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Sister, Maiden, Monster
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.
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.
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 21, 2023
280 people are currently reading
26405 people want to read
About the author
Lucy A. Snyder
143 books619 followersLucy A. Snyder is a five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning writer and the author of the forthcoming Tor Nightfire novel Sister, Maiden, Monster. She also wrote the novels Spellbent, Shotgun Sorceress, and Switchblade Goddess, the nonfiction book Shooting Yourself in the Head For Fun and Profit: A Writer's Survival Guide, the poetry collections Exposed Nerves and Chimeric Machines and the story collections Halloween Season, Garden of Eldritch Delights, While the Black Stars Burn, Soft Apocalypses, Orchid Carousals, Sparks and Shadows, and Installing Linux on a Dead Badger.
Her writing has been translated into French, Italian, Russian, Czech and Japanese editions and has appeared in publications such as Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, Steampunk World, In the Court of the Yellow King, Shadows Over Main Street, Qualia Nous, Seize The Night, Scary Out There, and Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 5.
She writes a column for Horror World and has written materials for the D6xD6 role-playing game system. In her day job, she edits online college courses for universities worldwide and occasionally helps write educational games.
Lucy lives in Columbus, Ohio and is a mentor in Seton Hill University's MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. You can learn more about her at www.lucysnyder.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @LucyASnyder.
Her writing has been translated into French, Italian, Russian, Czech and Japanese editions and has appeared in publications such as Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, Steampunk World, In the Court of the Yellow King, Shadows Over Main Street, Qualia Nous, Seize The Night, Scary Out There, and Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 5.
She writes a column for Horror World and has written materials for the D6xD6 role-playing game system. In her day job, she edits online college courses for universities worldwide and occasionally helps write educational games.
Lucy lives in Columbus, Ohio and is a mentor in Seton Hill University's MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. You can learn more about her at www.lucysnyder.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @LucyASnyder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,115 reviews
July 26, 2024
**3.5-stars**
Sister, Maiden, Monster is a wild, imaginative, bizarre, toe-curling, cringe-inducing story that is a conglomeration of many different genres.
If I had to narrow it down, I would describe it as say, Cosmic Horror blended with Apocalyptic Pandemic Fiction, and I guess, a side of Transgressive Horror.
I read this in less than a day and it left my head spinning. I know I didn't understand it all and honestly, I can't even say that I 'enjoyed' it. Like it's not a jolly good time, but I am sort of gobsmacked by the entire thing.
I don't want to really go into the story at all, because I went into this knowing nothing about it, and I feel like that's the way to go. Be warned however, as I mentioned earlier, that this is Pandemic Fiction.
I know a lot of people aren't ready for that yet, considering all we've been through over the last few years.
This story is broken into distinct sections and each one follows a different perspective. In a way, that arrangement made it seem a bit more like connected novellas, as opposed to one cohesive story.
I wasn't crazy about that format, I think I would have preferred to switch back and forth between the different perspectives as the story progressed. However, that is 100% personal taste and the author should be free to tell the story any way they wish.
For me though, I do think that had an effect on my experience with this story.
As far as the perspectives, I feel like my favorite was Erin. She is the first character we hear from and actually the one whose experience, with the pandemic unfolding, most closely relates to what we all experienced in early-2020.
By the end of the story, I was still enjoying the characters I was meeting, but I had less of a grasp on what was actually happening to them. And Baby Gregory, don't even get me started! You'd have to read it to believe it.
I did really enjoy Snyder's writing style. I felt it was very smooth and engaging. They also explored some interesting themes and were able to successfully carry those themes throughout.
Overall, I think this is a compelling story with a lot to cringe at and consider regarding our world. I would recommend this to people who enjoy Bizzaro Fiction, or Cosmic Horror. You need to be prepared for wild events if you pick this up though. I'm just saying.
Also, I did listen to the audiobook and absolutely recommend that medium. The narration was fantastic. It pulled me into the story right away.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
This is the first of Snyder's work that I have picked up, but I am definitely interested in reading more.
Sister, Maiden, Monster is a wild, imaginative, bizarre, toe-curling, cringe-inducing story that is a conglomeration of many different genres.
If I had to narrow it down, I would describe it as say, Cosmic Horror blended with Apocalyptic Pandemic Fiction, and I guess, a side of Transgressive Horror.
I read this in less than a day and it left my head spinning. I know I didn't understand it all and honestly, I can't even say that I 'enjoyed' it. Like it's not a jolly good time, but I am sort of gobsmacked by the entire thing.
I don't want to really go into the story at all, because I went into this knowing nothing about it, and I feel like that's the way to go. Be warned however, as I mentioned earlier, that this is Pandemic Fiction.
I know a lot of people aren't ready for that yet, considering all we've been through over the last few years.
This story is broken into distinct sections and each one follows a different perspective. In a way, that arrangement made it seem a bit more like connected novellas, as opposed to one cohesive story.
I wasn't crazy about that format, I think I would have preferred to switch back and forth between the different perspectives as the story progressed. However, that is 100% personal taste and the author should be free to tell the story any way they wish.
For me though, I do think that had an effect on my experience with this story.
As far as the perspectives, I feel like my favorite was Erin. She is the first character we hear from and actually the one whose experience, with the pandemic unfolding, most closely relates to what we all experienced in early-2020.
By the end of the story, I was still enjoying the characters I was meeting, but I had less of a grasp on what was actually happening to them. And Baby Gregory, don't even get me started! You'd have to read it to believe it.
I did really enjoy Snyder's writing style. I felt it was very smooth and engaging. They also explored some interesting themes and were able to successfully carry those themes throughout.
Overall, I think this is a compelling story with a lot to cringe at and consider regarding our world. I would recommend this to people who enjoy Bizzaro Fiction, or Cosmic Horror. You need to be prepared for wild events if you pick this up though. I'm just saying.
Also, I did listen to the audiobook and absolutely recommend that medium. The narration was fantastic. It pulled me into the story right away.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
This is the first of Snyder's work that I have picked up, but I am definitely interested in reading more.
May 20, 2023
“Sister, Maiden, Monster” by Lucy A. Snyder started out with a bang. This is the first time I’ve read anything by Snyder and her writing style is absolutely excellent. Right off the bat, I loved how the intro set the tone for what I thought would be a super scary horror novel with creepy situations, disturbing events, and everything else in between.
I was intrigued from the start since there was a nice horror mystery aspect to “Sister, Maiden, Monster” that I was excited to see unravel. I kept asking myself what the hell was going on with the main protagonist Erin at first and trying to figure out what she was going through. I loved how this story hit home with the whole pandemic but with an even scarier twist.
LoL this was one of the very first horror novels I’ve read that had quite the “spicy” sexual moments that my fellow reading friends always make fun of me for since I’m not a fan of romance at all. I’m more of a horror, mystery, suspense, and thriller kind of guy but yeah, there are definitely some wild “spicy” scenes in this one. They do get crazy with a horror twist to it which I thought made sense.
For the most part, I’d say the first 40% of this novel delivered nicely. There was some nice horrific imagery, gore, and several instances that will make you make faces as you read. I’d highly suggest not eating or drinking while reading this since some of the scenes are graphic and well, disgusting.
I give credit to “Sister, Maiden, Monster” since it’s an original kind of horror I enjoyed but the one thing I did not like at all is how this novel was formatted. It’s broken down into three parts but in essence, it’s the same story just told from different points of view. At first, I thought that it might be riveting to transition to other characters to see their perspectives in the main story but my goodness, it started to drag on like crazy and not what I expected.
What started out as a gripping horror novel started to fizzle out and stray away from what I was really getting into. It started going in a direction I didn’t like at all with too much dialogue and situations involving a YouTube show that explains all the scientific terms about what is going on much to my boredom. There were way too many pages dedicated to explaining the science behind the horror and just did a poor job of trying to use that to fill in the gaps.
This felt out of place and completely took me out of the story. It did a poor job of trying to use that to fill in the gaps that just left me confused and wondering if I’m reading a science book report. It wasn’t until the 80% mark that things picked up again but until then, this novel just didn’t really make any sense.
It felt disjointed and again, all the endless dialogue and talk trying to explain how this new pandemic came to be through science just drowned out all the fun I had with the actual horror I came here to read. I was not a fan at all about having three different points of view with characters I just didn’t care about as much as I did Erin.
It’s basically retelling the same story just from different perspectives and it was a very confusing way to deliver this novel. I felt like I was reading a lecture about different school and social topics rather than a straight-up horror novel. Things started to get too religious, political, scientific, and just didn’t stick to the horror I thought this novel would be from the awesome intro.
