The Triumph of Saint Katherine

[Roomsky]

Hee Ho, another review thread.

 

I listened to the audiobook for this one, and I have to say in advance that Emma Gregory's performance was so impassioned that I'm not sure how much of my enjoyment was of the writing itself and how much was her delivery, even moreso than usual for audiobooks. I will say however she should be banned from ever singing again.

 

There are many things that surprised me about this book. The audio is about 6 hours so it's bizarrely short for a GW-only hardcover, as it implies it'll get a paperback at some point. I expected Ware's first full-length narrative here and it's not really that, it's more of a framing device surrounding several short stories. I was also worried based on her interview regarding the book that it would be unironically triumphant, but no, the characters here are as psychotic as their big moments are heartfelt. So the whole book's a soup of things I didn't expect to work but totally do.

 

I'd say if you've been waiting for a book that really codifies who the Sororitas are as a faction, this is it. Their mission statement, their obsession with martyring themselves, and the many different applications of holiness within their orders are very well defined. The short story (the cast gather and each tell an instructive tale) format works far better here than in any of Ware's actual short stories, as each can be diverse and impactful without worrying about establishing new characters or meeting an action quota. And my, some of them really hit you, I like how unafraid this book is to be passionate about devotion to the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable.

 

The only thing that didn't wow me as much was the final chapter, the book's climax. So many of the tales told were quite unique, and for it all to culminate in "the Sisters go kill a thing" didn't exactly knock my socks off. It does have decent payoff for the protagonist, but it's the only part of the book that feels like it fell back on tired formula.

 

All in all, very enjoyable. To Taste simply because the novel-framing-short-stories format won't work for everyone, and it may not hit as well without Gregory's performance - but even if that's the case I think this is Ware's best work so far.

 

[cheywood]

Finally finished this up. I don’t particularly care for Ware’s writing and this didn’t change my mind in any way. 3/10

I don’t want to spend too much time critiquing an author who I think is perfectly competent but entirely not for me, however I do have one persistent complaint about most sisters fiction, especially Ware’s. The Imperium in 40k is the putrid, rotting corpse of an empire that, even at its best, was never less than totalitarian and oppressive. You wouldn’t know that all from this book. I understand the sisters believe devoutly in their own righteousness, but that doesn’t necessitate omitting all evidence of the Imperium’s flaws. It’s a big part of the reason Ware’s work, to me, reads like bad and philosophically empty young adult fiction.