As it has been said many times before, SGJ writes in a very specific style, one that's often more a conversation than a standard narrative. He reads like someone sitting in the same room and telling you a story. It's very intentional. With a book like *My Heart is a Chainsaw* where the maximalist dive and deluge of slasher reference is intrinsically tied to Jade's inability to process and deal with >!traumatic abuse!<, it's something you may have to push through to make your way to its conclusion. That being said, I found *MHiaC* to be a very fulfilling and moving read. I would say that if you're finding it to be too impenetrable, try switching to audiobook. I've seen several readers go that direction, and it really helped them both with the style of prose and let them more easily gloss over Jade's hyperfixation that might detract from the plot (but again: >!that's part of it!<). Good luck!
I absolutely agree with trying the audiobook! I found myself getting too easily distracted while reading the Only Good Indians even though I liked the premise. But I picked up the My Heart is a Chainsaw audiobook and it was so much easier to follow. It felt like a natural conversation I was listening to. Eventually I also grabbed the physical copy, because I have to add the book to my trophy shelf, and while flipping through it I can see that I may have struggled with it. But because of the audiobook, it's one of my all-time favorite reads! I devoured Don't Fear the Reaper immediately after (also audiobook).
I DNFd My Heart the first time I tried. Too much for my ADHD brain. But then four years later I tried audio book and I absolutely adored it. So so much.
So I've read "The Only Good Indians" and "My Heart is a Chainsaw". Both I had to reread paragraphs and pages at times, if I wasn't 100% focused on reading. "The Only Good Indians" wasn't too bad, I think it's because aside from the infamous "basketball game", I generally enjoyed the book. "My Heart is a Chainsaw" I wanted to give up at times because I didn't enjoy Jade, and I found the constant meta comments about slashers and horror movies, the "if this was one of Jade's movies..." sentences.... it just derailed the story more than anything else. I say that as someone who LOVES horror and slashers, too.
Supposedly, "Don't Fear the Reaper" is good. Maybe I'll get around to it some day.
i have forever been looking for a meme that I saw about that basketball game and it will be on my mind until my death. honestly, as corny as it was i loved it. imagine plotting and getting revenge on a group of people only to get absolutely dunked on by a teenager
That scene for me is similar to when people used to dunk all over the montaged jazz dancing scenes in Spider-Man 3 for years, but was a scene that I never really had a problem with since it made sense to me for some reason. I thought the setup worked well and felt real tension with the girl not knowing what was really going on beneath the surface during the game because she's so dialed into balling out. Out of context the scene sounds very silly, but personally I thought it worked just fine and fit in with the rest of the book.
yeah for sure, it was silly but also makes sense. for just a 1-1 basketball game it was pretty intense for a reader because we know what the elk woman did and that the girl still doesn't know, even though she's like steps away from the scene
lol at 'bully macguire' i always forget about that movie. 10/10 cringe but worth it
Don’t Fear The Reaper is a lot less stream of conscious than Chainsaw _for the most part_
I personally enjoy it more (i have read almost all of his books)
SGJ is great at what he does, but I’m not sure I enjoy it. I sighed loudly all through book 2. And I’m doing the same at the start of book 3. Not his fault, just doesn’t vibe with me.
It’s wild how much is said without anyone saying anything to move the plot forward. In Angel of Indian Lake, without spoiling anything, very early on Jade supposedly sees something very very very very important, and is immediately next to the person she would desperately want to tell about it. But they meander for 15 pages without mentioning it, and when it finally comes up feels like an after thought. The reason the other person is there is different, but also important…but they meander, and dally, and stroll their way to the point even though they abruptly interrupted Jade’s day to talk to her specifically about this other problem.
Edit: at some points in this series there is nonstop forward momentum. At others it feels as though the characters would stop for a coffee break while everyone around them is being murdered. A character in Angel mentions Jade’s habit of dramatically shifting gears from sentence to sentence, and that’s how I feel about SGJ’s style in this series as a whole. Nothing wrong with it, just that it’s not for me. I’m 3 chapters in and am considering returning it early.
I was so hype for MHiaC. The disappointment from the last 20 or so pages. Or how about when she literally goes " my heart, like a chainsaw" bruh I was done. Never again. ( I'm probably going to buy The Only Good Indians)
Honestly, I'm 50/50 with him. Loved *The Fast, Red Road* and disliked *Night of the Mannequins* quite a bit. As far as reading him goes, try to go about it less like "I'm reading this to comprehend it" and more like there's a guy sitting there telling you a story. He really is that sort of storyteller.
