The life of Lanie Stones, a necromancer growing into her powers, is governed by the consequences of her family’s legacy—her family home is at risk because of her dead parents’ debts, her relationship with her niece’s father is tenuous because of her sister Nita’s actions (and her own, since Lanie tugged him from the arms of death when he wanted to die), and safety of her country is imperilled when Nita is murdered.

This second-world fantasy needs you to hit the ground running - be prepared for the onslaught of unfamiliar words and concepts from the get-go. I had a couple of false starts with it, because I find that I have to pre-invest in the story so I can last through the confusion, and my first two times I just wasn’t in the mood. When I tried again though, when I had a bit more brain space, I got along with it just fine. The worldbuilding itself is intricately detailed and gloriously vivid, the story woven together by different magic systems, cultures and languages. I adored the way Cooney crafted a language written in iambic pentameter to signal the poetic qualities of the language and the priorities of the culture it came from.

The prose is captivating and beautiful, and I revelled in the delicious turns of phrase and the dark humour of it all. The characters were rich and deep and entertaining, and I adored the casual queer rep and the exploration of different kinds of love: familial, parental, platonic, romantic.

That all said, this book is *a lot.* To the point where it took work to read, even though I wanted to follow the story—it’s wasn’t a slog, exactly, but a task that required stamina. It payed off immeasurably, but took considerable investment to get there. The book really hit it’s stride in the second half, when things picked up and started careening towards the ending. In the last quarter I struggled to put it down. It’s glorious

This might be for you if you like, looooonngg, slow-burn, lush and densely-detailed fantasy. It’s glorious.

I loved this dark fantasy for grownups. CSE Cooney's prose is a thing of wonder-- lyrical, musical, and oh so eerie. SAINT DEATH'S DAUGHTER weaves a hypnotic vision of magic and violence, assassins and gods, who populate a world that is at once dangerous and beautiful.

I could tell immediately that this book's humor was an exact match for mine. The near-extinct, flowery vocabulary for mundane or absurd situations, the ridiculous names, and the range of juvenile to academic jokes kept me laughing and on my toes. It's just delightful. I love a fantasy that doesn't take itself seriously, and I especially adore one that has mastered the obscure art of humorous footnotes.

And yet, the author packs in some impressive world-building that any serious fantasy reader will enjoy: a full pantheon of gods, a world with multiple, defined cultures not bound by overused archetypes, a type of magic attuned to feast days through a unique calendar, and magic both academic and experiential that jumps off the page and engages the mind. These and other thoughtful elements support a story of breathtaking scope and detail.

This is the story of Miscellaneous (Lanie) Stones, a necromancer raised (loosely speaking) by an executioner and assassin, born to a long line of Stoneses that have served the royal Brackenwilds with viciousness and pride. Lanie's merry family of murderers is a literal pox on her existence since her necromancy comes with a physical allergy to violence. Witnessing, hearing about, or even proximity to an intent to do harm results in an echo pain in Lanie that can be debilitating, a fact that her cruel older sister exploits with glee. This is the story of Lanie coming into her own as a magician, as a person, and as a member of a found family of her choosing. She experiences profound loss and steep challenges, but I was also impressed by the many kindnesses and unconditional love of many flavors that pepper the plot. There is weary suffering, warm compassion, and welcoming joy to take readers on a true emotional journey.

This book is a queer wonderland, which we love to see. Sexuality and gender are celebrated as fluid and personal throughout the book. Love is freely given and received in its many forms with no greater weight given to romantic or physical connection, platonic or chosen family bond. Poly relationships of various types are common and accepted. Lanie's main love interest is a fire priest who uses they/them pronouns. Gender roles either aren't present or aren't restricting. In other words, it's a rainbow down to its bones from the characters to the world they inhabit, not an example of tokenism or surface-level representation.

I have so many feelings at the end of this book because of my deep connection with the characters and my love of their varied relationships. The humor, world, and plot are stunning, dazzling works of art. I can't wait to see what happens next in the series and embrace Lanie and her found family again. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for my copy of this phenomenal book to read and review!

