The Starving Saints

“As brilliant as it is bizarre. From the very first page you know you are in the hands of an author at the height of their abilities. Truly one of the most inventive, audacious, immersive novels I’ve ever read. Grips you like the cold sweat of a fever and doesn’t let you go until the final moment of dizzying, gut-shot revelation. This is the unhinged cannibal book of my dreams—and my nightmares.”— Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning“Holy crap on a stick, this book is messed up in the best way. The Starving Saints broke my brain. It’s cannibalism like you’ve never seen it before!”— T. Kingfisher, bestselling author of Nettle & Bone“Enthralling, weird, and brilliant. A medieval pseudo-historical horror tale that explores what happens when our prayers are answered but we’re not sure what has answered them, or what it will demand of us in return. There’s no other story like this, and I mean that in the best possible way.” — Christopher Buehlman, bestselling author of Between Two Fires“The Starving Saints is a rich, strange, deeply medieval novel that left me astonished and delighted. Starling expertly dismantles our expectations in this perfectly rendered puzzle box of a world. I would follow these women anywhere, which would probably not end well for me.”— Kate Heartfield, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Embroidered Book“I wildly enjoyed Caitlin Starling’s The Starving Saints. I hope it sweeps everything, gets every award going, gives her fame throughout the nations and does everything except get a lucrative movie deal, because if there was a movie I would be obliged to see it but also barf forever.”— Tamsyn Muir, bestselling author of the Locked Tomb Trilogy“Claustrophobic, heady, slick, honeyed with menace and panting with the desperation of a castle under siege, The Starving Saints is a gorgeous nightmare.”— Cassandra Khaw, bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth“This fantastical story is transfixing on its own, but it also serves to underscore that humanity’s obsession with power may be the biggest horror of all… . A brilliantly constructed and thoroughly unnerving fever dream that Starling’s fans will gulp down.” — Library Journal (starred review)“This medieval fever dream is seasoned with sapphic romance but thoroughly marinated in cannibalistic body horror… . Starling cleverly balances the carnage-filled surrealism with three women who show their love in ways both passionate and deep.” — Booklist (starred review)“A masterful medievalesque fantasy … . Starling expertly balances the plot’s contrasting aims, offering gruesome horror and sweeping fantasy worldbuilding in equal measure. The dextrously delineated human hierarchy in the castle and the creepy saints’ bee-based faith system undergird the increasingly shocking events of the plot. The pace is fast, the twists are unexpected, and the complex queer characters—each of whom narrate in wonderfully distinct voices—are easy to root for. This is a feast.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Caitlin Starling is an author who seemingly refuses to be boxed into any one genre… As the tension increases, you, dear reader, might also feel like you’re spiraling deeper into a sinister fever dream of your own. And, truly, what more could you ask for from 2025’s best anti-beach read?” — Book Riot“Packed full of everything you’ve come to expect from this author: atmosphere for days, queer women being awful (complimentary), body horror, unpleasantly small spaces, and extreme acts of fealty. If Shirley Jackson had written A Game of Thrones, I like to imagine that The Starving Saints is what she’d have produced.” — Reactor“A magnum opus level hybrid between haunted, sapphic, culty, witchy, and cannibalistic.” — Crime Reads“Starling is one of the new leading voices in horror,” — Locus“A delicious Gothic romance…. It has to walk the line between romance and horror and not flinch away from either. The Death of Jane Lawrence is up to this task…. By the time the book reached that point of no return, I was so invested that I would have followed Jane into the very depths of hell.” — NPR“Ghostly, mysterious, and terrifying, The Luminous Dead will have you rooted to the spot until the very last page.” — Peng Shepherd, author of The Book of M“A harrowing, merciless descent into the human psyche. Starling’s prose is breathtakingly cinematic and left me without a molecule of spare oxygen. This book will catch you by the ankles and drag you backwards into a terrifying and inescapable reality. Read this one with all the lights on.” — Sarah Gailey, Hugo Award–winning author of River of Teeth, on The Luminous Dead“A tense psychological thriller and a gripping survival story that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. It’s a dark ride that’s worth every step.” — Martha Wells, author of The Murderbot Diaries, on The Luminous Dead”A deliciously uncomfortable story about a siege, starvation, and the saints who offer a rescue that’s worse than death. You won’t want to stop reading (even if you’ll really want to wash your hands).” — John Wiswell, author of the Nebula Award-winning Someone You Can Build a Nest In

Caitlin Starling is a writer and spreadsheet-wrangler who lives near Portland, Oregon. Equipped with an anthropology degree and an unhealthy interest in the dark and macabre, she writes horror-tinged speculative fiction of all flavors. The Luminous Dead is her first novel.