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• Watch out for an ending that spoils an otherwise excellent book.

  As followers of my blog will know, I’m absolutely ‘stacked’ when it comes to my read and review list. So much so, that sometimes I don’t have time to scour the internet for fresh ideas. Especially those that will fit my ‘quirky’ preferences. However, THAT’s where Black Gate Fantasy comes in, as the staff there have an eye for spotting things that will appeal to my particular tastes. Just look at the blurb for My Heart is a Chainsaw: ************* Jade is one class away from graduating high-school, but that's one class she keeps failing local history. Dragged down by her past, her father and being an outsider, she's composing her epic essay series to save her high-school diploma. Jade's topic? The unifying theory of slasher films. In her rapidly gentrifying rural lake town, Jade sees the pattern in recent events that only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror cinema could have prepared her for. And with the arrival of the Final Girl, Letha Mondragon, she's convinced an irreversible sequence of events has been set into motion. As tourists start to go missing, and the tension grows between her community and the celebrity newcomers building their mansions the other side of the Indian Lake, Jade prepares for the killer to rise. She dives deep into the town's history, the tragic deaths than occurred at camp years ago, the missing tourists no one is even sure exist, and the murders starting to happen, searching for the answer. As the small and peaceful town heads towards catastrophe, it all must come to a head on 4th July, when the town all gathers on the water, where luxury yachts compete with canoes and inflatables, and the final showdown between rich and poor, past and present, townsfolk and celebrities slasher and Final Girl. ************* So, we have all the ingredients of an absolute gem here. Jade Daniels is something of a social misfit, both at school and within her local community. Her dad’s a deadbeat drunken bum; her mother’s absent; nobody gives a damn about her. And to top it all off, she walks the proverbial tightrope by retreating into a blood-tinted haven in which 1980’s horror movies color her perspective. But that’s how she copes, by viewing the world about her and all its pressures through a lens of grime and gore. Weird eh? Well, it would be, except for the fact that Jade is a walking library when it comes to the horror genre. She knows everything. All the twists and turns. All the feints. All the clichés and tropes. So much so, that when the everyday drudgery of life is suddenly jarred by a number of unexpected deaths, Jade becomes convinced she can see the link. There’s a serial killer on the loose. A killer who is no doubt preparing for a grand, July 4th slasher-fest finale. The thing is, nobody believes her when she tries to tell them what’s coming. So how the hell will she convince the authorities that they have to do something? Well, as I found out, this is a story of two halves. Or more accurately, a story of 99.5% Awesome and 0.5% What the hell? Let me explain. . . Jones’ knowledge of the horror genre is encyclopedic, giving his main character an undeniable depth that makes you just want to dive in and help her. Yes, Jade’s a rebel. She’s an oddball who deliberately tests the boundaries of what’s acceptable. But she also has a heart of gold. She wants to help an unwilling and undeserving community from a fate worthy of the most horrendous bloodbath imaginable, and she goes out of her way to do just that. In doing so, she digs herself an ever deepening hole in which her reputation will remain forever buried. But she doesn’t care. She wants to do the right thing. . . And nobody believes her, setting in motion a chainsaw of events that are as morbidly hypnotic as they are inevitable and compelling. Jones sprinkles clues throughout his narrative that point toward an apocalyptic climax. And you can literally feel the tension building as we inevitably head toward that climax, until . . . BAM! The story leaves you floundering. And not in a good way. As I mentioned above, 99.5 % of the story is a 5-star blitz of excellence. A blitz that suddenly fizzles to a puff of elusive smoke in the last pages that – how can I say this – takes all the wind out of your sails, and all the pzazz out of the fabric of the story. In fact, I had to re-read the last chapter in its entirety three times. Yes, three times, just to make sure I hadn’t missed something vital in my haste to witness the grand finale. You’ll see what I mean if you read this story for yourself. All that work. All that depth and creativity. All those breadcrumbs and slow, pressure cooker buildup . . . for THAT? There was certainly nothing grand about it. And as for a finale? I’m sorry, I’m still waiting. I note with interest how many other reviewers thought the book was brilliant. And it is. Except for the ending, which I felt was a horror in itself. A shame, as this could easily been one of the best books I’ve read and reviewed in a long time.

• A damn good read

  This is one of those books you can tell the author was having an absolute blast writing, and it makes for such a fantastic read. I enjoyed every page of it!

• Very effective horror novel filled with references to slasher films

  ‘My Heart is a Chainsaw’ is the latest from Stephen Graham Jones, the Blackfeet Native American author of experimental fiction, horror fiction, crime fiction, and science fiction. Last year I read his ‘The Only Good Indians’ and just loved it. So I was very excited for this novel, especially on learning that its premise was focused on slasher films. Jade Daniels is a half-Native American teenager living with her dad in Proofrock, a rapidly gentrifying rural lake town in Idaho. She is just one class away from graduating high school and in order to complete her local history course she is composing an epic essay on a unifying theory of slasher films. In it, she is incorporating local folklore and history including ‘Camp Blood’, an abandoned summer camp where a murderous rampage took place fifty years ago. When Letha Mondragon arrives at school, Jade identifies her as the Final Girl, a key component in slasher films, and is convinced than an irreversible sequence of events has been set into motion. As tourists go missing and tensions rise between her local community and the wealthy newcomers building mansions on the other side of Indian Lake, Jade is prepared for the killer to rise. She is convinced that it will all come to a head on the 4th July, when the town gathers on the water to celebrate. Of course, there are people in Jade’s life that question whether she is delusional or compensating for more mundane horrors. This is the second novel that I have read recently that focuses upon the concept of the ‘Final Girl’, a term that I hadn’t encountered before, even if it makes a great deal of sense as a major trope of the slasher genre. Following a shocking opening chapter this was more a slow burn character-led novel, which then switched gears for its breathtaking, extremely gory conclusion. Like Jade’s brain the novel was packed with references to slasher films. I caught quite a few, though by no means all. This was a great deal of fun, as only well written comic horror can be; though its more than ghost masks and big knives and also integrates themes such as alienation, racism, mental health, abuse, and other social issues including the town’s increasing economic divide. I enjoyed the time I spent with Jade, in many ways a kindred spirit to my teenage self. I was amused by the description of her fascination with Letha Mondragon’s ‘incredible’ hair at their first meeting. Throughout I admired her wry, snarky views on life and her undeniable courage. In his acknowledgments Stephen Graham Jones writes about the genesis of the novel and his own appreciation of the slasher genre. Overall, I found ‘My Heart is a Chainsaw’ very much my kind of horror novel. It is well written, literary, and multilayered: addressing serious issues while continuing to honour the traditions of its genre. It is genuinely frightening yet with dark humour and self-awareness running through it. Stephen Graham Jones has quickly become one of my ‘must read’ authors and I look forward to exploring his back catalogue as well as news of upcoming projects. Certainly highly recommended for fans of intelligent horror.

• Loved it!

  One of the best slow burn horror novels I've read in a long, long time. I'll be buying the rest of the trilogy immediately. I can't believe I've never read Stephen Graham Jones's work until now. I've been missing out!

• I wish it was more corny.

  He turned a corny theme into a study of the psyche.

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