden, Monster is a visceral story set in the aftermath of our planet’s disastrous transformation and told through the eyes of three women trying to survive the nightmare, from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lucy A. Snyder.
To survive they must evolve.
A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together.
Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good?
Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.
Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.
Inspired by her Bram Stoker Award-winning story “Magdala Amygdala,” Lucy A. Snyder delivers a cosmic tale about the planet’s disastrous transformation … and what we become after.
Edition:
ARC via Net Galley
Trigger Warnings:
Hover for Trigger WarningsMy Thoughts:
If you’ve been kicking around here for a while, you probably already know I live for a new Lucy A. Snyder book. I think that Sister, Maiden, Monster is officially my favorite outing from Snyder so far. This book is SO FUCKED UP. But, like, in the most wonderful way.
I don’t want to tell you too much about the story because you really have to read it to believe it, but I will warn you that this is a pandemic story – but it’s also a lot of other things. It doesn’t focus on the current COVID-pandemic, but it does feature a pandemic, nonetheless. You’ve been warned.
Sister, Maiden, Monster is a story told in three parts by three very different women who are connected only by the horrific parts they play in the unfolding terrors the story imparts. It’s the story of a new and terrible world being shaped from the still twitching corpse of the old, more comprehensibly terrible world.
As usual, Snyder’s writing is absolutely captivating. I think that there is so much going on in Sister, Maiden, Monster that a less capable writer might have struggled to not only keep us with the story every step of the way, but to build the tension to the point where the story’s conclusion is able to hit the horrific frenzy that it does. Thankfully, Snyder is an incredibly capable writer – so this complex group of disparate story lines is able to seamlessly combine to bring us to the conclusion of everything.
Snyder’s ability to tackle complex themes (in this case, sexism, women’s rights, and the abuse and exploitation of women are all addressed in some way) in a way that fits naturally within the story is unparalleled. I think that is what I love so much about her writing. The social ills she explores are always handled in a way that yes, shows you something important, but doesn’t pull you away from the overall story she’s telling.
Rating:
Well. Holy shit.
That’s pretty much all I have to say about this apocalyptic nightmare. It’s beautiful. Truly.
Sister, Maiden, Monster By Lucy A. Snyder Tor Nightfire ISBN: 9781250825650 Published: February 21, 2023 272 Pages Paperback, E-book
