There's Nothing to Fear, But…

DON'T FEAR THE REAPER follows in the bloody footsteps of MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW. 4-1/2 stars

I have heard talk that the first book was so darned good. The publisher, like almost everyone who read it, wanted more. Stephen Graham Jones had a killer on his hands that would not die—his book about THE last girl, Jade Daniels. Unlike so many sequels ordered up after a successful stand alone, REAPER shines brighter than the first, and that is a good thing because this book is cold, dark, and brutal. That’s not surprising as this book, like its predecessor, MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW, is an homage to the slasher, particularly of the 1980s-90s, the Crimson Age of Slashers. 

REAPER picks up four years after the first book with an escaped serial killer on the loose. Jade, now fresh out of prison, is back in Proofrock. No longer obsessed with horror movies, she wants normalcy, but that’s not how things work with final girls. The town has been cut off by a blizzard. The serial killer, Dark Mill South, has escaped and has begun killing once again in Proofrock. Or has he? Is he more than human? Is it something else? Something is definitely going on here. The town’s senior class is being picked off in theatrical slasher form. And we are off and running. 

There is a LOT going on in this book. At times, I felt like I was the one lost in a blinding snowstorm—one I couldn’t get out of because I had a hard time putting this book down. The writing of Stephen Graham Jones is intelligent, if not downright nerdy in the way he drills down into the characters. And he brings each of those those characters to life. Flesh and blood. Lots of blood. 

Two down. One left. 

Don't Fear the Reaper

by Stephen Graham Jones

Published by Gallery/Saga Press

February 7, 2023 | 464 Pages | ISBN 9781982186593

I would like to thank the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this novel.

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On a side note, Jones has written an interesting alternative history in comic book form. A huge comic book fan, EARTHDIVERS, is his first ongoing series. Also on this title are collaborators, artist Davide Gianfelice, colorist Joana Lafuente, and letterer Steve Wands. IDW states: Set in a postapocalyptic near future, Earthdivers follows a small group of Indigenous survivors who time-travel to prevent the creation of America and retroactively save the world from destruction. In each arc, they will target a pivotal point in history, beginning with a mission to kill Christopher Columbus in 1492. Check out this interview at The Nerdist. 

Daphne is a BAD Girl

Image from Josh Malerman's Facebook page.

DAPHNE (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) kicks off with a basketball shot. I couldn’t help but think back to 2020 and Stephen Graham Jones’s THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS—my favorite read of that plague-ridden year. This book description starts “It’s the last summer for Kit Lamb…” It would be the last summer for so many of the Samhattan basketball team. That alone might be enough to hook you. It got me started.

Basketball was one of the sports I tried in my adolescence (and failed at miserably). Malerman takes this popular game youth and turns it sinister by adding a second game to the mechanics of it called “Ask the Rim.” It is a childhood game, something the girls of summer league basketball play. It is something akin to asking the Ouija questions about life and what the future holds. We’ve all played similar games. Unfortunately for the newly crowned star of the summer league, Kit Lamb, this game, the question she asked, and the answer given by the Net become terrifyingly intertwined with the local urban legend of Daphne. 

This book hit all the right spots. And while I’m not a huge fan of slashers or the ‘final girl’ trope, this one was brilliant. Malerman is masterful in bringing all of these kids to life. The characters are real, their banter poignant, as far as high schoolers go. And through great storytelling, their reality will become your reality.

There are so many great lines in this book. This one, early on, was one of many that had me thinking. “Next is for whenever now needs a fucking change.” The release date for this book is in late August, but don’t wait. Preorder it. Don’t do it next. Do it now. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine for this ARC of Daphne by Josh Malerman.