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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I loved Don’t Fear the Reaper so much more than My Heart is a Chainsaw. While the first book was a little hard to follow and felt really slow until the last 50 pages where it went 0-100, this one hit the ground running and stayed moving throughout. This book captures the horror movie/slasher movie atmosphere with so many great scenes and setups and Dark Mill South definitely feels like he holds his own with the classic slasher villains. Like the first book, there was still the occasional part where I would have to reread sections to understand what was happening but it didn’t ruin things for me and felt pretty spaced out. I did find the ending a little confusing but the build up and final confrontations were so great that it didn’t bother me. I really didn’t think a slasher story could feel like anything other then a straight forward popcorn flick but this series is proving that notion wrong. Looking forward to the next one.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My favorite thing about this one, the second installment in a trilogy, is its effort to give established characters more life than the first book allowed. While the first book was largely a messy celebration of unhinged splatter, this one leans into barely comprehensible plot twists that are so numerous and silly that they ultimately have no impact on the story; the characters, who are pretty well-drawn in this one, simply disappear into an incoherent soup of meaningless plot porn. It’s a shame; I really like Jones’ shifts across perspectives, particularly his diversion into the mind of the first book’s villain. I do still care a great deal for Jade—our lead—and Hardy, the town’s former sheriff, but the story just throws them about with only the rare emotional beat. I really wanted to love this book but on its own I just don’t think it surpasses competence.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse
Minor: Child death, Death of parent
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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:
Complicated
5 stars
Stephen Graham Jones is out her outcooking that rat from Ratatouille, somehow this book was even better than My Heart Is A Chainsaw (which I also gave 5 stars), genuinely so in love with everything about this book. Jade Daniels is probably one of my favourite protagonists I’ve read about in a long time, the writing just gets me (I actually gagged around halfway through at a certain description relating to eyes) and the plot feels unique while simultaneously feeling like a nostalgic homage to its genre. If you haven’t read this what the hell are you doing??
Stephen Graham Jones is out her outcooking that rat from Ratatouille, somehow this book was even better than My Heart Is A Chainsaw (which I also gave 5 stars), genuinely so in love with everything about this book. Jade Daniels is probably one of my favourite protagonists I’ve read about in a long time, the writing just gets me (I actually gagged around halfway through at a certain description relating to eyes) and the plot feels unique while simultaneously feeling like a nostalgic homage to its genre. If you haven’t read this what the hell are you doing??