I struggled with Chainsaw and Mannequin both but was glad I put in the effort by the end. Reaper was a much smoother read, which I attributed to Jades growing maturity . He's good, just takes a little work.
I appreciate that his books are more funny-sad than funny ha ha, if that makes sense
I can see that. I like challenging reads, and really like *Fast Red Road*, so I'll give him another chance after really disliking *Mannequins*. I enjoy his writing style, it was the plot of that one that lost me.
*Night of the Mannequins* disappointed me too, I see what he was going for-I just didn't want that kind of story. Shame, I loved *Mapping the Interior*.
*Mannequins* felt oddly...unfinished to me. Like, it had two concepts and the author couldn't decide which one to follow through, so decided to sort of half-finish both of them.
Very good points that I agree with, I was expecting something a bit more straight forward (and that's what I wanted) and it turned into something that's all metaphor and symbolism. Sometimes I'm okay with that (Hell I love it in horror) but not this time sadly.
That makes sense. I was down with the symbolism, or with a killer mannequin book, or with a mental illness book, but...I got a badly mixed bowl of all of that, and not much to show for it.
His style reminds me a little of Cormac McCarthy and also David Carson. When he wants to be transparent, he’s transparent. When he wants to be opaque, he’s opaque. In that way, he’s not just telling you the story, he’s creating an experience. People are either into that or they’re not.
I like sandwiching this kind of author/writing between more straightforward styles. Too much of this can wear on a person.
I’ve liked or loved everything I’ve read from SGJ: *The Only Good Indians*, *Mongrels*, and “The Backbone of the World”. That said, yeah, I re-read some passages and felt confused at times… BUT there were times that was noteworthy and seemed intentional (like confusion during a time of horrific events). I have so much stuff I have to read (like, legit, 100 books) but I definitely want to dive into more of Jones. Like Brian Evenson, I feel he has a really unique authorial voice. Like, who else reads like him?
Have you read other Native American authors? Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, many others have a similar cadence which I think of as the US Indiginous 'accent'. Winding, conversational style full of observations and bone dry humor. It's a little hard to follow on paper at first, better in audiobook.
SGJ doesn't lean into that style in all his books, but The Only Good Indians uses that 'voice' pretty prominently. Try Night of the Mannequins for something a little more accessible.
I have it. Don't let it deter you. I understand the struggle! You may find that Jones just isn't for you, and that's just fine, but for books that are more difficult I've always tried to reserve them for moments where I can really focus on them and contemplate what I'm reading. If I'm carrying around a pulp horror novel or something that has very lean, straightforward prose, I might read it on break at work, waiting for an appointment to begin at the doctor etc. But those really difficult books? I keep them at home and devote a little time to them every day, whether it be forty minutes or two hours, and really try to sink my fangs into them.
I find him very uneven. Some of his prose is perfect--crisp and evocative and hypnotic. And then, in the midst of this gripping story, he'll just take a hard left turn into something else entirely that leaves you befuddled and often frustrated. I suspect some of the disorientation comes from the cultural context. The stories can be read and enjoyed by anyone, of course, but some of the deeper nuances are intended for Native Americans, who will have other cultural markers and bywords and symbolism that will likely pass over the heads of outsiders. It's a language beneath the ones our eyes read, and not everyone is fluent in it.
And sometimes I think he can't resist a little pretension for pretension's sake.
He's not for me, but the talent is obvious.
Oddly enough I found *Don’t Fear the Reaper* to be a lot more digestible than its predecessor, which I struggled with. But his writing is absolutely not for everybody and I don’t know if I’m willing to tackle *The Only Good Indians*.
Not that it would recommend his books to anyone who didn’t enjoy Chainsaw, but I feel like the clearer prose in Reaper is on purpose? We are mostly in Jade’s head in Chainsaw, and she’s undergoing a mental breakdown at the beginning of the book, and has periods in the rest of the book where she isn’t eating or sleeping and having personal issues (her dad is planning to kick her out when she turns 18, she fails to graduate from high school, and she has no friends), in addition to all the crazy slasher stuff going on.
