The Starving Saints

So this story definitely sucked me in, but MAN is it creepy, in the best way possible.

The first thing that happened while I was reading it was that I started comparing the situation in the novel with actual history. The novel isn’t set anywhere in the real world, but it reminded me of some pretty infamous sieges in history. In particular, I was reminded of the Siege of Montsegur and the Siege of Carcassonne, both of which occurred during the Albigensian Crusade. Actually, I was strongly reminded of the Albigensian Crusade as a whole, even though this is set in a fantasy world. I think part of why I was stuck on that is because the novel uses the place name “Carcabonne,” which really isn’t that far off from “Carcassonne”. SImilarly, religion playing a crucial role in this story not only emphasizes the medieval feel of the setting, but drives home the parallels between this story and the Albigensian Crusade. The intense faith of the people in Aymar reminds me of the Cathars who were the reason for the sieges on Montsegur and Carcassonne in the first place.

Into this awful pressure cooker emerges the novel’s protagonists: Phosyne, the “madwoman” who can produce miracles; Ser Voyne, the king’s right-hand knight and hero of the Siege of Carcabonne; and Treila, a servant with a VERY interesting secret. Initially Phosyne and Voyne are of greater importance to the way the story progresses, given their proximity to people like the King and the Lord of Aymar, Ser Leodegardis, but as the story progresses Treila comes into her own, offering the readers a view of what life in the besieged castle is like for the ordinary folk.

Phosyne, for her part, is fascinating because of her desire for knowledge, quite apart from her ability to produce “miracles”. She may also be neurodivergent, though the specific nature of her neurodivergency isn’t entirely clear. Regardless, the pressure on her to produce a miracle to save Aymar, in contrast to her hunger for knowledge, make for a very interesting internal dynamic.

And then there is Ser Voyne. At first she comes across as the dutiful knight, but it soon becomes clear that her relationship to duty isn’t as straightforward as it appears. Instead, it is a complicated, almost bitter thing, even as Voyne relies on duty to give structure to her life and help her make sense of an increasingly incomprehensible world.

Through these three characters the novel’s themes are revealed and explicated. The most obvious one is related to hunger and consumption. As starvation threatens the residents of Aymar Castle, the sudden miraculous appearance of the Saints and the Constant Lady, who are supposedly intent on saving them, leads to a much darker path that isn’t really salvation at all, but damnation. Because the Lady and her Saints do not just sate physical hunger: they sate other kinds of hunger, other kinds of desires, too. As the Lady and the Saints interact with the protagonists, for example, they reveal what those characters really want: Phosyne’s hunger for knowledge; Voyne’s hunger for purpose; and Treila’s hunger for vengeance. The Lady promises to sate those hungers, but they all come at a cost.

That’s another thing this novel tackles: the power of obligation. “If you ask for something, you must give me something in return” is a theme frequently seen not just in this novel, but notably, in folk stories about the Fae - and in stories about making deals with the Devil. Being obliged to someone is a kind of power, and this novel looks at that power closely. Obligation also comes with a kind of hierarchy: the more favors one is owed, the more powerful one is. The novel explores this hierarchy to a degree - but also explores the flipside of it. After all, if one is owed, one also owes. Favors are not one way; they are reciprocal. Why should one be obliged to someone who uses their power over oneself in selfish ways, or to harm others? Why should one allow oneself to be used in ways that run contrary to one’s beliefs, only for the sake of obligation? This question is relevant not only to the characters in the novel, but also in the contemporary world, and it is a question that needs to be asked a lot more often, and a lot more loudly.

And then there is the question of survival. Boundaries are vital, as are morals, but when survival is at stake, how far should one go? Because at its core, this novel is about survival, and the lengths one is willing to go to in order to make it out alive. What gets sacrificed first on the altar of survival? The body? Morals? When does one compromise become many? When does many become too much? In the novel these lines are blurred, and the reader is forced to consider: if backed into a corner, what is one willing to sacrifice in order to get out? Is one willing to become something other, a monster, if it means being able to live (however one might define that)? Or would death be better? The novel does not offer any sure answers, except that one will never know for certain which choice one will take, until one comes to the crisis point.

Overall, this novel is a fascinating and disturbing read about the lengths people will go to in order to survive, or to get what they most desire. It makes clear that in moments of true crisis, one will be forced to make sacrifices, and in so doing may become the thing they never wanted to be. But the question is: is it worth it, so long as one survives, or gets what one wants? Is survival, or the achievement of one’s desire, truly worth the sacrifices one makes for it? It is a dark thought, but this novel asks it in such a beautifully gruesome manner, that the reader cannot help but think, for a moment at least, that maybe becoming a monster is, indeed, a good price to pay.

I loved this book. It’s slightly weird and you never really get a full understanding how things work but I could not get enough of it.

There are three points of views in this book and each character we follow is well defined and interesting. It would be hard to pick a favorite. The switches are slow at first allowing readers to get a good hold on the set up but once you get into things there are more switches. This could be annoying, but it really helped set the atmosphere of confusion and claustrophobia. All three main characters are all driven, one by the exploration of wild magic, one by revenge, and one by protection. I really enjoyed each of their personalities and the arcs they took.

I had read another book by this author (The Luminous Dead) which I would recommend reading but it also had some great scenes of claustrophobia and mental confusion. This just shows how good the author is at passing on the feelings of situations to readers. In this new book we also got an almost heady exploration of power and magic woven throughout. Its hard to explain, I was driven to read on like one of the characters was driven to explore a wild type of magic.

This book is going to be one I would read again and recommend to others.