Author and Publisher James D. Mills dissects the heck out of Grave's Daughters on his Substack
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On the weird horror, James D. Mills writes:
This story is not for the faint of heart. At times, it got to me. Beyond my yearly romp with a Stephen King novel, I’m not much of a horror reader, but I’d argue that Grave’s Daughters packs some of the most effective horror that I’ve ever read.
I mentioned the themes of legacy, carrying on a bloodline of a dying race. Doktor Grave (I think) is the last Golem of his kind, and he miraculously creates his three daughters after centuries of failed attempts to procreate.
As time wears on, this responsibility of carrying on the artificial golem race gets passed onto the grown daughters, and it’s presented with a blatantly non-human worldview. The way the golems and other non-human entities discuss procreation is almost how I’d imagine bees discussing it in their hives if they could. It’s a necessity—and it’s not personal nor private.
With everything being so interconnected, we often get a view into how ant-human hybrids would function.
A story like this—by its very nature—treads a thin line. Lindberg is an expert at treading the line, and never crossing it, writing always with masterful tact. His horror disturbs and perplexes, but never repels the reader, instead inviting them to consider the strangeness of Dyscrasia’s world and see it through to its conclusion.
On Parenting and Childhood Themes, James D. Mills writes:
Doktor Grave states the central thesis of the book several times and it hits home throughout: “You must sacrifice one family to join another.”
This refers to several aspects of being both a child and a parent. On one end, Lindberg comments on the necessity of leaving behind one’s parents to become a parent yourself. As I transition into fatherhood myself, this one hits hard.
Another manifestation is that this responsibility of sacrifice gets passed on. Children are protected from the responsibility of sacrifice for a time, then adulthood and growing power thrust responsibility unto the child as they claim their adult independence.
Every action Grave takes is aimed at preserving his children. Every action he takes also brings him closer to agonizing death.