Saint Death's Daughter, by C.S.E. Cooney, follows Miscellaneous "Lanie" Stones, a girl born into a long family with a long history of violence and magic. Although a gifted necromancer, Lanie has an allergy to violence, even getting "echo wounds" when around somebody who's injured. After her parents and aunt die, her older sister, Nita, comes back from school to take on the family debts. What follows is a long series of events that are frankly impossible to summarize without immense amounts of background information.

The first thing to note about this book is its length. It's almost 700 pages in print. I think it probably should have been split into a duology; there are plenty of points in the middle that could have been breaking points, and I think it would have helped to add more structure to the overall narrative. Additionally, due to the author's writing style, a very large portion of that is dedicated to worldbuilding and asides. I really enjoyed that, but if you're somebody who just wants pure action for the entire book, this is definitely not the story for you.

Cooney's writing style in this book is definitely an acquired taste. Her writing is dense, but it's so worth making your way through it rather than just skimming. Her voice is humorous and tongue-in-cheek while still being beautifully eloquent. She has clearly put a lot of thought into creating this world for her story. The worldbuilding and magic system are rich and fantastical and believable in their complexity. Cooney skillfully crafts not only one kingdom, but puts an equivalent amount of thought into the surrounding cultures, whose differences and similarities to Lanie's kingdom play key roles in the story, but also help to make the world feel that much more alive.

Independent of all of that, the characters are all so wonderful. Lanie is so lovable and is just trying her best; I could not have made it through this book with any less of a protagonist. Her sister is wonderfully cruel and horrible; you love to hate her. Mak (Lanie's brother-in-law, for lack of a better term) and his daughter, Datu, are both such alive characters as well. Truly, every character inhabiting this vast world is multidimensional and complex.

My only complaint about this book is that it dragged on a lot, and I do think it would have been served well by being broken down into two books. There's some parts that I definitely think are superfluous as well, but I think I'd prefer to see the story restructured a bit to break it in two than to see a significant portion of the book cut.

If what I've said about the book appeals to you, then you should definitely pick it up. This book is not for everybody; if an excess of worldbuilding or dense prose is something you dislike, then you're going to hate reading this book. If you're on the fence, give it a few chapters. I loved the book enough that I'll likely buy it in order to reread it, because I definitely don't think I got everything I could have out of it the first time through. I'm giving Saint Death's Daughter 5/5 stars.

I have to admit that what I expected from this book based on its blurb and summary was completely different from what I got. However, I don't think that's a bad thing at all! Saint Death's Daughter is wholly unique in its plot and worldbuilding, making it a rare 5-star read for me.

Honestly, if I were to start singing praises, I don't think I'd stop anytime soon. As such, it might be prudent to list a few things that made it challenging to like at the start (but only for a while!) First off, the barrage of new information—all the gods, the days and months—made it so tempting to close the book and move along. Coupled with the fact that you need time to get used to and appreciate the writing, it might lose some readers right at the beginning. I also think that there might be some confusion as to what the story is about when it comes right down to it. There's a lot going on and something for everybody. However, it feels rushed or incomplete. Perhaps it would have been better to turn this book into a series and flesh things out more. Just from reading it, I could guess that the author has much more up their sleeve and might be holding back for the sake of brevity.

Now, onto the amazing things I loved about this book!

The prose really gave a sense of the setting of the book period-wise, even if the world is completely new. It was whimsical yet classic, the perfect fit, though it takes some time to digest (and look up words in the dictionary!) There's a biographic quality to the book, which makes it seem like you're reading a journal or something just vaguely academic. I liked it, but I'm not sure if it would have helped if the format changed into that completely. Either way, it worked for me!

The story and worldbuilding are engaging even if the events are seemingly mundane. All the characters have a strong voice and each is complex and three-dimensional. I loved that Lanie was such a fun and kind character and that this did not make her weak. The romance was reserved but no less strong and I personally wish I had myself a Canon Lir in my life. The twists of the story were most unexpected and made me look forward to each.

To echo Oliver Twist, I'd love more, please!

