In Spooky Reads, part 2, I recommend another completed horror trilogy sure to put some fright in your nights. This time, it's The Indian Lake Trilogy by Stephen Graham Jones.
My Heart is a Chainsaw
The fantastic The Indian Lake Trilogy starts with the absurdly well-titled My Heart is a Chainsaw. Talk about an intriguing title—wow! Can you think of a better one?
This Bram Stoker Award winner is the best of the trilogy. It is a must-read for horror aficionados and a good starting point for the budding fan of the genre. It can be read as a standalone or as the first in the series with equal satisfaction.
What makes this tale outstanding is the final girl, Jade. She is a teenage rebel obsessed with horror movies, haunted by half-forgotten trauma, and shunned by her peers for being the weirdo. She does have people looking out for her, but she's too wrapped up in her teenage angst to realize it.
Jade has a real issue when rich white people come and start building mansions across the lake. She feels like it's the white man stealing land from the natives once again. The theme of native Americans suffering from past and ongoing trauma runs throughout the series and adds a lot of interest for me.
When people start dying in horrific manners, Jade is in her element. The only question is, will she try to stop the massacre or sit back and enjoy the show?
Don't Fear the Reaper
The second installment, while not nearly as good as the first, feels more like a traditional slasher yarn to me. Someone starts killing high schoolers yet again, and the town's depleted police force is outmatched.
Don't Fear the Reaper falls a bit short for me because Jade takes a backseat. This allows other characters, some fairly good, to take the spotlight. However, none are as beautifully twisted and interesting as Jade. In this novel, Jade is no longer the antsy teen. She's an ex-con trying to navigate the world after being imprisoned for a crime she may or may not have committed. She does this by telling herself she's no longer obsessed with horror and most definitely is not a final girl.
Don't get me wrong. Even though I say this is the weakest installment in the trilogy, it's still a damn good read. This one had me peeking around corners after hearing bumps in the night.
The Angel of Indian Lake
The final installment of the series is firmly Jade's story, and that is a good thing. In this one, Jade is coming to terms with her identity as a horror geek and a responsible adult, among other things. In fact, she's found gainful employment as a high school history teacher. Her character arc through the series is 100% believable and 10,000% wonderful to read.
Jade may have accepted that she is a slasher connoisseur, but she still denies that she is a final girl. To put the horrors that haunt her and her town to rest, she'll need to see in herself what the reader and her friends already do. The author also saves a nice twist for the very end that ties a bow on the social commentary present throughout the series.
To sum up, The Indian Lake Trilogy by Stephen Graham Jones is excellent and highly recommended. My Heart is a Chainsaw is an absolute classic and a must-read. The subsequent books, while not quite as good, are still rewarding reads. I'll also mention Jones's novel, The Only Good Indians. If you want a read that will haunt you throughout October and beyond, this one will.
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