Sister, Maiden, Monster

by Lucy A. Snyder Narrated by Arielle DeLisle, Katherine Littrell, Lindsey Dorcus

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Lucy A. Snyder is our favorite type of horror writer; they deal with (and write about) the madness so we don’t have to. Unless we want to, of course.

“Absolutely recommended for readers of the cosmic and gloriously horrific.” -Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author

"Snyder's story follows three infected women; each is given a unique voice and perspective thanks to the vocal talents of Arielle DeLisle, Katherine Littrell, and Lindsey Dorcus."- Library Journal

Sister, Maiden, Monster is a visceral story set in the aftermath of our planet's disastrous transformation and told through the eyes of three women trying to survive the nightmare, from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lucy A. Snyder.

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.

Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good?

Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.

Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal - Audio

06/10/2024

Snyder's ("Jessie Shimmer" series) latest employs multiple viewpoints to chronicle the collapse of civilization. Just as the world is clawing its way back to normal after the COVID pandemic, a new, more terrifying disease called PVG emerges. The cravings for blood and brains aren't even the worst transformations caused by PVG. Those who survive the initial bout of stomach pains and vomiting blood then change into something no longer entirely human. Snyder's story follows three infected women; each is given a unique voice and perspective thanks to the vocal talents of Arielle DeLisle, Katherine Littrell, and Lindsey Dorcus. Snyder offers a complete timeline of this new pandemic, from society treating it like a virulent flu to segregating the infected. The unexpected ending suggests that the cause of this disease may be intentional, part of a greater plan to change humanity forever. VERDICT A unique and thought-provoking horror, visceral and violent, but deepened by Snyder's deft touch for relationships, both sexual and platonic. An enthralling portrait of a world teetering on the brink of destruction.—James Gardner

Publishers Weekly

12/05/2022

Bram Stoker Award winner Snyder (Exposed Nerves) infuses chills and eroticism into this gothic near-future tale of viruses, gore, and the emergence of ancient Lovecraftian gods. A new pandemic rages: the debilitating polymorphic viral gastroencephalitis, or PVG. After computer support tech Erin Holdaway contracts PVG, she endures a degrading hospital treatment involving consuming cow brains—and it leaves her with an insatiable craving. After she’s discharged, she develops a tumor on her tongue that sprouts teeth and urges her to take violent action to fulfill her desire for human brains. In a delusional haze during one such feeding, Erin hears an eldritch intelligence declaring her the chosen one and that it’s her job to eat the brains of the human race and devour their memories: “We will use the blood of this world to write dark, beautiful poetry across the walls of the universe.” Also drawn into this sinister plan are Erin’s coworker Mareva, who suffers from multiple tumors; Savannah, a sex worker specializing in BDSM; and Erin’s ex-fiancé, Gregory, who calls himself an Archivist for the elder gods. 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. (Feb.)

From the Publisher

Absolutely recommended for readers of the cosmic and gloriously horrific.” —Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author

“A hideously gory, kink-fueled, feminist cosmic horror apocalypse novel that should be on the top of everyone’s reading list.” —Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat and Road of Bones

“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

"This is a book for horror aficionados to exult in. It’s seamlessly constructed, frequently funny, joyfully queer, and unapologetically gross, with plot twists that feel both wholly unexpected and inevitable."—Booklist (starred review)

“Unflinchingly gory, fast-paced and full of disasters both expected and unexpected ... you have never read another cosmic horror like this. It's impossible to look away.” —Premee Mohamed, Nebula award-winning author of the Beneath the Rising series

"Snyder... [sets] a new standard for readers looking to try cosmic horror. Fans of this subgenre will be delighted, awestruck, and terrified in equal measure." —Library Journal

“On every charged page, Snyder sets to work catching and devouring the grimmest of social ills. Sister, Maiden, Monster is a gory treat of rich monster science and near-decadent body horror. Delicious and devious.” —Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth

“Synder weaves a feminist body-, cosmic-, and science fiction-apocalyptic fever dream. Sister, Maiden, Monster is beautiful, brutal, and grotesque.” —Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Children of Chicago

“Sister, Maiden, Monster is the feminist Cronenberg I didn't know I needed. Gleeful, gory, and unrelenting.” —Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors

“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

“A mutant hybrid of weird science and cosmic horror, Sister, Maiden, Monster is deliciously cerebral and unflinchingly feminist. Violently beautiful, this novel is a tale for our times. Resounding.” —Lee Murray, Bram Stoker Award-winner and author of Grotesque: Monster Stories

“Sensuous, sinister, and sinewy; a blood-and-brains splattered shotgun-blast romp through the apocalypse that will simultaneously excite and disgust readers with equal pleasure.” —Philip Fracassi, author of Boys in the Valley

“A plague dream for our uncertain times. Compelling and terrifying. Mapping the pandemic planet with words as white as bone, as black at night, as red as blood.” —Angela Slatter, award-winning author of The Path of Thorns

“Compulsive, masterfully wrought combinations of horror –body, plague, and cosmic. I was glued to Sister, Maiden, Monster way past lights-out.” —Laird Barron, author of Swift to Chase and Blood Standard

“This is such a weird but delightful read; a must for feminist horror fans.” —BuzzFeed News

“[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.” —Locus

“Unsettling and unexpectedly timely, Sister, Maiden, Monster is horror at its best. Snyder pulls out all the stops with this powerful and unflinching novel, dealing with the fallout of a pandemic and the omnipresent, creeping terror that can only come from your own body turning against you. Put this book at the top of your reading list immediately.” —Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals

“With Sister, Maiden, Monster, we see that there’s not only beauty in the abyss, but equal doses terror and wonder.” —Maurice Broaddus, author of Breath of Oblivion

“Grotesque body horror and apocalyptic pandemonium as only Snyder can deliver. Reader beware: Sister, Maiden, Monster is not for the faint of heart!” —Nicholas Kaufmann, bestselling author of The Hungry Earth and The Stone Serpent

Library Journal

01/01/2023

A new virus is quickly spreading across the globe, affecting people so differently that they are being sorted into types. Type threes, like Erin, now need to eat a diet that includes mammal brains to survive, while type fives, like Savannah, who are now "archivists," ingest the memories and knowledge of others before they are all lost, and then there's Mareva, whose pre-pandemic condition makes her a pivotal figure in the impending apocalypse. In a novel told in three sections, each focusing on one of the women, Snyder meticulously builds a realistic, unnerving science-fiction/horror hybrid world where the increasingly horrifying yet utterly enticing details compound upon themselves. As the plot keeps moving compellingly forward, the stories of the individual women overlap and intertwine, making it abundantly clear that the virus is no accident, and that the goal of its inventors is to transform humanity forever. VERDICT Snyder ("Jessie Shimmer" series; Halloween Season), a critically acclaimed indie horror vet, steps boldly into her major-press debut, setting a new standard for readers looking to try cosmic horror. Fans of this subgenre will be delighted, awestruck, and terrified in equal measure, much like when they read Caitlin R. Kiernan or Hailey Piper.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175675819
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	02/21/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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