3.5 stars

I’ll admit that I’ve put off reviewing this book for a while simply because it kind of defies explanation. There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of details and people and places to keep track of (added to by footnotes for each chapter that mention yet more people). And while I did enjoy my reading experience I do think there was too much extraneous info. I did really enjoy the tone for the beginning of the book, which was lighthearted and humorous and kind of goofy. Yes lighthearted and humorous for a book dealing primarily with Death. My favorite character by far is actually one of the side characters, Goody Graves, who is a revenant (if you don’t know what that is, it’s an animated corpse). I do wish that the plot of the book focused more on the kingdom they are in, rather than a lot of focus on a couple of surrounding kingdoms. But I did enjoy the book for the most part, and I am curious to see how this series will continue.

Thank you to NetGalley & Rebellion Publishing for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to Rebellion/Solaris for the opportunity to read this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I adored Saint Death's Daughter, and I highly recommend it! It is at once a breath of fresh air and the warm embrace of homecoming, and it filled a hole in me that I didn't know was there.

Full, in-depth review here: http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/saint-deaths-daughter-by-c-s-e-cooney/

Sadly , I did not enjoy this book as much as I hoped to and I really wanted to. I found it frustratingly slow and it’s disappointing after the synopsis promised an exciting world. I did find the characters and the writing to be good so I can’t say I didn’t like it, I just didn’t quite love it either.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Thank you to NetGalley, Rebellion and Solaris for a copy of the eArc of Saint Death's Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney. Many will know Cooney from her fantastic novella Desdamona and the Deep, the world of Seafall and Dark Breakers. This somewhat familiar setting blended with a strange and weird fairy world is beautifully written by Cooney.

Now Cooney takes her literary prowess a step forward into the bizarre world of Saint Death's Daughter. This book is wonderous, dense, dark, heartwarming, heartbreaking. A slow burn that will engage your interest for weeks with a spectacular payoff earned. The characters in this book are deep and the villains are complex. I am eagerly awaiting the second book of this series.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Rebellion and Solaris, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Lanie Stones is the daughter of the Royal Assassin and Chief Executioner of Lirat and she has never lead a normal life. With a gift for necromacy and an allergy to violence, she was raised in isolation by her friend, an ancient revenant Goody Graves.
When her parents are murdered, it's up to her and her psychotic sister Nita to settle their family debts or losing their home and Grady with it. Asking for help doesn't solve anything and hunted by Liriat's enemies and creditors, haunted by the ghost of her great-grandfather, Lanie has to survive the next month. With the goddess of Death on her side, things maybe be possible, though.

Saint Death's daughter is the first book in a new trilogy and it's incredibly funny, moving and so well written. The wordlbuilding is amazingly captivating and the characterization is perfect. It's impossible not to love every single character, from the main ones, to the sides, to the bad ones. They are written so skillfully they are brimming with life and energy.
Saint Death's daughter is a marvellous coming of age, magical, hilarious, sexy and so intriguing. I love how the author explored the themes of love, death and legacy in a wonderful prose and words you can't not fall in love with.
Amazing. I can't wait to know what will happen next.

What allergy would make your job the worst?

"Saint Death's Daughter" by C. S. E. Cooney is a very unexpected story about a necromancer. Her parents were the Royal Assassin and Chief Executioner of her kingdom, and the presence or thought of strong enough violence can set off her lethal allergy to violence. So that makes for a super safe childhood when her sister is...not great. And your great grandfather keeps trying to possess her, debt collectors show up, and a court of killers comes knocking...

Reasons to read:
-Wholesome necromancy vibes
-Found Family
-Grade "A" banter/flirting
-I had to look a lot of the terms up, but the fashion in the city is wild
-The prose is decadent and deep
-Sometimes the Ultra violence kicks in against folks who really deserve it
-Skeleton Warriors!
-Excellent use of footnotes for world building and giving context
-The names are delightful

Cons:
-The prose might obfuscate some of the ideas so rereading parts occurred a couple of times to ground a concept.
-Be aware some characters are monsters and rob others of their agency, just something that makes me uncomfortable when those folks aren't immediately hit with kinetic force repeatedly.

I’ve never read from this author before so was unsure on what to expect but I loved it! It was so dark and had so many unique plot points, Laenie has some amazing character development and I can’t wait to see what she does next

Lanie was born into a powerful family, and has rare necromancer magic; but she's a good person, who just wants to study and have a quiet life.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Miscellaneous “Lanie” Stones, the youngest daughter of the Stones family, who have been closely connected to the royal family for years.
It starts after the suspicious deaths of her parents, who were the queen's best spy and assassin.
Her older sister, Nita returns home, to get revenge and help clear her family's debt.
Nita has a very weak glamour power, and when she returns, she brings Mak - a foreign wizard enslaved by her magic.

I liked the aspect of magic in this book; that some are born with various powers - and you can tell what they are by the magic marks on their skin. They have natural power boosts during certain periods of the year (i.e. solstices).

I also liked Goody Graves - the Stones' undead servant - and the relationship between her and Lanie.
Goody's silences always speak volumes; and for a huge, undead creature, that generally dislikes everyone; she has a soft spot for Lanie.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. I gave it several attempts, but only got halfway.
I found so much of it slow and frustrating, and totally disappointing after the promise of such an exciting world, and history of violence between the countries.

Lanie was very boring to follow. I don't mind that she's bookish and into her studying; but she's our main character and she is never the driving point of the story. She sits back, complains about stuff, and observes other people having lives.
I'd rather see the world through Nita or Mak's eyes, at least they were having adventures, or dealing with conflicts.
Instead, we're told about anything exciting that happened in past tense. Just like their parents deaths. Just like Nita going all murderous.
I was screaming for something mildly interesting.

When the enemy Blackbird Queen showed up, I thought things were finally turning around.
Things got exciting for a brief stint, but quickly went back to the humdrum.

I thought Lanie's 7-year-old niece was precocious and unbelievable.

I thought that the authors choice to use antiquated English to convey whenever Quadic was being spoken was awful. It was excessively used in places, and made it nearly impossible to read.

I was thoroughly disappointed that the world wasn't explored after building those tantalising conflicts between countries and problems in court.
After some big things happened (in the background), I didn't know what was happening. I can't believe things would carry on as normal. I was completely lost as to why there wasn't more danger and tension - especially when Lanie declares that she wants to stay hidden... weird version of hidden.

There were some great ideas, but poor execution.

I found this book quite bizarre. It took me quite a while to get into it with all the new vocabulary and how weird it felt to be getting into new days of the week and things like that. I found the characters and the concept very interesting though so wouldn’t say I didn’t like the book I just didn’t quite love it either.
Once you get past the world building I think it improves, like most fantasy novels, especially books that plan to have multiples in the series I find. So worth a read but still ODD!

Interesting, but not for me

DISCLAIMER: Dnf at 50%

Even if I did not finish the book, I would like to write a small review explaining why.
The beginning of the book wasn't as gripping as I would have liked, although the world seemed interesting enough. I didn't really like the writing, which slowed my reading and prevented me from getting pulled into the story as I would have hoped. It's a very personal view. I didn't really get attached to the characters and found the plot a bit confusing. I could see that the story and world have a lot of potential, but I guess the way it was written just didn't agree with my personal tastes and I chose to stop reading instead of forcing myself and potentially dislike the book even more.
In the end, it wasn't a bad book, I think many of you will like it, but it wasn't for me at all.

This has got to be one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read, but that’s probably only because I haven’t gotten to Gideon the Ninth. And yet… once I pushed past my urge to DNF it due to impatience, I really liked it. “Why did you almost DNF this?” you may wonder. Honestly, it’s because it was kind of slow at the beginning and weird as shit so it took some time to acclimate.

Miscellaneous “Lanie” Stones writes to her darling elder sister Amanita to inform her of their parents' untimely demise and begs her to come home and settle some financial matters before their family home is swept from under them by debt collectors. Amanita, or Nita as she’s usually called, is a stereotypical Stones - sharp, bloodthirsty, and not altogether sane. Nita is a terror and when she comes home dragging a man who can shift into a falcon (a gyrguardi) as her new (and forced) husband so she can continue the Stones line. In an effort to restore their family’s financial status, Nita takes on a monumental task from the royal line the Stoneses have served since the founding of their country to kill a powerful magician called the Blackbird Bride and her twenty-four magician spouses. This takes her away from Stones Manor for great lengths of time and there’s also a nice seven year time skip to progress the story to the point where it really begins to take off.

