The Starving Saints
Reddit take
AI summary of the Reddit excerpts below — not a quote
The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling is a medieval horror novel centered on a castle's inhabitants facing starvation and turning to gruesome survival tactics. While many readers praise its thick atmosphere, gothic setting, and horrific mythological tone, the book receives mixed reviews regarding its narrative flow, with several readers noting significant pacing issues in the middle section.
Pros
- Strong, immersive medieval gothic atmosphere and setting.
- Compelling premise involving survival horror and gruesome survival measures.
- Highly recommended for fans of Between Two Fires.
- Praised for its quality of writing and 'horrific mythological' feel.
Cons
- Inconsistent pacing, with some readers finding the middle section slow or difficult to get through.
- The plot was described as underwhelming or 'meh' by some despite the strong setting.
- Some readers felt the story felt smaller in scope than they had hoped.
Caveats
- Readers are divided on the narrative structure; while the beginning and end are often praised, the middle 120 pages are frequently cited as a slog.
Best for
- Fans of medieval horror and gothic mysteries.
- Readers who enjoy atmospheric, survival-based horror.
- Fans of Christopher Buehlman's Between Two Fires.
Avoid if
- You prefer fast-paced, plot-driven narratives without lulls.
- You are looking for a large-scale epic rather than a contained castle setting.
This summary uses balanced time weighting with about a 122-month half-life. The evidence comes from 17 selected mentions in horror-focused communities, with a median source age of approximately 310 days.
Sentiment
19 positive (56%) · 12 mixed (35%) · 3 negative (9%)
Trust + time weighted score: +47% · raw score 47%
What redditors said (10 of 34)
I’m now happily reading things like The Starving Saints without even noticing it is supposed to be scary
The only good thing about the starving saints IMO is the creature behind the rock and it gets handwaved and forgotten a little over halfway through the book.
Yeah, I was so disappointed. When I read a bit of her acknowledgments at the end and it said she wrote in pieces, often sentence by sentence, I was like ah, that makes so much sense. She needed a good editor desperately and some sort of cohesive character structure building.
I also recently read the The Starving Saints, and I'm just glad I got that book for free, but that was painful. Such an interesting concept and just written like garbage. It could have been half the number of pages and been such a better story.
The Starving Saints - Caitlin Starling
The premise was great, the execution fell flat. A prime example of a book that might have served better as a novella. Repetitious sequences became tiresome... The final act in the book was well done and brought about that true sense of ‘horror’ I was hoping for, albeit short lived.
The premise was great, the execution fell flat. A prime example of a book that might have served better as a novella. Repetitious sequences became tiresome
Caitlin Starling’s The Starving Saints also has novel ways for relationships to go bad (and good), in a medieval fantasy world where getting prayers answered turns out to be so not a good thing.
Recently just finished The Starving Saints by Caitlyn Starling and it was great. Not sure if I’d say it was scary, but definitely ominous and it stuck with me for a while.
These books were pretty good and I feel like they get mentioned a lot when it comes to medieval horror but there's Between Two Fires, The Starving Saints, and His Black Tongue.
Compare
The Starving Saints vs Dark MatterThe Starving Saints vs MiseryThe Starving Saints vs Books of Blood
Related
- Dungeon Crawler Carl · related · 434 mentions
- Project Hail Mary · related · 325 mentions
- Between Two Fires · related · 239 mentions
- The Wheel of Time · related · 222 mentions
- Piranesi · related · 210 mentions
- House of Leaves · related · 204 mentions