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Sister, Maiden, Monster

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Inspired by her Bram Stoker Award-winning story “Magdala Amygdala,” Lucy A. Snyder delivers a cosmic tale about the planet’s disastrous transformation ... and what we become after. I loved the way the breakdown of society is seen through three unique female voices (Erin, Savannah and Mareva) whom are all impacted in hugely different ways from the early days in hospital isolation to later periods when the government have snipers on building roofs looking for anything suspicious. This was Covid-19 multiplied by a thousand as the three try to survive (or embrace) the virus which is destined to change humanity.

He laughed and said reassuringly, “No, our anniversary is next week. You’re fine. But it wouldn’t have been much of a surprise if I threw this the day of, would it?” Unsettling and unexpectedly timely, Sister, Maiden, Monster is horror at its best. Snyder pulls out all the stops with this powerful and unflinching novel, dealing with the fallout of a pandemic and the omnipresent, creeping terror that can only come from your own body turning against you. Put this book at the top of your reading list immediately.” — Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals Snyder has created something unique here, it’s grotesque and repulsive, but it is also brilliant and beautiful. A story created in Dante’s vision of hell, then regurgitated into something addictive and infectious. I have already leant my copy to friends who felt the same as I did, we find ourselves in the same position as Maurice: While each character is affected differently by the infection, there are nevertheless parallels between their struggles. The story’s themes are also undeniably feminist, concerning the female experience as the narrative explores the choices of the three women and the manner in which they deal with the changes to their lives. Erin, Savannah, and Mareva are all connected to each other in some way, so even though the stories may seem disjointed at first, eventually the book progresses through the three different parts and we start to see the threads that bind them together and perhaps even begin to glean the ultimate purpose behind the virus.A deadly pandemic. Lovecraftian gods. Graphic sex and violent gore. Sister, Maiden, Monster is an apocalyptic tale of cosmic horror unfolding in the middle of an outbreak of PVG, or polymorphic viral gastroencephalitis. Told in three parts, it follows the lives of a trio of women who each take on the title roles in their own unique way. A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces drive a small group of women together.

Told in three parts, Lucy A. Snyder's Sister, Maiden, Monster charts of the course of mankind's transformation through the eyes of three women. The first, Erin, is a recently engaged desktop support specialist who finds her body all but decimated by PVG. Savannah is a sex worker turned serial killer cannibal for the elder gods. Mareva's body, meanwhile, is prone to producing benign tumors even at the best of times, but in the fac 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 We can call it cosmic horror and write off some things as a spiritual fervour or eldritch ekstasis, which may make some of the say, particularly gnarly pleasure Savannah has from committing gruesome crimes a tiny bit more palatable, but the brutal truth is (and there is a lot of brutality here), Snyder isn’t going for palatable. Sister, Maiden, Monster is meant to evoke just the most visceral, violent, physical kind of existential dread that reminds you again and again that the world really is ending, we have no control over any of it, and unless some ancient gods in a benevolent mood happen upon some of us, it’s going to be game over for humanity in the most nightmarish of ways.Oh, and did I mention that in addition to Erin's milder diet of things like bananas and applesauce, she eats brains? This is also potentially one of the goriest books I’ve read lately, and I do tend to read a lot of cosmic/body horror, so beware of that! However, I really enjoyed these elements as they played out with the plot, and overall, just generally appreciated how striking and visceral the storytelling here was and how skillfully the author utilized uncanny genre elements to create a story I’m unlikely to forget any time soon. The author’s absolute talent in conveying desire, hunger, and lust in a horror setting, especially with queer characters in a way that isn’t often showcased with specifically lesbian or bi women, was amazing and perhaps one of my favorite elements. Unsettling and unexpectedly timely, Sister, Maiden, Monster is horror at its best. Lucy A. Snyder pulls out all the stops with this powerful and unflinching novel, dealing with the fallout of a pandemic and the omnipresent, creeping terror that can only come from your own body turning against you. Put this book at the top of your reading list immediately.” Lucy Snyder is a five-time Bram Stoker award winning writer, whose new novel Sister, Maiden, Monster is a no holds barred look at how women are affected by a pandemic that is bigger, worse and more eldritch than anything the world has ever imagined. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a zombie novel at the start, when Erin is told she has to live off brains, not be in crowds, and not have any close relationships with anyone. But this is not a zombie novel. It would be simpler if it were, but Snyder veers wildly into otherworldly territories, wild even as compared to an all out limbs flying, blood spraying, everyone dying zombie apocalypse.

Your words to God’s ears,” he said. “Anyhow, let’s talk about something more cheerful. How was your day?” 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. One question remains: when does the horrific become absurd? That’s a line really unique to each reader.

Featured Reviews

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.” 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. Nope, I’m a burglar.” I hung my keys on one of the brass hooks below our coupon-plastered corkboard. “I’m here to steal your Funko Pops.” Savannah , a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.

A mutant hybrid of weird science and cosmic horror, Sister, Maiden, Monster is deliciously cerebral and unflinchingly feminist. Lucy Snyder makes Gilead look like Sesame Street. Violently beautiful, Sister, Maiden, Monster is a tale for our times. Resounding.” Snyder uses these characters’ voices to make pointed commentary on women’s health, capitalism, human rights, surveillance apps and various other very current valid topics, frequently and not very subtly, but then subtle isn’t at all what she’s going for. In fact, it’s all completely in your face excessive—the sex, the gore, the violence, the absolutely absurd leaps and bounds from earth to the gods know where. It’s a B movie, it’s cosmic horror meets Cronenberg meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets your worst Biblical nightmare. Can one connect gratuitous body horror, the grotesque, explicit sex, violence and gore to modern day critiques of gender, sexuality, socioeconomic politics and race? Sure. It is all just too much? Yes, but then so is the world of this novel. Absolutely recommended for readers of the cosmic and gloriously horrific.” ―Seanan McGuire, New York TImes bestselling author It sort of felt like 3 different stories that all happened to be going on around the same time and place. The first story felt like a splatterpunk lust story between a newly turned zombie girl and a newly turned vampire girl and I wasn't really feeling it. Then the middle bit was the story of a newly turned serial killer realizing she really got off on murder which I didn't hate but it felt sudden and misplaced. The last bit of the book I LOVED with epic beasts and cosmic lovecraftian horror. I loved it all the way up to the end. I didn't care for the ending. It felt wildly abrupt and like the author was trying to figure out how to end it and was running out of time ao she scrambled an ending together and slapped it on like a bandaid... Type Ones are people who contracted this PVG virus, got some headache and nausea, but then after a few days of rest they recovered, never had to see a doctor, didn't have to go to an ER, and didn't need to be in a containment facility like Greenwood. Erin has become a kind of living zombie who has significant trouble with digestion, healing, sunlight, X-rays, and a dozen other things. She could also still become a 'total cancer farm' by the time she becomes 35 years old. Further still, pregnancy is no longer an option, adoption and fostering are also not options, and her brain will degenerate significantly over time. It's not clear if there is a cure.Very well written. Great verbiage and descriptive prowess. I liked the overall ideas and the writing style but for me the story fell flat. Snyder has always been a trailblazer, and now she scorches the earth with the sheer audacity of her imagination.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 Timesbestselling author of Road of Bones

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