I feel “Sister, Maiden, Monster” is a novel that didn’t have its own identity. It was so all over the place trying to check different genres that it just didn’t deliver for me at all. This felt more in the realm of the sci-fi, dark romance, fantasy, apocalyptic, and dystopian genres with a decent horror tone to it. The gore, violence, and bloodshed were all great but after the intro, it took a while before it got back to all that.
Overall, I give “Sister, Maiden, Monster” by Lucy A. Snyder a 2/5 only because her writing style is fantastic but this was a dud for me. I came for horror but got a mixed bag of a novel that tried to do everything at once but didn’t deliver what I wanted the most. I felt if Snyder kept this novel going strong from the first part and continued the momentum of Erin, Betty, Gregory, etc., that would have been much better than trying to do this whole different perspective parts idea with other characters you meet along the way. The ending was totally lame and this was a very confusing read. Awe well, onto the next one!
I was intrigued from the start since there was a nice horror mystery aspect to “Sister, Maiden, Monster” that I was excited to see unravel. I kept asking myself what the hell was going on with the main protagonist Erin at first and trying to figure out what she was going through. I loved how this story hit home with the whole pandemic but with an even scarier twist.
LoL this was one of the very first horror novels I’ve read that had quite the “spicy” sexual moments that my fellow reading friends always make fun of me for since I’m not a fan of romance at all. I’m more of a horror, mystery, suspense, and thriller kind of guy but yeah, there are definitely some wild “spicy” scenes in this one. They do get crazy with a horror twist to it which I thought made sense.
For the most part, I’d say the first 40% of this novel delivered nicely. There was some nice horrific imagery, gore, and several instances that will make you make faces as you read. I’d highly suggest not eating or drinking while reading this since some of the scenes are graphic and well, disgusting.
I give credit to “Sister, Maiden, Monster” since it’s an original kind of horror I enjoyed but the one thing I did not like at all is how this novel was formatted. It’s broken down into three parts but in essence, it’s the same story just told from different points of view. At first, I thought that it might be riveting to transition to other characters to see their perspectives in the main story but my goodness, it started to drag on like crazy and not what I expected.
What started out as a gripping horror novel started to fizzle out and stray away from what I was really getting into. It started going in a direction I didn’t like at all with too much dialogue and situations involving a YouTube show that explains all the scientific terms about what is going on much to my boredom. There were way too many pages dedicated to explaining the science behind the horror and just did a poor job of trying to use that to fill in the gaps.
This felt out of place and completely took me out of the story. It did a poor job of trying to use that to fill in the gaps that just left me confused and wondering if I’m reading a science book report. It wasn’t until the 80% mark that things picked up again but until then, this novel just didn’t really make any sense.
It felt disjointed and again, all the endless dialogue and talk trying to explain how this new pandemic came to be through science just drowned out all the fun I had with the actual horror I came here to read. I was not a fan at all about having three different points of view with characters I just didn’t care about as much as I did Erin.
It’s basically retelling the same story just from different perspectives and it was a very confusing way to deliver this novel. I felt like I was reading a lecture about different school and social topics rather than a straight-up horror novel. Things started to get too religious, political, scientific, and just didn’t stick to the horror I thought this novel would be from the awesome intro.
I feel “Sister, Maiden, Monster” is a novel that didn’t have its own identity. It was so all over the place trying to check different genres that it just didn’t deliver for me at all. This felt more in the realm of the sci-fi, dark romance, fantasy, apocalyptic, and dystopian genres with a decent horror tone to it. The gore, violence, and bloodshed were all great but after the intro, it took a while before it got back to all that.
Overall, I give “Sister, Maiden, Monster” by Lucy A. Snyder a 2/5 only because her writing style is fantastic but this was a dud for me. I came for horror but got a mixed bag of a novel that tried to do everything at once but didn’t deliver what I wanted the most. I felt if Snyder kept this novel going strong from the first part and continued the momentum of Erin, Betty, Gregory, etc., that would have been much better than trying to do this whole different perspective parts idea with other characters you meet along the way. The ending was totally lame and this was a very confusing read. Awe well, onto the next one!
April 17, 2023
how about we don't make gross jokes that name drop a real life child who was brutally murdered
March 13, 2023
what the everloving fuck was that
May 20, 2023
**edit**
Just to be clear, I’m raising my rating up one more star because I honestly can’t remember the things that irked me, and can just remember the crazy imagery so yeah 😂 keeping my old review below.
This should have been the queer body horror apocalypse of my dreams, but it was a bit hard to get through at times. I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve been in a pretty serious slump for the past few weeks, or if it actually was the pacing, but I struggled staying hooked in the story.
The body horror was to die for- I thought it was very vivid, intense, and stomach churning, but a few aspects of the story soured the overall reading experience for me unfortunately.
Thank you Tor for a review copy in exchange for an honest review
Just to be clear, I’m raising my rating up one more star because I honestly can’t remember the things that irked me, and can just remember the crazy imagery so yeah 😂 keeping my old review below.
This should have been the queer body horror apocalypse of my dreams, but it was a bit hard to get through at times. I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve been in a pretty serious slump for the past few weeks, or if it actually was the pacing, but I struggled staying hooked in the story.
The body horror was to die for- I thought it was very vivid, intense, and stomach churning, but a few aspects of the story soured the overall reading experience for me unfortunately.
Thank you Tor for a review copy in exchange for an honest review
August 27, 2024
Pride Month
I can always go in for a little cannibalism. So I originally thought this was pandemic fiction, which was one of the reasons I held off. But this isn't the coronavirus. And it's not quite a zombie apocalypse, but it kind of is. I know I should be disgusted reading about women eating men's brains, but I'm not, so...
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
I can always go in for a little cannibalism. So I originally thought this was pandemic fiction, which was one of the reasons I held off. But this isn't the coronavirus. And it's not quite a zombie apocalypse, but it kind of is. I know I should be disgusted reading about women eating men's brains, but I'm not, so...
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
May 19, 2025
What the hell did I just read ?! Ok, I thought I would stay away from pandemic-type fiction but this medical horror sounded too intriguing. Cosmic and apocalyptic in good measure. Sister, Maiden, Monster is one of the May reads in the horror group. 💀🖤
It starts with a woman called Erin contracting the PVG virus on the night of her engagement. This was supposed to be the happiest night of her life, and now she is left vomiting blood with blood also pouring from her eyes?! This is no COVID-19.
After a few weeks in hospital, she wakes up in a different one, strapped down to a bed. She’s on a psychiatric ward and the doctors are monitoring her closely. They give her some food and drink to try, some of them make her want to vomit, but there is this delicious, gelatinous tofu-like substance she tries. It makes her go crazy, demanding for more. Then they tell her what she has just consumed; 90% bovine brains, 10% human brains. What the hell is happening to her?
She misses her boyfriend Gregory but is inexplicably drawn to a woman called Betty, so much so that she begs Gregory to open their relationship up so she can explore this attraction.
Then, there are two other woman being afflicted by the virus; Savannah and Mareva. It jumps between the three women’s narratives after around half way through. The second part starts off with a darkly sexual turn.
Lucy A. Snyder is serving up some of the best body horror fiction descriptions I’ve read for awhile here - nobody can beat Junji Ito to me there though I’m sorry.
The narrative did leave me a little confused at times ???
Queer representation even if it is with alien monsters in parts. But the chapters in this book are short and it’s very engaging overall.
4 stars
It starts with a woman called Erin contracting the PVG virus on the night of her engagement. This was supposed to be the happiest night of her life, and now she is left vomiting blood with blood also pouring from her eyes?! This is no COVID-19.
After a few weeks in hospital, she wakes up in a different one, strapped down to a bed. She’s on a psychiatric ward and the doctors are monitoring her closely. They give her some food and drink to try, some of them make her want to vomit, but there is this delicious, gelatinous tofu-like substance she tries. It makes her go crazy, demanding for more. Then they tell her what she has just consumed; 90% bovine brains, 10% human brains. What the hell is happening to her?
She misses her boyfriend Gregory but is inexplicably drawn to a woman called Betty, so much so that she begs Gregory to open their relationship up so she can explore this attraction.
Then, there are two other woman being afflicted by the virus; Savannah and Mareva. It jumps between the three women’s narratives after around half way through. The second part starts off with a darkly sexual turn.
Lucy A. Snyder is serving up some of the best body horror fiction descriptions I’ve read for awhile here - nobody can beat Junji Ito to me there though I’m sorry.
The narrative did leave me a little confused at times ???
Queer representation even if it is with alien monsters in parts. But the chapters in this book are short and it’s very engaging overall.
