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Saint Death #2
Saint Death's Herald
Lanie Stones is the necromancer that Death has been praying for.
Heartbroken, exiled from her homeland as a traitor, Lanie Stones would rather take refuge in good books and delicate pastries than hunt a deathless abomination, but that is the duty she has chosen.
The abomination in question happens to be her own great-grandfather, the powerful necromancer Irradiant Stones. Grandpa Rad has escaped from his prison and stolen a body, and is heading to the icy country of Skakhmat where he died, to finish the genocide he started. Fortunately for her, Lanie has her powerful death magic, including the power to sing the restless dead to their eternal slumber; and she has her new family by her side.
Grandpa Rad may have finally met his match.
Heartbroken, exiled from her homeland as a traitor, Lanie Stones would rather take refuge in good books and delicate pastries than hunt a deathless abomination, but that is the duty she has chosen.
The abomination in question happens to be her own great-grandfather, the powerful necromancer Irradiant Stones. Grandpa Rad has escaped from his prison and stolen a body, and is heading to the icy country of Skakhmat where he died, to finish the genocide he started. Fortunately for her, Lanie has her powerful death magic, including the power to sing the restless dead to their eternal slumber; and she has her new family by her side.
Grandpa Rad may have finally met his match.
480 pages, Unknown Binding
First published April 22, 2025
46 people are currently reading
3513 people want to read
About the author
C.S.E. Cooney
196 books348 followersC.S.E. Cooney lives and writes in Queens, whose borders are water. She is an audiobook narrator, the singer/songwriter Brimstone Rhine, and author of World Fantasy Award-winning Bone Swans: Stories (Mythic Delirium 2015).
Her work includes the novella Desdemona and the Deep (Tor.com 2019), three albums: Alecto! Alecto!, The Headless Bride, and Corbeau Blanc, Corbeau Noir, and a poetry collection: How to Flirt in Faerieland and Other Wild Rhymes. The latter features her 2011 Rhysling Award-winning “The Sea King’s Second Bride.”
Her short fiction can be found in Ellen Datlow’s Mad Hatters and March Hares: All-New Stories from the World of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the Sword and Sonnet anthology, edited by Aidan Doyle, Rachael K Jones, E. Catherine Tobler, Mike Allen’s Clockwork Phoenix 3 and 5, Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018), Jonathan Strahan’s The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 12, Lightspeed Magazine, Fireside Magazine, Strange Horizons, Apex, Uncanny Magazine, Black Gate, Papaveria Press, GigaNotoSaurus, The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, and elsewhere.
Her work includes the novella Desdemona and the Deep (Tor.com 2019), three albums: Alecto! Alecto!, The Headless Bride, and Corbeau Blanc, Corbeau Noir, and a poetry collection: How to Flirt in Faerieland and Other Wild Rhymes. The latter features her 2011 Rhysling Award-winning “The Sea King’s Second Bride.”
Her short fiction can be found in Ellen Datlow’s Mad Hatters and March Hares: All-New Stories from the World of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the Sword and Sonnet anthology, edited by Aidan Doyle, Rachael K Jones, E. Catherine Tobler, Mike Allen’s Clockwork Phoenix 3 and 5, Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018), Jonathan Strahan’s The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 12, Lightspeed Magazine, Fireside Magazine, Strange Horizons, Apex, Uncanny Magazine, Black Gate, Papaveria Press, GigaNotoSaurus, The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, and elsewhere.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
April 20, 2025
A triumphant return to one of the fantasy genre's most spellbinding and singular worlds. In Saint Death's Daughter, C.S.E. Cooney gave us a world stitched from whimsy and macabre, rich with invention and heart. In Saint Death’s Herald, she invites us back for more uncanny cultures, more glittering godly encounters, more friends and enemies, more glorious magic and necromantic hijinks. It’s a world I never want to leave, a world I could explore endlessly and still be left in awe.
Masterfully balancing wit and the fantastical with the dark and horrifying, Cooney's prose continues to dazzle. Lush, lyrical and immersive, her voice is unmistakable - rich with metaphor, alive with rhythm, and utterly transportive.
As a quest that follows previously unresolved threads from Saint Death's Daughter, the plot is more linear with a smaller scope and cast of characters. Cooney explores themes of personal identity, intergenerational trauma, the echoes of war and the complicated legacies we inherit and resist.
But at its heart this is still Lanie Stones' story. Her evolving relationships with friends, enemies and her god, her deepening power as a necromancer, and her ongoing inner transformation. An utterly unforgettable protagonist, Cooney reminds us through Lanie that coming of age isn't a single arc; it's a lifelong process - messy, painful, full of heartbreak and grace.
Saint Death’s Herald lingers not just for its wild creativity or beautiful writing, but for the way it speaks to transformation, to love, to what we carry and what we choose to become. It's ferociously smart, achingly beautiful and gloriously strange. I can't wait for more.
Thank you Solaris Books for the ARC
Masterfully balancing wit and the fantastical with the dark and horrifying, Cooney's prose continues to dazzle. Lush, lyrical and immersive, her voice is unmistakable - rich with metaphor, alive with rhythm, and utterly transportive.
As a quest that follows previously unresolved threads from Saint Death's Daughter, the plot is more linear with a smaller scope and cast of characters. Cooney explores themes of personal identity, intergenerational trauma, the echoes of war and the complicated legacies we inherit and resist.
But at its heart this is still Lanie Stones' story. Her evolving relationships with friends, enemies and her god, her deepening power as a necromancer, and her ongoing inner transformation. An utterly unforgettable protagonist, Cooney reminds us through Lanie that coming of age isn't a single arc; it's a lifelong process - messy, painful, full of heartbreak and grace.
Saint Death’s Herald lingers not just for its wild creativity or beautiful writing, but for the way it speaks to transformation, to love, to what we carry and what we choose to become. It's ferociously smart, achingly beautiful and gloriously strange. I can't wait for more.
Thank you Solaris Books for the ARC
March 11, 2025
I felt that Saint Death's Daughter was made propulsive by the continuous twists of the plot and made meaningful by the depth of Lanie's relationships with those she loves, and I felt that this book was sorely missing in both.
At the end of the first book, I would have said that Lanie's most interesting, captivating relationships were with Mak, the man who was also captive to her sister and who grows from thinking of her as an abomination to thinking of her as family, and with Lir, Lanie's beloved who maybe betrayed her. These two relationships are entirely backburnered, and instead we have as secondary characters Duantri, who is a paragon of virtue and unquestionably good, Grandpa Rad, who is pure selfishness and unquestionably evil, and Cracchen, who would be more interesting if he was not forced into a position of allyship by circumstances and was in a position to litigate his relationship with Lanie. None of those three characters, who are the ones who get the most pages, have any of the tension with Lanie that Mak did or that Lir did, and I really felt that loss. Halfway through, we get some old faces flying into the story, but it's still not actually a source of friction or conflict or interest.
Also, frankly, it's a little boring. At about the halfway mark, I realised that there was no hope of the plot zigging and zagging that made the first book so unpredictable and interesting, and instead it was going to be a whole book of tracking down Grandpa Rad, who is quite possibly the least interesting character of all. The problem with realising that one particular problem is going to be the entire plot is that it means that whenever it seems like there is hope for a victory along the way, you know that it's going to be undone by some (sometimes literal) deus ex machina so that the stakes can continue to raise and the plot continue on. When the story finally was wrapped up, I didn't get the sense that the steps taken for that to happen were materially different than any of the steps that had been taken previously; it just happened to be time for that to happen. In Saint Death's Daughter, Lanie had any number of goals to be pursued in parallel, and there were any number of enemies to be concerned about. One enemy, one quest, simply cannot compete. I did enjoy the back half a bit more, but that might just have been because I lowered my expectations and started thinking of it as fluff.
Obviously, the world building continues to be great and the politics of the continent continues to be interesting, with some necessary shades of grey applied to wars we have previously heard about. The prose is lively, though I do miss the sheer density of footnotes about historical Stoneses and their ridiculous names of the first book. I prepared a review of this when I nearly DNF'd it halfway through, and I probably would have left it there but for the fact that I had an ARC and felt obliged to finish. That review exists above with very few changes: the back half did not become so completely interesting that my opinions changed.
It's a pleasant book, and you'll enjoy it more if you think of it as fluff rather than as a complex work of fantasy.
At the end of the first book, I would have said that Lanie's most interesting, captivating relationships were with Mak, the man who was also captive to her sister and who grows from thinking of her as an abomination to thinking of her as family, and with Lir, Lanie's beloved who maybe betrayed her. These two relationships are entirely backburnered, and instead we have as secondary characters Duantri, who is a paragon of virtue and unquestionably good, Grandpa Rad, who is pure selfishness and unquestionably evil, and Cracchen, who would be more interesting if he was not forced into a position of allyship by circumstances and was in a position to litigate his relationship with Lanie. None of those three characters, who are the ones who get the most pages, have any of the tension with Lanie that Mak did or that Lir did, and I really felt that loss. Halfway through, we get some old faces flying into the story, but it's still not actually a source of friction or conflict or interest.
Also, frankly, it's a little boring. At about the halfway mark, I realised that there was no hope of the plot zigging and zagging that made the first book so unpredictable and interesting, and instead it was going to be a whole book of tracking down Grandpa Rad, who is quite possibly the least interesting character of all. The problem with realising that one particular problem is going to be the entire plot is that it means that whenever it seems like there is hope for a victory along the way, you know that it's going to be undone by some (sometimes literal) deus ex machina so that the stakes can continue to raise and the plot continue on. When the story finally was wrapped up, I didn't get the sense that the steps taken for that to happen were materially different than any of the steps that had been taken previously; it just happened to be time for that to happen. In Saint Death's Daughter, Lanie had any number of goals to be pursued in parallel, and there were any number of enemies to be concerned about. One enemy, one quest, simply cannot compete. I did enjoy the back half a bit more, but that might just have been because I lowered my expectations and started thinking of it as fluff.
Obviously, the world building continues to be great and the politics of the continent continues to be interesting, with some necessary shades of grey applied to wars we have previously heard about. The prose is lively, though I do miss the sheer density of footnotes about historical Stoneses and their ridiculous names of the first book. I prepared a review of this when I nearly DNF'd it halfway through, and I probably would have left it there but for the fact that I had an ARC and felt obliged to finish. That review exists above with very few changes: the back half did not become so completely interesting that my opinions changed.
It's a pleasant book, and you'll enjoy it more if you think of it as fluff rather than as a complex work of fantasy.
April 23, 2025
*I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*
Highlights
~Stripes the flying tiger-rug!
~limestone is officially the Best Rock
~shapeshifters like you’ve never seen
~a very sparkly hivemind
~ice, ice, baby
:minor spoilers for Saint Death’s Herald!:
Saint Death’s Herald is a very different book to its predecessor, to the point that I think some readers will be initially startled by it. But if you hang on long enough for the story to sweep you away – and it won’t take long! – then you’ll find that Cooney has penned another beautiful, brilliant, beguiling epic to enchant us.
There’s no gradual build-up this time: Herald hits the ground running (or should I say: flying?) and thereafter never slows down. The blurb covers the skeleton (pun absolutely intended) of the plot, but is a bit misleading: Lanie and Duantri are close on the heels of Lanie’s ghostly grandfather as the book opens, but although his plan is to head for Skakhmat, he gets side-tracked and ends up leading them into Leech, a nation of terrifying shapeshifters. Grandpa Rad has big, horrifying plans, and he means to use the very soul-matter of the shapeshifters to bring them to fruition.
The showdown, throwdown, is epic.
If Daughter was extravagantly sprawling, Herald is tighter, far more direct, all the glittering opulence of the first book distilled down to a blinding but laser-focused radiance. Herald is faster, more streamlined, all of Lanie’s natural exuberance – not reined in (never that!) but turned to a single purpose, from which nothing is going to sway or distract her. Where Daughter dances, Herald runs, not with a sprint, but with the unflagging determination of a persistence predator hunting a dream.