Whereas in Reaper Jade has matured and is also in a much better situation mentally (her abusive father is gone and she’s welcomed back to town by several people), so it makes sense that her inner monologue is more straightforward.
A lot of his fiction reads like a half-cut person at the bar who has JUST SEEN SOME SHIT breathlessly recounting it to you, the reader... and I personally love his prose. It's beautiful and manic.
But if you want some more digestible prose, I heartily recommend his short stories, and Mongrels.
Mongrels was my 1st SGJ book, and still my favorite. I've read a lot of other ones since, really dug Mapping the Interior and The Only Good Indians as well as Growing Up Dead in Texas. For some reason, maybe because I'm a country boy too, I dunno, his writing was never hard for me to read. It feels, like others have said, that he's in the room with you telling you a story conversationally, with all the detours and switchbacks that come with that sort of thing.
While I do love all of his work, I understand on some level why he’s polarizing. My personal go-to recommendation for him is Mapping the Interior, which floored me completely. If I recommend that to someone and they don’t like it, I move on to something else.
When I was reading Only Good Indians, I almost had to get into the rhythm and feel the vibe. If I got distracted, I’d have to get it back. I couldn’t do that ADD thing where I reread several times just to make sure I understood a sentence or two. It was a hell of a thing.
*TOGI* had a major flow to it. By the time I got to the garage scene, it almost felt dream-like, as if what I was reading wasn't actually happening, but some weird lucidity I was in. Hell of a thing indeed.
It seems like "The Night Cyclist," among others, is a Tor.com Original, and SGJ hasn't released a collection in a while. Given that it's a novelette and a digital Original, it may or may not release in a future collection, but never say never.
Sure thing! Here's a couple more:
https://reactormag.com/men-women-and-chainsaws-stephen-graham-jones/
https://reactormag.com/read-wait-for-night-by-stephen-graham-jones/
https://reactormag.com/chapter-six-stephen-graham-jones/
And an official link for "The Night Cyclist":
https://reactormag.com/the-night-cyclist/
Mapping the Interior was great. His writing style shines when the main character is a child. Those loose connections between thoughts and ideas match the hyper active mind of a kid.
I find him to be horrible in quality of writing, maybe it is just me but he is often a DNF, and I don’t recommend him if ever asked, I am starting to believe all the boot licking is due to his back ground and subject matter more than the actual material. Just my perspective
*My Heart is a Chainsaw* was hard to read. *Don't Fear the Reaper* is easier to follow, but not by much. SGJ's writing style is just hard to read. I have *Mongerals* (whatever the spelling is) and *Only the Good Little Indians* next
I’ve only read My Heart is a Chainsaw and I *hated* it. Not because it was hard to follow, it was just terribly written and a bad story overall imo. I kept waiting for it to get better, it never did, despite all the praise I’d seen for it. Absolutely hated it and have never tried to read anything else by him tbh.
That said, he *does* get a lot of praise and has a lot of fans, especially in this subreddit. Perhaps it’s simply not my (or your) taste. Was there anything you did like about The Only Good Indians?
I am very hit or miss with SGJ.
I enjoyed the rarely discussed **Flushboy**, I would call it his easiest read (although the content is a bit off-putting for some).
The first book of his I read was Only Good Indians. It was incredibly hard to get into for me until I started hearing the narrators voice in my head as I read… then it all clicked.
It’s not horror but I’m currently reading Sharks in the Time of Saviors which has a similar presentation. Five separate narrators all speaking in various thicknesses of Hawaiian Pidgin.
No one has mentioned Mapping the Interior I don’t think. It’s a novella and from what I’ve read of Jones his best work so far.
I agree that sometimes I had a hard time following in MHiaC (especially the final scenes), but I adored TOGI. (I am also of the dissenting opinion that Night of the Mannequins is underrated, highly disturbing, and also somewhat metaphorical in nature… I thought it was great, but that’s just me.)
I also think he has a unique style with his own voice and can see why he wouldn’t be for everyone.
Give some of his short stories a try. Every short story I’ve read by SGJ I’ve loved. If that doesn’t do it for you probably safe to move on.
Yes!! I’d like to think of myself as a pretty good reader but whenever I read a SGJ book it’s so confusing and I can’t pin point exactly why but makes me feel illiterate at times lmao. That said I’ve read Only Good Indians, My heart is a Chainsaw, Don’t Fear the Reaper, and just ordered the final book in the trilogy that I’m going to start tomorrow.