4 stars
November 8, 2022
I originally thought I was going to love this book, the description sounded intresting and unique and the cover is what drew me in and made me want to read the book asap. The story is told from 3 POVs, Each woman's perspective gives the next part of the apocalypse caused by the a virus. I enjoyed the weirdness of the book, people who enjoy body horror and cosmic horror might enjoy this book but check the Tw as there are plenty.
However, I feel like the plot was messy, it was all over the place with so many different ideas. It just had too much going on which made things a bit confusing. More isn't always better. I also felt there was too much ranting, I found myself losing interest and skimming though paragraphs just to move on.
Finally, there was a paragraph that I personally found to be very problematic, its quoted below;
".... After all, Dahmer did. Straight up had the cops find his teen victim Konerak Sinthasomphone on a street corner. Naked, bleeding from his ass, and disoriented because Dahmer had drilled a fucking hole in his skull and injected hydrochoric acid, trying to make him into a kind of zombie. But Dahmer played it totally cool, and they handed the kid right back to him."
I read quite a bit of horror as well as splatterpunk so I am not new to extreme topics but I think there should be a line between writing fictional characters and including real victims. I don't think Dahmer needed to be mentioned. I definitely don't think the 14 year old victim should have been mentioned in FULL NAME and especially not in such disrespectful way. I found this extremely insensitive and in poor taste.
Ultimately this book is not for me for the above mentioned reasons.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, Nightfire for sharing the digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my authentic review.
However, I feel like the plot was messy, it was all over the place with so many different ideas. It just had too much going on which made things a bit confusing. More isn't always better. I also felt there was too much ranting, I found myself losing interest and skimming though paragraphs just to move on.
Finally, there was a paragraph that I personally found to be very problematic, its quoted below;
".... After all, Dahmer did. Straight up had the cops find his teen victim Konerak Sinthasomphone on a street corner. Naked, bleeding from his ass, and disoriented because Dahmer had drilled a fucking hole in his skull and injected hydrochoric acid, trying to make him into a kind of zombie. But Dahmer played it totally cool, and they handed the kid right back to him."
I read quite a bit of horror as well as splatterpunk so I am not new to extreme topics but I think there should be a line between writing fictional characters and including real victims. I don't think Dahmer needed to be mentioned. I definitely don't think the 14 year old victim should have been mentioned in FULL NAME and especially not in such disrespectful way. I found this extremely insensitive and in poor taste.
Ultimately this book is not for me for the above mentioned reasons.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, Nightfire for sharing the digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my authentic review.
December 12, 2022
Sister, Maiden, Monster is a hardcore horror novel with a little of bit almost everything. It's a post-Covid pandemic novel that shows us we ain't seen nothin' yet that's built upon a convincing science fiction framework, a cosmic-horror story in the grand tradition of Lovecraft and Robert W. Chambers, an edgy political abuse/medical thriller with enough body-horror to make the most jaded extreme/bizarro fan feel a little squelchy, and a touching character study of three intriguing women and their transformations as their fates intertwine in the birth of a new world order. As one character observes on page 222: "Every time I'm certain the situation is as nasty as it can be, it manages to get worse." I'm afraid it will prove to be a bit too edgy, sexy, and violent for some readers, but I thought it was very enjoyable. (Here's a little potentially spoilerish hint: I thought the cover painting was a Bosch-ian bit of representational symbolism, but, no, that's just one of the gang.) I tried to think of a clever little tag line or memorable summary for my comments here ("Sometimes you devour the book but once in a while the book devours you..." nah...), because the novel isn't yet generally available, but you'll just have to pretend that I did and remember to look for it anyway. This is Snyder's first new novel in a dozen years; it won't be out until February, but I scored an ARC at the World Fantasy Convention last month. It's a challenging, excellent read.
June 22, 2024
Wow, holy crap, this was amazing. I feel so dirty :p I have never been so turned on and so scared at the same time. I need more Lucy Snyder in my life. I listened to the audiobook but I need the physical book now
July 15, 2023
Going on my favorites list!
Sister, Maiden, Monster is a cosmic horror with killer body horror scenes, romance, violence, old gods, unique characters....and more. So much more! I listened to the audiobook and loved every second.
The book follows three women as a new pandemic dramatically changes the world. It won't be for everyone but I couldn't get enough. Can't wait to see what Lucy A. Synder writes next.
And a shout out to the three narrators. They couldn't have captured their characters any better.
Sister, Maiden, Monster is a cosmic horror with killer body horror scenes, romance, violence, old gods, unique characters....and more. So much more! I listened to the audiobook and loved every second.
The book follows three women as a new pandemic dramatically changes the world. It won't be for everyone but I couldn't get enough. Can't wait to see what Lucy A. Synder writes next.
And a shout out to the three narrators. They couldn't have captured their characters any better.
January 8, 2023
3.0 Stars
Pandemic fiction is challenging to pull off in the current situation. So many stories have come out in the past few years despite the fact that many people are burned out on the genre.
I don't personally find the content triggering but I'm starting to get exhausted by the repetitive narrative. I just didn't feel it brought much new to the genre.
Stories like these are so dependent on creating distinctive characters that the readers will care about. Unfortunately I found these three women to be quite similar to each without anything that made them special. This story was fine but not particularly memorable.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Pandemic fiction is challenging to pull off in the current situation. So many stories have come out in the past few years despite the fact that many people are burned out on the genre.
I don't personally find the content triggering but I'm starting to get exhausted by the repetitive narrative. I just didn't feel it brought much new to the genre.
Stories like these are so dependent on creating distinctive characters that the readers will care about. Unfortunately I found these three women to be quite similar to each without anything that made them special. This story was fine but not particularly memorable.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
February 21, 2023
Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder is a gory body horror fest that centers around the lives of three different women during a mysterious viral outbreak.
Erin: a queer woman exploring her sexuality who begins to crave brains.
Savannah: a dominatrix who’s urged to commit murder on behalf of eldritch gods.
Mareva: a teratoma patient whose tumor-like growths may have a far more sinister cause.
Coming into this book, I really wanted to love it since it sounded like a cosmic horror spin on a zombie outbreak. However, what I got instead was a kitchen sink. So many ideas were haphazardly thrown in together that the author couldn't develop them all, resulting in a undercooked mess of a novel.
With that said, let’s dive into what didn’t work for me:
- Floating head syndrome. There are three narrators with no chapter headers to differentiate them by, and, asides from Savannah, the other women's voices felt too stylistically similar for me.
- The book's clumsy attempt at racial commentary.
In this book, we have Savannah, who’s infatuated with the idea of killing a black nurse, compares herself to Jeffery Dahmer, and, upon killing her, is then confronted by her ghost. The following conversation between the two feels so unnatural that it reads more like a bad SNL parody. I kid you not, this is the actual dialogue from the finished book:
"'That’s why I killed a strong, accomplished woman of color who was pretty much the living embodiment of the American Dream instead of going in search of a scrub. You looked consumable.'"
The theme of racism is then forgotten and never brought up again.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There are horror books like The Ballad of Black Tom and Ring Shout that artfully examine the effects of racism, but Sister, Maiden, Monster is not one of them.
- The uneven pacing.
This book is filled with infodumps galore that could have been more organically integrated into the novel.
Also, the blurb describes that the story follows the “aftermath of our planet’s disastrous transformation,” and yet, the apocalyptic event doesn’t occur until 2/3 ways through the novel and we don’t get to even see the collapse of civilization since the remainder of the book is told from the POV of a woman who is being held captive.
And that brings me to the incredibly rushed ending.
First, we have Erin’s final transformation and the climax of her character arc where she sews herself to Betty told through Mareva’s POV, which seems like such a missed opportunity. Erin’s scene would have felt far more emotionally impactful from her own point of view.
On top of that, instead of Mareva using her own wits to find a way to escape her captors and not become a baby machine, Hastur appears as a deus ex machina to give her a magic birth control ring and poofs away.
This just felt like lazy writing to me and a means to quickly tie up plot threads in a way that doesn’t feel earned within the story.
All in all, there were glimmers of moments that I enjoyed (like an oddly tender and intimate scene involving brain jelly). There's some wonderfully gross body horror in here, but the overall execution of this story was so poor that I feel that it would have benefitted from a great deal more of developmental editing before publication.
Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Nightfire, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Erin: a queer woman exploring her sexuality who begins to crave brains.
Savannah: a dominatrix who’s urged to commit murder on behalf of eldritch gods.
Mareva: a teratoma patient whose tumor-like growths may have a far more sinister cause.
Coming into this book, I really wanted to love it since it sounded like a cosmic horror spin on a zombie outbreak. However, what I got instead was a kitchen sink. So many ideas were haphazardly thrown in together that the author couldn't develop them all, resulting in a undercooked mess of a novel.
