Because the first beautiful sound he heard was from a violin, August uses a violin to steal the souls of his victims. They use music to steal “red” (read: sinful, murderous) souls, which they feed on.

They come into being in moments of mass violence. I will say that the concept of sunai monsters is one of the most interesting aspects of the novel. I found it difficult to get invested in either Kate or August as characters, and until the twist at the end of the novel, I did not find the main conflict compelling. Wanting to keep tabs on Kate in case the agreement falls through, Flynn sends August-a sunai-to keep tabs on her.Īlthough there are some good things to say about This Savage Song, my main takeaway is that it’s a bit boring. An uneasy truce exists between the two men, and it is on the verge of breaking when Harker’s daughter Kate returns to Verity. Fighting and monsters have split Verity City in two: the north follows a ruthless man called Harker, who has enslaved monsters and sells safety the south’s leader, Henry Flynn, believes that the monsters should be killed (except for his own sunai, which are a different class of monster). This Savage Song is a dystopian fantasy novel in which murder creates monsters. It’s okay, but it is certainly not one that is going to send me running after her other books. Instead, I read This Savage Song, which is published under the name Victoria Schwab. (Update: Now I have, and it is one of my favorite series Addie LaRue and Gallant are great, too). I’ve been encouraged to read her Darker Shade of Magic series, but never have. Schwab is a relatively popular fantasy writer.

This savage song monsters