Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

10 reviews

elysianbud's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"...many sequels have surpassed their original!"
"Name one!"

The answer: 'Don't Fear the Reaper'.

He's only gone and Terminator 2/Aliens/The Godfather Part 2'd us. One has to wonder if Stephen Graham Jones did this on purpose--the ultimate meta callback to Scream 2's classroom scene about sequels, because this sequel is better than the original.

Yet another incredibly fun ode to slashers, in my opinion, 'Don't Fear the Reaper' far exceeds its predecessor. I found the plot easier to follow, the characters more alive (until they're dead), and overall more entertaining. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Murder, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Child death, and Animal death

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Classism, Medical trauma, Cursing, Drug use, Alcohol, Colonisation, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, and Medical content

abutchstargazer's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, and Child death

val_so_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Torture, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Addiction, and Sexual assault

sarah984's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I preordered this book and then proceeded to not read it for months. "Chainsaw" had what I consider the perfect ending and it was hard to imagine what a sequel could bring to the table. Now that I've finished the book I regret not giving it a chance earlier. 

While Jade is still the star of the show, this book expands to show other characters' POV, and all of these characters just feel so perfectly human. One of the early victims' internal monologue stuck with me for the entire rest of the book. There are a lot of moving parts and things going on in the book, but somehow it all slots together in a way where you couldn't take any of it out.

I really loved this. Fantastic sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Medical content, Grief, Ableism, Addiction, Child death, Stalking, Car accident, Colonisation, Death of parent, Racism, and Gun violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Body horror, Confinement, Self harm, Incest, Sexual assault, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, and Suicide attempt

turtleofhades's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing

Moderate: Vomit, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Stalking

Minor: Self harm, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Gun violence, Child death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Addiction

annact's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Jennifer goddamn Daniels," Hardy finally says. 

"It's Jade, sir," Jade says back

Jade Daniels, the woman that you are...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Child death, Torture, Death of parent, Blood, Violence, Death, Physical abuse, Vomit, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Self harm, Sexual assault, Addiction, Gun violence, and Medical content

poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Jade, Jade, Jade!  Here she is again not seeing who she really is.  I love a full cast narration and enjoyed listening to this book.  There was a good follow up of the living characters from My Heart is A Chainsaw but also a lot of new story.  This was not a rehashing but a continuation.  I always listen to the very end of a book and was glad I did.  The authors acknowledgements provided even more depth and if possible endeared me even more to these characters. My only complaint is that there may have been too many POV's and that mannerisms or voice bled through them all, perhaps to the detriment of the story.  I did love it though and Stephen Graham Jones is quickly becoming my favorite horror author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, and Blood

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual assault, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Murder

readingwithkaitlyn's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Misogyny, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Stalking, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Violence, Torture, Gore, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

Moderate: Medical content, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Addiction, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Racism

Minor: Classism, Child death, Police brutality, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Trafficking, and Emotional abuse

PTSD, privacy invasion, mention of animal torture, s slur, MO lynching, MO Dakota 38, MO residential schools, drowning, car accident.

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Animal death, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Stalking, Body horror, Confinement, Medical content, and Gun violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Drug use, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Colonisation, Car accident, Genocide, Pedophilia, Self harm, Addiction, and Fire/Fire injury

starrysteph's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Oh, yes - this is the continuation that I craved after finishing My Heart is a Chainsaw.

 

We pick up back in Proofrock four years later, where kids have grown up and loss has reshaped the community … but some things never change, do they? There will always be a killer lurking around the corner, ready to hunt down unsuspecting locals.

 

Jade Daniels - who goes by Jennifer now, thank you - is returning to town for the first time since the events of the first book. With this new distance from her home & trauma, Jennifer has reframed her point of view a bit and no longer sees the world exclusively through the lens of slashers (as she once had to for her own protection)  - but that doesn’t mean she’s left her great depth of knowledge behind.

 

And when the power & phone line goes down and a serial killer escapes his convoy … Jennifer & Letha have to team up once more to save their town. 

 

We have a massing scattering of perspectives here, and things aren’t always told in a linear fashion. It’s fascinating but can also feel disjointing - I struggled a bit at times to recall which characters and pieces of information were a continuation from the first and which were brand new. 

 

Jones has such a unique bite and style of writing. It’s gory and horrifying and then unexpectedly emotional - and each narrator’s way of storytelling is distinctive, even those who only get a few paragraphs to shine.

 

However, I did miss Jade. She’s here, and she shines, but the focus is split so much that I was left wanting more from her arc. We’ll see where the third book goes. 

 

The pace is much faster than the first, and I found myself catching breaths alongside the characters’ brief reprieves. There’s more guts and more gore. There’s identical twin mindbenders and chilling scenes with elk and monsters that were painfully human. 

 

There’s a great blend of slasher nods and winks and references alongside horrifyingly creative all-new kills. I’ve seen my fair share of slashers but I’m sure there were also clever & specific references that went right over my head - Jones does a nice job of explaining just enough. 

 

I personally preferred Chainsaw for its deeper emotional story and focus on Jade - but Don’t Fear the Reaper was still a wonderful sequel. And if you found Chainsaw to be too slow … you won’t be disappointed here.

 

CW: murder, death, gore, blood, child death, animal death, animal cruelty, body horror, pedophilia, adult/minor relationship, drug use, abuse, gun violence, self harm, chronic illness, mental illness, medical trauma, cultural appropriation, racism, classism, vomit

 

(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical trauma, Self harm, Addiction, Car accident, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Murder, Pedophilia, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Classism, Grief, and Mental illness