With that said, let’s dive into what didn’t work for me:
- Floating head syndrome. There are three narrators with no chapter headers to differentiate them by, and, asides from Savannah, the other women's voices felt too stylistically similar for me.
- The book's clumsy attempt at racial commentary.
In this book, we have Savannah, who’s infatuated with the idea of killing a black nurse, compares herself to Jeffery Dahmer, and, upon killing her, is then confronted by her ghost. The following conversation between the two feels so unnatural that it reads more like a bad SNL parody. I kid you not, this is the actual dialogue from the finished book:
"'That’s why I killed a strong, accomplished woman of color who was pretty much the living embodiment of the American Dream instead of going in search of a scrub. You looked consumable.'"
The theme of racism is then forgotten and never brought up again.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There are horror books like The Ballad of Black Tom and Ring Shout that artfully examine the effects of racism, but Sister, Maiden, Monster is not one of them.
- The uneven pacing.
This book is filled with infodumps galore that could have been more organically integrated into the novel.
Also, the blurb describes that the story follows the “aftermath of our planet’s disastrous transformation,” and yet, the apocalyptic event doesn’t occur until 2/3 ways through the novel and we don’t get to even see the collapse of civilization since the remainder of the book is told from the POV of a woman who is being held captive.
And that brings me to the incredibly rushed ending.
First, we have Erin’s final transformation and the climax of her character arc where she sews herself to Betty told through Mareva’s POV, which seems like such a missed opportunity. Erin’s scene would have felt far more emotionally impactful from her own point of view.
On top of that, instead of Mareva using her own wits to find a way to escape her captors and not become a baby machine, Hastur appears as a deus ex machina to give her a magic birth control ring and poofs away.
This just felt like lazy writing to me and a means to quickly tie up plot threads in a way that doesn’t feel earned within the story.
All in all, there were glimmers of moments that I enjoyed (like an oddly tender and intimate scene involving brain jelly). There's some wonderfully gross body horror in here, but the overall execution of this story was so poor that I feel that it would have benefitted from a great deal more of developmental editing before publication.
Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Nightfire, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2023
This book was SO entertaining. It hooked me from beginning to end and I feel bad that I stuck it near the bottom of my little to-be-reviewed pile because I thought I didn’t want to read about a pandemic. Don’t be like me. This book is great and the body horror is exquisite.
It takes place soon after Covid and after all of its accompanying bullshit has wreaked havoc on society. People are jaded and tired and must keep going to keep the economy fed. But this thing is so much worse in so many ways. Bloody, transforming, deadly for the older and the unfortunate and it hits people in a myriad of different ways from the asymptomatic to the you will most definitely die if you don’t get your butt to the ER in time. And there isn’t much time . . . It also changes you so maybe death would be preferable. Who am I to say? It’s all kind of bleak if you think about it. Still, as I was reading, it never felt painfully depressing like some of these bleak novels that hit way too close to reality sometimes do. I don’t know if that makes any kind of sense but that was my experience. It moved and it kept me reading and I never felt like I was jumping into the pit of despair.
It tells its story in three parts as three women all become important parts of this strange, humanity-altering plague. Erin, Savannah and Mareva are very different people when this thing hits the world. Erin’s living the life everyone expects her to live with a blah guy, Savannah is a sex worker who enjoys her work and Mareva is just doing her best to live a healthy life after suffering from tumors for the majority of it. The plague changes them and empowers them and I won’t say anything more except that I was transfixed by their personal stories and their transformations. Loved it.
This book is squirmy and gross and sexy too. If you’re a fan of body horror and like sex mixed in with your scares, you’re going to love that about it. If you’re not, well, be warned because I’m not kidding. There are many dark things that happen here but the story doesn’t sit too long in those terrible feelings and if you asked me to describe this book I’d say it was “bleak fun” which makes no sense at all but you know it when you feel it. And I felt it from beginning to end.
4 1/2 Stars
It takes place soon after Covid and after all of its accompanying bullshit has wreaked havoc on society. People are jaded and tired and must keep going to keep the economy fed. But this thing is so much worse in so many ways. Bloody, transforming, deadly for the older and the unfortunate and it hits people in a myriad of different ways from the asymptomatic to the you will most definitely die if you don’t get your butt to the ER in time. And there isn’t much time . . . It also changes you so maybe death would be preferable. Who am I to say? It’s all kind of bleak if you think about it. Still, as I was reading, it never felt painfully depressing like some of these bleak novels that hit way too close to reality sometimes do. I don’t know if that makes any kind of sense but that was my experience. It moved and it kept me reading and I never felt like I was jumping into the pit of despair.
It tells its story in three parts as three women all become important parts of this strange, humanity-altering plague. Erin, Savannah and Mareva are very different people when this thing hits the world. Erin’s living the life everyone expects her to live with a blah guy, Savannah is a sex worker who enjoys her work and Mareva is just doing her best to live a healthy life after suffering from tumors for the majority of it. The plague changes them and empowers them and I won’t say anything more except that I was transfixed by their personal stories and their transformations. Loved it.
This book is squirmy and gross and sexy too. If you’re a fan of body horror and like sex mixed in with your scares, you’re going to love that about it. If you’re not, well, be warned because I’m not kidding. There are many dark things that happen here but the story doesn’t sit too long in those terrible feelings and if you asked me to describe this book I’d say it was “bleak fun” which makes no sense at all but you know it when you feel it. And I felt it from beginning to end.
4 1/2 Stars
December 28, 2022
As soon as I saw the cover and heard the premise of Sister, Maiden, Monster, I immediately knew I wanted to read it. Queer eldritch horror is one of my new favourite things lately and this novel definitely hits that mark—and then some. If I reviewed this book based on how fast I devoured it (pun fully intended) and how much it gripped me, it would be an easy five stars. But as it sat with me, there are some elements I felt could have been handled better and thus impacted my rating.
Sister, Maiden, Monster follows the journey of three different women—Erin, Savannah, and Mareva—as a new and deadly virus ravages the globe. To say much more than that would get into spoiler territory and I do think this is a novel best experienced as it unfolds.
To start with what I loved… Holy crap, was this a cosmic horror, splatterpunk, body horror but make it really terrifying experience. It’s one of the most disturbing (positive) horror books I’ve read so far and I loved it for that. It was electrifyingly paced, so once I picked it up, I didn’t put it back down all day until I had finished it. Structurally, the novel flowed incredibly well too.
The unbridled, raw, and powerful queer lust and hunger in this novel was definitely a selling point as well. It’s been a rarity in my experience to see women featuring in horror, particularly queer horror. Erin, Savannah, and Mareva all feel distinct even as their paths intertwine in horrifying, blood-and-brain-drenched threads.
What gives me pause in this novel has a lot to do with some of the clumsiness around representation. I’m a firm believer that horror can be thrilling and awful without necessarily needing to lean on the real-life awfulness many queer and trans folks face, particularly with a premise like this novel’s that relies heavily on elements of otherworldly cosmic horror to move its plot forward.
Foremost and most glaring in my readership was the treatment of the novel’s single confirmed trans/gender diverse (their identity is not labeled) character. The revelation of this character’s gender diversity is revealed as a twist for shock value which treads dangerously close to problematic concepts of trans panic; in addition, this character also suffers abuse that is implied to be because of their gender expression. They then die violently shortly thereafter. Were there other trans and/or nonbinary characters present within the novel, maybe this wouldn’t have stuck out on my radar so much, but to have exactly one and for them to be handled in this way left a bad taste in my mouth.
There were other matters of sensitivity I think could have been handled better, horror novel or no. Despite a few fleeting references to the existence of nonbinary folks in this near-future world, the prose uses binary pairs of ‘him or her’ to refer to people when the singular ‘they’ is right there. There’s another moment where one character asks another if they’re “an” ace. Adding articles before marginalized identities seems a pretty standard practice thing to avoid, but alas; maybe it will be changed in the final copy. Finally, there’s a shockingly explicit reference to one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s real-life minor victims that I felt was both unnecessary in the context of the story/novel and in poor taste.
Overall, there’s no denying that Sister, Maiden, Monster was a gripping, disgusting, captivating scream of a splatterpunk novel. I would still recommend interested readers who are ready for some truly bizarre and horrifying stuff and who enjoy eldritch cosmic horror give this one a chance, with the caveat that some matters of sensitivity could have been handled better in my opinion regardless of all the blood, sex, guts, and plagues.
Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.
Sister, Maiden, Monster follows the journey of three different women—Erin, Savannah, and Mareva—as a new and deadly virus ravages the globe. To say much more than that would get into spoiler territory and I do think this is a novel best experienced as it unfolds.