I do not mean to imply for even a moment that this means Saint Death’s Herald is a more boring book than its predecessor! It is, perhaps, slightly less wiggly (I cannot say, ‘more straightforward’, because ‘straightforward’ implies a conventionality that I doubt Cooney is capable of, even were she interested in trying)(this is a most adoring compliment) – but that is not to say that Herald has been pared away to the strictly functional, that here all Daughter’s gleeful whimsy has been sanded down to dull and plodding Sense and Seriousness! That is most certainly not the case!
Saint Death’s Herald is effervescent, glittering, as fizzy and breathtaking as a shower of shooting stars. It abounds with muchness, marvellously so; it is a magic carpet to rival Stripes himself, woven out of love and wonder and rainbow-streaked wildness, and it soars.
No book where one language is presented in iambic pentameter (Quadic) and another is in the alliterative verse of the freaking Norse epics (Old Skaki) is not spilling over with citrus-pink zest, okay??? This is, like its predecessor, a book that is not only endless fun to read, it was clearly also immense fun to write, and the joy and glee and delight that went into its writing radiates from the pages like sunlight. Saint Death’s Herald is so perfectly FREE: unselfconscious, uninhibited, entirely unashamed of its larger-than-life* lavishness. It glories in that lavishness, revels in itself and invites us into the revel too.
This is not a go big or go home book: it’s a go big because big is BEAUTIFUL! book.
And that is so much better.
*There’s a necromancy pun in there somewhere, I know it!
I will never get tired of how these books about necromancy are fundamentally a celebration of life and living. That remains so impressively subversive, and creative, and inspiring – and such freaking FUN.
And since I haven’t yet said so outright: everything I loved about Saint Death’s Daughter is here in abundance. The footnotes; the dazzling prose; the vocabulary, full (but not overwhelming so) of words unfamiliar to me, each one small and precious and perfect as the surprise in a Fabergé egg – a treasure within a treasure. (I love looking up new words from this series, especially because they are always such marvellous new words; but I do think readers who do not enjoy consulting the dictionary can get by perfectly well deducing the meanings from context.) And hey, all the incredible characters we fell in love with in the first book? Prepare to love them even more! Saint Death’s Herald isn’t only from Lanie’s POV; this time, we also see through the eyes of characters like Duantri and Datu (and several others I’ll leave as surprises!) I didn’t expect that – it’s a big change from Daughter, where we only have Lanie’s perspective – but it’s a much-appreciated addition! I loved getting to know these characters even better than we already do, and discovering what Lanie looks like from where they’re standing? Wasn’t just fun; in a few cases, it was a very necessary reminder that she appears very differently to other people than she does to us.
(We know Lanie as the adorable twitling who cuddles mice skeletons and nerds out over all things Quadoni and will forget to eat if she has cool bones to play with. It’s difficult to think of her as scary. It’s only by seeing her as others see her that we realise how – how world-changing she is, or has the potential to be. Which does mean terrifying, to some.)
Not everything is all love and glitter, though. Because Grandpa Rad is the worst kind of monster, and he is, unfortunately, what Saint Death’s Herald revolves around.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
Highlights
~Stripes the flying tiger-rug!
~limestone is officially the Best Rock
~shapeshifters like you’ve never seen
~a very sparkly hivemind
~ice, ice, baby
:minor spoilers for Saint Death’s Herald!:
Saint Death’s Herald is a very different book to its predecessor, to the point that I think some readers will be initially startled by it. But if you hang on long enough for the story to sweep you away – and it won’t take long! – then you’ll find that Cooney has penned another beautiful, brilliant, beguiling epic to enchant us.
There’s no gradual build-up this time: Herald hits the ground running (or should I say: flying?) and thereafter never slows down. The blurb covers the skeleton (pun absolutely intended) of the plot, but is a bit misleading: Lanie and Duantri are close on the heels of Lanie’s ghostly grandfather as the book opens, but although his plan is to head for Skakhmat, he gets side-tracked and ends up leading them into Leech, a nation of terrifying shapeshifters. Grandpa Rad has big, horrifying plans, and he means to use the very soul-matter of the shapeshifters to bring them to fruition.
The showdown, throwdown, is epic.
If Daughter was extravagantly sprawling, Herald is tighter, far more direct, all the glittering opulence of the first book distilled down to a blinding but laser-focused radiance. Herald is faster, more streamlined, all of Lanie’s natural exuberance – not reined in (never that!) but turned to a single purpose, from which nothing is going to sway or distract her. Where Daughter dances, Herald runs, not with a sprint, but with the unflagging determination of a persistence predator hunting a dream.
I do not mean to imply for even a moment that this means Saint Death’s Herald is a more boring book than its predecessor! It is, perhaps, slightly less wiggly (I cannot say, ‘more straightforward’, because ‘straightforward’ implies a conventionality that I doubt Cooney is capable of, even were she interested in trying)(this is a most adoring compliment) – but that is not to say that Herald has been pared away to the strictly functional, that here all Daughter’s gleeful whimsy has been sanded down to dull and plodding Sense and Seriousness! That is most certainly not the case!
Saint Death’s Herald is effervescent, glittering, as fizzy and breathtaking as a shower of shooting stars. It abounds with muchness, marvellously so; it is a magic carpet to rival Stripes himself, woven out of love and wonder and rainbow-streaked wildness, and it soars.
Issue of ill-mage, heir of our arch-foe,
meet is our meeting, midst sky-road and soil!
Vengeance and vanquishment at last are upon us
Capitulate, craven–extinction ensues!
No book where one language is presented in iambic pentameter (Quadic) and another is in the alliterative verse of the freaking Norse epics (Old Skaki) is not spilling over with citrus-pink zest, okay??? This is, like its predecessor, a book that is not only endless fun to read, it was clearly also immense fun to write, and the joy and glee and delight that went into its writing radiates from the pages like sunlight. Saint Death’s Herald is so perfectly FREE: unselfconscious, uninhibited, entirely unashamed of its larger-than-life* lavishness. It glories in that lavishness, revels in itself and invites us into the revel too.
This is not a go big or go home book: it’s a go big because big is BEAUTIFUL! book.
And that is so much better.
*There’s a necromancy pun in there somewhere, I know it!
Undeath, in Stripes’ opinion, was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him. He was supremely pleased to be operating on the z-axis after a lifetime of apex predatoring on the ground.
I will never get tired of how these books about necromancy are fundamentally a celebration of life and living. That remains so impressively subversive, and creative, and inspiring – and such freaking FUN.
And since I haven’t yet said so outright: everything I loved about Saint Death’s Daughter is here in abundance. The footnotes; the dazzling prose; the vocabulary, full (but not overwhelming so) of words unfamiliar to me, each one small and precious and perfect as the surprise in a Fabergé egg – a treasure within a treasure. (I love looking up new words from this series, especially because they are always such marvellous new words; but I do think readers who do not enjoy consulting the dictionary can get by perfectly well deducing the meanings from context.) And hey, all the incredible characters we fell in love with in the first book? Prepare to love them even more! Saint Death’s Herald isn’t only from Lanie’s POV; this time, we also see through the eyes of characters like Duantri and Datu (and several others I’ll leave as surprises!) I didn’t expect that – it’s a big change from Daughter, where we only have Lanie’s perspective – but it’s a much-appreciated addition! I loved getting to know these characters even better than we already do, and discovering what Lanie looks like from where they’re standing? Wasn’t just fun; in a few cases, it was a very necessary reminder that she appears very differently to other people than she does to us.
(We know Lanie as the adorable twitling who cuddles mice skeletons and nerds out over all things Quadoni and will forget to eat if she has cool bones to play with. It’s difficult to think of her as scary. It’s only by seeing her as others see her that we realise how – how world-changing she is, or has the potential to be. Which does mean terrifying, to some.)
She is splendid, murmured the crystalskin. She is a walking terror of Athe.
Not everything is all love and glitter, though. Because Grandpa Rad is the worst kind of monster, and he is, unfortunately, what Saint Death’s Herald revolves around.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
May 8, 2025
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the arc.
I was SO hyped when I found out Saint Death’s Daughter would get a sequel, and this did not disappoint! It is funny, it is thrilling, there are great battles, amazing magic, and amusing dialogue. And it is one of the few books I can think of that there is not a single character I dislike. I mean, there are villainous characters, but they’re so well written!
In this book the world building is expanded and the character development is so fun to read. This is a lighthearted comfort read to me, and I am really hope we will get more books in this world.
I was SO hyped when I found out Saint Death’s Daughter would get a sequel, and this did not disappoint! It is funny, it is thrilling, there are great battles, amazing magic, and amusing dialogue. And it is one of the few books I can think of that there is not a single character I dislike. I mean, there are villainous characters, but they’re so well written!
In this book the world building is expanded and the character development is so fun to read. This is a lighthearted comfort read to me, and I am really hope we will get more books in this world.
August 13, 2025
Life happened, and it took me a while to get to this book. But I'm happy to say that I had such an easy, lovely time slipping back into this world and spending time with these characters when I did. Much of what gets described as "cozy" fantasy or SF is just a little too light and fluffy for me. But if I got to calibrate cozy to my own personal settings, this would be it. The world of Saint Death is just what I need lately: a story of hope and found family with some quiet--not saccharine--feel-good elements, like an earnest, good-hearted necromancer and a fascinating world with neat cultural flourishes on the world-building. I came away from this feeling warm and reinforced against the battering of the world, which is a very nice thing for a book to do. I was given a digital ARC by the publisher and Netgalley, but my opinions are unaffected by that. I have already gotten my own physical copy and happily recommend it.
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1645808644i%2F7494844._UX200_CR0%2C6%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
April 7, 2025
Narwhals are the most darling blubber-de-bloop mammals.
Saint Death's Herald was my most anticipated release of 2025, and it didn't disappoint!
Okay, it disappointed a little, but literally nothing could have lived up to my expectations after the gloriousness of book one (and I kinda want to read the 90,000 words that were cut from this draft).
But still. I loved it.
The plot is thin—Lanie and Duantri are chasing Irradiant Radithor Stones, a constant battle of losing and losing and losing as the artist formerly known as Grandpa Rad gets more and more powerful on his undead bid to take over the world. They are joined by friends near and dear and new and old, and and Lanie comes more fully into her power as the greatest necromancer in the world.
I love how Cooney takes fantasy tropes and breathes new life into them, while also spinning them a little onto their heads. There is the hero's journey and hero's quest, subverted each time into something new. The big bad is defeated, but not in a full out battle. Full out battles, we learn, are perhaps not the way to win wars—or let the dead rest.
Why must our great miracles spring from such ugly circumstances? Why must they be born out of our direst need? Shouldn't beauty's sake be need enough? Instead, we make magic to thwart the perpetuation of cruelty, or deliver tardy justice after a crime is committed.
In this world, love wins.
Love always wins.
It's a celebration of friendship. Of changing enemies into friends and allies. Of pinkness and being yourself. Of finding beauty and radiance in the most putrescent of rotting things. Of expressing forgiveness and true apology. Of doing the best you can. Of living. And changing. And being. And I adore it and hope for a next installment.
Duantri's eyebrows stretched for her hairline, each yearning for the other like two lovers parted by an infinite river.
The WRITING. Just incredible. AND humorous! We get lots and lots of fart jokes!
May farts waft out in praise of your fine stew—their perfume is my gift unto the world!
I received an ARC from NetGalley
Saint Death's Herald was my most anticipated release of 2025, and it didn't disappoint!
Okay, it disappointed a little, but literally nothing could have lived up to my expectations after the gloriousness of book one (and I kinda want to read the 90,000 words that were cut from this draft).
But still. I loved it.
The plot is thin—Lanie and Duantri are chasing Irradiant Radithor Stones, a constant battle of losing and losing and losing as the artist formerly known as Grandpa Rad gets more and more powerful on his undead bid to take over the world. They are joined by friends near and dear and new and old, and and Lanie comes more fully into her power as the greatest necromancer in the world.
