I'm not much of a high fantasy person (or even a graphic novel person for that matter), but the world of MONSTRESS has consumed my every waking thought since I stumbled across it on Hoopla*. With a story by Marjorie Liu and artwork by Sana Takeda, MONSTRESS feels so fresh compared to so many other high fantasy/chosen one narratives.
Set in a magical, matriarchal society inspired by 20th century Asia, the story follows Maika Halfwolf, a 17-year-old with a murky, traumatic past and a literal god living inside her, as she risks life and limb to answer the questions her late mother left behind. I love morally-gray characters and the gruffness of Maika makes her so much more interesting than the traditional plucky, fish-out-of-water characters that typically become protagonists in stories like this. Maika does not face her fate with grace and acceptance, in fact she faces it with a lot of profanity and a fair bit of violence.
And MONSTRESS truly is monstrous. Sana Takeda’s artwork is captivating and horrible. It's fantastically gory and really taps into this cool phantasmagoric element with monsters straight out of H.P. Lovecraft. At the same time, Marjorie Liu infuses a sense of humor into her writing that softens the horror, and she constructs complex but engaging characters. Even when Maika/the ancient god living inside her cannibalizes her enemies, you still want to root for her.
MONSTRESS is perfect for people who are into the “unhinged woman” subgenre (ex: SHARP OBJECTS by Gillian Flynn or EILEEN by Otessa Moshfegh) but with a high fantasy twist.
*Graphic Novels are available on Hoopla with an ACLS card: www.hoopladigital.com/browse/comic*
UnCovered review by Samantha LeRoy, ACLS Mays Landing Branch
#atlanticcounty #ACLSreads #ACLSuncovered #hoopla #readlistenwatch
Original source can be found here.
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