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. I thoroughly enjoyed the three main women's perspectives, how their stories overlapped and crossed paths, the destiny of it all before they even knew what was happening. But the body horror was truly unique such that even in my wildest Hellraiser-esque dreams I couldn't have predicted those horrific things. This is nothing but nightmare fuel in the plainest sense of the term that played vividly in my brain like a movie as I read, and I think it will likely haunt me for some time to come. Visceral, gory, and deliciously unhinged, Sister, Maiden, Monster is a fast-paced, disturbingly relatable pandemic horror that I absolutely devoured and never wanted to end.

Snyder also introduces elements from Robert W. Chambers’ book, The King in Yellow, such as descriptions of the lost city of Carcosa, the Yellow Sign, and the Stranger in the Pallid Mask. Side by side with all the eldritch cosmic tentacle monsters, this seems to place Sister, Maiden, Monster firmly within Lovecraft’s Cthulu Mythos. This changed the tone and context of the book for me personally and left me feeling a bit confused. As much as I love Lovecraftian horror, I’m not overly familiar with anything outside of what the man himself wrote. I had to Google the Yellow Sign to try and make sense of the ending, and I’m still none the wiser really. I sat down, absently setting the rosy business card on the table by my plate. “The sushi looks great.” There had to be at least ninety dollars’ worth of artfully sliced rolls and sashimi on the platter. Mostly salmon, tuna, and barbecued eel. My favorites.With Sister, Maiden, Monster, we see that there’s not only beauty in the abyss, but equal doses terror and wonder. ” Snyder uses these characters’ voices to make pointed commentary on women’s health, capitalism, human rights, surveillance apps and various other very current valid topics, frequently and not very subtly, but then subtle isn’t at all what she’s going for. In fact, it’s all completely in your face excessive—the sex, the gore, the violence, the absolutely absurd leaps and bounds from earth to the gods know where. It’s a B movie, it’s cosmic horror meets Cronenberg meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets your worst Biblical nightmare. Can one connect gratuitous body horror, the grotesque, explicit sex, violence and gore to modern day critiques of gender, sexuality, socioeconomic politics and race? Sure. It is all just too much? Yes, but then so is the world of this novel. 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.

Nope, I’m a burglar.” I hung my keys on one of the brass hooks below our coupon-plastered corkboard. “I’m here to steal your Funko Pops.” No, I guess not.” I stared at the table, feeling a little stunned. And deeply touched. None of my previous boyfriends had ever done anything like this. Not even my family had thrown me a big party like this for my birthdays, not since I’d turned ten. Part of me was thrilled, but another part awkwardly wondered if all this was really for me or if I’d suddenly crossed over into the life of some other, more fortunate woman. “Wow, you went all out.” A] horror story of cosmic proportions, a smart deconstruction of pandemic mayhem, and a timely narrative that delves deep into what happens when we collectively face something new, dangerous, and scary, Sister, Maiden, Monster is a mosaic novel that shows a five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author at the top of her game....Synder is a keen observer, a sharp chronicler, and a great storyteller, and all of that is evident in this book.” — LocusCovid has come and gone pretty much and a new pandemic is taking over the planet. This book follows three women who are integral to the fate of the planet, Erin, Savannah and Mareva.

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.

Something about it was triggering a very old fear instinct in me; this creature was an actual monstrosity and did not belong in the world’ 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. Lucy A. Snyder is the author of 15 books and over 100 published short stories. Her most recent titles are the apocalyptic horror novel Sister, Maiden, Monster and the collection Halloween Season. She lives near Columbus, Ohio with a jungle of houseplants, a clowder of cats, and an insomnia of housemates. 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.