I love how Cooney takes fantasy tropes and breathes new life into them, while also spinning them a little onto their heads. There is the hero's journey and hero's quest, subverted each time into something new. The big bad is defeated, but not in a full out battle. Full out battles, we learn, are perhaps not the way to win wars—or let the dead rest.
Why must our great miracles spring from such ugly circumstances? Why must they be born out of our direst need? Shouldn't beauty's sake be need enough? Instead, we make magic to thwart the perpetuation of cruelty, or deliver tardy justice after a crime is committed.
In this world, love wins.
Love always wins.
It's a celebration of friendship. Of changing enemies into friends and allies. Of pinkness and being yourself. Of finding beauty and radiance in the most putrescent of rotting things. Of expressing forgiveness and true apology. Of doing the best you can. Of living. And changing. And being. And I adore it and hope for a next installment.
Duantri's eyebrows stretched for her hairline, each yearning for the other like two lovers parted by an infinite river.
The WRITING. Just incredible. AND humorous! We get lots and lots of fart jokes!
May farts waft out in praise of your fine stew—their perfume is my gift unto the world!
I received an ARC from NetGalley
June 5, 2025
Miscellaneous "Lanie" Stones is on the trail of her great grandfather, Irradiant "Rad" Stones, a many times over murderer and bully. And very powerful necromancer. Rad escaped from prison, and stolen a body. He's headed to Skakhmat (the site of a war and the murder of a prodigious number of wizards) to finish what he started years ago.
Author C.S.E. Cooney returns us to the dazzling world she introduced us to in book one. It's full of magic, shapechangers, flying houses, assassins, fascinating cultures and beings, and the Stones family of powerful necromancers.
Cooney gives us banter, witticisms, wordplay, and moves easily between beauty and horror as we follow Lanie on her seemingly impossible task of recapturing Rad, who proves himself incredibly adept at jumping bodies, and wielding his magic against anyone who gets in his way.
And even though this is predominantly a chase story, it's also a story about Lanie's growth as a person, and as a necromancer. She's on her journey, begun in book one, to open her heart and honour her obligations.
There is a surfeit of whimsy (which I liked) and impossible creations; there is great deal of violence, but also gentleness and care, and a lot of humour. I love this world. I love Lanie Stones. I love her relationships with her family (particularly young Datu) and friends. It's a welcome return to this world, and a terrific story of kindness in the face of extreme cruelty, and it ends with warmth and hope.
I cannot wait to find out what happens next with Lanie.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Rebellion Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Author C.S.E. Cooney returns us to the dazzling world she introduced us to in book one. It's full of magic, shapechangers, flying houses, assassins, fascinating cultures and beings, and the Stones family of powerful necromancers.
Cooney gives us banter, witticisms, wordplay, and moves easily between beauty and horror as we follow Lanie on her seemingly impossible task of recapturing Rad, who proves himself incredibly adept at jumping bodies, and wielding his magic against anyone who gets in his way.
And even though this is predominantly a chase story, it's also a story about Lanie's growth as a person, and as a necromancer. She's on her journey, begun in book one, to open her heart and honour her obligations.
There is a surfeit of whimsy (which I liked) and impossible creations; there is great deal of violence, but also gentleness and care, and a lot of humour. I love this world. I love Lanie Stones. I love her relationships with her family (particularly young Datu) and friends. It's a welcome return to this world, and a terrific story of kindness in the face of extreme cruelty, and it ends with warmth and hope.
I cannot wait to find out what happens next with Lanie.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Rebellion Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my review.
January 7, 2025
Much like the first book in the series, I found this one to excel in terms of the world building and character work. Both were done with nuance and kept my interest. I found the magic system, as well, to be inventive and fun. Where the book fell flat for me was the plot structure. It was very linear, to the point of predictability. There was one clear goal, and the obstacles that came along the way seemed contrived, merely a means of extending the narrative than anything else. An interesting subplot would have done wonders. As it were, I got pretty bored towards the middle, and skimmed my way through the last half of the book.
March 17, 2025
Advanced Review Copy provided in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Solaris Books, Rebellion Publishing, and NetGalley.
Score: 2.75/5 (rounded to 3/5)
Since this is an ARC, the review aims to be as Spoiler-free as possible.
Read this review and more on my Medium Blog: Distorted Visions
If necromantic fantasy with plenty of whimsy and heart is your thing, then the Saint Death series has the bones for you.
CSE Cooney’s first entry in the series, Saint Death’s Daughter caught my eye because it promised a blend of literary academic fantasy with necromancy tropes and that seemed like an intriguing blend. Daughter itself was a quirky book with elements that I liked more than others. It left me with enough flesh in my teeth to grab onto the review copy of the sequel Saint Death’s Herald to see this world broaden in scope and continue to push the plot into new and interesting territory.
Herald continues the necromantic adventures of Miscellaneous Immiscible “Lanie” Stones, the heir and sole surviving (let’s call it “alive” because the lines get blurred in this series) to the last family of necromancers in the known world. This time around, she travels to far-off lands in pursuit of the ghost of her ancestor Irradiant Radithor “Grandpa Rad” Stones, who fled his sepulchural prison at the end of the B-Plot of Daughter. Grandpa Rad’s goal is to possess the body/bodies of the Sky Wizards that caused his death in centuries past, thereby unlocking his full magical potential to push forward his plans of world domination.
Necromancy hijinks ensue. Simple enough.
The book continues to dial heavily into the whimsical approach to death magicks wielded by Lanie, who relies on a pure heart and rapier academic wit to get her through the plot. The were-falcon Duantri plays a more key role in Herald, taking the place of plucky sidekick and bodyguard as Lanie plays undead cat-and-mouse with her great-grandfather Irradiant’s ghost as he traipses all over the countryside hopping between creatures’ bodies to his heart’s content. The highlight of this entry for me was the evolution of Cracchen Skrathmandan (who starts off being Irradiant’s first possessed vessel, leftover from the concluding moments of Daughter). His character arc along with his dynamic with Lanie, Duantri, and his brother Haaken, along with his own shifting allegiances were enjoyable.
Completely bafflingly, one of the rising stars of Daughter, Lanie’s niece Sacred Datura “Datu” Stones, the strong willed bent-on-revenge scrappy young lady is compeltely sidelined in the sequel. In addition, her father Makkovian “Mak” also has his role reduced to C-cast at best. The Lanie-Mak dynamic was one of the highlights of Daughter given their complex circumstances together, and their evolving character pairing was something I looked forward to greatly in the sequel, to which I felt quite shortchanged. The decision to narrow down the cast of characters on Herald, felt like a misstep, especially since the diverse set of characters that Lanie encountered on her journey in Daughter felt fresh, unique, whimsically-on-brand, and did wonders to flesh out her world. One can only hope that she gets back to her unresolved A-plot to defeat the Rook in the next installment, and many of these characters come back to centerstage, with Datu playing a major role.
My major complaint is the lack of “teeth” to Herald’s major plotline. The Rook and her Council of Birds felt like formidable antagonists in Daughter, and the reader felt genuine concern for the safety of the protagonists whenever the Rook entered the scene. In contrast, Irradiant Stones felt like a very “fun side-quest to gain XP” villain. Admittedly, his over-the-top arrogance in his necromantic skills was fun to read, knowing that his comeuppance would be strong and swift. However, his journey felt mostly blase, with an utterly anti-climactic final showdown.
Lastly, as a personal “ick”, Cooney indexes very hard into the “love will conquer all” aesthetic on Herald, cheapening many of the tenser moments in the book, as far and far between as they were. Lanie is a “pure-hearted protagonist” to a point of saccharine nausea. The over-the-top sense of empathy and positive vibes that pervade every facet of this series, causes my cynical inner grimdark gremlin to hiss and retreat into the shadows.
To her credit, Cooney’s prose in the Saint Death series is top-notch, with imaginative turn-of-phrase, zest, and poetry interlaced into the world, much of the verses and general cadence of the prose matches the aesthetic she is trying to convey in this series. She also succeeds in broadening the scope of the world, introducing new locations, with the notable addition of the “skinchangers” species, forming key players in Herald. She also fleshed out much of the backstory of her world, giving interesting tidbits of prior history going a long way to cement the motivations of Irradiant and his tussle with the Skrathmandans and the skinchangers.
The Saint Death series continues the trend of “dark whimsy” that has seemed to latch itself on stories about necromancy. With similar stories by T Kingfisher, and more notably, the cult-classic necromancy science-fantasy series, Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir, the trademark atmosphere of gore and darkness that came along with necromancy has been enveloped by a “cutesy” aesthetic with plenty of whimsical bells and whistles taking away much of the visceral horror that was synonymous with the genre. I fully admit, that I may not be the target demographic for this series, with my grimdark proclivities. Others who like whimsical fantasy, with strokes of literary academia will get much more mileage out of this series.
Saint Death’s Herald suffers from middle-book syndrome and a weak plot. Cooney’s decision to forego the major plot hangover from Daughter to follow the B-Plot, leads me to believe that she may be targetting a longer more episodic nature to her serializing. With a mundane plot, lacking the bite that Daughter conjured, Herald felt quite barebones. I hope she gets all her skulls in a row, and raises the stakes in her next book, because Herald, while admittedly having plenty of heart, failed to put enough flesh on the series, leaving a currently anemic product.
Score: 2.75/5 (rounded to 3/5)
Since this is an ARC, the review aims to be as Spoiler-free as possible.
Read this review and more on my Medium Blog: Distorted Visions
If necromantic fantasy with plenty of whimsy and heart is your thing, then the Saint Death series has the bones for you.
CSE Cooney’s first entry in the series, Saint Death’s Daughter caught my eye because it promised a blend of literary academic fantasy with necromancy tropes and that seemed like an intriguing blend. Daughter itself was a quirky book with elements that I liked more than others. It left me with enough flesh in my teeth to grab onto the review copy of the sequel Saint Death’s Herald to see this world broaden in scope and continue to push the plot into new and interesting territory.
Herald continues the necromantic adventures of Miscellaneous Immiscible “Lanie” Stones, the heir and sole surviving (let’s call it “alive” because the lines get blurred in this series) to the last family of necromancers in the known world. This time around, she travels to far-off lands in pursuit of the ghost of her ancestor Irradiant Radithor “Grandpa Rad” Stones, who fled his sepulchural prison at the end of the B-Plot of Daughter. Grandpa Rad’s goal is to possess the body/bodies of the Sky Wizards that caused his death in centuries past, thereby unlocking his full magical potential to push forward his plans of world domination.
Necromancy hijinks ensue. Simple enough.
The book continues to dial heavily into the whimsical approach to death magicks wielded by Lanie, who relies on a pure heart and rapier academic wit to get her through the plot. The were-falcon Duantri plays a more key role in Herald, taking the place of plucky sidekick and bodyguard as Lanie plays undead cat-and-mouse with her great-grandfather Irradiant’s ghost as he traipses all over the countryside hopping between creatures’ bodies to his heart’s content. The highlight of this entry for me was the evolution of Cracchen Skrathmandan (who starts off being Irradiant’s first possessed vessel, leftover from the concluding moments of Daughter). His character arc along with his dynamic with Lanie, Duantri, and his brother Haaken, along with his own shifting allegiances were enjoyable.
Completely bafflingly, one of the rising stars of Daughter, Lanie’s niece Sacred Datura “Datu” Stones, the strong willed bent-on-revenge scrappy young lady is compeltely sidelined in the sequel. In addition, her father Makkovian “Mak” also has his role reduced to C-cast at best. The Lanie-Mak dynamic was one of the highlights of Daughter given their complex circumstances together, and their evolving character pairing was something I looked forward to greatly in the sequel, to which I felt quite shortchanged. The decision to narrow down the cast of characters on Herald, felt like a misstep, especially since the diverse set of characters that Lanie encountered on her journey in Daughter felt fresh, unique, whimsically-on-brand, and did wonders to flesh out her world. One can only hope that she gets back to her unresolved A-plot to defeat the Rook in the next installment, and many of these characters come back to centerstage, with Datu playing a major role.
