Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Sister, Maiden, Monster

This book was a bit of a roller coaster and it makes it so hard to rate. Let's start with what I liked. I went into this book pretty much blind. I didn't read the synopsis and all I knew is that it was about a virus and leans heavily into body horror.

I really enjoyed the first part of the book in which we see the horrors a new virus is inflicting on a normal person and how the world is responding to it. Super interesting concept! I also enjoyed the pacing of the story for the most part - it only dragged in certain areas. I liked the writing itself. I found myself fairly immersed in the first act and also somewhat in the final act.

But there was so much that I didn't like. The characters are all pretty irredeemable with exception to Mareva, maybe. Every single character is so far left wing, politically that I feel like even left wing readers would find them deplorable. I didn't write the book off because of this. Maybe the author wanted us to hate all the characters! Obviously I don't need to fully relate to the characters or after with their views to enjoy a book, but it got super preachy in the second act. White men = bad. Christians = bad. It wasn't subtle at all and was definitely pulling me out of the story. Erin isnt likeable but I could feel empathy for her. Savannah is the absolute worst scum of the earth. Part two was painful to read. Mareva was the best character but I feel like the book ends semi abruptly before we really got to see the consequences of her decisions.

The other thing that pulled me out of the story was that there was a lot of time spent trying to explain the science of the virus but without really answering most of our bigger questions. The book ends just as it's starting to get interesting again.

Overall I think this book had all the potential but it almost was felt like it was trying to do so many things at once instead of just telling one story well.

Content Warnings

grey_jayne's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Sister, Maiden, Monster is wild! Lucy A. Snyder has a disturbingly fucked up bent for visceral body horror. This is definitely the best cosmic horror book in a while and I enjoyed how gay everything was. The imagery, the transformations, there is so much great horror here too. I will warn that the story's pandemic happens after the "coronavirus years" and follows the same procedures we had to, so could be triggering and too soon for some. Definitely check the content warnings.

Since this book is gloriously queer, I was let down by the use of "his or her" and other binary language. This is the second 2023 Nightfire book in a row to do this. We deserve better.

Content Warnings

curlydanreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Wow what an absolutely fucked up read. I loved it. I’m a huge fan of horror novels and this novel was a roller coaster. If you don’t like body horror, definitely don’t read this as it gets very graphic and icky. I was worried the “they came from outer space” reveal was going to be tacky, but I think the author did a great job of incorporating it and mixing it with the information about the virus. Also, not an expert on viruses/mutations by any means but I think her descriptions were very interesting and seemed “realistic”.

Content Warnings