Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

41 reviews

bstephens0515's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense

3.75

what the fuck did i just read 😅

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

chasingpages1's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Torture, Cancer, Body horror, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Pregnancy, Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Confinement, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cursing, Gaslighting, and Genocide

Minor: Trafficking, Gun violence, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Infertility, Rape, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

bibliomich's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Umm, I'm not even sure where to begin with this review.

That was a trip, and one that I'm not sure I ever need to go on again. The world that Lucy A. Snyder created in Sister, Maiden, Monster was one that I was able to get swept up in immediately. The exposition moves quickly, as the first of three protagonists (and the reader) are thrust into a new, post-COVID pandemic, the impact of which seems dire. Over the course of the book, we follow three different narrators, whose stories ultimately overlap in meaningful ways, as they navigate illness, exposure, and survival in a rapidly changing world.

I was invested in all of their stories, and I found the story moved pretty quickly, but ultimately the ending fell flat for me. It felt like a lot of buildup with a somewhat anticlimactic conclusion. I think as the book became more and more unhinged, I just expected the ending to live up to that level of build up. I'm interested in reading the short story on which this book was based, and I would definitely read Snyder's work again. Just probably not this one...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Animal cruelty, Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cannibalism, Body horror, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Dysphoria, and Trafficking

heliopteryx's review against another edition

5.0

This book is based on the short story Magdala Amygdala, available free here: https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/magdala-amygdala/

I became interested in the novel version when I heard it described as, "desecration of the feminine, but in a feminist way." And it really is. Some might think the feminist messages are too ham-fisted, but I thought they made sense in the story even if it was a character directly telling the reader what we are supposed to understand from a scene. Such as in part 1, where Erin is telling the reader about going with her friend who was getting an IUD,

and how the friend went into shock during the attempted insertion. The boyfriend didn't go with her, but Erin thinks he should have, so he could see the cost of sex for his girlfriend. Later on in this section, Erin goes with Betty to get an operation to remove the top of her skull so Erin can lick up her cerebrospinal fluid.

The reader is meant to understand these two scenes are the same, and Erin is doing for her girlfriend what the unnamed boyfriend should have done for Erin's friend: be there and hold her hand, witnessing the suffering and devotion. 

When first reading the short story, I was expecting it to be sci fi, but you will enjoy these better if you are expecting fantasy cosmic horror. Compared to the short story, the book does a better job of blending realistic sci fi exposition with the fantastic.

Despite the incredibly gross and disturbing imagery throughout, upon finishing this book, my first thought was, "that was beautiful." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Blood, Cancer, Medical content, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Infertility and Forced institutionalization

miriam_in_life's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Gore, Murder, Death, Medical trauma, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual assault, Excrement, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

kurumipanda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, Vomit, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Self harm, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Sexism, Grief, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Police brutality, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual assault and Trafficking

lady_valhella's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It is graphic and gory and equal parts frighteningly brutal and beautiful. Getting from a proposal to

a hostile alien terraforming take over by a cephalopod race

is magical!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Colonisation, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Violence, Cannibalism, Confinement, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, and Self harm

riotgrrrl92's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

What starts as a creepy, gory pandemic adventure slowly evolves into an eldritch, lovecraftian Handmaid’s Tale. I wasn’t sure if I liked or loved this book until the last quarter of the novel, and I didn’t know it would be a must-read until the very, very end. The book spends a lot of time setting the stage for us, which is something I struggle with, but can’t fault the book for that when the payoff was so rewarding. The messages are loud and clear, which is sometimes necessary, and it helps that I agree with all of them. Amazing female leads, great queer representation, and some of the most disgusting horror I’ve ever read. I’ll be recommending this to ever queer horror fan I know. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Blood, Cursing, Chronic illness, Excrement, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, War, and Vomit

smolhandsdan's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Torture, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, and War

suzylit's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Just WOW, this was my first dive into that kind of horror literature and I do not regret it! I mean, this was a masterpiece. Very disturbing and yet so fascinating. I didn’t know what I was getting into when I started reading and the story kept surprising me as I turned the pages! I am definitely checking this author’s other works!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Body horror, Cancer, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Gore, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Self harm, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit