Star Eater by Kerstin Hall

Star Eater

by Kerstin Hall

From Nommo Award finalist Kerstin Hall, an epic fantasy that reads like Margaret Atwood by way of Dungeons & Dragons

All martyrdoms are difficult.

Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her, and one way or another, it will kill her. Though she's able to stomach her gruesome day-to-day duties, the reality of preserving the Sisterhood of Aytrium's magical bloodline horrifies her. She wants out, whatever the cost.

So when a shadowy faction approaches Elfreda with an offer of escape, she leaps at the opportunity. As their spy, she gains access to the highest reaches of the Sisterhood, and enters a glittering world of opulent parties, subtle deceptions, and unexpected bloodshed.

A phantasmagorical indictment of hereditary power, Star Eater takes readers deep into a perilous and uncanny world where even the most powerful women are forced to choose what sacrifices they will make, so that they might have any choice at all.

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

4 of 5 stars

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Kerstin Hall is back with a novel like no other. Star Eater promises to find a way to merge science fiction, horror, nuns, and cannibalism. Yes, you read that right.

Elfreda Raughn is an involuntary member of the Sisterhood of Aytrium. She wants out. She wants out so bad; she'll take any opportunity that comes her way – even if the odds of failure (and thus, death) are high.

Offered the promise of escape, Elfreda doesn't think twice about becoming a spy against the Sisterhood. Yet, she'll quickly learn that this world is so much more complex and horrifying than she had ever prepared herself for.

Okay, we all knew that I was going to read Star Eater, right? How could I not, given everything that it promises? I know I'm not the only one that was super curious about what Kerstin Hall had to offer here.

The fact that I've literally never read anything like this is awe-inspiring. Star Eater is in a league of its own. I imagine that this will result in some people either loving or hating it. Before deciding how you feel on the matter, consider some content warnings for this book. One of them should be obvious: cannibalism. There's also implied rape, plus the concern of pregnancy (which is implied to be obligatory).

I'm honestly not sure that many authors could have pulled this story off, truth be told. Yet Kerstin Hall's writing style is perfect for it – even the more graphic and horrifying elements. In a way, this kind of reminded me of some of the darker stories to come out of Warhammer 40K. That is to say; I really dug it.

Thanks to Tor.com and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 28 June, 2021: Finished reading
  • 28 June, 2021: Reviewed