To start with what I loved… Holy crap, was this a cosmic horror, splatterpunk, body horror but make it really terrifying experience. It’s one of the most disturbing (positive) horror books I’ve read so far and I loved it for that. It was electrifyingly paced, so once I picked it up, I didn’t put it back down all day until I had finished it. Structurally, the novel flowed incredibly well too.
The unbridled, raw, and powerful queer lust and hunger in this novel was definitely a selling point as well. It’s been a rarity in my experience to see women featuring in horror, particularly queer horror. Erin, Savannah, and Mareva all feel distinct even as their paths intertwine in horrifying, blood-and-brain-drenched threads.
What gives me pause in this novel has a lot to do with some of the clumsiness around representation. I’m a firm believer that horror can be thrilling and awful without necessarily needing to lean on the real-life awfulness many queer and trans folks face, particularly with a premise like this novel’s that relies heavily on elements of otherworldly cosmic horror to move its plot forward.
Foremost and most glaring in my readership was the treatment of the novel’s single confirmed trans/gender diverse (their identity is not labeled) character. The revelation of this character’s gender diversity is revealed as a twist for shock value which treads dangerously close to problematic concepts of trans panic; in addition, this character also suffers abuse that is implied to be because of their gender expression. They then die violently shortly thereafter. Were there other trans and/or nonbinary characters present within the novel, maybe this wouldn’t have stuck out on my radar so much, but to have exactly one and for them to be handled in this way left a bad taste in my mouth.
There were other matters of sensitivity I think could have been handled better, horror novel or no. Despite a few fleeting references to the existence of nonbinary folks in this near-future world, the prose uses binary pairs of ‘him or her’ to refer to people when the singular ‘they’ is right there. There’s another moment where one character asks another if they’re “an” ace. Adding articles before marginalized identities seems a pretty standard practice thing to avoid, but alas; maybe it will be changed in the final copy. Finally, there’s a shockingly explicit reference to one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s real-life minor victims that I felt was both unnecessary in the context of the story/novel and in poor taste.
Overall, there’s no denying that Sister, Maiden, Monster was a gripping, disgusting, captivating scream of a splatterpunk novel. I would still recommend interested readers who are ready for some truly bizarre and horrifying stuff and who enjoy eldritch cosmic horror give this one a chance, with the caveat that some matters of sensitivity could have been handled better in my opinion regardless of all the blood, sex, guts, and plagues.
Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.
May 27, 2025
The story in this book is told in 3 interconnected POVs, the first 2 POVs really worked for me but the last one not so much so the story ended on something of a low point for me. I did enjoy the body horror/contagion aspect and how wild things got though.
3.5 rounded up.
3.5 rounded up.
November 29, 2022
Holy FUCK you guys! I was hoping I was going to like this one but I wasn't prepared for how much I would absolutely LOVE it. I DEVOURED it. I didn't want to put it down, it was just that fricken good. I stayed up reading past my bedtime because I had to know how it ended.
Told in three parts by three different women who become irrevocably connected to one another through a pandy-apocalyptic event, we're introduced to a horrible new virus that tears through the planet like nothing we've ever seen. If you catch it, you're going to end up so fucked up you'll wish it killed you. Because to survive it means you're ushering in the end of the world as we know it and unlike R.EM. claims it will be, shit ain't gonna be fine. You are all soooo fucking far from fine!
Oh the things this book does and the places it goes! The body horror! The cow brains! And that weird ass crazy ending! If this wasn't on your radar already, it is now. If you aren't sure it's for you, you're wrong, it is! If you don't like it when you're done reading it, do I even know you and how are we even friends?
Told in three parts by three different women who become irrevocably connected to one another through a pandy-apocalyptic event, we're introduced to a horrible new virus that tears through the planet like nothing we've ever seen. If you catch it, you're going to end up so fucked up you'll wish it killed you. Because to survive it means you're ushering in the end of the world as we know it and unlike R.EM. claims it will be, shit ain't gonna be fine. You are all soooo fucking far from fine!
Oh the things this book does and the places it goes! The body horror! The cow brains! And that weird ass crazy ending! If this wasn't on your radar already, it is now. If you aren't sure it's for you, you're wrong, it is! If you don't like it when you're done reading it, do I even know you and how are we even friends?
July 4, 2023
I guess I was expecting something deeper and more disturbing and less kinky.
Some good gruesome moments but for the most part it was disappointing.
The blurb mentions three women, so I was expecting three interwoven stories. Instead, the first half of the book focuses entirely on Erin as the world starts to go a little crazy. It's a slow start to the horror, and I really wanted more. I was also frustrated by Erin's behaviour, so following her as sole protagonist wasn't a lot of fun.
When the horror finally takes hold, it does so quite suddenly and I found it jarring.
The other two women mentioned in the blurb don't get too much attention compared to Erin, but their paths are firmly in the disturbing so finally the horror gets interesting. Still, I felt the idea wasn't really done justice.
I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. I'm not hugely into the kinky stuff but if it's done with purpose (and horror) I don't mind so much. The line was thin here. On the most part I didn't mind it, but I also wondered if its inclusion in the story was necessary.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the idea of this more than the execution. I think there was so much going on here that narrowing it down to the three women didn't do it justice. There are some interesting ideas and social commentary but it's mostly neglected rather than expanded upon.
Disappointing, to be honest. I wanted so much more than what I got. It wasn't awful, but it could have been so much more than it was.
Some good gruesome moments but for the most part it was disappointing.
The blurb mentions three women, so I was expecting three interwoven stories. Instead, the first half of the book focuses entirely on Erin as the world starts to go a little crazy. It's a slow start to the horror, and I really wanted more. I was also frustrated by Erin's behaviour, so following her as sole protagonist wasn't a lot of fun.
When the horror finally takes hold, it does so quite suddenly and I found it jarring.
The other two women mentioned in the blurb don't get too much attention compared to Erin, but their paths are firmly in the disturbing so finally the horror gets interesting. Still, I felt the idea wasn't really done justice.
I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. I'm not hugely into the kinky stuff but if it's done with purpose (and horror) I don't mind so much. The line was thin here. On the most part I didn't mind it, but I also wondered if its inclusion in the story was necessary.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the idea of this more than the execution. I think there was so much going on here that narrowing it down to the three women didn't do it justice. There are some interesting ideas and social commentary but it's mostly neglected rather than expanded upon.
Disappointing, to be honest. I wanted so much more than what I got. It wasn't awful, but it could have been so much more than it was.
December 18, 2023
Woah this book was not what I expected. I really liked it tho. I thought the concept was super interesting and I found it super easy to read. I’m barely noticed how quickly I actually read it.
It was easy enough to follow and it was just an all around really good book. I liked all of the main characters, they all felt super thought out for how short the book was and how much it focused on the other stuff happening
It was easy enough to follow and it was just an all around really good book. I liked all of the main characters, they all felt super thought out for how short the book was and how much it focused on the other stuff happening
March 4, 2023
This made me support the book banning movement.
June 2, 2023
1.5
There are not many nice things I can say about this book. I think it had an idea that, if executed well, could have made for a really interesting read. Unfortunately, I can't tell you exactly what that specific idea is because the book didn't seem to know either. The story switched from being a pandemic novel to one about serial killers to one that might have been about reproductive rights; but because it couldn't decide on what it wanted to be about, anything compelling it wanted to say got lost in the nonsense. There are cool facets of the story, especially the eldritch horror -- which, for a book that sells itself as eldritch horror, was noticeably sparse. The characters were unlikable in a way that felt unintentional, and the pacing was so unpleasant that I considered cutting my losses and putting the book down. This is not a story I will remember, except with a vague sense of annoyance that a book with such an awesome cover did not meet my expectations.
There are not many nice things I can say about this book. I think it had an idea that, if executed well, could have made for a really interesting read. Unfortunately, I can't tell you exactly what that specific idea is because the book didn't seem to know either. The story switched from being a pandemic novel to one about serial killers to one that might have been about reproductive rights; but because it couldn't decide on what it wanted to be about, anything compelling it wanted to say got lost in the nonsense. There are cool facets of the story, especially the eldritch horror -- which, for a book that sells itself as eldritch horror, was noticeably sparse. The characters were unlikable in a way that felt unintentional, and the pacing was so unpleasant that I considered cutting my losses and putting the book down. This is not a story I will remember, except with a vague sense of annoyance that a book with such an awesome cover did not meet my expectations.
