A review by gilroi
Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense 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

3.0

 This book is a continuation from My Heart Is A Chainsaw in more ways than one (obviously). It not only completes and continues to further flesh out the themes of the previous works, but exacerbates the flaws. Jones has this way of writing where it often feels like it takes 3 pages for one thing to happen, be it a conversation or a slasher show down, because revelations and stray thoughts are piled on top of each other. It makes the pacing treacle slow, even with a novel that starts out bloody and has no bloated second act like the first in this trilogy.

Likewise... some of the character development felt, well, under-developed, even though logically I know this isn't true. The choice to make this book multipov, to take us out of Jade's head, means that Jade doesn't have enough time to shine. Though I may be biased; I read for more Jade.

All that complaining aside, this is a solid novel, and its flaws are largely technical bugbears. The story and characters are joyfully coherent, and the themes continue to grow and change in a way I find refreshingly authentic.