Reviews tagging 'Death'

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

181 reviews

kate_303's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Certain sections felt dragged or left behind, while others felt predictable but overall a reliable horror thriller, just a bit too self aware for its own good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

strawbrifieldsforever's review

adventurous challenging dark funny tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, and Blood

Minor: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Vomit, and Incest

alaskanlad's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

1.5

I almost quit reading this book multiple times but it was an easy enough read that it felt worth it to follow through and find out how everything plays out. This was a mistake. It was absolutely not worth it. The writing is needlessly repetitive and the plot drags on and on and on then scurries forward in great lurches that are hard to follow. The main character Jade, though sympathetic, is not likable or particularly interesting (we get it, you love slashers, you are a horror chick, ok ok) and the minor characters aren’t developed enough to make you feel strongly either way. The climax was…disappointing to say the least. Perhaps would have been slightly less so if it only took 200 pages to get there rather than 400. Do not recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Violence, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Incest, and Sexual assault

henrygravesprince's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective 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

This is a slasher that embodies just how effective the genre in horror literature can be. It’s exceptionally clever and easy to get sucked into. I’ve read a couple of Stephen Graham Jones’s books before, and I consistently rate his work highly. This one combines the things I enjoyed about the other two books of his I’ve read: the focus on cycles of trauma with underscores of political commentary in The Only Good Indians (5 stars), and the genre-savvy campy nature of The Last Final Girl (4 stars). While I think this is my favorite of Jones’s backlog so far, I think the execution on The Only Good Indians was just a bit more polished, and so I’m giving this a 4.75 and anticipating going higher with the next two installments.

I 100% recommend this to people who like slashers for both the gore/horrorfest and the sociological and psychological undertones and people who love horror media because it gives them control over the circumstances of their fear. The strongest aspect of this book is the perfect meeting of social commentary to a brutal slasher. The weakest is that I think the last chapter could be paced up quicker than it is to hold the momentum the last quarter picked up on a little more. I’m glad I finally gave this book a go after years of wanting to but not finding the time. If you can stomach gory writing and you’ve considered reading this book but haven’t yet, now is the perfect time to jump in before the final book in the trilogy comes out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Self harm

Discussion of child sexual abuse; Portrayal of gentrification

uhhlexiconic's review

challenging dark emotional slow-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

3.75

Very knowledgeable about slashers but missing some of their spirit, My Heart is a Chainsaw makes sure we know our protagonist before showing us what she's really made of. Slow to start and with a narration style that may take some getting used to, but the third act bloodbath is worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Death, Racism, Animal death, Vomit, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

danimacuk's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Incest, Child death, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Minor: Vomit, Racism, Rape, and Pedophilia

tesshersh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

I’m not sure if I extra enjoyed this book because I’ve read so many BAD books lately, or if it really IS that good, so take this with a grain of salt. But WOW. One of my only gripes is that it touches on some themes that I’m not 100% sure I love being talked abt from a teenage girl’s perspective written by a male author, but I think it was respectfully done. 
Spoiler for my other complaint:

I wish that the conclusion/reveal of the killer DIDN’T have a supernatural element. I think the author’s point of regarding real life not being like a horror/slasher movie, about things like gentrification & colonization being a type of horror and violence of their own, was backtracked a bit by letting jade’s theory of a supernatural element be true at the end.

Also: cannot recommend the audio book enough, cara gee was amazing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Abortion, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Death, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Suicide, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Child death, Incest, and Gore

HUGE trigger warnings - not just in the gore/violence you would associate with a thriller but for other content as well, please check content warnings before reading

heckyeaheather's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

This was a great listen if you're someone who enjoys the horror genre and that your MC also is an expert in the slasher/horror genre. 
It can be a bit slow going sometimes, spending some time in our main characters thoughts and getting a bit wordy. Great first book of 2024!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence

Minor: Rape

lancemama's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Bullying, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Rape, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death

chicken_steadicam's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Gore, Death, Child abuse, and Rape