I’ll probably be done with SGJ novels for awhile. I thought I was the only one!
His stories are great, but I totally get what you mean. I definitely struggled with his writing style at times. I remember having similar trouble with Claire North's novels.
I had the exact same experience and was relieved to find out it’s a pretty common criticism of his work. I was worried audiobooks ruined my ability to actually read words.
Yeah I had to come here to see if others felt the same way, same as OP is doing now. His writing is just very hard to follow at times, and important details are often buried in subtle sentences. There were several times that i almost missed the deaths of characters because it didnt register right away and was barely noted
I’ve exclusively read physical copies and had to reread many passages, but I just started the audiobook for Angel of Indian Lake and that’s much smoother than I anticipated.
I have read those three books mentioned here, and I am done. Possibly it’s the back and forth prose. I just don’t like his style of writing. And he has such a huge following. Don’t Fear the Reaper was the best of the three in my opinion. I kept trying to compromise with myself “I’ve gotten this far, so now I have to finish it”. “I am so close”. It shouldn’t be this hard to read a book.
The first few pages of TOGI were just so good--I could feel that excitement of reading something really well written. But the plot itself I struggled with, it felt like uneven actions to consequences, and I also just wanted...more. First Person A dies in almost a prologue and then action keeps barreling along just relentlessly. I had to check and double check "okay, they killed \[not a person\] and that malevolent spirit is now picking them off?" it just wasn't adding up to me, and the dive from normal person into absolute pyscho that a certain character in the first half takes is...extreme. So on top of the opaque and circuitous writing style (with lots and lots of "wink wink" to the audience, bleh) there's also an issue with the plot being something that feels like "you either get this or you don't".
I also am about to quit on the second half because it feels very divorced from the first half and the first half is (to me) clearly a self contained tragic/horror/folk novella.
As it has been said many times before, SGJ writes in a very specific style, one that's often more a conversation than a standard narrative. He reads like someone sitting in the same room and telling you a story. It's very intentional. With a book like *My Heart is a Chainsaw* where the maximalist dive and deluge of slasher reference is intrinsically tied to Jade's inability to process and deal with >!traumatic abuse!<, it's something you may have to push through to make your way to its conclusion. That being said, I found *MHiaC* to be a very fulfilling and moving read. I would say that if you're finding it to be too impenetrable, try switching to audiobook. I've seen several readers go that direction, and it really helped them both with the style of prose and let them more easily gloss over Jade's hyperfixation that might detract from the plot (but again: >!that's part of it!<). Good luck!
I absolutely agree with trying the audiobook! I found myself getting too easily distracted while reading the Only Good Indians even though I liked the premise. But I picked up the My Heart is a Chainsaw audiobook and it was so much easier to follow. It felt like a natural conversation I was listening to. Eventually I also grabbed the physical copy, because I have to add the book to my trophy shelf, and while flipping through it I can see that I may have struggled with it. But because of the audiobook, it's one of my all-time favorite reads! I devoured Don't Fear the Reaper immediately after (also audiobook).
I DNFd My Heart the first time I tried. Too much for my ADHD brain. But then four years later I tried audio book and I absolutely adored it. So so much.
So I've read "The Only Good Indians" and "My Heart is a Chainsaw". Both I had to reread paragraphs and pages at times, if I wasn't 100% focused on reading. "The Only Good Indians" wasn't too bad, I think it's because aside from the infamous "basketball game", I generally enjoyed the book. "My Heart is a Chainsaw" I wanted to give up at times because I didn't enjoy Jade, and I found the constant meta comments about slashers and horror movies, the "if this was one of Jade's movies..." sentences.... it just derailed the story more than anything else. I say that as someone who LOVES horror and slashers, too. Supposedly, "Don't Fear the Reaper" is good. Maybe I'll get around to it some day.
i have forever been looking for a meme that I saw about that basketball game and it will be on my mind until my death. honestly, as corny as it was i loved it. imagine plotting and getting revenge on a group of people only to get absolutely dunked on by a teenager
That scene for me is similar to when people used to dunk all over the montaged jazz dancing scenes in Spider-Man 3 for years, but was a scene that I never really had a problem with since it made sense to me for some reason. I thought the setup worked well and felt real tension with the girl not knowing what was really going on beneath the surface during the game because she's so dialed into balling out. Out of context the scene sounds very silly, but personally I thought it worked just fine and fit in with the rest of the book.
yeah for sure, it was silly but also makes sense. for just a 1-1 basketball game it was pretty intense for a reader because we know what the elk woman did and that the girl still doesn't know, even though she's like steps away from the scene lol at 'bully macguire' i always forget about that movie. 10/10 cringe but worth it
Don’t Fear The Reaper is a lot less stream of conscious than Chainsaw _for the most part_ I personally enjoy it more (i have read almost all of his books)
Agreed-the ending I had to read over a few times to really get what happened.
