A Book A Week

September has arrived, bringing a slight chill to the air. Though the season is slowly changing here in South Texas, at least the temperatures aren’t as blistering as they were this summer! Even though it’s a bit early, I couldn’t resist diving into my favorite fall traditions—opening the windows to welcome the breeze, indulging in pumpkin spice everything, and, of course, starting some spooky season reads. I turned to a reliable favorite, Stephen Graham Jones. His previous novels, My Heart is a Chainsaw and The Only Good Indians, delivered some genuine scares, so I was excited to pick up his latest, I Was a Teenage Slasher. As expected, this new book blends memorable characters, a fresh plot, and spine-tingling chills that kept me turning the pages.

Lampasas, Texas, is about as remote as it gets. In 1989, this small town looked much the same as it does today, sustained by oil wells and cotton fields, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else’s business because there’s little else to do. No one would have ever imagined that such a quiet town would produce a serial killer—least of all, the killer himself.

Tolly Driver considered himself a decent kid, even though he never quite fit in with the other teens in town. As he geared up for his senior year of high school, Tolly attended a party where most of his classmates gathered. But instead of blending in, he made a fool of himself, ending the night in a near-fatal accident that changed his life forever. That night sparked a transformation in Tolly, setting him on a dark path of revenge and turning him into a full-fledged serial killer.

I Was a Teenage Slasher might be Stephen Graham Jones' most accessible novel yet—at least as accessible as a story about a brutal serial killer can be. Jones takes the familiar tropes of a '90s teen slasher and gives them his own twisted spin. The story is told from the main character's perspective as he recounts his descent into darkness through a stream-of-consciousness flashback. Jones plays with the morally gray nature of his protagonist, adding a surprising sense of humor that provides some much-needed levity to the dark story. It’s a mix of classic slasher horror and a coming-of-age tale, resulting in a compelling page-turner I couldn’t put down. This is my favorite novel from Jones to date, and it was the perfect way to kick off my spooky season reading.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2024, 65)

 "Horror is not a symptom. It's a love affair."

As Texas finally begins to trade the insufferable summer heat for the cooler weather of fall, I'm finding myself craving a good scare. I've always had a soft spot for the horror genre. There's just something about the thrill of being genuinely terrified by the words on a page that I find exhilarating. The chilled air and the promise of spooky thrills from a master horror author like Stephen Graham Jones were too much of a good thing for me to pass up when his publisher offered me a copy of his latest novel My Heart Is a Chainsaw. I was first introduced to the writing of Jones through his last novel The Only Good Indians. While I had a pretty mixed reaction to the characters in that work, I couldn't deny the ritualistic brutality of the horror. That story unsettled me in a way that still gives me chills when I think about it. Naturally, I was anticipating that this new novel would do the same. 

Being a teenager is tough. For Jade Daniels, a senior in high school, her young adulthood has been downright unbearable. Her mom left her dad many years ago, and Jade only sees her when she visits the local dollar store where her mother works. Jade lives with her father, an abusive alcoholic who spends most nights in a drunken haze reliving the glory days with his best friend. At school, things aren't much better. She's an outcast, more comfortable on her own than with any friends. It isn't like there are people lining up to befriend her anyway. Her teachers are equally uninterested. Jade is on the path to dropping out of her final year in school. It's safe to say that things are pretty terrible. 

Jade finds refuge in an unlikely source. She's obsessed with horror movies. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the genre knows no bounds, but she has taken a special fascination in those classic slashers that see a masked villain exact revenge on the place and people who did them wrong. So thorough is her knowledge that Jade has decided to submit an essay on the lurid history of her own town as a last-ditch effort to successfully graduate from high school. She narrates her own story, corroborated by a cast of eccentric locals, in the same style as the horror films she reveres. But Jade isn't prepared for what is about to come next. She's about to find herself and her town in the center of a very real horror story. 

My Heart Is a Chainsaw is a love story of sorts. Not in the traditional sense, of course, but as an ode to the kinds of slasher movies of the '70s and '80s that clearly influenced Stephen Graham Jones's affinity for the genre. I imagine that the character Jade's own reverence for those horror classics mirrors that of the author who brought her to life. Like the films that are referenced, this work balances gore and humor while driving home a deeper message around family, community, and revenge. I found Jade to really be an acquired taste. At first, she was kind of annoying, seemingly bringing much of her problems on herself. But as I got to know the character more, I was really moved by her journey through both her personal problems and the horror story that unfolded around her. At times, My Heart Is a Chainsaw slows to a crawl, especially as Jones devotes much of the middle section to character development. Fortunately, the slower parts pay off as the final act plays out in gruesome glory. Stephen Graham Jones has written a really fun novel that works as both a thrilling horror story and an homage to the films that inspired it. It was the perfect read to kick off the fall season. 

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2021, 34)

"The land claims what you leave behind."

July is shaping up to be a horror-centric reading month for me. I read Paul Tremblay's latest novel last week, and plan to read Riley Sager's newest haunted house story later this month. In between is the work of new-to-me author Stephen Graham Jones. The blurb for The Only Good Indians compared his writing to that of Tremblay, so I knew I would be in for a treat. I quickly requested a copy of the book from the publisher and was pleased when they sent one my way. It proved to be a visceral exploration of coming to terms with the past and dealing with all the grisly consequences.

Years ago, a group of young American Indian men made a reckless decision. The foursome snuck onto land that was protected by their native Blackfeet tribe. The light of the moon illuminated a herd of elk peacefully grazing amongst the sacred field, unaware of the slaughter that was about to come. Each of the boys killed one of the animals in cold blood, breaking the bond between man and nature that their ancestors had protected for so long, an irreversible rift that would follow the boys for the rest of their lives.

Years later, Lewis and the other guys all feel as if they've buried the past. None of them speak of the horrible things they did that fateful night. Lewis is still haunted by the mother elk that he killed, still sees the lifeless body of her unborn calf. He's on the ladder in his living room, fiddling with a light fixture that seems to have a mind of its own, when he notices the figure. His eyes must be playing tricks on him. Through the circling blades of the ceiling fan, Lewis swears he saw an elk standing there in the middle of his home. Only this was no ordinary animal. She was standing on two legs with an almost human-like quality to her. Is his mind playing tricks on him, or is this the beginning of something more sinister? Is nature finally seeking revenge?

There is something completely unsettling about The Only Good Indians. Stephen Graham Jones has written a novel that feels almost ritualistic in its brutality. It is the kind of horror that makes you feel as if you would be better off not witnessing what is unfolding but dares you to keep looking. After a wild opening that completely sucked me in, the novel stalled for the first quarter or so. There was character building, but I can't say that I was invested in Lewis or his life. It was the strength of wanting to know more about his mysterious vision that kept me reading. Fortunately, a violent event at the end of the first act really turned up the momentum. From then on, the novel maintained a perfect balance between gory horror thrills and well-drawn character building. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the book features graphic descriptions of violence, death toward both humans and animals. Still, The Only Good Indians delivers as a gory horror thrill ride and interesting take on culture and revenge.

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2020, 30)