The Starving Saints: A Novel

by Caitlin Starling Narrated by Not Yet Available

Overview

From the nationally bestselling author of The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence, a transfixing, intensely atmospheric fever dream of medieval horror.

Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration.

Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar's walls.

As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness-forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy-these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle's new masters... or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Starling is one of the new leading voices in horror,” — Locus

“A delicious Gothic romance.... It has to walk the line between romance and horror and not flinch away from either. The Death of Jane Lawrence is up to this task…. By the time the book reached that point of no return, I was so invested that I would have followed Jane into the very depths of hell.”  — NPR

“Ghostly, mysterious, and terrifying, The Luminous Dead will have you rooted to the spot until the very last page.”  — Peng Shepherd, author of The Book of M

“A harrowing, merciless descent into the human psyche. Starling’s prose is breathtakingly cinematic and left me without a molecule of spare oxygen. This book will catch you by the ankles and drag you backwards into a terrifying and inescapable reality. Read this one with all the lights on.” — Sarah Gailey, Hugo Award–winning author of River of Teeth, on The Luminous Dead

“A tense psychological thriller and a gripping survival story that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. It’s a dark ride that’s worth every step.” — Martha Wells, author of The Murderbot Diaries, on The Luminous Dead

Product Details

BN ID:	2940190902136
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/20/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged