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A review by morelikelibrarybooked
Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
*I was gifted a copy of this book in advance by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
This really was a great horror book. It was appropriate for the times with the backdrop of the COVID pandemic influencing behavior when a secondary, more dangerous pandemic strikes. And what does this secondary pandemic mean for the reader? What it means is just so much body horror. I wouldn't call Sister, Maiden, Monster extreme horror, but I would say that it is only one step down because it is so outright GRUESOME. You know that the body horror is well done when it makes your stomach turn just reading about it. There was a part where one person was straight-up licking another living person's brain (consensually) and it just made me itchy; I still think about it and I wish that I didn't. There was also a heavy streak of sexuality with the gore. In a way, it brings Exquisite Corpse to mind. The disturbing interplay of sexual activity while being presented with some graphic horror makes for a visceral read and not in a bad way.
Not only is there A+ body horror, but there is also a wide swathe of cosmic horror. The two are perfectly coexisting in this as one affecting the other. This was a very good horror novel with a very good, believable premise (as believable as cosmic horror can be). Snyder made the whole set up feel incredibly real and plausible. In terms of readability, Sister, Maiden, Monster was short enough that it can be read quite quickly, as it should be. The storylines are interconnected in a way that best comes off if you read it in larger chunks and fewer sittings. You may lose some of the nuance if you break it up too much.
My only issues are that sometimes there was outdated internet lingo in the narrative that felt super off-putting (and a bit cringe). The use of internet slang/language never hits me right when I see it written in a full novel. No matter the consequences of what is actually happening in the book, it just feels off-putting and somehow too informal. The other thing that bothered me I can only describe as the author "soapboxing." What I mean is, it strongly read as Snyder inputting her personal political ideals and values. This one is hard to explain because I agreed with everything Snyder was saying, but it felt so out-of-place at times. It wasn't always totally off-topic, but sometimes it seemed as though Snyder would go off on a tangent and lose the thread of what we were reading. At points, it was almost shoved into random parts of the narrative in a way that read as very heavy-handed. I suppose it could have been done with more tact or had more that made it feel appropriate to the narrative. I'm not Conservative in any way, shape, or form, but if you are, note that there are heavy liberal tones throughout.
When taken altogether, any qualms I have aren't big and didn't really negatively impact my enjoyment of this book; in fact, I quite loved Sister, Maiden, Monster. It was really a body/cosmic horror with a pandemic spin that was quite appropriate for today's horror audience. A big round of applause for Lucy Snyder on the release of her book, I will be looking forward to seeing what she publishes next! Perhaps a sequel? It certainly ended with a wide enough berth to include one.
This really was a great horror book. It was appropriate for the times with the backdrop of the COVID pandemic influencing behavior when a secondary, more dangerous pandemic strikes. And what does this secondary pandemic mean for the reader? What it means is just so much body horror. I wouldn't call Sister, Maiden, Monster extreme horror, but I would say that it is only one step down because it is so outright GRUESOME. You know that the body horror is well done when it makes your stomach turn just reading about it. There was a part where one person was straight-up licking another living person's brain (consensually) and it just made me itchy; I still think about it and I wish that I didn't. There was also a heavy streak of sexuality with the gore. In a way, it brings Exquisite Corpse to mind. The disturbing interplay of sexual activity while being presented with some graphic horror makes for a visceral read and not in a bad way.
Not only is there A+ body horror, but there is also a wide swathe of cosmic horror. The two are perfectly coexisting in this as one affecting the other. This was a very good horror novel with a very good, believable premise (as believable as cosmic horror can be). Snyder made the whole set up feel incredibly real and plausible. In terms of readability, Sister, Maiden, Monster was short enough that it can be read quite quickly, as it should be. The storylines are interconnected in a way that best comes off if you read it in larger chunks and fewer sittings. You may lose some of the nuance if you break it up too much.
My only issues are that sometimes there was outdated internet lingo in the narrative that felt super off-putting (and a bit cringe). The use of internet slang/language never hits me right when I see it written in a full novel. No matter the consequences of what is actually happening in the book, it just feels off-putting and somehow too informal. The other thing that bothered me I can only describe as the author "soapboxing." What I mean is, it strongly read as Snyder inputting her personal political ideals and values. This one is hard to explain because I agreed with everything Snyder was saying, but it felt so out-of-place at times. It wasn't always totally off-topic, but sometimes it seemed as though Snyder would go off on a tangent and lose the thread of what we were reading. At points, it was almost shoved into random parts of the narrative in a way that read as very heavy-handed. I suppose it could have been done with more tact or had more that made it feel appropriate to the narrative. I'm not Conservative in any way, shape, or form, but if you are, note that there are heavy liberal tones throughout.
When taken altogether, any qualms I have aren't big and didn't really negatively impact my enjoyment of this book; in fact, I quite loved Sister, Maiden, Monster. It was really a body/cosmic horror with a pandemic spin that was quite appropriate for today's horror audience. A big round of applause for Lucy Snyder on the release of her book, I will be looking forward to seeing what she publishes next! Perhaps a sequel? It certainly ended with a wide enough berth to include one.