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. 

Abandoned by the Gods and fueled by rage

Jonathan Maberry is a magician. He is the author of over 60 books in a wide variety of genres. While his name is not as recognizable as Steven King, John Grisham, or Margaret Atwood, I can’t think of another author who has accomplished so much. I first stumbled upon the Maberry name online. Day after day, I found myself confronted by zombies. And as any human would do, I ran. But he persisted, and I finally was bitten. There was no better place for me to start than Patient Zero. The virus was hot and ran through me as quickly as I read through the entire ten novel arc of one of his most beloved characters, Joe Ledger. Think Jack Reacher meets The X-Files. I read or listened to most of them in my mother’s days in her battle with dementia. I spent many nights in the hospital in an uncomfortable chair in the dark, listening to Ray Porter bring Jonathan Maberry’s creations to life. The stories, while fast-paced and terrifying, distracted from the buzz of the fluorescent lights seeping in from the hallway and the beeping of the monitors and machines that were often the only things that confirmed that my mother was still here. Ten books, then done. As I age, the memories of my mother are sometimes difficult to hold on to, but she lives on. And so does Joe Ledger. The first ten-book run completed an arc, but Maberry is keeping him alive in a second series. The next, his third, is Cave 13, and will be out soon.

So, there you have it. The origin story of my literary relationship with Jonathan Maberry. Or, possibly a more apt description, my Bore-igin Story. This is a weird way to ease into a review of his latest novel, The Son of the Poison Rose. 

The Son of the Poison Rose is the second book of a proposed trilogy and continues the story of Kagen the Damned. Sword and sorcery is a new genre for Maberry—at least for the reader. Getting blurbed by Michael Moorcock should be a clue that he has long been a fan. I won’t go into the plot of the story. There are plenty of places you can find that. Maberry’s writing is rich and pointed, his characters colorful and unique, especially for a sword and sorcery tale. Kagen is a very damaged character who wields his daggers with skill and bloodlust, especially when dealing with those from the Silver Empire. The story itself is a boiling cauldron—part sword and sorcery, part cosmic horror. Maberry’s world-building is fresh and engaging. I’m hoping we get a little more of Vespia in the next book. The author barely touched the cannibal-infested rainforest. Then there are the Hollow Monks, a Razor Knight, the royal twins are coming along nicely. Or horribly. Whichever you prefer. They’re you and impressionable, but have a mind of their own. My bet is that we’ll see much more of them and be off to the frozen wastelands known as the Winterwilds as the third book, A Dragon in Winter, teases. Maberry has a lot of threads and stories all moving toward a blood-soaked conclusion. And Kagen has a score of scores to settle with the Witch-king. 

If the book has a weak link, it is in its pacing. While the plot and sub-plots were all engaging, there were a few times I found myself wanting the author to speed things up, but there were also times I wanted more, and that’s with almost 700 pages of story.

Reading Kagen the Damned, the first in the series, is not 100% required reading. Maberry weaves this tale so you can jump right in, but I recommend doing so as there is so much world-building. His next novel in the series is supposed to wrap things up, and on some level, I’m sure he will, but I have a feeling that we will be seeing a lot more from Kagen. 

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin, and the author for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I’d encourage you to buy this book from your favorite indy bookseller or you could buy it from one of Jonathan Maberry’s favorite booksellers, Mysterious Galaxy, where you should be able to request an autographed edition. I have purchased a number of books from them. They are great people. Or buy from the big A. Whatever you do, buy the book.