Book Review: Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

 Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder 

265 pages, Paperback
Published February, 2023 by Tor Nightfire

I looked briefly at a few of the other reviews for this novel and was not shocked to read a few disgusted, turned-off reviews. I kinda expected that. Sister, Maiden, Monster is not a novel for everyone. Those who enjoy it will get a unique experience. That is one of the best things I can say about this novel is a one of a kinda science fictional experience.  Forgive me a minute while I go on a rant involving this book.

This novel is horror, it will be marketed as horror, it will be found in the horror section of Barnes and Noble but it is also 200% science fiction. This is a pandemic novel that is built on science and speculation in ways that most space operas are not. The idea that a science fiction novel has its value that genre canceled out by its horror bits annoys me. The (almost) real-life comes with my favorite Science Fiction Book Club on Facebook. I love posting reviews there, it always increases traffic, I have made friends and found books there. When Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt (also a Tor Nightfire book) came out they declined my post saying that the book was horror, not SF. This review is probably declined before you read it too. Manhunt was horror but also science fiction including the fact that it was a modern trans take on the all-time James Tiptree/Alice Sheldon classic The Screwfly Solution.  But for SFBC on Facebook it was just horror.

Sister, Maiden, Monster is a science fiction novel. In the tradition of Weird Tales where the line between SF, Fantasy, and horror is thin I call on the admins to expand not narrow how they define Science Fiction. Sure some like Stephen Graham Jones - My Heart is a Chainsaw is pure horror. That said novels that combine both need their place in the SF discussion. This novel relies on the science of the pandemic and gets very cosmic in the final act.  It is a Science Fiction Horror novel.

SMM is an entry in one of my favorite sub-genres and I read it before my Amazing Stories column on weird apocalypse novels it likely would have made the cut of the article. I went into this novel cold, not knowing the plot and the novel was very effective that way. Based on the strength of six Stoker awards and some brief social media interactions I got this on a whim at the library. This novel uses dynamic and character work to blend emotional heartbreak, paranoid terror, and cosmic implications. The first two acts wove together stronger for me but it is the WTF insane stakes of the third act have enough charm to it that it didn't lose me. I understand why some readers might bounce off this part of the book.

The first act about Erin and Gregory is the most heartbreaking part. The same night that Gregory ask Erin to marry him he becomes infected with type three of the new virus. The revelation of the virus that happened reminded me of MR Carey's amazing The Girl with All the Gifts. We slowly grow to like and care about Erin, we feel for her and it sneaks up on you when you realize the disease is giving her a hunger for eating brains, the only thing that satisfies the hunger.  

This novel is about the next large pandemic after COVID, A strange virus that has remade society. By the second act, we see the ways society is trying to cope and move on. This virus has a little more horrific angle. One of  my favorite scenes is this reveal. It was not done with brain hungry zombies running the streets but a chilling conversation. Erin realizing how fucked she is talking to her doctor.

"I must have looked like I was about to choose violence, because Nurse Tesfaye Took a step closer with the taser.

"Miss Erin, it's not helpful to think that way," she warned. "You have a condition that requires a special diet. That is all this is."

"But did you have to give me human brains?" My voice shook.

You see where this is going? You might think so but SMM is filled with shocks and surprises. Twists on some genre tropes. The novel shifts for a reason that is a spoiler to Savannah a sex worker who is more connected than it appears at first. This reveal worked really well, the set-up and payoff was executed with great skill. Savannah's story becomes the transgressive part of the novel, again that might lose some readers. Her actions are not.

Sister, Maiden, Monster is a not-for-everyone book. The sex and violence reach splatterpunk levels at times, and the weirdness is dialed to 11. These are all reasons I loved it. I was impressed that Lucy goes there more times than I can count. This is a super cool novel.