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A review by teri_b
Saint Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a sprawling, turbulent, gruesome, fascinating and very entertaining story that starts in a manor with the Stoneses family that is rather dysfunctional to put it mildly.
From there we see Miscellaneous "Lanie" Stones, the youngest daughter of the house, necromancer in hiding and allergic to violence of all sorts, emerge from the manor and find a hiding/living place in the city, as her family has life debts to pay.
As the story unfolds we get to learn more about her ancestral family and the many splendid, eccentric or cumbersome characters it bore.
We also see her making new friends in the city as she carves out a living for herself, and the family that has accompanied her from the Manor House, amongst them her niece, one of the best written child characters I have so far encountered in adult fantasy.
At times the story gets dark, gory, bloody and deadly, to then again focus on lighter matters. It is a celebration of life in the face of death quite literally. I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
From there we see Miscellaneous "Lanie" Stones, the youngest daughter of the house, necromancer in hiding and allergic to violence of all sorts, emerge from the manor and find a hiding/living place in the city, as her family has life debts to pay.
As the story unfolds we get to learn more about her ancestral family and the many splendid, eccentric or cumbersome characters it bore.
We also see her making new friends in the city as she carves out a living for herself, and the family that has accompanied her from the Manor House, amongst them her niece, one of the best written child characters I have so far encountered in adult fantasy.
At times the story gets dark, gory, bloody and deadly, to then again focus on lighter matters. It is a celebration of life in the face of death quite literally. I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Gore