My major complaint is the lack of “teeth” to Herald’s major plotline. The Rook and her Council of Birds felt like formidable antagonists in Daughter, and the reader felt genuine concern for the safety of the protagonists whenever the Rook entered the scene. In contrast, Irradiant Stones felt like a very “fun side-quest to gain XP” villain. Admittedly, his over-the-top arrogance in his necromantic skills was fun to read, knowing that his comeuppance would be strong and swift. However, his journey felt mostly blase, with an utterly anti-climactic final showdown.
Lastly, as a personal “ick”, Cooney indexes very hard into the “love will conquer all” aesthetic on Herald, cheapening many of the tenser moments in the book, as far and far between as they were. Lanie is a “pure-hearted protagonist” to a point of saccharine nausea. The over-the-top sense of empathy and positive vibes that pervade every facet of this series, causes my cynical inner grimdark gremlin to hiss and retreat into the shadows.
To her credit, Cooney’s prose in the Saint Death series is top-notch, with imaginative turn-of-phrase, zest, and poetry interlaced into the world, much of the verses and general cadence of the prose matches the aesthetic she is trying to convey in this series. She also succeeds in broadening the scope of the world, introducing new locations, with the notable addition of the “skinchangers” species, forming key players in Herald. She also fleshed out much of the backstory of her world, giving interesting tidbits of prior history going a long way to cement the motivations of Irradiant and his tussle with the Skrathmandans and the skinchangers.
The Saint Death series continues the trend of “dark whimsy” that has seemed to latch itself on stories about necromancy. With similar stories by T Kingfisher, and more notably, the cult-classic necromancy science-fantasy series, Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir, the trademark atmosphere of gore and darkness that came along with necromancy has been enveloped by a “cutesy” aesthetic with plenty of whimsical bells and whistles taking away much of the visceral horror that was synonymous with the genre. I fully admit, that I may not be the target demographic for this series, with my grimdark proclivities. Others who like whimsical fantasy, with strokes of literary academia will get much more mileage out of this series.
Saint Death’s Herald suffers from middle-book syndrome and a weak plot. Cooney’s decision to forego the major plot hangover from Daughter to follow the B-Plot, leads me to believe that she may be targetting a longer more episodic nature to her serializing. With a mundane plot, lacking the bite that Daughter conjured, Herald felt quite barebones. I hope she gets all her skulls in a row, and raises the stakes in her next book, because Herald, while admittedly having plenty of heart, failed to put enough flesh on the series, leaving a currently anemic product.
April 22, 2025
Welcome back, ghosts and gyrfolk, shape shifters and sky wizards, necromancers and necro-wolves named Underpants. Since our last escapade, where we saw Miscellaneous Immiscible Stones exiled from her home after releasing great-grandpa Rad, reducing the Scratch triplets by one-third, and relinquishing a nascent romance to the realities of royal alliances.
In this second installment, we follow Lanie and Duantri as they attempt to follow the ghost of Rad, as he in turn follows his path back to Skakhmat. Theirs is the business of unfinished business, unresolved conflicts, and undead enmities.
For those who loved the esoteric world created to such immersive effect by Cooney in Saint Death's Daughter, this sequel will not disappoint. As Lanie and her companions race against Rad (and time, and Death) we get to experience new locales within Clooney's universe. We learn the lore more deeply, we watch with Lanie as she learns new aspects to her magic and discovers the boundaries of life, death, love, space and time.
As in SDD, Cooney's prose is a delight - the banter between Lanie and Grandpa Rad or the occasional glimpse into the thoughts of the Stripes the tiger rug offer moments of lexicological levity:
Here Stripes, thinking he must rescue Lanie from a giant crab-like shapeshifter, issues the most mindboggling chain of adjectives for crab-like creatures I've ever seen in one sentence: "It was his solemn duty to help her dismount that ... that anomural mule ... that decapoda destrier ... that podophthalmian stallion ... that whatever it was -"
And especially in the moments where Lanie encounters Saint Death herself, the words become a form of magic themselves, conjuring more than merely describing: "Her magic, at once familiar and alien, sang in Lanie's bones: notes like needles-of-water; chords like calving-of-icebergs; progressions of thunder snow and sleet, of graupel and permafrost and salt-ice upon the shore; she grew dizzy with the immensity of the symphony."
For me, this is a book about ghosts in a truly hauntological sense: the tensions between living and dead, absence and presence, past and present are constantly in play, and ultimately the journey is one of reckoning with the legacy of our past choices - and our ancestors'.
Highly recommended if you want to become, for a few hours, an ethnographer in a world of spectral magic. Observe. Take notes. Learn the twelve apologies. Honour the bones of your own story.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for the purposes of a fair and honest review.
In this second installment, we follow Lanie and Duantri as they attempt to follow the ghost of Rad, as he in turn follows his path back to Skakhmat. Theirs is the business of unfinished business, unresolved conflicts, and undead enmities.
For those who loved the esoteric world created to such immersive effect by Cooney in Saint Death's Daughter, this sequel will not disappoint. As Lanie and her companions race against Rad (and time, and Death) we get to experience new locales within Clooney's universe. We learn the lore more deeply, we watch with Lanie as she learns new aspects to her magic and discovers the boundaries of life, death, love, space and time.
As in SDD, Cooney's prose is a delight - the banter between Lanie and Grandpa Rad or the occasional glimpse into the thoughts of the Stripes the tiger rug offer moments of lexicological levity:
Here Stripes, thinking he must rescue Lanie from a giant crab-like shapeshifter, issues the most mindboggling chain of adjectives for crab-like creatures I've ever seen in one sentence: "It was his solemn duty to help her dismount that ... that anomural mule ... that decapoda destrier ... that podophthalmian stallion ... that whatever it was -"
And especially in the moments where Lanie encounters Saint Death herself, the words become a form of magic themselves, conjuring more than merely describing: "Her magic, at once familiar and alien, sang in Lanie's bones: notes like needles-of-water; chords like calving-of-icebergs; progressions of thunder snow and sleet, of graupel and permafrost and salt-ice upon the shore; she grew dizzy with the immensity of the symphony."
For me, this is a book about ghosts in a truly hauntological sense: the tensions between living and dead, absence and presence, past and present are constantly in play, and ultimately the journey is one of reckoning with the legacy of our past choices - and our ancestors'.
Highly recommended if you want to become, for a few hours, an ethnographer in a world of spectral magic. Observe. Take notes. Learn the twelve apologies. Honour the bones of your own story.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for the purposes of a fair and honest review.
October 19, 2025
3.75*
Saint Death's Herald is the second book in the Saint Death trilogy and I still ADORE the worldbuilding for this series. It's so rich, with its own poetry, languages, customs, and cultures. I could keep reading about it, but I did find myself loving the first book more than this one. Saint Death's Daughter was a rollercoaster ride, taking the reader from one place to the next with always something happening and something to learn. Saint Death's Herald felt much slower, as if the whole book was built up out of just a few scenes. Especially the challenge in the middle of the book, while containing really clever ideas and brilliantly unexpected turns, felt very long. By the end of the book, the pace picked up again, and main character Lanie started feeling more like her optimistic self again. I still enjoyed this book and really admire C.S.E. Cooney's writing, but I suppose I missed some of the joy and whimsy of the first book, which in my memory maintained that atmosphere even when the main character was in fact going through terrible hardships.
Finally, just a coincidence, but it was really fun to discover that the acknowledgements were signed exactly a year before I finished reading this book! C.S.E. Cooney never stops coming up with delightful surprises, and the fact she doesn't always know only adds to the magic.
Saint Death's Herald is the second book in the Saint Death trilogy and I still ADORE the worldbuilding for this series. It's so rich, with its own poetry, languages, customs, and cultures. I could keep reading about it, but I did find myself loving the first book more than this one. Saint Death's Daughter was a rollercoaster ride, taking the reader from one place to the next with always something happening and something to learn. Saint Death's Herald felt much slower, as if the whole book was built up out of just a few scenes. Especially the challenge in the middle of the book, while containing really clever ideas and brilliantly unexpected turns, felt very long. By the end of the book, the pace picked up again, and main character Lanie started feeling more like her optimistic self again. I still enjoyed this book and really admire C.S.E. Cooney's writing, but I suppose I missed some of the joy and whimsy of the first book, which in my memory maintained that atmosphere even when the main character was in fact going through terrible hardships.
Finally, just a coincidence, but it was really fun to discover that the acknowledgements were signed exactly a year before I finished reading this book! C.S.E. Cooney never stops coming up with delightful surprises, and the fact she doesn't always know only adds to the magic.
November 17, 2025
this series!!!!! these stories!!!!!!! i love these characters so much i have so much affection towards lanie and duantri and datu and everyone. stripes!!! cooney imbued some sort of supernatural sense of affection that permeates the whole novel and the series, be it the affection that the characters have for each other, for the world around them, or for their gods. lanie's sense of profound admiration and respect for the bones that she necromances with, as well as her love for the undead, is really love in the full sense of the word, which is so special seeing the kind of devotion most people only ever feel towards one person being spread from every character outwards.
a really interesting facet that i only really thought about deeper in this book but was definitely present in the first is the distinct notion of religion that is present in this series - the gods of this world are not only, as most gods are, worshipped and revered, but they are (and i mean this in the fullest sense of the word) loved in a way that i rarely hear of people loving deities. its depicted as a very all-encompassing sort of love that i think is best described as awe and reverence, but with such a degree of intimacy and humanity that it really struck me as something very special. that in and of itself has been so interesting to me, and in giving me a different frame to look at my relationship with my god, it has been teaching me alot about what it means to have a relationship with the deity of your choosing, and what that can look like.
this isn't a gripe per se but (i think) because this book is more of a side-quest in the context of the grander narrative arc outlined in the first book, the limited scope of the book in exploring just the side-quest was abit of a shame to me; i really liked how far-reaching the first book was in terms of its ambition (and length). it does make sense that this one, in being shorter, covered less ground, but i did miss characters like datu, canon lir.
initially i was thinking that the book wasn't as exciting as the first, but then irradiant stones possessed the lan sathi priest, and i realised that i had significantly underestimated his character, which was the point of that twist. the ways in which we get to understand him in particular in this book is testament to the brilliant character writing, which i think is the highlight of the series so far. at the end when they brought back stripes i was so happy!!!!! and he's a minor character but it warmed my heart.
all that to say, i am kinda bummed that i'll have to wait till 2027 to read the last book of the series, but i do highly recommend this if anyone is seeking to read a really solid and excellent new take on mythological-esque high fantasy.
a really interesting facet that i only really thought about deeper in this book but was definitely present in the first is the distinct notion of religion that is present in this series - the gods of this world are not only, as most gods are, worshipped and revered, but they are (and i mean this in the fullest sense of the word) loved in a way that i rarely hear of people loving deities. its depicted as a very all-encompassing sort of love that i think is best described as awe and reverence, but with such a degree of intimacy and humanity that it really struck me as something very special. that in and of itself has been so interesting to me, and in giving me a different frame to look at my relationship with my god, it has been teaching me alot about what it means to have a relationship with the deity of your choosing, and what that can look like.
this isn't a gripe per se but (i think) because this book is more of a side-quest in the context of the grander narrative arc outlined in the first book, the limited scope of the book in exploring just the side-quest was abit of a shame to me; i really liked how far-reaching the first book was in terms of its ambition (and length). it does make sense that this one, in being shorter, covered less ground, but i did miss characters like datu, canon lir.
initially i was thinking that the book wasn't as exciting as the first, but then irradiant stones possessed the lan sathi priest, and i realised that i had significantly underestimated his character, which was the point of that twist. the ways in which we get to understand him in particular in this book is testament to the brilliant character writing, which i think is the highlight of the series so far. at the end when they brought back stripes i was so happy!!!!! and he's a minor character but it warmed my heart.
all that to say, i am kinda bummed that i'll have to wait till 2027 to read the last book of the series, but i do highly recommend this if anyone is seeking to read a really solid and excellent new take on mythological-esque high fantasy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2025
3.75 stars
This book was absolutely brimming with effervescent effulgent prose, seamlessly integrated with the dialogue. I highlighted many passages, marvelling at the craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, however, the plot was stretched a little thin - and the characterization felt flimsy too, at least in comparison to Saint Death's Daughter. The ending was very satisfying, though! I may return to this book later, and if the series continues, I will definitely read the sequel.