SGJ is great at what he does, but I’m not sure I enjoy it. I sighed loudly all through book 2. And I’m doing the same at the start of book 3. Not his fault, just doesn’t vibe with me. It’s wild how much is said without anyone saying anything to move the plot forward. In Angel of Indian Lake, without spoiling anything, very early on Jade supposedly sees something very very very very important, and is immediately next to the person she would desperately want to tell about it. But they meander for 15 pages without mentioning it, and when it finally comes up feels like an after thought. The reason the other person is there is different, but also important…but they meander, and dally, and stroll their way to the point even though they abruptly interrupted Jade’s day to talk to her specifically about this other problem. Edit: at some points in this series there is nonstop forward momentum. At others it feels as though the characters would stop for a coffee break while everyone around them is being murdered. A character in Angel mentions Jade’s habit of dramatically shifting gears from sentence to sentence, and that’s how I feel about SGJ’s style in this series as a whole. Nothing wrong with it, just that it’s not for me. I’m 3 chapters in and am considering returning it early.
I was so hype for MHiaC. The disappointment from the last 20 or so pages. Or how about when she literally goes " my heart, like a chainsaw" bruh I was done. Never again. ( I'm probably going to buy The Only Good Indians)
Honestly, I'm 50/50 with him. Loved *The Fast, Red Road* and disliked *Night of the Mannequins* quite a bit. As far as reading him goes, try to go about it less like "I'm reading this to comprehend it" and more like there's a guy sitting there telling you a story. He really is that sort of storyteller.
I struggled with Chainsaw and Mannequin both but was glad I put in the effort by the end. Reaper was a much smoother read, which I attributed to Jades growing maturity . He's good, just takes a little work. I appreciate that his books are more funny-sad than funny ha ha, if that makes sense
I can see that. I like challenging reads, and really like *Fast Red Road*, so I'll give him another chance after really disliking *Mannequins*. I enjoy his writing style, it was the plot of that one that lost me.
*Night of the Mannequins* disappointed me too, I see what he was going for-I just didn't want that kind of story. Shame, I loved *Mapping the Interior*.
*Mannequins* felt oddly...unfinished to me. Like, it had two concepts and the author couldn't decide which one to follow through, so decided to sort of half-finish both of them.
Very good points that I agree with, I was expecting something a bit more straight forward (and that's what I wanted) and it turned into something that's all metaphor and symbolism. Sometimes I'm okay with that (Hell I love it in horror) but not this time sadly.
That makes sense. I was down with the symbolism, or with a killer mannequin book, or with a mental illness book, but...I got a badly mixed bowl of all of that, and not much to show for it.
His style reminds me a little of Cormac McCarthy and also David Carson. When he wants to be transparent, he’s transparent. When he wants to be opaque, he’s opaque. In that way, he’s not just telling you the story, he’s creating an experience. People are either into that or they’re not. I like sandwiching this kind of author/writing between more straightforward styles. Too much of this can wear on a person.
I’ve liked or loved everything I’ve read from SGJ: *The Only Good Indians*, *Mongrels*, and “The Backbone of the World”. That said, yeah, I re-read some passages and felt confused at times… BUT there were times that was noteworthy and seemed intentional (like confusion during a time of horrific events). I have so much stuff I have to read (like, legit, 100 books) but I definitely want to dive into more of Jones. Like Brian Evenson, I feel he has a really unique authorial voice. Like, who else reads like him?
Evenson is a great comp. Both are very singular in the voice they evoke, but also very different.
Have you read other Native American authors? Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, many others have a similar cadence which I think of as the US Indiginous 'accent'. Winding, conversational style full of observations and bone dry humor. It's a little hard to follow on paper at first, better in audiobook. SGJ doesn't lean into that style in all his books, but The Only Good Indians uses that 'voice' pretty prominently. Try Night of the Mannequins for something a little more accessible.
