Sister, Maiden, Monster

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Compulsive, masterfully wrought combinations of horror—body, plague, and cosmic. I was glued to Sister, Maiden, Monster way past lights-out. Snyder is going to clobber unsuspecting readers with the bad-dreams-bat.” And as she reminds readers, the worst part is that she's a contagious Type Three, so until she's no longer contagious... things are even worse. She tells her partner that they can no longer live together because it's not safe. She has to try to find a lodging of her own that will accept her.

Award-winning horror writer Lucy A. Snyder unleashes "Sister, Maiden, Monster" onto readers with great aplomb. Folks who prefer their fiction without any plagues or pandemics may want to steer clear of this novel, and even though I myself am in the camp that prefers not to read about pandemics, Snyder's writing and storytelling are magnificent, so I made an exception. The novel begins with a pandemic--not Covid-19, but something called PVG, or Polymorphic viral gastroencephalities. It has spread all over the world at roughly the same time in major cities, and the medical powers-that-be aren't sure about a Patient Zero, if one exists. PVG has also emerged after the previous 'coronavirus years,' so the landscape imagined here includes a world in which something worse comes after our current pandemic. The protagonist, Erin, and her boyfriend Gregory, are celebrating their anniversary a bit early. She becomes extremely ill not long after, and things take a turn for the worse. With Sister, Maiden, Monster, we see that there’s not only beauty in the abyss, but equal doses terror and wonder. ” Absolutely recommended for readers of the cosmic and gloriously horrific.” — Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together. Upon starting Sister Maiden Monster I knew very little about the plot and loved how everything started so normally before the brutal escalation. Erin was looking forward to getting married and instead ends up in hospital after contracting the virus and is then given a new set of rules for living which forbids her from mixing with others, having sex, or going out in crowds (just for a start). The scene when she wakes up strapped to a bed, but has no idea why, was outstanding. Finding herself now attracted to women and seeking out others who have the virus she has a transformation and has perhaps the biggest section of the book, which also cleverly drops into the narratives of the other two women.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. Absolutely recommended for readers of the cosmic and gloriously horrific.”―Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author

I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. Despite the description, I wasn’t entirely sure what I would be getting into and there was not a single point in reading this book that I truly knew what was going to happen next, which made for a great read! However, I did have some qualms especially upon first starting the book, though I ultimately did end up really enjoying the read overall. Timely, sharp, sexy, and gory…this might just be Snyder’s best, and that’s saying a lot.” — Gabino Iglesias, author of The Devil Takes You Home NetGalley readers can request an advance digital copy of Sister, Maiden, Monster for review. E-copies will be available until the novel is published on February 21, 2023.Snyder’s bold and succinct descriptions create a visceral aura of terror and desperation. Readers will feel dread as they’re pulled along on this thrilling ride.” — Publishers Weekly

First things first, thank you so much to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for an ARC of this incredibly enthralling read!Sister, Maiden, Monster is the feminist Cronenberg I didn't know I needed. Gleeful, gory, and unrelenting.” — Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors Very well written. Great verbiage and descriptive prowess. I liked the overall ideas and the writing style but for me the story fell flat.

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 face of PVG is forced to reconcile with even more horrific possibilities. WHEN I TELL YOU THAT I AM OBSESSED!!!! Seriously, this book has everything I could have ever hoped for and more. There's humor, LGBTQIA+ representation, eldritch level terrors, body horror, sex positivity, and some incredibly creative uses of gore. Lucy A. Snyder really gave their audience their all in Sister, Maiden, Monster. If you are a fan of Lovecraft but crave a contemporary and socially conscious approach to sci-fi horror, then you need to get your hands on this book immediately. If you enjoy David Cronenberg levels of body horror, you've found the perfect book. 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. Erin is the first we encounter. A disease has broken out, stabbing everyone with familiar pangs of nostalgia to the corona virus. The infection sounds pretty similar, but if you are infected, you are guaranteed a trip to the hospital, if not the morgue. The disease is called PVG or ‘Polymorphic Viral Gastoencephalsiits,’ and the side effects are simply disturbing. 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?”Centering 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. 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 virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces drive a small group of women together.