Sister, Maiden, Monster

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Lucy Snyder has successfully written a novel riddled with body horror, erotica, and repulsion. Snyder has stitched together the darkest most disturbing thoughts a person might have, religious doomsday prophecies as well as left over anxieties related to covid-19. Within this novel, Snyder doesn’t just ask the question “what if…?” when it comes to the end of the world… she answers it, in the most horrific possible way. Snyder’s story follows three infected women; each is given a unique voice and perspective thanks to the vocal talents of Arielle DeLisle, Katherine Littrell, and Lindsey Dorcus."― Library Journal A Type Two means that if you were given daily supplements of vitamins and survived the initial severe onset of the virus, you could survive on fresh human blood, so you would become a vampire. Or you could drink fresh animal blood, or pasteurized. However, Type Threes are those who need to eat, as the author describes, "a nice fresh bowl of raw brains." Erin is a Type Three. Because of this, she is also far more prone to violent psychotic episodes if she doesn't regularly get raw brain material to eat. Savannah , a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.

Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters. I thoroughly enjoyed the three main women's perspectives, how their stories overlapped and crossed paths, the destiny of it all before they even knew what was happening. But the body horror was truly unique such that even in my wildest Hellraiser-esque dreams I couldn't have predicted those horrific things. This is nothing but nightmare fuel in the plainest sense of the term that played vividly in my brain like a movie as I read, and I think it will likely haunt me for some time to come. Reminiscent of early Poppy Z. Brite, razor-edged and compulsively readable, Sister, Maiden, Monster is the pandemic kink-thriller I didn’t know I needed.” Synder weaves a feminist body-, cosmic-, and science fiction-apocalyptic fever dream. Sister, Maiden, Monster is beautiful, brutal, and grotesque.” — Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Children of ChicagoCentering around the deadly—and thankfully fictional—PVG virus (polymorphic viral gastroencephalitis), Sister, Maiden, Monster is structured as three vignettes, each concerning a woman with a pivotal part to play in the ongoing apocalypse. Though there is little to connect Erin, Savannah and Mareva in their day to day lives, they’re all infected with PVG. It’s not long before their symptoms start manifesting in vastly different, horrifying ways. Unflinchingly gory, fast-paced and full of disasters both expected and unexpected — every twist is earned and becomes another piece in this intricate puzzle that begins as a medical mystery. I promise you have never read another cosmic horror like this. It’s impossible to look away as we witness everything it takes to end this world in full, intimate detail.”

Absolutely recommended for readers of the cosmic and gloriously horrific.”―Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author If you survive PVG, you could end up suffering from a ‘deficiency,’ leading to you needing ‘supplements.’ You could also remain infectious, even if your symptoms of the disease have faded. If you are unfortunate enough to require ‘supplements,’ you might be required to consume human blood… or worse still, brains. A hideously gory, kink-fueled, feminist cosmic horror apocalypse novel that should be on the top of everyone’s reading list.” — Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat and Road of Bones Snyder constructs the novel in a similar way, and introduces little familiar (but not quite the same) tropes that we may have come across before, such as: obtaining memories by eating brains (iZombie, Warm Bodies) drinking blood in erotic scenarios (TruBlood.. vampires in general right?) as well as an all-out attempt to treat the terrifying condition, and reintroduce sufferers into society, rather than kill the infected (In The Flesh). Snyder alludes to all these things, but never outright says ‘yes’ or ‘no’ until suddenly it all becomes clear.Getting inside the minds of the three women was also fascinating, but they were often dark places to be. Fair warning, this book is not for the faint of heart. Full of visceral horror with gory descriptions that can hedge into the downright disgusting, I can see that being a contentious issue for some readers, not to mention there’s also a fair amount of sexual content—very messy, very graphic sexual content. Sister, Maiden, Monster is a visceral story set in the aftermath of our planet’s disastrous transformation and told through the eyes of three women trying to survive the nightmare, from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lucy A. Snyder. Visceral, gory, and deliciously unhinged, Sister, Maiden, Monster is a fast-paced, disturbingly relatable pandemic horror that I absolutely devoured and never wanted to end. Compulsive, masterfully wrought combinations of horror –body, plague, and cosmic. I was glued to Sister, Maiden, Monster way past lights-out.” — Laird Barron, author of Swift to Chase and Blood Standard Something about it was triggering a very old fear instinct in me; this creature was an actual monstrosity and did not belong in the world’