January 20, 2025
the consequences of letting terminally online gen xers publish books. also proof that a lot of people who pride themselves on being (white) feminists don't actually know anyone irl who belong to other disenfranchised demographics they then write about to give themselves a pat on the back.
this book made me so mad that i finished it in one day out of spite and dog eared every page that made me mad, i've tried my best to shorten it to the list below:
1. the three separate POVs have barely any distinction between voices, and there is a persistent problem of us having to watch these characters learn information we already learned in a previous section - which is especially tiring because the only way actual real expository info if given to you in this novel is through characters watching a youtube video from a doctor. huge, dialogue walls of info dumps from a youtube video. where is your imagination lucy..........
2. the writing in this is extremely plain and uninspired (although some of the body horror/gore was fun) which made it even worse when snyder would attempt at something resembling prose:
3. Despite this being marketed as a lesbian erotic horror the author simply cannot resist boldly proclaiming how biphobic all lesbians are!! which makes me wonder how many lesbians in the Real Life Actual World this author knows. i doubled down on this question when on the same page about lesbians being biphobic, the author describes how the sex worker character got her mostly lesbian clientele by advertising at "lesbian bars and such" - like the author can't even think of any actual spaces lesbians hang out at.
4.
--> 4a. there is also this weird scene early on when erin (first pov chara) sees savannah (second pov character) for the first time and describes her as having "so much makeup on she looks like a drag queen" which i also found really strange and like.... a little suspect? there are almost no other physical descriptions of the characters given - we know erin has blue eyes, savannah has blond hair - but that's about it. if this was meant to be indicative of erin's personality, someone who is maybe kind of queerphobic and judgy it didn't come across that way bc she's not like that anywhere else.... and we are also given no indication that savannah is that glammed up or flamboyant elsewhere. it was just a strange thing to say in addition to the incidental transphobia above?
5. honestly most of my problems in this boil down to the sex worker POV character, savannah. her section is the shortest, and most of it is padded up with diatribes about feminism or being pro-sex work in a way that adds nothing to the novel and also makes me confused about exactly what kind of book lucy snyder thinks she's writing because of points i'll address later on. while i wouldn't say any POV character in this is "developed", savannah is by far the least realized one, and her true only character trait is being so turned on by violence that it makes her orgasm. sure. hypersexual sex worker is definitely a very fun thing to explore and not at all dull and uninventive.
even in non-sexual instances, the writing for her says stuff like: "curiosity itches at me like a yeast infection." jesus christ. we get it. you are soooo edgy. your sex worker POV can only talk about cum, sex, and anything involving genitalia. you're insanely reductive!!!
6. also, for how much sex there is in this book.... none of it is written in any meaningful way. i appreciate the cannibalistic lesbian sex of the first part, but it's not written well. the first sex scene mentions king princess playing twice and is so awkward that the real horror of this novel was my second hand embarrassment.
7. this author writes like your worst cringe millennial or gen x friend who is like 7-8 meme cycles behind you. a literal line in this, when a character is worried about the size of a man's penis she's about to have sex with:
like. give me a fucking break. the next page of this also has this same character say she deserves her "nut". there's a few other old memes referenced in this, including a character saying she hopes the person who has murdered her sister, her brother-in-law, and their multiple young children "dies in a fire" and then later feels guilty about it because it's the "meanest thing she's ever said." these people aren't real!! they are cartoon characters!!
i just can't stress how this outdated, contemporary, try-hard humor tone does not nicely merge with the high-science, religious eldritch horror background it's up against. it's grating.
8.
9. while the dialogue in this book is cringy, the exposition is not much better. the actionable parts especially are insanely bad:
ah.... thank you..... that was so riveting............ so fun to read!!
10. throughout the first two parts of the novel, both characters make random asides i mentioned earlier that are just kind of general feminist.... well... rants? erin goes on for a page about wage gaps, savannah endlessly goes on about being judged for being a sex worker, etc. it happens so much i wondered if the horror of this was going to culminate in some kind of feminist metaphor, only for the final part of this to be
this book made me so mad that i finished it in one day out of spite and dog eared every page that made me mad, i've tried my best to shorten it to the list below:
1. the three separate POVs have barely any distinction between voices, and there is a persistent problem of us having to watch these characters learn information we already learned in a previous section - which is especially tiring because the only way actual real expository info if given to you in this novel is through characters watching a youtube video from a doctor. huge, dialogue walls of info dumps from a youtube video. where is your imagination lucy..........
2. the writing in this is extremely plain and uninspired (although some of the body horror/gore was fun) which made it even worse when snyder would attempt at something resembling prose:
"You ready?" Betty's question creaks like the hinge of a forgotten gate.
"Absolutely." My own voice is the dry fluttering of moth wings.
3. Despite this being marketed as a lesbian erotic horror the author simply cannot resist boldly proclaiming how biphobic all lesbians are!! which makes me wonder how many lesbians in the Real Life Actual World this author knows. i doubled down on this question when on the same page about lesbians being biphobic, the author describes how the sex worker character got her mostly lesbian clientele by advertising at "lesbian bars and such" - like the author can't even think of any actual spaces lesbians hang out at.
4.
--> 4a. there is also this weird scene early on when erin (first pov chara) sees savannah (second pov character) for the first time and describes her as having "so much makeup on she looks like a drag queen" which i also found really strange and like.... a little suspect? there are almost no other physical descriptions of the characters given - we know erin has blue eyes, savannah has blond hair - but that's about it. if this was meant to be indicative of erin's personality, someone who is maybe kind of queerphobic and judgy it didn't come across that way bc she's not like that anywhere else.... and we are also given no indication that savannah is that glammed up or flamboyant elsewhere. it was just a strange thing to say in addition to the incidental transphobia above?
5. honestly most of my problems in this boil down to the sex worker POV character, savannah. her section is the shortest, and most of it is padded up with diatribes about feminism or being pro-sex work in a way that adds nothing to the novel and also makes me confused about exactly what kind of book lucy snyder thinks she's writing because of points i'll address later on. while i wouldn't say any POV character in this is "developed", savannah is by far the least realized one, and her true only character trait is being so turned on by violence that it makes her orgasm. sure. hypersexual sex worker is definitely a very fun thing to explore and not at all dull and uninventive.
even in non-sexual instances, the writing for her says stuff like: "curiosity itches at me like a yeast infection." jesus christ. we get it. you are soooo edgy. your sex worker POV can only talk about cum, sex, and anything involving genitalia. you're insanely reductive!!!
6. also, for how much sex there is in this book.... none of it is written in any meaningful way. i appreciate the cannibalistic lesbian sex of the first part, but it's not written well. the first sex scene mentions king princess playing twice and is so awkward that the real horror of this novel was my second hand embarrassment.
7. this author writes like your worst cringe millennial or gen x friend who is like 7-8 meme cycles behind you. a literal line in this, when a character is worried about the size of a man's penis she's about to have sex with:
"But when he undid the fly of his cassock and levered his dick out, I had me a concern."
like. give me a fucking break. the next page of this also has this same character say she deserves her "nut". there's a few other old memes referenced in this, including a character saying she hopes the person who has murdered her sister, her brother-in-law, and their multiple young children "dies in a fire" and then later feels guilty about it because it's the "meanest thing she's ever said." these people aren't real!! they are cartoon characters!!
i just can't stress how this outdated, contemporary, try-hard humor tone does not nicely merge with the high-science, religious eldritch horror background it's up against. it's grating.
8.
9. while the dialogue in this book is cringy, the exposition is not much better. the actionable parts especially are insanely bad:
"But I woke up in a hurry when I heard several people toward the front of the store scream, followed by the sound of something large smashing through a front window, followed by even more screaming."
ah.... thank you..... that was so riveting............ so fun to read!!
10. throughout the first two parts of the novel, both characters make random asides i mentioned earlier that are just kind of general feminist.... well... rants? erin goes on for a page about wage gaps, savannah endlessly goes on about being judged for being a sex worker, etc. it happens so much i wondered if the horror of this was going to culminate in some kind of feminist metaphor, only for the final part of this to be
March 13, 2023
I liked the concept and the overall story. I wasn't a big fan of the ending. My feelings on the three main characters ranged from meh to strong dislike. In the end, the book was pretty middle of the road and will probably be quickly forgotten.
March 27, 2023
Thank you to the author Lucy A. Snyder, publisher Macmillan Audio, and as always NetGalley, for an advance audio copy of SISTER, MAIDEN, MONSTER.
This book feels like three separate stories that connect loosely at the wide swinging hinge of a pandemic. These terrific and terrifying tales are as much about women surviving as they are about a nasty bug. This bug is no Covid-- people unfortunate enough to contract this one become very hungry for some very strange food. For the empowered woman, the new world could hold odd promise. And giving birth takes on new significance.
I really enjoyed the writing style, which is spare structurally, but descriptively generous. I had a couple of wonderful ick moments, which I think pushes this book a few inches into the transgressive horror genre. The body horror described here is creative and suggestive of transformation. I consider this also a piece of feminist horror, but I do not think you have to appreciate feminism to appreciate this book.