Recommended for lovers of lyrical, delightful (but not, in some sense, overly purple!) prose and necromancy focused fantasy.
This book was absolutely brimming with effervescent effulgent prose, seamlessly integrated with the dialogue. I highlighted many passages, marvelling at the craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, however, the plot was stretched a little thin - and the characterization felt flimsy too, at least in comparison to Saint Death's Daughter. The ending was very satisfying, though! I may return to this book later, and if the series continues, I will definitely read the sequel.
Recommended for lovers of lyrical, delightful (but not, in some sense, overly purple!) prose and necromancy focused fantasy.
April 13, 2025
This was one of my most eagerly anticipated reads of the year so far. I loved Saint Death’s Daughter and necromancer Lanie Stones was one of my favourite fantasy heroines of that year so I couldn’t wait to find what happened next. Sadly, for me, Saint Death’s Herald didn’t quite live up to the promise of that first book.
I still love C S E Cooney’s writing and the world building is superb. From the skinchanger’s city of Taquathura to the sky houses of the wizards, the world is brilliantly brought to life. I really enjoyed the political intrigue too especially the witch queen’s desperate manoeuvring to keep her egg from harm.
Lanie is still a brilliant protagonist. In this second book, she is learning more about her power as necromancer and discovering what she is capable of. I loved seeing her magic and her relationship with her god develop. However, none of the other main characters really came alive for me which meant that the book lost some of the warmth and love that was such a big part of Saint Death’s Daughter.
My biggest issue however was the plot as it just wasn’t that interesting. The entire book revolves around Lanie trying to track down and defeat Grandpa Irradiant Stones and we just seem to keep reliving the same moments over again. As a villain, he lacked depth and although his actions were truly evil, I never really felt that there was any tension between the two main characters.
Most of the other reviews that I have read have been extremely positive so I think I’m in the minority here but for me, Saint Death’s Herald lacked the complexity of plot and characters that made me enjoy the first book so much.
I am hugely grateful as always to Net Galley and the publishers, Rebellion Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I still love C S E Cooney’s writing and the world building is superb. From the skinchanger’s city of Taquathura to the sky houses of the wizards, the world is brilliantly brought to life. I really enjoyed the political intrigue too especially the witch queen’s desperate manoeuvring to keep her egg from harm.
Lanie is still a brilliant protagonist. In this second book, she is learning more about her power as necromancer and discovering what she is capable of. I loved seeing her magic and her relationship with her god develop. However, none of the other main characters really came alive for me which meant that the book lost some of the warmth and love that was such a big part of Saint Death’s Daughter.
My biggest issue however was the plot as it just wasn’t that interesting. The entire book revolves around Lanie trying to track down and defeat Grandpa Irradiant Stones and we just seem to keep reliving the same moments over again. As a villain, he lacked depth and although his actions were truly evil, I never really felt that there was any tension between the two main characters.
Most of the other reviews that I have read have been extremely positive so I think I’m in the minority here but for me, Saint Death’s Herald lacked the complexity of plot and characters that made me enjoy the first book so much.
I am hugely grateful as always to Net Galley and the publishers, Rebellion Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
March 10, 2025
Saint Death’s Daughter was my book of the year in 2022 and felt almost completely satisfying as a standalone, except for one pesky loose end left dangling as a sequel hook. The sequel—admittedly a good bit shorter—is dedicated almost entirely to resolving that plot thread. And after the rich interpersonal work and fraught ethical decisions in the first book, it leaves the sequel feeling a bit like Side Quest: A Novel.
That is a criticism, but it doesn’t mean that I disliked Saint Death’s Herald. It does lose so much of what made the first book great—sidelining major characters and simplifying difficult decisions—but Cooney is a talented storyteller and makes a shorter and more action-packed sequel a fair bit of fun anyways.
The highlight for me was the first half, which shows the lead finding her way in unfamiliar environs in pursuit of a deadly threat, all building up to a midway climax that had me on the edge of my seat. After that? It felt like the book went back to the well a few too many times on similar plot points, with the villain repeatedly escaping capture in remarkably familiar ways, all to ensure there’d be enough story to last the full novel. The second half isn’t bad, but there are moments that feel a bit repetitive.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I found the highlights of the second half to come well after the final confrontation, when the story returned to its character-driven roots and showed off the ways in which major characters and relationships had changed over the course of the book. It’s the sort of ending that would’ve put a perfect bow on Saint Death’s Daughter, and it’s one I was glad to finally see here, even if the sequel spent a little too long on the action scenes.
First impression: 15/20. Full review to come at www.tarvolon.com
That is a criticism, but it doesn’t mean that I disliked Saint Death’s Herald. It does lose so much of what made the first book great—sidelining major characters and simplifying difficult decisions—but Cooney is a talented storyteller and makes a shorter and more action-packed sequel a fair bit of fun anyways.
The highlight for me was the first half, which shows the lead finding her way in unfamiliar environs in pursuit of a deadly threat, all building up to a midway climax that had me on the edge of my seat. After that? It felt like the book went back to the well a few too many times on similar plot points, with the villain repeatedly escaping capture in remarkably familiar ways, all to ensure there’d be enough story to last the full novel. The second half isn’t bad, but there are moments that feel a bit repetitive.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I found the highlights of the second half to come well after the final confrontation, when the story returned to its character-driven roots and showed off the ways in which major characters and relationships had changed over the course of the book. It’s the sort of ending that would’ve put a perfect bow on Saint Death’s Daughter, and it’s one I was glad to finally see here, even if the sequel spent a little too long on the action scenes.
First impression: 15/20. Full review to come at www.tarvolon.com
March 28, 2025
As a followup to Saint Death's Daughter, Saint Death's Herald was a welcome return to the world of Miscellaneous (Lanie) Stones, our necromancer with an "allergy" of sorts to violence. In this book, Lanie has to track down Grandpa Rad before he manages to amass enough power to cause even more problems than he already is. Irradiant Stones is nothing if not a persistent pain in the Stones legacy. Or at least, in Lanie's life.
It is hard to describe this world, and this book, without either giving too much away or completely not doing it justice. There is wit and heart, along with intense emotion and a strong thread of duty and family. We go on a journey with Lanie as she learns more and more about what her powers can do, and how she has to adapt to meet Grandpa Rad at every turn. He may be annoying, but even as a ghost inhabiting other bodies, he is a wily bastard.
Stripes and Duantri are along for the ride with Lanie, along with other characters from the first book (both beloved, not beloved, and mysterious). We also meet new ones with their own terrifying abilities. As a whole, I adore this book and Lanie's journey. The writing gives hints of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel (in humor and footnotes/annotations). It also at one point reminded me very much of the magic battle between Mad Madam Mim and Merlin from the Sword in the Stone animated movie. Even in the slower moments, we are propelled along to see just how much Lanie and the others can work together to see if they can best Irradiant Stones and at least set a few past grievances aright.
Thanks to Netgalley and Solaris for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
It is hard to describe this world, and this book, without either giving too much away or completely not doing it justice. There is wit and heart, along with intense emotion and a strong thread of duty and family. We go on a journey with Lanie as she learns more and more about what her powers can do, and how she has to adapt to meet Grandpa Rad at every turn. He may be annoying, but even as a ghost inhabiting other bodies, he is a wily bastard.
Stripes and Duantri are along for the ride with Lanie, along with other characters from the first book (both beloved, not beloved, and mysterious). We also meet new ones with their own terrifying abilities. As a whole, I adore this book and Lanie's journey. The writing gives hints of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel (in humor and footnotes/annotations). It also at one point reminded me very much of the magic battle between Mad Madam Mim and Merlin from the Sword in the Stone animated movie. Even in the slower moments, we are propelled along to see just how much Lanie and the others can work together to see if they can best Irradiant Stones and at least set a few past grievances aright.
Thanks to Netgalley and Solaris for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
June 25, 2025
One of my anticipated new releases for this year. In Saint Death's Herald, Miscellaneous "Lanie" Stones must retrieve the malicious ghost of her grandfather before he wreaks even more havoc. But he's fled north, into the land of shapechangers, and Lanie must navigate their peculiar politics in order to succeed in her mission.
I adored Saint Death's Daughter, the first book in the series. It had intriguing worldbuilding and exuberant prose which was an obvious reflection of how much Cooney loves language, a bit like Tamsyn Muir's. Altogether, it was one of my surprise favorite novels of 2022. So obviously I began Saint Death's Herald with high expectations. But while Cooney's prose is as lovely as ever, the plot felt a bit phoned in. I got the impression that she was obliged to write a sequel due to the loose plot threads of book 1, and she tied them up as quickly as possible without introducing any new details. It felt uncharacteristically spare. Cooney's style tends towards meandering, so even a hasty rush to the finish takes a leisurely four hundred pages, but I finished the book feeling it was lacking somehow.
I did enjoy the further detail about the ice wizards of Skakhmakt and their floating snow palaces, even if they're only really present in the novel as a swarm of angry ghosts bent on revenge. The fleshed-out new setting of the palace of the skin-stealing immortal beings was fascinating. But despite the compelling settings, in Saint Death's Herald the plot is essentially driven by an obligation Lanie has placed upon herself rather than the direct threat and interpersonal drama of book 1, and it lacks a bit of tension. In the end, this book felt like a chore list Lanie was crossing off.
Still effervescent, but not entirely what I was expecting. Still, I love Cooney's style, and I look forward to seeing what she writes next.
I adored Saint Death's Daughter, the first book in the series. It had intriguing worldbuilding and exuberant prose which was an obvious reflection of how much Cooney loves language, a bit like Tamsyn Muir's. Altogether, it was one of my surprise favorite novels of 2022. So obviously I began Saint Death's Herald with high expectations. But while Cooney's prose is as lovely as ever, the plot felt a bit phoned in. I got the impression that she was obliged to write a sequel due to the loose plot threads of book 1, and she tied them up as quickly as possible without introducing any new details. It felt uncharacteristically spare. Cooney's style tends towards meandering, so even a hasty rush to the finish takes a leisurely four hundred pages, but I finished the book feeling it was lacking somehow.
I did enjoy the further detail about the ice wizards of Skakhmakt and their floating snow palaces, even if they're only really present in the novel as a swarm of angry ghosts bent on revenge. The fleshed-out new setting of the palace of the skin-stealing immortal beings was fascinating. But despite the compelling settings, in Saint Death's Herald the plot is essentially driven by an obligation Lanie has placed upon herself rather than the direct threat and interpersonal drama of book 1, and it lacks a bit of tension. In the end, this book felt like a chore list Lanie was crossing off.
Still effervescent, but not entirely what I was expecting. Still, I love Cooney's style, and I look forward to seeing what she writes next.
July 3, 2025
Actual rating: 3.75 bc of the massive slump in action in the middle.
This was the first sequel I've gotten excited about this year. The flaws of the first book continued - the author's style is very wordy and occasionally overwritten. Sometimes this is endearing, like with long exposition of how her skinchanging race works, sometimes it's tiring, like with a fight scene that lasts nearly 5 chapters.
But the things I loved continued as well! The world building remains unique and intriguing, and I love the way the author writes romance. Insane that my girl Lanie upgraded from a love interest who was 2 people, to a love interest that was a hivemind. And then, to a love interest that was Howl Movingcastle.
This was the first sequel I've gotten excited about this year. The flaws of the first book continued - the author's style is very wordy and occasionally overwritten. Sometimes this is endearing, like with long exposition of how her skinchanging race works, sometimes it's tiring, like with a fight scene that lasts nearly 5 chapters.
