A review by sarahweyand
After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones

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

3.75

I always love when I have time to read a backlist of a favorite author. Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favorite horror authors (my all-time coolest claim is having him repost my ARC review of My Heart is a Chainsaw to his personal website), and this short story collection of his has been on my list for a while. 

As with every short story collection, some where better than others, but a few of the stories have really stuck with me and have a lot of impact. I always appreciate Jones' ability to write eerie and tense scenes and trusting the reader to be smart and catch on to what he's doing. We all know I'll get my hands on anything he puts out. 

Here is my rating for each story in the collection (my overall rating is the average of all these):
  1. Thirteen - 4.25
  2. Brushdogs- 4.25
  3. Welcome to the Reptile House - 2.5
  4. This is Love - 4.5 
  5. The Spindly Man - 3
  6. The Black Sleeve of Destiny - 2.75
  7. The Spider Box - 3.75
  8. Snow Monsters - 4.5
  9. Doc’s Story - 2.5
  10. The Dead Are Not - 3 
  11. Xebico - 3.5 
  12. Second Chances - 4.75
  13. After the People Lights Have Gone Off - 4.75
  14. Uncle - 4
  15. Solve for X - 3.75 
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