Sister, Maiden, Monster

Product Information

Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good? 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... To watch Lucy’s evolution as a writer is a marvel. With Sister, Maiden, Monster, we see that there’s not only beauty in the abyss, but equal doses terror and wonder.This story is like taking a peek into her mind just to see how this dark magic happens.”— MAURICE BROADDUS, author of Breath of Oblivion 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. 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

Your words to God’s ears,” he said. “Anyhow, let’s talk about something more cheerful. How was your day?” 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. Unflinchingly gory, fast-paced and full of disasters both expected and unexpected ... you have never read another cosmic horror like this. It's impossible to look away.” — Premee Mohamed, Nebula award-winning author of the Beneath the Rising series 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. 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.”

Holy cannoli, I don't know what I was expecting when I opened this book, but I was in for a WILD ride. SISTER, MAIDEN, MONSTER is a post-pandemic, apocalyptic, eldritch horror festival of a book. Think COVID but way... way... WAY... worse. The body horror and slow, creeping sense of your own physical self slowly turning against you is mesmerizing in the best and worst ways possible. With Sister, Maiden, Monster, we see that there’s not only beauty in the abyss, but equal doses terror and wonder. ” It’s enough to keep your skin and brains from ulcerating. It’s enough to keep your nose from rotting off.” Absolutely recommended for readers of the cosmic and gloriously horrific.” — Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author My only other qualm with this book [ SPOILERS AHEAD] was that it fell prey to the "woman is a vessel for giving birth as a body horror element" trope, which I generally cannot stand. The context here was slightly different because it was written by a woman and is clearly a feminist work in many other ways, and the character does actually partially subvert this fate in the end, but I still hate to see it.

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.” Sister, Maiden, Monster is the feminist Cronenberg I didn't know I needed. Gleeful, gory, and unrelenting.” — Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors 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.

Lucy A. Snyder

A blood-and-brains splattered shotgun-blast romp through the apocalypse that will simultaneously excite and disgust readers with equal pleasure.”– PHILIP FRACASSI, author of Boys in the Valley

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.The synopsis does a decent job describing the plot, so I won't reiterate it here. This is pretty much an apocalyptic set of stories where a strange virus starts to manifest in people in different ways. 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. Very well written. Great verbiage and descriptive prowess. I liked the overall ideas and the writing style but for me the story fell flat. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.” This unflinching puzzlebox of a book leads an unrelenting narrative to its devastating conclusion in beautiful, near-seamless form. Every corner is illuminated, and the things the light reveals are more disturbing than they seemed when still unseen. Absolutely recommend for readers of the grim, the gloriously horrific, and the cosmic.”

One question remains: when does the horrific become absurd? That’s a line really unique to each reader.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.” Sensuous, sinister, and sinewy; a blood-and-brains splattered shotgun-blast romp through the apocalypse that will simultaneously excite and disgust readers with equal pleasure.” — Philip Fracassi, author of Boys in the Valley I blamed my exhaustion on stress and anxiety. Last week, the world had gotten the worst Valentine’s Day present ever: a new pandemic called PVG. Polymorphic viral gastroencephalitis. It had popped up in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Toronto, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City, and Mexico City at roughly the same time, which made finding Patient Zero (if he or she existed) a challenge. Nobody knew yet where it had come from, exactly how it spread, or what it was likely to do in the long run. All anyone knew for sure was that it was landing people in the hospital with scary symptoms.