Whenever I pick up a Caitlin Starling book, I know it’s time to get weird. The Starving Saints is a medieval horror buzzing with Starling’s strangeness, and I ate it up, despite what was on the menu.
Castle Ayamar has been under siege for months. Food is scarce, riots are starting, and the king and prioress are concocting some truly terrible solutions. But salvation arrives when the kingdom’s beloved Saints materialize in the courtyard. Most are in awe of this miraculous visitation and are desperate to partake in the abundance of food the Saints have provided. But something is not quite right about the Saints, and only those who dare to take a closer look will see the true horrors within the castle walls.
While I loved my first Starling story, The Death of Jane Lawrence, I hadn’t read much horror at the time. So when it got a little weird, cosmic, and existential, I didn’t feel entirely equipped for it. But a few years have passed, and I’ve read more horror-tinged things, so I felt more confident reading her newest story. Now, after The Starving Saints, I had to ask myself, “Am I a medieval horror girly?” It wasn’t until this book that I realized that most of my brushes with horror have been in sci-fi, urban fantasy, or contemporary settings. It felt much scarier to be in an earlier time period, dealing with the unknowable with only the characters’ wits and simple tools at hand. I really enjoyed being out of my element without any modern familiar touchpoints to see just how the characters were going to take on the Saints.
Beyond the story’s perfect time period, setting it in a castle under siege really heightened the horror and made it a creepy, claustrophobic story. The horror begins on page one, before the weird Saints even arrive, because everyone has been holed up long enough to see resources dwindle and desperation rise. The Saints make it worse, if not stranger and bloodier. But it doesn’t matter what horrors the characters face, because there is simply nowhere for them to run. Everyone is stuck sharing the same space, carving out their own means of survival amidst the forbidding castle walls. There is an enemy army outside, and monsters within, and each character has their own preference for which one they would rather face.
Three leading ladies give us different perspectives on the castle’s horrors: Ser Voyne, a famous hero and beloved knight; Phosyne, the king’s sorceress; and Treila, a noble girl turned servant. Starling’s multiple POVs really made the book shine, giving each character their own internal battle and unique experience with the mysterious Saints. Ser Voyne’s devotion and righteousness quickly entangle her in the horrors when the Saints arrive, challenging the blind loyalty and honor she’s adhered to for so long. Phosyne was previously a nun and is quick to be skeptical of the Saints. She’s the only one in the castle who can perform miracles, and exploring her power puts her in direct competition with the weird beings who have infiltrated the castle. Then there’s Treila, who lost everything and turned into a clever, selfish, and vicious creature. She has such a strong will and fearlessness that she often confronts the strange and magical head-on, leading to some very interesting interactions.
Lower the portcullis, find a cozy stone alcove, and get weird for spooky season with Caitlin Starling’s The Starving Saints. You won’t lose a limb, but you will lose your appetite.
Rating: The Starving Saints – 9.5/10
-Brandee
