Bookmarked: The Starving Saints
Hey y'all let's see what's up today! This book came highly recommended to me, and I was so excited to get started on reading it I almost couldn't contain myself. This is a medieval horror novel, and I'll be completely honest guys I purely picked it up because the cover was pretty. I have no shame in that, most of the books I picked up and adored I picked because of their cover art, it hasn't led me astray yet!
I would also love to direct you guys to an artist named Annalise Jensen, she made some fantastic art of these characters and it's actually another reason I was prompted to pick up the book.
Please note religion plays a very large part in this novel. As such, I was reminded of my own experiences and I will be somewhat touching on that in my review. If that is something that will make you uncomfortable this is your warning to please skip over it.
Additionally, as always, I've created a playlist for you all to enjoy while you read!
Content Warnings: Plague, Magic, Deities, Riots, Food Rationing, Religion, Strong Language, Cannibalism, War, Gore, Rot, Lesbian Longing, Mind Control, Bees, Descriptions of Filth, Hallucinations, Religious Psychosis, Abuse of Power, Starvation, Bodily Fluids, Mutilation, Stabbing, Unknown Creatures
The Summary
Living in a castle that is packed with three times its allotted guests is bound to cause issues at some point or another. The food is running out despite their rationing, and its up to Phosyne to find a way to make food from nothing. Under the surveillance of Ser Voyne, her experiments fall flat and she claims that her miracles cannot work under pressure.
Their luck turns when four mysterious strangers arrive promising salvation for the citizens of Aymar, however it's quickly revealed that these saviors are not what they seem. Will Phosyne, Ser Voyne, and Treila be able to save their peers before things go to far? Or will they, too, give in to the temptations that the strangers present.
The Review
I was already raving about this book before I was finished with it and honestly? My opinion hasn't changed whatsoever. As someone who loves both medieval fantasy and horror this had everything that I really look for in both fantasy and horror novels.
Additionally I liked the switching points of view so that we get to look at this story from more than just Phosyne's perspective. I find that really helped me to get the best picture of what was going on and it really added to the reveal of horror elements such as the extent of the mind control that certain characters were under and how exactly they were hallucinating compared to what was actually going on around them.
This was, in certain aspects, written a lot like Coffin Moon in the sense that some of the sentences felt incomplete or a little vague. However, there were enough descriptive sentences surrounding them to aid in providing necessary context so that made it a little more enjoyable for me.
Getting a little personal here, I really like Starling's portrayal of religious psychosis. I grew up in a very religious home, as most do in my area, and this novel just reminded me of the shock and anxiety I would feel when I would hear some of the things that people I loved and respected actually believed because of their religion. Her portrayal of both the mindset and the reaction of peers to said mindset is perfect.
In the same vein I love that the villains of this story appeared as saints, honored the beliefs of the people, and used that to control, trick and harm them. I've seen religion used as a means to harm others instead of provide the comfort and relief promised to the believers for so long that seeing it presented in a way that did not involve a radical cult or wayward religious leader was really refreshing. The religious believers in this novel were simply that, people turning to something comforting for relief and hope. The villains of the story, presented as deities, are the ones that preyed upon that belief and turned it into something twisted.
Closing
I cannot praise this book enough, especially as someone who has witnessed religious psychosis firsthand and has seen how scary it can be. If you want to check out The Starving Saints you can get your copy of the book here. Additionally, if you like really cool fantasy artwork including artwork for this novel check out Annalise Jensen on Tumblr she is amazing and does amazing work. If you want to see more from me feel free to click the link below where you can find my other socials. Y'all take care, and thanks for stopping by!
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