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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
Loveable characters:
Yes
This is the first sequel I’ve read in…over a year I think? And I was so nervous that I wouldn’t like it nearly as much as Chainsaw, but thankfully it delivered!!! I thought it was a little longer than it needed to be, and there were perhaps slightly too many moving parts, but Jade is such a shining character that she far outweighs any technical quibbles I had. Her and Letha’s relationship really gets the space to grow in this installment and I CAN’T GET ENOUGH.
There’s one sequence toward the middle of the book where Letha and Jade are across the lake, and it was, to me, the emotional core of the story. Their journey back across and Jade’s thoughts during that almost had me in tears. It was some of my favorite writing that I’ve seen so far from Stephen Graham Jones.
Fingers crossed that I’ll like the third book just as much! My only hope is that Rexall and Mr Armitage, at the very least, get their fucking teeth kicked in.
EDIT: came back a few hours later to bump up from 4.75 stars to 5 stars because as I was about to get into the shower, I remembered a conversation Jade and Letha had and made a sound like I was going to throw up (but in a good way.)
There’s one sequence toward the middle of the book where Letha and Jade are across the lake, and it was, to me, the emotional core of the story. Their journey back across and Jade’s thoughts during that almost had me in tears. It was some of my favorite writing that I’ve seen so far from Stephen Graham Jones.
Fingers crossed that I’ll like the third book just as much! My only hope is that Rexall and Mr Armitage, at the very least, get their fucking teeth kicked in.
EDIT: came back a few hours later to bump up from 4.75 stars to 5 stars because as I was about to get into the shower, I remembered a conversation Jade and Letha had and made a sound like I was going to throw up (but in a good way.)
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Yes
Dickensian in its character count, Craven-esque in its body count, this book brings slashers back. It's true I had some difficulty remembering who was who (so many people! so many corpses!) but I managed. Throughout the carnage, despite the numbers, there is a depth of characterization I've not seen in other horror fiction. This author is something else.
3.5 stars. It took me a while to get into the story. The book reads like a movie script sometimes. It's hard to differentiate internal dialogue and memories from what's happening in the present. I think it also would have helped if I read the first book more recently. Once the story picked up and I had a better memory of the characters, I was very into it. These books would make amazing movies.
SPOILERS BELOW
I guess I don't understand why Jade had to take the blame for the snowplow in the end? Why does she have to go back to prison when they all could have collectively blamed Dark Mill South for the snowplow incident? I also find it interesting that there was some folklore / magic at the very end of the book just like the first one. I felt that the elk's storyline wasn't detailed enough. The little blurb in the middle of the book of the "girl" living under the water didn't line up as clearly as I'd thought.
SPOILERS BELOW
I guess I don't understand why Jade had to take the blame for the snowplow in the end? Why does she have to go back to prison when they all could have collectively blamed Dark Mill South for the snowplow incident? I also find it interesting that there was some folklore / magic at the very end of the book just like the first one. I felt that the elk's storyline wasn't detailed enough. The little blurb in the middle of the book of the "girl" living under the water didn't line up as clearly as I'd thought.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
I felt a bit disoriented at times, but found that if I just kept reading I would be able to put the pieces together. I went in expecting a similar formula to the first book, but what we actually got was more complicated and better than what I expected! If you found the main character a bit grating in the first book, the second book is a lot better about that and shows her self growth journey as well.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thrilling, gory, and mysterious - SGJ has once again outdone himself. Taking place four years after the events in My Heart is a Chainsaw, Jade is back in Proofrock and thrust into the middle of another massacre. Taking place over thirty-six hours, the reader witnesses a complex web of deception, revenge, and carnage that ends in twenty dead.
In line with the first installment, SGJ pays homage to both classic and modern slasher films. Jade's previous slasher papers come into play and the horror of the Independence Day Massacre has etched itself into the town survivors in different ways. Unlike its predecessor, Don't Fear the Reaper has a quicker pace and shares its narrative across several characters. Combined with SGJ unique prose, I found the story and perspective changes disorienting at times, and unfortunately this resulted in me being very confused with certain elements of the ending (I am definitely in for a re-read). Despite this, SGJ was successful in not only providing a suspenseful read but a clever and unique sequel. Can't wait to see how this all wraps up in the final book!
In line with the first installment, SGJ pays homage to both classic and modern slasher films. Jade's previous slasher papers come into play and the horror of the Independence Day Massacre has etched itself into the town survivors in different ways. Unlike its predecessor, Don't Fear the Reaper has a quicker pace and shares its narrative across several characters. Combined with SGJ unique prose, I found the story and perspective changes disorienting at times, and unfortunately this resulted in me being very confused with certain elements of the ending (I am definitely in for a re-read). Despite this, SGJ was successful in not only providing a suspenseful read but a clever and unique sequel. Can't wait to see how this all wraps up in the final book!