Reviews with content warning for Gore - Night of the Mannequins

Nothing could have prepared me for how weird this book was. I have read some of this author's other work so I was aware of his affinity for all things odd, but Night of the Mannequins was just next level. This title was creepy, gory, and baffling. I would not go out of my way to recommend this short story to other readers as I genuinely don't know how I even feel about it. Stephen Graham Jones, you have succeeded in leaving me speechless.

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becca_w_'s review

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kawooreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5/5.0 Stars (rounding up to 4 for creativity)

What a delightfully bizarre and psychotic horror novella from Stephen Graham Jones. The blurb says it all and I don't really want to say much more and spoil it. I don't know what I expected but it definitely wasn't this and I'm not mad about that. Twenty minutes in my eyebrows were raised but my interest was piqued. If you like horror, I think you would enjoy this story.

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sofipitch's review

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dark mysterious fast-paced

4.25

Not quite sure how to feel about this one, I saw the plot twist coming from a mile away but not completely. SGJ's writing style was wonderful as always (other than once, idk what was up with "Demon Theory" I'm considering that one a fluke)

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cheye13's review

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I think I took too long to read this one, and the tension slipped right through my fingers. I'm not typically a horror fan, but I didn't find this all that scary. I'd call it more of a psychological thriller.

I did go in without having read the full synopsis, which I think really helped. I quite enjoyed the front half, not seeing a lot of the reveals coming. I really appreciated the nuances within the content: Sawyer is very much an Indigenous teen boy with a very specific experience, but he also has a very Everyman vibe to him. He has parents, friends, hopes, dreams – just like everyone else. It feels like any of his friends could step into his role and the story would be the same, which brings the mannequin concept full circle, imo.

The writing style and voice is very unique; it fits the story so well and is very fun to read. It's very evocative of a film and also a campfire/sleepover story, but still takes moments to use written word to full effect. There are a few sentences that stopped me short to either send a chill down my spine or an ache through my heart.

I think the writing style was spectacular, but the brevity and predictability of the storyline crossed with the universailty of the main perspective didn't really let me sink my claws in.

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lilybear3's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The writing style just wasn't my cup of tea. I understand it's from a teenager's POV and he's unreliable, but the wordiness and awkwardness got in the way of the flow for me. I wanted to like this more and the title is super interesting. I love that it was like a slasher story, but it missed the mark. I didn't find it as funny as other people have said it is, but that's subjective. I was so confused about the ending, I read it twice but still didn't understand what was going on. I do agree with others that the ending was abrupt. The story is fine for what it was but I didn't live up to what I wanted it to be.

if the title is night of the mannequins (plural), why is there only one? I guess because Sawyer becomes the mannequin?? Idk I wanted more mannequins lol

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUINS is an absorbing thriller, expertly balanced and engrossing until the last moments.

Sawyer is a careful but unreliable narrator. He faithfully tells what happened, but his idea of what is literally happening versus what he's merely convinced is happening leaves a lot of very unsettling possibilities open. By the end I settled on an answer, but part of me still thinks the second option is viable. It shook me on a fundamental level and I’m still thinking about it days later. The story is told mostly linearly, and those small deviations from linearity start to add up as Sawyer gradually decides to tell backstory when it becomes necessary (but usually well after it’s first relevant).

It’s fantastic, I loved every minute! I can’t recommend it highly enough.

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