But the things I loved continued as well! The world building remains unique and intriguing, and I love the way the author writes romance. Insane that my girl Lanie upgraded from a love interest who was 2 people, to a love interest that was a hivemind. And then, to a love interest that was Howl Movingcastle.
June 16, 2025
I should write a much longer raving review of this GORGEOUS sequel, but I haven't the brain for it today. So here's what I do have...
The sequel continues in an unexpected, though practically prophesized, manner. You know how the movie Aliens was almost a different genre of a movie from the original Alien? Saint Death's Herald is kinda like that. While Saint Death's Daughter was a fantastical romp into a new fantasy world where Lanie is coming-of-age & coming-of-power, Saint Death's Herald is a chase into the farthest lands and magic of this world. It is a competition between Lanie and... wait, will that give away too much? Judged by... nope, too much.
READ IT! If you like dark fantasy with a cheeky wit & an amalgamation of fascinating characters, you would be foolish not to delve into the genius that is C.S.E. Cooney.
The sequel continues in an unexpected, though practically prophesized, manner. You know how the movie Aliens was almost a different genre of a movie from the original Alien? Saint Death's Herald is kinda like that. While Saint Death's Daughter was a fantastical romp into a new fantasy world where Lanie is coming-of-age & coming-of-power, Saint Death's Herald is a chase into the farthest lands and magic of this world. It is a competition between Lanie and... wait, will that give away too much? Judged by... nope, too much.
READ IT! If you like dark fantasy with a cheeky wit & an amalgamation of fascinating characters, you would be foolish not to delve into the genius that is C.S.E. Cooney.
March 2, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this arc
I was so excited to read what happens next; how Lanie would defeat her Great Grandpa Rad because she has to right?
We get to learn more about about Irradiant Stones to see how he came to be how he is as a person/ghost.
We get to interact with old characters and even get some more background on them as well.
The ending is chefs kiss
I was so excited to read what happens next; how Lanie would defeat her Great Grandpa Rad because she has to right?
We get to learn more about about Irradiant Stones to see how he came to be how he is as a person/ghost.
We get to interact with old characters and even get some more background on them as well.
The ending is chefs kiss
August 12, 2025
3.5 Stars. A very enjoyable entry, but kinda underwhelming sequel. This book very much feels like a sidequest derailing the main story, which is not helped by the fact that some of the more interesting side characters get sidelined. Still, looking very much forward to the next book of the series.
September 8, 2025
this review is difficult to write. i didn't reread saint death's daughter and i maybe should have. i found saint death's daughter quite organically and ended up adoring it so unexpectedly and i felt so let down by saint death's herald. other fans of saint death's daughter appear to be loving this and rating it highly so take my opinion with a grain of salt i guess.
normally excessive world-building and gorgeous descriptions would be perfect for me, as they were in saint death's daughter, and then also actually kushiel's scion in later august. i think spending this book with such a limited cast of characters (who had way less chemistry than the squad from book one), spending basically no time on intriguing side plots or even what i had thought was the main plot of the series (Blackbird bride) which was barely mentioned.
it felt super slow, as it only covered a matter of days, in comparison to the first book which covered years (and also in comparison to the book that i read directly before this, hild).
it was still fascinating and exploratory, the world-building is expansive and kind of excessive and also somehow still judicious. the writing is evocative and descriptive. the characters are still realistic and loveable but we just didn't get to spend that much time (chronologically) with them. i think originally, after reading this, i felt frustated because i felt like this wouldn't have been a problem if i hadn't read it right after hild, in which every single word is infused with meaning, weight and plot significance.
there were also a couple of editing errors; i understand mistakes are made sometimes but i feel like missing punctuation marks and misspellings are happening more frequently even though books are getting more and more expensive. this isn't anything wrong with the novel, or the author obviously, but it's just something i noticed and it made me feel frustrated with the publishers.
normally excessive world-building and gorgeous descriptions would be perfect for me, as they were in saint death's daughter, and then also actually kushiel's scion in later august. i think spending this book with such a limited cast of characters (who had way less chemistry than the squad from book one), spending basically no time on intriguing side plots or even what i had thought was the main plot of the series (Blackbird bride) which was barely mentioned.
it felt super slow, as it only covered a matter of days, in comparison to the first book which covered years (and also in comparison to the book that i read directly before this, hild).
it was still fascinating and exploratory, the world-building is expansive and kind of excessive and also somehow still judicious. the writing is evocative and descriptive. the characters are still realistic and loveable but we just didn't get to spend that much time (chronologically) with them. i think originally, after reading this, i felt frustated because i felt like this wouldn't have been a problem if i hadn't read it right after hild, in which every single word is infused with meaning, weight and plot significance.
there were also a couple of editing errors; i understand mistakes are made sometimes but i feel like missing punctuation marks and misspellings are happening more frequently even though books are getting more and more expensive. this isn't anything wrong with the novel, or the author obviously, but it's just something i noticed and it made me feel frustrated with the publishers.
July 2, 2025
loved it. I hope more comes out soon!
November 27, 2025
wow so remember how I read book 1 last year and made it my whole personality? well I’m about to do it again
Two months after the events of Saint Death’s Daughter, Miscellaneous Stones is upon a quest… to seek down her rogue ghost ancestor, Irradiant Stones, who has possessed the body of Cracchen Skrathmandan, to release “Grandpa Rad” to his long overdue rest, and to free Cracchen: as she promised to Sari, his mother.
But Grandpa Rad has no intention of going quietly.
What follows is a riotous, gloriously rendered tale, richly populated with characters both beloved and new. Lanie must follow her quarry into the dread lands of Leech, home of skinchangers; win challenges unheard of; wield magics ancient and experimental, and face both herself and her god.
Spiderwebbed with poetry, laced with verse, this is bouncingly robust prose, a feast of good things to consume. Written with gleeful verve, shivering with spooky anticipation and rich with delight, tenderness and romance, this is a story to love and devour - a triumphantly transformational epic.
featuring:
- the return of Underwear Stones, world’s best undead dog (He’s named after his primary diet)
- the return of Stripes, world’s best undead tiger rug
- Flying houses
- Romantic entanglements and passionate yearning
- Found family
- Magical duels
- Crimes against gods and men
- a kinda sexy crab (don’t ask)
Two months after the events of Saint Death’s Daughter, Miscellaneous Stones is upon a quest… to seek down her rogue ghost ancestor, Irradiant Stones, who has possessed the body of Cracchen Skrathmandan, to release “Grandpa Rad” to his long overdue rest, and to free Cracchen: as she promised to Sari, his mother.
But Grandpa Rad has no intention of going quietly.
What follows is a riotous, gloriously rendered tale, richly populated with characters both beloved and new. Lanie must follow her quarry into the dread lands of Leech, home of skinchangers; win challenges unheard of; wield magics ancient and experimental, and face both herself and her god.
Spiderwebbed with poetry, laced with verse, this is bouncingly robust prose, a feast of good things to consume. Written with gleeful verve, shivering with spooky anticipation and rich with delight, tenderness and romance, this is a story to love and devour - a triumphantly transformational epic.
featuring:
- the return of Underwear Stones, world’s best undead dog (He’s named after his primary diet)
- the return of Stripes, world’s best undead tiger rug
- Flying houses
- Romantic entanglements and passionate yearning
- Found family
- Magical duels
- Crimes against gods and men
- a kinda sexy crab (don’t ask)
April 30, 2025
The second book in Saint Death series (trilogy?) took its time to arrive. The first book, Saint Death’s Daughter (2022), blew my mind and I was eagerly waiting for the follow-up. In many ways, it was worth the wait. In others, a slight let down.
Miscellaneous Stone, the best and only necromancer in the world, is on a hunt for her great-grandfather Irradiant Stone’s ghost. Problem is, he’s a necromancer too, even if not alive anymore, and her teacher, so he’s not easy to catch. She’s followed his trail towards north. She knows he’ll head to Skakhmat where he has unfinished business of genocide kind to take care of.
She’s accompanied by Duantri, the gyrfalcon lady bodyguard, and Stripes, the tiger rug she accidentally brought to life in the previous book, and—once Grandpa Rad abandons his body—Cracchen Skrathmandan, the once enemy who is now filled with spirits of dead Skakhmat wizards bent on revenging on Grandpa Rad.
The hunt is difficult, but they almost catch Grandpa Rad several times, only for him to pull a disappearance act by jumping to a different body. It becomes especially difficult to best him when he finds the city of skinchangers and can become anything he wants after jumping to them. But she’s not above asking for help, from her gods and friends alike, and eventually they manage to best him.
This was a very straightforward book from start to finish: find Grandpa Rad and lay his spirit to rest. No side quests, no distractions from subplots. And while it worked as a story, with good twists and action scenes, it was not quite compelling enough to hold my full interest. It took me over a week to finish this as I kept putting it down.
The first book had two elements that made it one of the best reads of the year it came out. One was Lanie as an underdog, trying to prevail against her murderous family in a very macabre house. The other was the found family of her brother-in-law Makkovian and his daughter Datu, and the falcon ladies Tanaliín and Duantri.
Here Lanie and Duantri were mostly alone, with brief visits from the rest of the family or chapters from their point of view showing what they were doing elsewhere. Mak is on a pilgrimage that he apparently can’t abandon for his sister, and for some reason Tanaliín needs to stay with him and Datu, which strains her bond with Duantri. Mak is the third in their relationship, so they both pine after Duantri, but that’s as emotional as it gets.
The narrative was from several points of view, unlike the first book which was mostly from Lanie’s. Most of the time, they didn’t add anything to the story as such. They only seemed to highlight the fact that Lanie didn’t have enough to do in her own story to carry it like the first book. Even the final battle is mostly from other characters’ points of view.
But the biggest reason why this wasn’t as compelling is that Lanie is now overwhelmingly powerful. She’s not the underdog; she’s the final boss. And I never find characters like that interesting. She had no true enemies throughout the story to keep the reader fearing and rooting for her. Even Grandpa Rad was merely fleeing. She never had to face a true opposition like in the first book, where everything was stacked against her.
For every problem, she had a larger-than-life solution, or a literal deus ex machina in the form of her goddess, Saint Death. Even when her friend, Haaken Skrathmandan, rushes in to a rescue, he shows up with a flying tower he’s only now learned how to create. It’s nice that things go well, but it’s not very interesting if a reader knows everything’s going to be all right from the start.
That being said, this was a well-written, good book; cozy rather than gothic. Lanie was as lovely as before and endearing in her enthusiasm about bones. The ending was good and open enough that there will hopefully be more books. Something was building between Lanie and Haaken, and while he’s not my favourite love interest, (Mak would’ve been better, but he’s happy in his threesome) and he wasn’t as interesting a character as in the first book, it’s something to look forward to.
I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Miscellaneous Stone, the best and only necromancer in the world, is on a hunt for her great-grandfather Irradiant Stone’s ghost. Problem is, he’s a necromancer too, even if not alive anymore, and her teacher, so he’s not easy to catch. She’s followed his trail towards north. She knows he’ll head to Skakhmat where he has unfinished business of genocide kind to take care of.
She’s accompanied by Duantri, the gyrfalcon lady bodyguard, and Stripes, the tiger rug she accidentally brought to life in the previous book, and—once Grandpa Rad abandons his body—Cracchen Skrathmandan, the once enemy who is now filled with spirits of dead Skakhmat wizards bent on revenging on Grandpa Rad.
The hunt is difficult, but they almost catch Grandpa Rad several times, only for him to pull a disappearance act by jumping to a different body. It becomes especially difficult to best him when he finds the city of skinchangers and can become anything he wants after jumping to them. But she’s not above asking for help, from her gods and friends alike, and eventually they manage to best him.
This was a very straightforward book from start to finish: find Grandpa Rad and lay his spirit to rest. No side quests, no distractions from subplots. And while it worked as a story, with good twists and action scenes, it was not quite compelling enough to hold my full interest. It took me over a week to finish this as I kept putting it down.