Rating: 🧌🧌🧌🧌.5 / 5 weird person things
Recommend? Yes!
Finished: March 23 2023
Read this if you like:
🦑 H.P. Lovecraft
🩸 Body horror
⚗️ Sci-Fi horror
🏚 Post apocalyptic fiction
🧬 Pandemic horror
This book feels like three separate stories that connect loosely at the wide swinging hinge of a pandemic. These terrific and terrifying tales are as much about women surviving as they are about a nasty bug. This bug is no Covid-- people unfortunate enough to contract this one become very hungry for some very strange food. For the empowered woman, the new world could hold odd promise. And giving birth takes on new significance.
I really enjoyed the writing style, which is spare structurally, but descriptively generous. I had a couple of wonderful ick moments, which I think pushes this book a few inches into the transgressive horror genre. The body horror described here is creative and suggestive of transformation. I consider this also a piece of feminist horror, but I do not think you have to appreciate feminism to appreciate this book.
Rating: 🧌🧌🧌🧌.5 / 5 weird person things
Recommend? Yes!
Finished: March 23 2023
Read this if you like:
🦑 H.P. Lovecraft
🩸 Body horror
⚗️ Sci-Fi horror
🏚 Post apocalyptic fiction
🧬 Pandemic horror
December 13, 2023
So, this is absolutely one of those books where you finish it, stare at a wall for two minutes, then exclaim: "what the f*ck did I just read?"
I honestly have no clue how to describe this to anyone, even though I certainly tried. It's like ... if the next pandemic we had sought to turn people into almost but not quite biblically accurate angels to prepare for an inevitable apocalypse that is handed down by eldritch beings who have a thing for octopuses. Curious yet?
Based on the synopsis, I assumed this was in triple POV. And, in a way, it was, but not how I expected. Rather the book is broken into three parts, with each character taking turns to show the different stages of the literal plague. Interestingly, while completely separate from each other, all three women are connected through some degree of separation. Each woman played a specific role in the upcoming Rapture, and they carried them very well, I thought.
Erin kicks us off for the first Act, being one of those who caught one of the more serious PVG cases and adjusting to her new reality. How being Type 3 has broken her relationship, changed her work position, her diet, and overall physical and mental needs.
Savannah slips into the middle with the shortest Act 2. She contracted PVG but did not get badly sick. Rather, her transformation comes from witnessing someone else's, and she finds a new purpose in life that involves some pretty nasty stuff for those aforementioned eldritch peeps.
Finally, Mareva takes us home to the finale by being the Chosen one. She has a disease/disorder that causes her to grow benign tumors. And boy howdy do we know she's the Chosen one when one of those tumors turns out to be not very cancer-like at all.
Never before has a book made me so squeamish. Usually I'm pretty good with body horror, but this did not shy away from the gore and unnerving. I mean, there was one scene involving a brain that literally made me scream and skip to the end because it was to gross to fathom. First for everything I suppose. And as weird and uncomfy as this book was in some places, it was so damn interesting and incredibly well written. I kid you not when I say I could not put it down. I just had to know what it all led to, what everything meant.
I waffled incredibly hard on what to rate this. Flipped between a three and a five on multiple occasions because there were some incredible moments that made me forget the not so good ones. In the end, I'm settling on a four because of that ending. I swear my copy was missing an epilogue or something because it was far too abrupt for me. I needed just a little more.
I honestly have no clue how to describe this to anyone, even though I certainly tried. It's like ... if the next pandemic we had sought to turn people into almost but not quite biblically accurate angels to prepare for an inevitable apocalypse that is handed down by eldritch beings who have a thing for octopuses. Curious yet?
Based on the synopsis, I assumed this was in triple POV. And, in a way, it was, but not how I expected. Rather the book is broken into three parts, with each character taking turns to show the different stages of the literal plague. Interestingly, while completely separate from each other, all three women are connected through some degree of separation. Each woman played a specific role in the upcoming Rapture, and they carried them very well, I thought.
Erin kicks us off for the first Act, being one of those who caught one of the more serious PVG cases and adjusting to her new reality. How being Type 3 has broken her relationship, changed her work position, her diet, and overall physical and mental needs.
Savannah slips into the middle with the shortest Act 2. She contracted PVG but did not get badly sick. Rather, her transformation comes from witnessing someone else's, and she finds a new purpose in life that involves some pretty nasty stuff for those aforementioned eldritch peeps.
Finally, Mareva takes us home to the finale by being the Chosen one. She has a disease/disorder that causes her to grow benign tumors. And boy howdy do we know she's the Chosen one when one of those tumors turns out to be not very cancer-like at all.
Never before has a book made me so squeamish. Usually I'm pretty good with body horror, but this did not shy away from the gore and unnerving. I mean, there was one scene involving a brain that literally made me scream and skip to the end because it was to gross to fathom. First for everything I suppose. And as weird and uncomfy as this book was in some places, it was so damn interesting and incredibly well written. I kid you not when I say I could not put it down. I just had to know what it all led to, what everything meant.
I waffled incredibly hard on what to rate this. Flipped between a three and a five on multiple occasions because there were some incredible moments that made me forget the not so good ones. In the end, I'm settling on a four because of that ending. I swear my copy was missing an epilogue or something because it was far too abrupt for me. I needed just a little more.
November 28, 2024
11/2024: 3rd time reading this book and the same feeling applies as my last review. This is such a wild ride. Very gross, very weird. I would love this to be a series! Still keeping my fingers crossed for a book 2 🤞 I enjoy reading this in December (or nearing it) because Christmas is mentioned several times.
12/2023: I DEVOURED this audiobook! It was my second time reading this, first time was earlier this year, and I had just as must fun (if not more) as the first!
Told in 3 different POV’s, our post-Covid world is experiencing a pandemic of epic proportions (not covid related) and we are right in the thick of it. I loved the varied commentary & discussions had within each persons section (the POV’s are told in parts). Lots of different societal topics are woven through the book, which made it all feel very relevant in a bonkers sorta way. All the characters were a blast to get to know, all very unique and interesting in their own ways. This book was WEIRD and GORY and super freakin fun. Loved every minute! It does end on a sort of cliff hanger though so hopefully we are getting a book 2?!? I NEED IT
12/2023: I DEVOURED this audiobook! It was my second time reading this, first time was earlier this year, and I had just as must fun (if not more) as the first!
Told in 3 different POV’s, our post-Covid world is experiencing a pandemic of epic proportions (not covid related) and we are right in the thick of it. I loved the varied commentary & discussions had within each persons section (the POV’s are told in parts). Lots of different societal topics are woven through the book, which made it all feel very relevant in a bonkers sorta way. All the characters were a blast to get to know, all very unique and interesting in their own ways. This book was WEIRD and GORY and super freakin fun. Loved every minute! It does end on a sort of cliff hanger though so hopefully we are getting a book 2?!? I NEED IT
February 10, 2023
I received this as an ARC from Tor Nightfire via NetGalley. My thanks for the opportunity.
And . . . I'm not sure what I just read. This is, quite literally, the most messed up thing I've read in a long, long time. It's hardcore horror that begins with a Covid-like pandemic shutdown, and ends in near cosmic annihilation. In between there's so much blood, gore, and body fluids that I felt as if I need two giant bottles of disinfectant to clean up.
My mind will not be the same after reading this. But I most definitely enjoyed the ride, and I look forward to more from Lucy Snyder. Awesome job!
And . . . I'm not sure what I just read. This is, quite literally, the most messed up thing I've read in a long, long time. It's hardcore horror that begins with a Covid-like pandemic shutdown, and ends in near cosmic annihilation. In between there's so much blood, gore, and body fluids that I felt as if I need two giant bottles of disinfectant to clean up.
My mind will not be the same after reading this. But I most definitely enjoyed the ride, and I look forward to more from Lucy Snyder. Awesome job!
August 24, 2023
This is a case of "this book just isn't for me".
There were a few glimmers where I thought I was liking it but then I was hit with so much cheesy writing, graphic sex scenes, and confusing illogical science. I LOVE the apocalyptic stuff and the dystopian aspect (so the first maybe 20% of the book was actually genuinely super interesting) but the tedious amounts of characterization we had to go through in each character POV felt so unnecessary and uninteresting to me.
The writing could be intensely cheesy at times (for example all the "yalls" used casually over and over again). Also it's a little rough and preachy at times...like it's all relevant stuff but just awkwardly shoved in (for example the government conspiracy stuff etc).
