The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
The Starving Saints is a Historical Horror novel, replete with a strong religious focus. The story is set at Aymar Castle, which has been under siege for months.
With food stores running low, and no signs of rescue in sight, it seems the residents will soon need to resort to extreme measures in order to survive.
As they teeter on the brink of total destruction through starvation, salvation arrives in the form of the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints. Just like that, the castle stores are replenished and the weak are strengthened.
But how did they get in? And what are they really?
The castle gates are fully barricaded, protecting against their enemies. Soon the entire castle is under the sway of these mysterious saviors, partaking in epic feasts of horrifying origin. As the castle seems to fold under the Saints will, our three MCs are the only ones who seem to see the situation for what it really is.
This story is told through three main perspectives: Ser Voyne, a war hero, Phosyne, a nun-turned-sorceress, and Treila, a serving girl. All three women are working in service to the King, though in different capacities.
Initially, I was wondering how Starling was going to more heavily connect the three perspectives, and I ultimately loved how that was done. I also loved how fully fleshed out all three characters ended up being.
Ser Voyne was def my fave. She was delivering HEAVY Brienne of Tarth vibes, and I was absolutely eating it up.
((Punny!!))
I was also pulled in by the tone of the novel. I was intrigued by the the historical setting, the religious and political characters, as well as their superstitions and belief in miracles.
After the Saints arrived, when the feasts begin and various other odd interactions, it starts to get very trippy. It’s scary and unsettling in an indescribable way. At least to me. It got under my skin what was happening, as I had no explanation and no one was seeing it but me.
I’m sure that sounds silly, but I think I was just so invested, I was able to put myself in these characters shoes and thinking about being in this castle, and experiencing these things truly got under my skin.
Granted, I’m not generally a fan when things get too fever dream, which this toes that line. I still like to be able to track events clearly, even when the characters don’t know what’s going on, and a lot of the time fever dream writing only gives you the same insight as the characters.
This though, I feel was done really well. I think it’s because not all of the characters succumb to what’s going on in the castle regarding the Saints to the same degree, so you still have a bit of a more coherent view of the happenings. I feel like that’s why it worked for me.
This does end up getting really wild, and it is my favorite that I have read from this author thus far. By a long shot, actually. I’m hoping for more like this.
Overall, I really, really, really enjoyed this. It is so strange, but in such an enchanting, dark and unsettling way. The atmosphere and characters exceeded my expectations, and I’m thrilled with that.
I have no idea if I truly understood what the author was trying to get across with this, but I’ve developed my own, quite intricate, theory involving the holy trinity, and I’m choosing to look at it that way for now. It just feels right.
With Saints like these, who needs Devils. This novel absolutely offers up a lot of FOOD for thought.
I highly recommend it to fans of Historical, or Religious, Horror, as well as anyone looking for a wild, unsettling story set in a medieval castle.