The first book had two elements that made it one of the best reads of the year it came out. One was Lanie as an underdog, trying to prevail against her murderous family in a very macabre house. The other was the found family of her brother-in-law Makkovian and his daughter Datu, and the falcon ladies Tanaliín and Duantri.
Here Lanie and Duantri were mostly alone, with brief visits from the rest of the family or chapters from their point of view showing what they were doing elsewhere. Mak is on a pilgrimage that he apparently can’t abandon for his sister, and for some reason Tanaliín needs to stay with him and Datu, which strains her bond with Duantri. Mak is the third in their relationship, so they both pine after Duantri, but that’s as emotional as it gets.
The narrative was from several points of view, unlike the first book which was mostly from Lanie’s. Most of the time, they didn’t add anything to the story as such. They only seemed to highlight the fact that Lanie didn’t have enough to do in her own story to carry it like the first book. Even the final battle is mostly from other characters’ points of view.
But the biggest reason why this wasn’t as compelling is that Lanie is now overwhelmingly powerful. She’s not the underdog; she’s the final boss. And I never find characters like that interesting. She had no true enemies throughout the story to keep the reader fearing and rooting for her. Even Grandpa Rad was merely fleeing. She never had to face a true opposition like in the first book, where everything was stacked against her.
For every problem, she had a larger-than-life solution, or a literal deus ex machina in the form of her goddess, Saint Death. Even when her friend, Haaken Skrathmandan, rushes in to a rescue, he shows up with a flying tower he’s only now learned how to create. It’s nice that things go well, but it’s not very interesting if a reader knows everything’s going to be all right from the start.
That being said, this was a well-written, good book; cozy rather than gothic. Lanie was as lovely as before and endearing in her enthusiasm about bones. The ending was good and open enough that there will hopefully be more books. Something was building between Lanie and Haaken, and while he’s not my favourite love interest, (Mak would’ve been better, but he’s happy in his threesome) and he wasn’t as interesting a character as in the first book, it’s something to look forward to.
I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 14, 2025
With Grandpa Rad freely roaming the world in Cracchen's body, Lanie and her family pause Makkovian's pilmigrage to hunt down and return his ghost to Saint Death. Leaving with just Duantri and Stripes, Lanie follows him north, where they finally believe they have cornered. He is, however, able to "jump ship" at the last minute and take over a skinchangers body, which is basically the worst-case scenario for Lanie. With Cracchen on the brink of death, Grandpa Rad heading for Leech to possess an even more powerful skin changer, and now the Storm of Souls bearing down on her Lanie is truly in the fight of her life.
While Herald isn't as light and feathery as Daughter was, it was still excellent. We get to truly see how much Lanie has grown over the last two books. She is so much more confident in herself and in the love and trust her family has in her. Not only that, she is absolutely badass. I mean she was in the first book but her abilities have just exploded in this one and it's not just that she's stronger but it is her love for the dead and her goddess and trust in her family and friends that allow her to do things that quite frankly Grandpa Rad would never even conceive. Makkovian explains it perfectly at one point by saying that Lanie just makes death seem friendly, and I think that sums it up perfectly.
The world is expanded upon as well as we learn more about the skin changers and the Skakdi in the one. I genuinely didn't even remember the skin changers being mentioned in the first one, so I'm glad we got a pretty in-depth course into who they are and how their magics work. And once again we have Lanie's infectious appreciation of anything new and novel that takes something that seems scary on the surface and makes it intriguing, it's just impossible to *not* be excited as she is to learn more about how skin changer magic works even if it seems very wrong on the surface.
Grandpa Rad is actually far worse than I could have possibly imagined, though. I mean far worse. The difference between how he wields his necromancy and how Lanie wields it are night and day, and I'm so glad we were able to clearly see that contrast here. Lanie is absolutely light and love and beauty, and that's always clear, but it becomes so much more clear when in direct opposition to Rad's violent, almost abuse of death. He simply doesn't care. The dead are a means to an end for him. When Lanie does finally put an end to everything, how she does it is such an important testament to who she is as a person and as a necromancer as well. It was a culmination of everything we knew Lanie to be, and it was beautiful.
What I really loved here, though, is Lanie expanding her group of friends and finding her place within it. She's absolutely gobsmacked at one point that it never even crossed her mind to just send letters to Hakken, and that's genuinely such a Lanie thing to do. Shes just a little bit outside of everyone else all of the time and by the end of Herald I think she found her place within her ever growing circle of friends and that she's finally comfortable in that spot. Comfortable enough that she actually goes back to Nurr on her own, and that seemed like a monumental step for me. I am very curious if we will ever pick up anything with Cracchen, though. I just really feel like there needs to be a morally gray character hanging around. With the changes he goes through in this book I definitely feel like he's no longer the evil assassin he was in the last book, but, he's also pragmatic enough to make the tough decisions Lanie wouldn't be able to.
Overall, I *hope* there's a book three. I want to continue to roam this world with Lanie and her family and friends and watch her grow as both a person and a necromancer. And yeah, of course I recommend this series! There is simply nothing else like it that I've ever found!
As always, thanks to NetGalley and Solaris
While Herald isn't as light and feathery as Daughter was, it was still excellent. We get to truly see how much Lanie has grown over the last two books. She is so much more confident in herself and in the love and trust her family has in her. Not only that, she is absolutely badass. I mean she was in the first book but her abilities have just exploded in this one and it's not just that she's stronger but it is her love for the dead and her goddess and trust in her family and friends that allow her to do things that quite frankly Grandpa Rad would never even conceive. Makkovian explains it perfectly at one point by saying that Lanie just makes death seem friendly, and I think that sums it up perfectly.
The world is expanded upon as well as we learn more about the skin changers and the Skakdi in the one. I genuinely didn't even remember the skin changers being mentioned in the first one, so I'm glad we got a pretty in-depth course into who they are and how their magics work. And once again we have Lanie's infectious appreciation of anything new and novel that takes something that seems scary on the surface and makes it intriguing, it's just impossible to *not* be excited as she is to learn more about how skin changer magic works even if it seems very wrong on the surface.
Grandpa Rad is actually far worse than I could have possibly imagined, though. I mean far worse. The difference between how he wields his necromancy and how Lanie wields it are night and day, and I'm so glad we were able to clearly see that contrast here. Lanie is absolutely light and love and beauty, and that's always clear, but it becomes so much more clear when in direct opposition to Rad's violent, almost abuse of death. He simply doesn't care. The dead are a means to an end for him. When Lanie does finally put an end to everything, how she does it is such an important testament to who she is as a person and as a necromancer as well. It was a culmination of everything we knew Lanie to be, and it was beautiful.
What I really loved here, though, is Lanie expanding her group of friends and finding her place within it. She's absolutely gobsmacked at one point that it never even crossed her mind to just send letters to Hakken, and that's genuinely such a Lanie thing to do. Shes just a little bit outside of everyone else all of the time and by the end of Herald I think she found her place within her ever growing circle of friends and that she's finally comfortable in that spot. Comfortable enough that she actually goes back to Nurr on her own, and that seemed like a monumental step for me. I am very curious if we will ever pick up anything with Cracchen, though. I just really feel like there needs to be a morally gray character hanging around. With the changes he goes through in this book I definitely feel like he's no longer the evil assassin he was in the last book, but, he's also pragmatic enough to make the tough decisions Lanie wouldn't be able to.
Overall, I *hope* there's a book three. I want to continue to roam this world with Lanie and her family and friends and watch her grow as both a person and a necromancer. And yeah, of course I recommend this series! There is simply nothing else like it that I've ever found!
As always, thanks to NetGalley and Solaris
January 29, 2025
I loved Saint Death’s Daughter from the first moment I started reading the ARC I received from Netgalley, so it’s been a long, excited wait for Saint Death’s Herald – and it was absolutely worth the wait.
There’s more of all my favourite characters from the first book; Duantri and Tanaliin, Datu and Mak, the Skrathmandan family, Saint Death and the other gods, Lanie herself, of course, and even Grandpa Rad, who is the absolute worst but has such fun and takes such glee in being the worst that it’s impossible not to enjoy him. The only one who doesn’t show up much is Lir, whom I adored in the first book – but, of course, given what happened at the end means them being largely absent only makes sense. And what there is of them, when they do show up in the narrative, is just… *chef’s kiss*. Once again, the wait was entirely worth it!
And then of course there’s more of C. S. E. Cooney’s just blissfully gorgeous worldbuilding – Athe and its various cultures and societies and nations and people and cities and gods and magic is so rich, so layered, so varied and strange and ordinary and beautiful that it feels like a real world, a real planet full of real people. I think there’s something particularly special about seeing it through Lanie’s eyes, because she’s so utterly in love with her entire world, so thrilled to discover new things and learn about new people. Everything is interesting to her and everything that has even the slightest potential to be wonderful is wonderful to her, and it makes travelling with her a constant joy.
Especially I loved the way the world is expanded in this book – the author isn’t just satisfied with the glorious, delicious delights she’s already given us, she brings in whole new ways of doing magic, whole new societies and ways of being a person. I could eat it with a spoon!
And all of this fabulous fascinating detail is hung on a plot that’s simple, yet entirely compelling: find Grandpa Rad and stop him. The complications that happen kept me on the edge of my seat and the way the story was finally resolved was so satisfying and opens up so many intriguing questions about where the story will go next. I love this world, and I love these characters, and I would happily read new stories about them for the next thirty years if C. S. E. Cooney so desires!
Other things I loved about this book but only get an honourable mention because otherwise this review would be as long as a novella:
- Stripes!!!!! I love that lil undead tiger rug nearly as much as Datu does, what a good good boy
- Datu using the Worst Word and the adults finding it hilarious
- the whole skinchanger idea, and their culture, and the characters there, and oh, I hope we come back to them because they’re just so fascinating!
- The love and adoration and gentleness with which death is treated, like it’s something just as wonderful and precious as life, and when you’re reading this book, you really do feel that way
- the twelve apologies!!! I was so thrillied to get a list of them at the end of the book and I love them so so much and I wish English had a list of apologies like that because I think we could use them
- Mister Underwear Stones, another good, good boy
- Lanie being terrible with heights and yet constantly being forced to transport herself in various flying devices
- Hakken!
- Saint Death/Doedenna’s various forms throughout the book; she’s so tender and loving and I would like to be loved by her
- I’m super excited to obtain and listen to the audiobook, the author reading the first book is just wonderful and I know this one will be equally gorgeous
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!
There’s more of all my favourite characters from the first book; Duantri and Tanaliin, Datu and Mak, the Skrathmandan family, Saint Death and the other gods, Lanie herself, of course, and even Grandpa Rad, who is the absolute worst but has such fun and takes such glee in being the worst that it’s impossible not to enjoy him. The only one who doesn’t show up much is Lir, whom I adored in the first book – but, of course, given what happened at the end means them being largely absent only makes sense. And what there is of them, when they do show up in the narrative, is just… *chef’s kiss*. Once again, the wait was entirely worth it!
And then of course there’s more of C. S. E. Cooney’s just blissfully gorgeous worldbuilding – Athe and its various cultures and societies and nations and people and cities and gods and magic is so rich, so layered, so varied and strange and ordinary and beautiful that it feels like a real world, a real planet full of real people. I think there’s something particularly special about seeing it through Lanie’s eyes, because she’s so utterly in love with her entire world, so thrilled to discover new things and learn about new people. Everything is interesting to her and everything that has even the slightest potential to be wonderful is wonderful to her, and it makes travelling with her a constant joy.
Especially I loved the way the world is expanded in this book – the author isn’t just satisfied with the glorious, delicious delights she’s already given us, she brings in whole new ways of doing magic, whole new societies and ways of being a person. I could eat it with a spoon!
And all of this fabulous fascinating detail is hung on a plot that’s simple, yet entirely compelling: find Grandpa Rad and stop him. The complications that happen kept me on the edge of my seat and the way the story was finally resolved was so satisfying and opens up so many intriguing questions about where the story will go next. I love this world, and I love these characters, and I would happily read new stories about them for the next thirty years if C. S. E. Cooney so desires!
