Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Last Final Girl by Stephen Graham Jones

18 reviews

queergoth_reads's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I only really recently discovered Stephen Graham Jones and I really enjoyed the other books I've read by him but this one wasn't my favourite. It's written as if someone is describing a film to you, which is really interesting but I found it hard to follow in some places.  

While parodying the convoluted slasher franchises we have all come to love, it feels exactly like one which is both good and bad. I get my slasher fix but I also find it hard to view it as anything other than a b-movie slasher. I don't know how to explain that well over text but basically I'm finding it hard to rate higher than I rate a slasher sequel. 

Honestly, I might have loved this more if I hadn't read My Heart Is A Chainsaw first. It has a lot of the same elements but MHIAC has so much more that I couldn't help comparing the two. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder

ladydisdain's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This is a self aware slasher flick that you read. The genre it seeks to dissect and critique has become this exact parody in the years since publication- Stephen Graham Jones couldnt have known he was just writing an actual movie (or Ryan Murphy limited series) 9 years too early. I sat down and read the whole thing in about as much time as it would take to watch the movie. I gasped out loud three times- and good on Jones for managing jump scares in a book. This is a popcorn horror book with a promise of what came after- I think if I'd read it in 2012, it would have felt like a fresh 5 star read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

thebookishaustin's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Lots of gore in this one! 

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Content Warnings

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

herelieshenry's review

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Self harm, Vomit, and Mass/school shootings

davidrb's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Had high hopes, unfortunately it's just not that good. It had a lot of potential that it just got lost in. I'll still be checking out his more recent work: I've heard nothing but praise for his last two books!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

soobooksalot's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I've been collecting and planning out my reads for Spooky October for awhile now, but I couldn't wait to get started. 
 The Last Final Girl is my first by noteworthy horror author Stephen Graham Jones.
 It's written in an unconventional format - no chapters, just Act 1, 2 and 3; POV cuts throughout - and reads just like a campy horror movie!
 I watched slasher movies back when I was probably too young to be doing so, and many of the scenes and pop culture references in here are straight out of the genre.
 This isn't a read for everyone, obviously, but if you're a horror movie or book fan then you'll appreciate. 
 Looking so forward to the author's newest, My Heart Is A Chainsaw, out on Aug. 31!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Murder

leahrosereads's review against another edition

dark funny 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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This had pretty much every single corny slasher/horror movie trope, and I loved it!  Written like a movie script, with characters I couldn't help but want dead, this was just a fun ride.  It's definitely horrific and gory at times, but the satirical elements kept it from ever being too creepy for me.  

This won't be for everyone, but those that love horror and don't mind a bit of cheesiness to it will get a kick out of The Last Final Girl!

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Content Warnings

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

cyanide_latte's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Stalking