Tag: stephengrahamjones

Book Review: I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

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Be happy you weren’t there. Be happy you’re only reading about it.

PLOT SUMMARY:

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.

GRADE: A

REVIEW:

All hail the slasher king. Stephen Graham Jones is to horror books as Wes Craven was to horror movies. Meaning that he absolutely knows the genre and all the tropes of said genre. I love that the book was written in a confessional sort of way, with Tolly, the protagonist, trying to have us understand what happened that summer of 1989. With book is steeped in nostalgia and feelings – but at the same time is hella hilarious. I love that Jones is a huge fan of slashers and that he knows how to deliver unhinged violence, but at the same time truly tug at our hearts.

This book is filled with all the fun of a horror film, but also all the feelings of a coming-of-age novel. I loved Tolly’s friendship with Amber because the friendships of your youth are never quite the same as an adult. Childhood friendships are so intense, and truly ride and die – and I loved how that was presented and explored.

I don’t want to discuss too much about the plot because I think it’s best to jump into this blindly but rest assured, if you loved SGJ’s The Indian Lake trilogy series, you will absolutely love this novel too. This is top-tier horror at its finest and if you’re new to SGJ it’s a good book to start!

*Thank you so much to Saga Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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Book Review: The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

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“I flinch, sure a hatchet is about to come spinning out of the darkness, sure a scythe is swinging our way.”

PLOT SUMMARY:

It’s been four years in prison since Jade Daniels last saw her hometown of Proofrock, Idaho, the day she took the fall, protecting her friend Letha and her family from incrimination. Since then, her reputation, and the town, have changed dramatically. There’s a lot of unfinished business in Proofrock, from serial killer cultists to the rich trying to buy Western authenticity. But there’s one aspect of Proofrock no one wants to confront…until Jade comes back to town. The curse of the Lake Witch is waiting, and now is the time for the final stand.

GRADE: A+

REVIEW:

I had no doubts that I was going to love this third installment from the Indian Lake trilogy. I loved every moment of this bloody, gory, action-packed novel. Jade Daniels is back and out of prison, and is currently the history teacher in her former high school. Everything seems alright, until the first bodies are found and then Jade must figure out if she’s back in a slasher again, trying to recall all the rules for the third sequel. What this means is that the killer is going to be superhuman, anyone can die, including the the main character, and the past will come to haunt you. Our protagonist has to deal with all those things during the duration of the novel, and at times the reader can’t help but doubt if maybe Jade could somehow be behind the murders this time. This novel kept me on the tip of my toes, and every few pages I couldn’t help but mutter, “Oh f**k.” This novel isn’t for the faint of heart – and it will surely have you teary eyed several times, but I trusted Jones to give us the ending this trilogy deserved and he delivered tenfold. If you haven’t read this series, I urge you to read My Heart is a Chainsaw, especially if you’re a fan of slasher films and horror film history. Obviously, if you have read the previous books from this series, then reading this final installment is a MUST. I absolutely loved this book and the whole trilogy and wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Jade, my only hope is that someone picks this up to become a miniseries in the future.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Saga Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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Book Review: Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

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I mostly know horror stories….

PLOT SUMMARY:

Four years after her tumultuous senior year, Jade Daniels is released from prison right before Christmas when her conviction is overturned. But life beyond bars takes a dangerous turn as soon as she returns to Proofrock. Convicted Serial Killer, Dark Mill South, seeking revenge for thirty-eight Dakota men hanged in 1862, escapes from his prison transfer due to a blizzard, just outside of Proofrock, Idaho.

Dark Mill South’s Reunion Tour began on December 12th, 2019, a Thursday.

Thirty-six hours and twenty bodies later, on Friday the 13th, it would be over.

GRADE: A+

REVIEW:

I fell in love with Jade Daniels in book one, My Heart is a Chainsaw. Although the sequel begins with Jade going as Jennifer and wanting to put all her slasher movie days behind, yearning for a fresh start. Only Leda Mondragon, the girl Jade thought was going to be the final girl in the first book has now taken her scepter, analyzing slasher movies and trying to get Jennifer to return to her days of Jade and Bay of Blood.

As with any good sequel, we have both old and new characters, but as any successful slasher sequel knows, it needs to be bloodier than the first film, and SGJ completely delivers on the bloodier deaths and the higher body count. If book one had most of the deaths happening in the latter portion of the book, Reaper begins with blood and ends in blood. Not to mention that this time our beloved characters have to also deal with nature, ie. blizzard.

I absolutely LOVED this book. There’s something about Jones’s writing and the fact that he’s a huge slasher fan that just makes the inner slasher fan in me squeal in dark delight anytime I catch any reference to a slasher that many aren’t aware of (in this case, Curtains). Maybe if you’re not a slasher fan you can’t enjoy that part of the book as much as someone who is, however, the novel on its own packs such a punch that you can’t help but wonder what will happen in book three and how much damage the survivors of book two will take into the following book.

If you love slashers, the supernatural, serial killers, folklore and much more more, then you will love Don’t Fear the Reaper as it has a bit of everything to satisfy even the pickiest of horror readers. Honestly, I can’t wait to dive back into Proofrock and see what else is going to haunt them next time around.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Gallery/Saga Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

DID YOU ENJOY WHAT YOU JUST READ? IF YES, THEN SUBSCRIBE TO THE BLOG, GIVE THE POST A LIKE, OR LEAVE A COMMENT! NEW POSTS ARE UP EVERY TUESDAY & THURSDAY!