The Danielle Cain novels are a three-book series created by author and musician Margaret Killjoy. They concern the eponymous protagonist and her group of friends as they travel America's heartland in pursuit of magic, demons, and other supernatural events. The first novella, The Lamb Will Slaughter The Lion, was released in 2017 and was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award. [1] The second instalment, The Barrow Will Send What It May, was released the following year and was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award. [2] The series has been praised for its portrayals of anarchism [3] and its diverse cast of characters. In January 2025, a fundraiser has been announced for the third book to come in the series, The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice. [4]
Killjoy is a self-proclaimed anarchist, feminist and anti-capitalist, all three being ideologies that bleed into her books. She claims that she simply set out to write a story that expresses what she believes, containing characters that she can see herself and her friends in, resulting in the Danielle Cain series. [5]
The first book follows Danielle Cain, an anarchist who has spent her life travelling the US, as she tries to understand why her best friend, Clay, took his own life. Her search leads her to the fictional town of Freedom, Iowa - an abandoned town resurrected by anarchists where Clay had settled before his death. Here she meets his former friends - Vulture, Brynn, Thursday, and Doomsday - and discovers the darker side of the town; it's protected by a deer-like demon with three antlers known as Uliksi, a creature originally summoned to protect it from those who sought to harm its inhabitants and maintain peace in Freedom. However, on the same day that Danielle arrives, it murders one of its summoners. Driven by fear, curiosity, and determination to understand Clay's death, Danielle chooses to stay in town and help understand the reasoning behind Uliksi's change in behaviour and potentially save the town from his wrath. While unraveling the story behind Uliksi's summoning, and how it acts, Danielle finds herself becoming part of the group and growing especially close to Brynn, leading to her choosing to stay and defend them and the town when danger is imminent, and fleeing with them at the end of the novella. [6]
The second book sees Danielle and her friends on the run from the events of Lamb and heading towards Pendleton, Montana. After crashing their van on the way there, the group are picked up by a woman who casually mentions she was brought back from the dead - solidifying the group's decision to investigate. Once in Pendleton, they seek refuge in the town's library, managed by two like-minded anarchists - Heather and Vasilis - who also turn out to be connected to the mysterious resurrections around town, and former friends of Clay. They come into contact with a woman called Isola, who reveals she and her two friends were murdered as part of a ritual, and that she too had been resurrected. The story takes many twists and turns before the necromancer is revealed, and the group choose to leave Pendleton in search of more mysteries. [7]
The third covers Samhain night while Danielle and her friends are laying low in an Iowa forest. The veil between the worlds of the living and the dead are at their thinnest on Samhain, and as the sun sets the group begins to hear an ominous bellowing from the forest's depths. The group decide that remaining awake and keeping their campfire lit can likely keep the source of the noise away from them, regardless of whether or not it is supernatural. To keep one another awake, they begin to tell stories about magic, and the many forms that it can take. [8]
The novels have been received positively. Kirkus Reviews described Barrow as "an entertaining book filled with memorable characters who tread glibly through the realms of both the living and the dead". [11] Publishers Weekly described Lamb as "full of suspense, intrigue, and a surprising amount of heart" as well as commending its concise nature and unique but human characters. [12]