Lanie on the other hand is less typical, as she has spent much of her life sequestered in another wing of the house and raised by the undead servant of the Stones family, Goody Graves,  so her odd allergy to violence (a defining trait of necromancers) wouldn’t be as frequently triggered. She’s surprisingly good considering that most of the Stones necromancers were sinister on their best days and murderously evil on their worst. Don’t be fooled by the lengthy description of Nita Stones - Lanie is truly the main character of the story, but you have to have a grasp on Nita first. Lanie is fiercely protective of her family, particularly her strange little niece Datu, and those she cares for like Canon Lir and a few new friends made along the way. Obviously, this means when the Blackbird Bride seeks revenge for her slaughtered magicians Lanie must really step up and own her dark powers.

This story is immensely character-centric and while there is some lovely worldbuilding going on it’s rather small scale. Individual locations are nicely detailed and you can feel the warmth and homeliness or conversely the cold boney-ness. There's so much going on that I understand the folks who were put off by being introduced to a dozen gods and goddesses and new months and days of the week right at the start. But honestly, it’s mostly irrelevant information. The deities show up here and there, but they aren’t terribly important for most of the book and you can throw memorizing new days/months right out the window if you want. Not important - just fluff. The important things are more or less explained as you read the book, though you should be prepared for so much new vocabulary! 

This book has so many things for so many kinds of readers, but the most important is that you like strange, quirky stories unlike anything you’ve read before. The range of feelings this book can induce is wide and varied. I mean, literally everything from horror at the site of gruesome murder  to unrequited love and all the things in between. It’s really quite something and Saint Death’s Daughter will likely continue to reign supreme as the weirdest book of 2022. I wouldn’t mind seeing more books set in this strange, diverse world of magic and interesting lands.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

Its not often these days that a book gets put on my "will definitely buy and re-read" list but this 100% is going there. This is definitely a hefty novel, with a lot to get through but so worth it. The characters were wonderful, the setting and world building very well done. I would absolutely recommend giving this a try!

3.5 stars rounded up!

Saint Death’s Daughter is an ambitious novel of family (both living and undead), murder, and dark magic. This is the read for those who want a mashup of Naomi Novak’s A Deadly Education and Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic.

The world-building in this book is immense, including invented days of the weeks, gods and goddesses, family histories, and bizarre (but hilarious) names. This is not a book you can quickly read; it takes focus and it’s long, but it’s worth it. I won’t pretend to have caught every detail on this first read, but if you are comfortable with confusion while reading, you will enjoy this book.

At its core, looking past the darkness and murder and resurrection, this book is about protecting those you love, and building your own future with what your ancestors have left you.

Thank you netgalley.com for providing a free copy of this inventive book!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand there were things I absolutely loved, but on the other there were times where I wanted to give up, put this book down and never come back to it.

In this book we are following Miscellaneous (Lanie) Stones, a necromance who is allergic to violence. Her family have served their kingdom as executioners and assassins (and occasionally as necromancers) for generations. But now Lanie’s parents are dead under suspicious circumstances and her and her older sister Nita (a ruthless assassin) need to figure out how to save Stones Manor from creditors who have every right to take it thanks to their parents’ unpaid debts. The ensuing decisions made by Lanie and Nita are an incredibly wild ride, not to mention the backdrop of political intrigue that further complicates their situation.

Things I loved:

The characters in this book are amazing! We have a really diverse cast and numerous complex relationships that are explored in ways that really bring them to life, despite the fact that many of the characters are quite absurd on the face of things. (Can you really call a character Miscellaneous and not have her be at list a little bit absurd?).

In the same vein the way that familial relationships were explored was really different from anything I have ever seen in fantasy. We get both blood family relationships, like Lanie and Nita, and Lanie and her niece. We also get familial bonds created through marriage with Lanie and her brother-in-law. We get romantic relationships, and we get found family.

