The Starving Saints

So here are our protagonists, the two magical girls chosen to stand separate and fight the intruders, and their earnest but beleaguered crush whom they enlist along the way:

Phosyne (Poison Type / Fire Type*): Her trembling-like-a-wet-leaf persona initially felt a lil lame, but it's quickly established that her designation of 'madwoman' isn't just slander- she's actually a veritable loon- and she's a damned fun character! She is flying wayyy too close to the sun in her search for arcane knowledge but she's a bit of a brat about it (even while lamenting her loss of a once-foundational faith) so I was rooting for her. Self-detonation seemed inevitable, her loyalties were always suspect, and once her and Treila teamed up I felt invested. The notes I scribbled out for her include: absolutely love when a woman chooses to become Worse; Why does she get powers tho (jotted down 3x); what a fucking sub (jotted down 2x).

Treila (Ghost Type / Fighting Type*): Gods but I love a vengeance arc, especially a personal vendetta for fiery retribution! This wily, wronged teenager was an instant heroine for me, especially with her complete resistance to anything resembling salvation, while everyone around her was gagging for it. Hope is for pussies, our gal is here for blood. Shown to be exceedingly clever, pleased to be perceived as a threat, and not above subterfuge (especially with a cute Saint/demon/?) Treila had by far the most agency of any mere mortal in the castle. My notes regarding her included: give her a gun!; Wait how can she do that tho; Yes girl eat him!

Ser Voyne (Ground Type / Steel Type*): A gal from my book club lamented that Ser Voyne was the first time she encountered a "muscle mommy who isn't intriguing." And alas, I must agree. Not Ser V's fault that she was mentally handicapped through most of the story, but even outside of that she was just... not that exciting. Nothing transgressive in her narrative arc, no amoral motives, just a lot of Juggernaut struggling without his helmet. Very much a knight bound by duty, a True Believer with maybe a lack of introspection, but overall she tryin'! And every magical girl needs their muscle, so cheers for Ser V for helping these brats save the day.

*At the point in my reading of this when I still thought the author had a plan and was weaving clues into the narrative, I had my Chem major girlfriend check out the characters' names on the chance there was an elemental theme. She replied "No, I think these are just Pokemon-ass names." Which made me immediately give them Pokemon types, and no, I will not elaborate on the reasoning behind the given types (vibes, ok, vibes.)

"A miracle so profound may be indistinguishable from horror"

My favorite part of this tale was the repeated moments of "delight." Even though they're in quite a fucked pickle, Phosyne and Treila kept finding themselves delighted in spite of-- or rather, at-- the truly demented shit going on around them. The two continuously surprise each other and themselves, which felt playful and weirdly hopeful even when the world outside the castle was literally falling to pieces. The Saints themselves find delight in the bratiness and curiosity of their magical mortal girls, forming alignments between prey and hunter that add a devious suspense to their narratives. (Seriously, just CTRL+F "delight" and note every instance the word is used.) That they both use their wits and clever thinking to forge pathways around and through their captors was immensely satisfying. Monsters require clarifying questions, turns out!

That these enemy intruders are somewhat soft despite the deranged nature of their orchestrations (the gritty details of which are initially hidden) and they do not act with outright violence on an interpersonal level, only melodic threats, makes them even more intriguing and slippery. The moral conundrums all 3 ladies face with them feel more relatable, especially since the humans are just so hungry, and these Saints seem ever so eager to help... for a price, of course.

"But time is inexorable, as is the human stomach."

Because the premise was so clever and the writing pretty good, I thought the author had an endgame. I was reading a bit too deep into it in the first half only to realize 3/4 of the way through that, like the king, I don't think this lady had an actual solid plan, more a nebulous belief that it'll all work out. As a D&D player I truly feel for her; I've encountered charismatic DMs who've concocted such wildly interesting sandboxes to play in but unfortunately don't have the skills to really bring the whole adventure into a satisfying story structure. In the Acknowledgements, Starling seems to almost admit to this, saying "I was, to put it simply, a mess. I wrote this book out of order, sometimes down to the sentence level," and that most definitely shows. Again, I love an abstract weirdness, so I truly wanted this to work. Homegirl just desperately needed another editor, I think, especially for the final third.

The strengths of this one are, IMO, 1.) the wild premise 2.) the bratty heroines 3.) the hungry horrors. Getting to ponder all three while reading made this a satisfying experience, if ultimately not a satisfying read.

As a final note I will agree with everyone praising this cover: it is bad-fuckin-ass.