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

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is a stunning follow-up to Chainsaw, serving as the slasher literature’s equivalent of the premier slasher film sequel (which, to be clear, is Scream 2, no contest). I was expecting it to be a 5-star follow-up, and it was. The writing is strong, the flow is fun (SGJ pulls off the ping-ponging perspectives like a champ), the audio cast is stellar. While the first book is patterned after the classic slasher, slow to ramp up and then all at once, this is patterned after the traditional slasher sequel: gorier, jumping straight into the action with a quicker, more persistently relentless pace. This book deals with cycles—cycles of trauma and of brutality, cycles of nature, of the beginning and the ending and starting again, emphasized by the slasher cycle and the murder cycles
of Dark Mill South
. Rebirth, and the connections forged in its fire, in friendship, in family; lineage in the wake of colonization and gentrification, and the lineage of the final girl; finding yourself again after rejecting who you are in order to survive. Getting more of Proofrock’s history was a delight, and the town is as much of a character here as anyone. 
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