I feel like this was less about a new pandemic and more about all the romantic relationships. The open relationship aspect in the beginning was so selfish and really made me hate the main protagonist. Also there was so much on page sex thrown in this book that was completely off-putting to me. Graphic sex is maybe the most boring thing to read about in my opinion and this book read like a chore to me.
I really wish we could have just followed pov 1 (Erin) the whole time. I don't get why it had to be split perspectives. Part 2 is trash....skimmed the whole thing. And Part 3 just felt so weak. (or even if the POVs had been traded off each chapter instead of reading as three separate books lumped together).
The book as a whole felt very choppy to me. We spend so much time on Erin's characterization and then abandon her and have to completely rebuild and start over 3x....
We also spend so much time on the start of the infection like every grueling detail and then the later half is quite thin. I just felt like the author was writing multiple books and they didn't go together.
The ending felt utterly pointless and way too abrupt with no resolution whatsoever. I am fine with an open ending but this just felt like it ended with no loose ends being cleaned up.
Also I can't take the Octopus sushi thing seriously. DUMB
.
.
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Synopsis: Post pandemic story where the world is struck with a new pandemic involving different cases of people who crave eating brains or drinking blood. Told through multi POV's.
There were a few glimmers where I thought I was liking it but then I was hit with so much cheesy writing, graphic sex scenes, and confusing illogical science. I LOVE the apocalyptic stuff and the dystopian aspect (so the first maybe 20% of the book was actually genuinely super interesting) but the tedious amounts of characterization we had to go through in each character POV felt so unnecessary and uninteresting to me.
The writing could be intensely cheesy at times (for example all the "yalls" used casually over and over again). Also it's a little rough and preachy at times...like it's all relevant stuff but just awkwardly shoved in (for example the government conspiracy stuff etc).
I feel like this was less about a new pandemic and more about all the romantic relationships. The open relationship aspect in the beginning was so selfish and really made me hate the main protagonist. Also there was so much on page sex thrown in this book that was completely off-putting to me. Graphic sex is maybe the most boring thing to read about in my opinion and this book read like a chore to me.
I really wish we could have just followed pov 1 (Erin) the whole time. I don't get why it had to be split perspectives. Part 2 is trash....skimmed the whole thing. And Part 3 just felt so weak. (or even if the POVs had been traded off each chapter instead of reading as three separate books lumped together).
The book as a whole felt very choppy to me. We spend so much time on Erin's characterization and then abandon her and have to completely rebuild and start over 3x....
We also spend so much time on the start of the infection like every grueling detail and then the later half is quite thin. I just felt like the author was writing multiple books and they didn't go together.
The ending felt utterly pointless and way too abrupt with no resolution whatsoever. I am fine with an open ending but this just felt like it ended with no loose ends being cleaned up.
Also I can't take the Octopus sushi thing seriously. DUMB
.
.
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Synopsis: Post pandemic story where the world is struck with a new pandemic involving different cases of people who crave eating brains or drinking blood. Told through multi POV's.
January 1, 2024
well. when funko pops are mentioned in the first five pages you know it’s going to be bad. the best i can say is that it’s an extremely interesting concept. there are so many different issues here that i’m just going to bullet point them.
•main character literally gets zombie disease and then complains that other people are scared of her. “oh wow they’re really stigmatizing chronic illness” girl. you want to kill people and eat their brains.
•related: this girl complains multiple times about people not taking covid seriously and then turns around and doesn’t take the restrictions placed on her for having zombie disease seriously. what is wrong with you.
•claims to be feminist. but if the feminism in your book consists solely of page long “empowering”-but-really-just-tired-and-cliche diatribes and little witty quips then you’re not doing a very good job.
•worst example of telling instead of showing i have ever seen. each part begins with an entire chapter of dense and heavy handed exposition. but then in other parts of the book, especially during action scenes, there is far too little description. plot altering events are brushed past in one or two pages. why the author couldn’t have just made the book ~75 pages longer and expanded the exposition and the action scenes into something worth reading is beyond me.
•in part three the phrase ‘rat brain’ is used every. single. time. the narrator is talking about her thoughts and feelings. please shut up.
•a lot of the dialogue is almost mind blowingly bad. had me questioning if the author has ever actually talked to a person.
•any piece of media that uses the words “squick” or “sexytime” at any point immediately loses all credibility.
this is what happens when we let chronically online people write books. we have to stop encouraging this behavior.
•main character literally gets zombie disease and then complains that other people are scared of her. “oh wow they’re really stigmatizing chronic illness” girl. you want to kill people and eat their brains.
•related: this girl complains multiple times about people not taking covid seriously and then turns around and doesn’t take the restrictions placed on her for having zombie disease seriously. what is wrong with you.
•claims to be feminist. but if the feminism in your book consists solely of page long “empowering”-but-really-just-tired-and-cliche diatribes and little witty quips then you’re not doing a very good job.
•worst example of telling instead of showing i have ever seen. each part begins with an entire chapter of dense and heavy handed exposition. but then in other parts of the book, especially during action scenes, there is far too little description. plot altering events are brushed past in one or two pages. why the author couldn’t have just made the book ~75 pages longer and expanded the exposition and the action scenes into something worth reading is beyond me.
•in part three the phrase ‘rat brain’ is used every. single. time. the narrator is talking about her thoughts and feelings. please shut up.
•a lot of the dialogue is almost mind blowingly bad. had me questioning if the author has ever actually talked to a person.
•any piece of media that uses the words “squick” or “sexytime” at any point immediately loses all credibility.
this is what happens when we let chronically online people write books. we have to stop encouraging this behavior.
January 26, 2025
An odd little book by Snyder, a mixture of body and eldritch horror, narrated in a rather laconic voice that belies the gruesome events. Where to even start with this one? The story takes place shortly after the Covid pandemic and starts with Erin, who works in some tech firm and has a long-term boyfriend/partner. She has heard of the new pandemic going around, PVG, or polymorphic viral gastroencephalitis. Some who get infected merely have an upset stomach for a few days and that seems to be it; call them Type Ones. Type twos and threes, however, get it pretty bad, puking and shitting as their stomach lining shreds. For those who survive, a grim future unfolds. Both type twos and threes now possess life-long afflictions, with their bodies no longer able to process many foods. Type twos need to drink blood and type threes need to eat brains. Other than that, however, life seems to go on.
Erin became a type three, but luckily, she was able to keep her job, running the mainframe computer on the night shift. Type twos and threes never seem to get rid of the virus and remain contagious, so Erin works alone, and even has her own bathroom at work. Snyder divides the book into three sections, each featuring one woman. After starting with Erin, Snyder introduces Savannah, a high-class BDSM 'working gal' in one of the new legal brothels in town. Turns out she regularly 'serviced' Erin's partner so there is a connection. The last woman featuring in the tale, Mareva, works for the same company as Erin; they know one another somewhat, but after Erin caught PVG, they keep their distance, even though they work the same shift...
Now, we have type twos who crave blood (human ideally) and type threes who crave brains; you know they are going to get together somehow and Snyder does not pull any punches. Just when I started to grasp the tale, Snyder tosses in some eldritch horror and the story takes a very different direction, but I will say no more to avoid spoilers. Plenty of gore for the hounds here, along with some pretty steamy sex for sure, but again, Snyder narrates the tale in such a laconic voice the gruesome details seem more natural than shocking. The story does meander quite a bit as Snyder takes her time introducing each of the three main characters, providing their back stories, but I enjoyed it. It all takes place in some nameless city (Columbus, Ohio?). Good stuff. 4 eldritch stars!
Erin became a type three, but luckily, she was able to keep her job, running the mainframe computer on the night shift. Type twos and threes never seem to get rid of the virus and remain contagious, so Erin works alone, and even has her own bathroom at work. Snyder divides the book into three sections, each featuring one woman. After starting with Erin, Snyder introduces Savannah, a high-class BDSM 'working gal' in one of the new legal brothels in town. Turns out she regularly 'serviced' Erin's partner so there is a connection. The last woman featuring in the tale, Mareva, works for the same company as Erin; they know one another somewhat, but after Erin caught PVG, they keep their distance, even though they work the same shift...
Now, we have type twos who crave blood (human ideally) and type threes who crave brains; you know they are going to get together somehow and Snyder does not pull any punches. Just when I started to grasp the tale, Snyder tosses in some eldritch horror and the story takes a very different direction, but I will say no more to avoid spoilers. Plenty of gore for the hounds here, along with some pretty steamy sex for sure, but again, Snyder narrates the tale in such a laconic voice the gruesome details seem more natural than shocking. The story does meander quite a bit as Snyder takes her time introducing each of the three main characters, providing their back stories, but I enjoyed it. It all takes place in some nameless city (Columbus, Ohio?). Good stuff. 4 eldritch stars!
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