Other things I loved about this book but only get an honourable mention because otherwise this review would be as long as a novella:
- Stripes!!!!! I love that lil undead tiger rug nearly as much as Datu does, what a good good boy
- Datu using the Worst Word and the adults finding it hilarious
- the whole skinchanger idea, and their culture, and the characters there, and oh, I hope we come back to them because they’re just so fascinating!
- The love and adoration and gentleness with which death is treated, like it’s something just as wonderful and precious as life, and when you’re reading this book, you really do feel that way
- the twelve apologies!!! I was so thrillied to get a list of them at the end of the book and I love them so so much and I wish English had a list of apologies like that because I think we could use them
- Mister Underwear Stones, another good, good boy
- Lanie being terrible with heights and yet constantly being forced to transport herself in various flying devices
- Hakken!
- Saint Death/Doedenna’s various forms throughout the book; she’s so tender and loving and I would like to be loved by her
- I’m super excited to obtain and listen to the audiobook, the author reading the first book is just wonderful and I know this one will be equally gorgeous
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!
April 13, 2025
As soon as I heard that C. S. E. Cooney was delivering a sequel to Saint Death’s Daughter I knew that I had to get my hands on it. I absolutely adored SDD and an opportunity to return to the strange, curious, twisty and intriguing world that Cooney created for Lainie and her friends was an absolute no brainer.
Before I even start to give you an overview of the plot, I absolutely have to expound on the brilliance of Cooney’s writing and world-building. These worlds are complex, detailed, distinct, and truly awe-inspiring, without being overly complex or overwhelming. The world-building is such a brilliant from Lainie’s entry into the Skinchanger city of Taquathura via the Limestone Bridge to the magically complex Sky Houses of the Sky Wizards and how they are powered – all are described to such an immense level of detail that truly brings them to live but, NEVER feels like a lecture, they feel like beautifully painted works of art that you can truly see. Cooney’s artistry here is truly mindblowing and isn’t just limited to painting pictures in the mind of the reader, as there is also a depth of political intrigue woven into the picture that just adds to the depth and dimensions of the imagery. From
Then of course there are the characters old and new, from Lainie who remains the absolute darling that we met in Saint Death’s Daughter, albeit with a little more understanding of her abilities, but retaining her joy in finding beauty in the weirdest places. I absolutely adore Lainie, she is truly an innocent, always trying to think the best of those around her but, when push comes to shove, she is there in all of her power fighting for her Saint and what is right. There are a few other characters who you will recognise from SDD, to name a few, Datu, Undies and Stripes (I adore them both but, have got my unmentionables safely stowed, just in case!) Plus, a few new characters for whom Cooney ensures each has their own perspective, voice and unique personality, which is amazing considering the complexity of some!
Turning to the story, I have noted that some of the readers were disappointed that the plot of Saint Death’s Herald was very linear in comparison to Saint Death’s Daughter but, for me that really wasn’t an issue. I think I would have been disappointed if this book had simply been a carbon copy of the plot of the original but, I truly appreciated the continuity in the sense of the Terry Pratchett vibe, fart references and footnotes that were retained and continued – for me these truly continued that vibe and feel that I originally adored in SDD.
What more can I say without revealing the plot, Saint Death’s Herald progresses and expands the world of Saint Death’s Daughter, continuing Lainie’s journey and development whilst also delivering an epic quest and something totally new and intriguing to the series. If you loved Saint Death’s Daughter, don’t hesitate grab hold of Saint Death’s Herald now.
Thank you so much Solaris & Netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Before I even start to give you an overview of the plot, I absolutely have to expound on the brilliance of Cooney’s writing and world-building. These worlds are complex, detailed, distinct, and truly awe-inspiring, without being overly complex or overwhelming. The world-building is such a brilliant from Lainie’s entry into the Skinchanger city of Taquathura via the Limestone Bridge to the magically complex Sky Houses of the Sky Wizards and how they are powered – all are described to such an immense level of detail that truly brings them to live but, NEVER feels like a lecture, they feel like beautifully painted works of art that you can truly see. Cooney’s artistry here is truly mindblowing and isn’t just limited to painting pictures in the mind of the reader, as there is also a depth of political intrigue woven into the picture that just adds to the depth and dimensions of the imagery. From
Then of course there are the characters old and new, from Lainie who remains the absolute darling that we met in Saint Death’s Daughter, albeit with a little more understanding of her abilities, but retaining her joy in finding beauty in the weirdest places. I absolutely adore Lainie, she is truly an innocent, always trying to think the best of those around her but, when push comes to shove, she is there in all of her power fighting for her Saint and what is right. There are a few other characters who you will recognise from SDD, to name a few, Datu, Undies and Stripes (I adore them both but, have got my unmentionables safely stowed, just in case!) Plus, a few new characters for whom Cooney ensures each has their own perspective, voice and unique personality, which is amazing considering the complexity of some!
Turning to the story, I have noted that some of the readers were disappointed that the plot of Saint Death’s Herald was very linear in comparison to Saint Death’s Daughter but, for me that really wasn’t an issue. I think I would have been disappointed if this book had simply been a carbon copy of the plot of the original but, I truly appreciated the continuity in the sense of the Terry Pratchett vibe, fart references and footnotes that were retained and continued – for me these truly continued that vibe and feel that I originally adored in SDD.
What more can I say without revealing the plot, Saint Death’s Herald progresses and expands the world of Saint Death’s Daughter, continuing Lainie’s journey and development whilst also delivering an epic quest and something totally new and intriguing to the series. If you loved Saint Death’s Daughter, don’t hesitate grab hold of Saint Death’s Herald now.
Thank you so much Solaris & Netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
April 10, 2025
“Skinchangers do not eat flesh. ... What they eat is everything that makes a being itself. Their haecceity. Their thisness. Thisness is what they feed on.”[loc. 1052]
In Saint Death's Daughter, Lanie (short for Miscellaneous) Stones spent much of her time in the family mansion, avoiding anything and anyone that might trigger her allergic reaction to violence: when that was taken from her, she found a home above a school in Liriat Proper. In Saint Death's Herald, she leaves Liriat (and most of her found family) behind, determined to fulfill her promise to rescue Sari Scratch's son. Cracchen, possessed by the vengeful spirit of Lanie's great-grandfather Irradiant Radithor Stones (a.k.a. Grandpa Rad), is heading north: Lanie, accompanied only by the gyrgardi (were-falcon) Duantri and by Stripes (an animated tiger-skin rug of great valour), must follow.
Though there are brief interludes recounting the adventures of Lanie's nearest and dearest -- her niece Datu, Datu's father Mak, Duantri's partner Tanaliín -- on their pilgrimage, most of the story focusses on Lanie and her discovery of the wider world. She visits Leech and Witch Queen City, which turn out to be coloniser names for the Free Territories of Taquathura and its capital city Madinatam. She discovers the truth about the flying castles of the sky wizards of Skakmaht, and the chilling way in which they're powered. And though she's lonely and often in peril, her innate compassion and kindness extends even to the most implacable of foes.
Saint Death's Herald picks up where the previous volume of the hopefully-a-trilogy left off: it's definitely worth a quick reread of Daughter to refamiliarise oneself with names and events. There aren't as many footnotes in this volume, and the plot of the novel is at once darker and simpler. I missed Mak (of whom we catch glimpses) and Lir, but found Grandpa Rad's life story tantalising, and the skinchangers fascinating. And I love that, in this cosy-gruesome world, death is a balm, a release, a kindness.
Cooney's prose is an absolute joy. I'm occasionally reminded of Ysabeau Wilce, just for sheer rambunctiousness -- and it's a long time since I've had to look up the meanings of so many words while reading a novel (quop! tholobate! acroteria! anomural! phenocryst! and many many more) which is a pleasure in itself. Looking forward to the next volume...
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance review copy! UK publication date is 22nd April 2025.
The poor, mangled bird of his soul. How it had hunched, sullen, glaring at her: wings torn, beak broken, one eye missing, feathers the color of void, smelling of rotten citrus. [loc. 5641]
April 29, 2025
maybe a little heavy on the deep depravity and unbearable agony front
Cooney is a wonderful writer. Marvelous. Original. Funny and wise.
I love her beautifully ornamented stories, I love the saints and the gods, the empathy and the imagery.
So of course I will recommend this book but I am also bitterly disappointed about several aspects.
The first one is that every character in this story must suffer a lot of grievous bodily and/or psychological trauma. I would really have appreciated some minor characters who were just selling ice cream or enjoying the countryside. Maybe a few relaxing pages of the main characters seeking knowledge in a library or planning reasonably ahead.
I’m afraid the story also suffers from the number one fallacy of American storytelling: if you must choose between a broken leg and a splinter you must always choose the broken leg unless the splinter is in the eye or infected with something nasty. Sometimes subtlety can be the better choice in my humble (European) opinion.
The number two American fallacy that is also distorting this book is that the story always is better if it can be told as a chosen one against evil. And yes it is effective (I am the only one who could possibly defeat this foe and I will nobly risk my health and happiness … oh how interesting. Do tell me more).
But! It is amazingly illogical. If you’re defeated what is happening to the rest of the world? Maybe it is not so very noble to risk yourself if you’re thereby condemning everybody else to the evil that you are uniquely capable of fighting. Maybe you should seek alliances. Maybe you should try to warn other people and maybe you should consider the event of your failure.
My other complaints:
I appreciate that the triad of lovers are used three times but the happy lovers are annoying. I really hope that if there is another book I don’t have to read about their immature longing for each other and their inappropriate lack of clothing.
My favorite thing about the first book was the relationship between aunt and niece. It was very much downplayed in this book.
I think the complexities of loving an abusive parent figure (who is not loving you back) are competently shown in the story but I think it could have been done on half the pages. That would have freed some space for a restorative stroll along the sea, some mulled cider and maybe some nice sex. Why is there so very much body in this book but only annoying allusions to sexual activity?
My best wishes for a happy afterlife for the lovely Lani in the mind of her author. I would be happy to see her again but preferably with less all round suffering.
Cooney is a wonderful writer. Marvelous. Original. Funny and wise.
I love her beautifully ornamented stories, I love the saints and the gods, the empathy and the imagery.
So of course I will recommend this book but I am also bitterly disappointed about several aspects.
The first one is that every character in this story must suffer a lot of grievous bodily and/or psychological trauma. I would really have appreciated some minor characters who were just selling ice cream or enjoying the countryside. Maybe a few relaxing pages of the main characters seeking knowledge in a library or planning reasonably ahead.
I’m afraid the story also suffers from the number one fallacy of American storytelling: if you must choose between a broken leg and a splinter you must always choose the broken leg unless the splinter is in the eye or infected with something nasty. Sometimes subtlety can be the better choice in my humble (European) opinion.
The number two American fallacy that is also distorting this book is that the story always is better if it can be told as a chosen one against evil. And yes it is effective (I am the only one who could possibly defeat this foe and I will nobly risk my health and happiness … oh how interesting. Do tell me more).
But! It is amazingly illogical. If you’re defeated what is happening to the rest of the world? Maybe it is not so very noble to risk yourself if you’re thereby condemning everybody else to the evil that you are uniquely capable of fighting. Maybe you should seek alliances. Maybe you should try to warn other people and maybe you should consider the event of your failure.
My other complaints:
I appreciate that the triad of lovers are used three times but the happy lovers are annoying. I really hope that if there is another book I don’t have to read about their immature longing for each other and their inappropriate lack of clothing.
My favorite thing about the first book was the relationship between aunt and niece. It was very much downplayed in this book.
I think the complexities of loving an abusive parent figure (who is not loving you back) are competently shown in the story but I think it could have been done on half the pages. That would have freed some space for a restorative stroll along the sea, some mulled cider and maybe some nice sex. Why is there so very much body in this book but only annoying allusions to sexual activity?
My best wishes for a happy afterlife for the lovely Lani in the mind of her author. I would be happy to see her again but preferably with less all round suffering.
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