Fantasy Book Critic: SPFBO Finalist review: Daughter of The Beast by E.C. Greaves

Besides pouring his imagination out into the pages of his books, he also spends his time developing indie horror games, composing music, building and modifying old vehicles, and drawing.

And wasting too much time on Twitter.

Find E.C. online: Website

Daughter of the Beast links: Amazon, Goodreads

ESMAY

Brimming with Slavic folklore and legends, Daughter of the Beast is a dark, unique, and monstrously maniacal coming-of-age fantasy that deftly straddles the line between the YA and Adult age range.

After a surprising (or maybe surprisingly stupid) act of bravery during a devastating Vulkari attack, the young Kikimora Zyntael Fairwinter is the only one taken captive by the dog-like warrior women. Soon, she is claimed as a daughter by the notorious and fearsome matriarch of the clan, and she will have to learn to adapt if she is going to survive the brutal Vulkari way of life. Though no level of unexpected camaraderie and sisterhood will ever stop Zyntael’s desperate search for answers: why was she taken, and what is her destiny?

In many aspects, Daughter of the Beast delivers exactly what it promises. The Slavic-inspired world building feels fresh and alluring, Zyntael’s coming-of-age journey is harrowing yet powerful, and the exploration of identity, belonging, destiny, sisterhood, and female empowerment are all skillfully done.

Yet as intriguing as this story sounded on paper, the execution just fell a bit flat for me personally. I so badly wanted to like Zyntael as a character, but for some reason I just felt like I couldn’t get a good grasp on her personality, which made it hard to feel compelled by her first-person narration. If she was intentionally written to be such an enigma of a character, then kudos to the author for pulling that off so well. Though for me, the lack of strong voice combined with the rocky pacing and seemingly directionless plot honestly just made for a bit of an uncomfortable reading experience.

That said, I do think Greaves did an exceptionally fine job of portraying realistic (young) female characters. Zyn might have felt a bit oddly mature for her age, especially when she is only 10 years old at the start, but overall I was quite impressed with how accurately he depicted the struggles of a teenage girl. Moreover, I liked the unexpected friendships that Zyn developed along the way, and the banter between these unhinged girls was quite amusing.

Also, I found it interesting to read a story without any human characters, though I do find myself wondering if that might have added to my sense of emotional disconnect. Regardless, I was fascinated by the Vulkari way of life and I liked soaking up all the intriguing bits of culture and lore through’s Zyn’s outsider perspective. There’s an innate sense of wonder, bewilderment and slight fear to her narration that added such a compelling and mystical air of intrigue to the story, so that definitely kept me turning the pages.

Ultimately, I suspect this was mostly a "it's not you, it's me" situation. All the unique and bold narrative choices might not have been to my personal tastes, yet I still think that Greaves pulled off his vision quite well. Daughter of the Beast shows a lot of ambition and promise, and I'd highly recommend it if you want a unique take on a coming-of-age fantasy story full of weird critters, strong women, and brutal action!