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torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Colonisation, Cursing, Gun violence, Confinement, Gore, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Torture, Classism, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Rape, and Self harm
gnarlyrae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Child death, Death, Grief, Murder, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Classism, and Self harm
Minor: Rape and Kidnapping
j_yarbrough's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Self harm, Child abuse, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Suicide attempt, and Kidnapping
chainsawheartbooks's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Child death, Kidnapping, Animal death, Death of parent, Addiction, Car accident, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and Pedophilia
hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
tldr; Makes me think we would have been better off with just My Heart Is A Chainsaw as a standalone book.
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Murder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Child death
mmccombs's review against another edition
3.0
Last year I went to a book event for Reaper, and SGJ described his writing process of just letting the story unfold from his brain without any kind of plan (even in determining who the slasher is) going into it. I’d say for the first book (and his Only Good Indians) this is a process that works and makes for very compelling horror, but in this book it felt noticeable in a bad way. Meandering, convoluted, unfocused, there were too many characters, too many “big bads,” too many things happening, and not enough clarity to make sense of any of it.
While SGJ can create vivid (and I mean VIVID) descriptions of gore and bodies and actions, his work tends to struggle with establishing a firm sense of place or time. Throughout this entire series but especially this installment, I was never quite clear about where these things were happening, if it was night or day, or what Proofrock even really looks like (where is the lake? Where is the dam? Where is the town? Where are the characters in relation to these places?). Without this kind of grounding, I never quite felt stable enough to understand who was in a given scene or what was happening.
The “Baker Investigations” parts only added more confusion to a story that was already confusing. I did like that this was from Jade’s POV, but her inner ramblings often got too long and lost the plot’s momentum. I think this could have been a 250 page book and still retained Jade’s singular voice while staying a bit clearer on the action. There are some really fun and moving portions of this book, but I felt like they got lost in the sheer volume of Jade’s thoughts (which was the point, I guess, but it didn’t make it any more enjoyable).
Ultimately, I’m glad I finished out Jade’s story, and she will remain one of the most impactful characters I’ve ever read. While I wish I resonated with this final installment a bit more, she will forever remain my final girl.
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Gore, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Grief, and Kidnapping
ramreads5's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Gore, Grief, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, and Physical abuse
lorenipsum's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Gore, Kidnapping, Child death, Suicide, Rape, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Child abuse
elysianbud's review
- 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
Stephen Graham Jones gutted me like a fish. Feel like Casey Becker hanging from a tree with my innards falling out.
There's a bit in the acknowledgements (which I also cried at, because I don't want this to be the end) where he says "the cool thing about trilogies is you get to use every last part of the buffalo". By fuck did he use every last part--everything goes down in this finale. All the town lore combines and Proofrock undergoes it's one last hectic and gory night of chaos and blood-shed.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit
catsandbookstacks's review against another edition
3.0
Book three of the Indian Lake Trilogy pulls no punches with the esoteric horror movie references and elaborate deaths. I love Jade in My Heart Is a Chainsaw and Don't Fear the Reaper, so I had really high hopes for the final installment.
The first 30% had me riveted but then fell flat. With the change of POV between all the books, the first person point of view in this ended up being my least favourite. Jade wasn't back to her fever dream dialogue of book one but she just couldn't keep my attention with the meandering. There ended up being too many out of nowhere threads to wrap up and I lost my sense of caring. I don't know how I managed to be bored with chainsaws, bears, and "Chucky" but it happened.
Happy to have read and finished the trilogy, but I think I'll be imagining that it's only a duology.
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Gore, Drug use, Murder, Animal death, Grief, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Kidnapping, and Self harm
Minor: Ableism, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Rape, and Sexual assault