I also really loved the magic in this world. Even though bone magic/necromancy has definitely been done before the way that it was done in this story felt really original and I liked how it was explained in a way that didn’t take away from its mysteriousness (Lanie’s power comes from the goddess Saint Death after all).

The tone of this book is also something that I enjoyed tremendously. The way that it mixed brutality and violence with deadpan humor was really fun. I particularly liked the interactions between Lanie and the ghost of her Grandpa Rad.

Things I hated:

The first 20% of this book is really not good. It doesn’t scaffold the reader in a good way to help them understand what the world is, which is so important for fantasy, and nothing interesting happens. I understand there was a certain amount of set up that needed to take place for things to make sense later. But it was so underwhelming but also terribly confusing that I almost stopped reading. Thankfully around 20% the story shifts and gets way better as the characters have more of a direction they are travelling in instead of milling about bumping into the walls.

The pacing overall is not great. As mentioned above the first 20% is really stagnant with nothing moving the story forward, then we get big action for awhile followed by a period of stagnation, followed by an ending with one of my favorite battle scenes of all time, followed by more ending which is really just set up for book two.

The fits and starts of the pacing could be overlooked if it weren’t for the fact that the worldbuilding was so clunky that there were parts of this book that just had me wanting to walk away and not look back. It’s not that the world that Cooney has created isn’t good, I actually loved it, the problem is how the exposition happened. There was no subtlety, it really felt like there were whole sections that were just there to explain the world, it felt a bit like in theatre when an actor breaks the fourth wall to tell the audience something out of character. And this jarring feeling of being told what the world was like instead of discovering it through the story took away the immersion (or suspension of disbelief) that is necessary to enjoy fantasy.

So overall I am giving this book 4 stars because despite it’s flaws I did really thoroughly enjoy it. And I look forward to reading the sequel. But I think it is important to know going in that this isn’t your typical fantasy.

For more thoughts see my video review here: https://youtu.be/CFnFK70At0o

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for my honest review*

4.5 stars.

Fantabulous!

And that's what my impression of this book was for days after finishing this funny, frenetic, rich, and beautiful book.

Miscellaneous "Lanie" Stones is a necromancer, from a long line of necromancers who work for a ruling Brackenwild family in Liriat (in Athe). Interestingly, though her family are assassins for the Brackenwilds, Lanie cannot tolerate being around violence: she experiences allergic symptoms ranging from sneezing to copious nosebleeds.

Her elder sister (and longterm bully) Aminita Stones takes on the family mantle after their parents and aunt are dead (maybe murdered) and the sisters are saddled with their relatives massive debts.

Nita secures a longterm contract with the Brackenwild to murdering the twenty four wizards of Queen Bran Fiakhna of a neighbouring land. On one of her trips back home. Nita brings a man back with her, Mac, whom she has kidnapped and glamoured into compliance, with the intent of using him to create the next generation of Stones. He's naturally furious about this.

Some years later, Nita returns in a panic, and with the queen's wizards hot on her trail. Not only does Nita have herself to protect, but there's also her sister Lanie, her captive mate, and the next generation of Stones, her daughter (and scene stealer) Datu.

Needless to say, things don't go as planned, and Lanie, Mac and NNNN go into hiding. At the same time, Lanie and Mac also want to give Datu the opportunity to spend time with other kids and to go to school.

And that's the beginning of this big, gorgeous, detailed (did I forget, there are numerous footnotes(!) adding bits of context or history to a situation), and fantastic story. C.S.E. Cooney brings Lanie, Mac and Datu to glorious life, as well as a supporting cast of quirky individuals, and has Lanie work terrifically hard to keep Datu alive against assassination threats from the queen.

Despite its length, the book's pacing is good, with events moving along nicely, and Lanie's evolution as shy daughter of the Stones, to a caring aunt and sister-in-law, a powerful necromancer, and a friend to this small family's circle.

I loved this book so much, and struggled to articulate how I felt about this effervescent, bright and totally enjoyable book.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Solaris for this ARC in exchange for my review.