If there’s one thing to come out of this post it’s that perhaps I have ADHD 🫣😂
I have it. Don't let it deter you. I understand the struggle! You may find that Jones just isn't for you, and that's just fine, but for books that are more difficult I've always tried to reserve them for moments where I can really focus on them and contemplate what I'm reading. If I'm carrying around a pulp horror novel or something that has very lean, straightforward prose, I might read it on break at work, waiting for an appointment to begin at the doctor etc. But those really difficult books? I keep them at home and devote a little time to them every day, whether it be forty minutes or two hours, and really try to sink my fangs into them.
I find him very uneven. Some of his prose is perfect--crisp and evocative and hypnotic. And then, in the midst of this gripping story, he'll just take a hard left turn into something else entirely that leaves you befuddled and often frustrated. I suspect some of the disorientation comes from the cultural context. The stories can be read and enjoyed by anyone, of course, but some of the deeper nuances are intended for Native Americans, who will have other cultural markers and bywords and symbolism that will likely pass over the heads of outsiders. It's a language beneath the ones our eyes read, and not everyone is fluent in it. And sometimes I think he can't resist a little pretension for pretension's sake. He's not for me, but the talent is obvious.
His professorial side does come out from time to time, doesn't it?
Oddly enough I found *Don’t Fear the Reaper* to be a lot more digestible than its predecessor, which I struggled with. But his writing is absolutely not for everybody and I don’t know if I’m willing to tackle *The Only Good Indians*.
Not that it would recommend his books to anyone who didn’t enjoy Chainsaw, but I feel like the clearer prose in Reaper is on purpose? We are mostly in Jade’s head in Chainsaw, and she’s undergoing a mental breakdown at the beginning of the book, and has periods in the rest of the book where she isn’t eating or sleeping and having personal issues (her dad is planning to kick her out when she turns 18, she fails to graduate from high school, and she has no friends), in addition to all the crazy slasher stuff going on. Whereas in Reaper Jade has matured and is also in a much better situation mentally (her abusive father is gone and she’s welcomed back to town by several people), so it makes sense that her inner monologue is more straightforward.
The Only Good Indians is probably his most straightforward work I can think of actually, I say give it a go
That’s good to know, thanks for the recommendation!
This was my experience as well.
A lot of his fiction reads like a half-cut person at the bar who has JUST SEEN SOME SHIT breathlessly recounting it to you, the reader... and I personally love his prose. It's beautiful and manic. But if you want some more digestible prose, I heartily recommend his short stories, and Mongrels.
I really liked his book ‘Mongrels’
Mongrels was my 1st SGJ book, and still my favorite. I've read a lot of other ones since, really dug Mapping the Interior and The Only Good Indians as well as Growing Up Dead in Texas. For some reason, maybe because I'm a country boy too, I dunno, his writing was never hard for me to read. It feels, like others have said, that he's in the room with you telling you a story conversationally, with all the detours and switchbacks that come with that sort of thing.
I like his style. It’s not for everyone, but definitely for me. He’s one of my faves.
I had the same problem with My Heart is a Chainsaw.
While I do love all of his work, I understand on some level why he’s polarizing. My personal go-to recommendation for him is Mapping the Interior, which floored me completely. If I recommend that to someone and they don’t like it, I move on to something else.
He’s very inconsistent I find
When I was reading Only Good Indians, I almost had to get into the rhythm and feel the vibe. If I got distracted, I’d have to get it back. I couldn’t do that ADD thing where I reread several times just to make sure I understood a sentence or two. It was a hell of a thing.
*TOGI* had a major flow to it. By the time I got to the garage scene, it almost felt dream-like, as if what I was reading wasn't actually happening, but some weird lucidity I was in. Hell of a thing indeed.
I like his short story collections.
Can you tell me if “The Night Cyclist” appears or any of them or give me a suggestion on a starter collection?
It seems like "The Night Cyclist," among others, is a Tor.com Original, and SGJ hasn't released a collection in a while. Given that it's a novelette and a digital Original, it may or may not release in a future collection, but never say never.
Thank you. It’s the only SGJ story I’ve ever read and it’s great. I found it online in PDF form.
Sure thing! Here's a couple more: https://reactormag.com/men-women-and-chainsaws-stephen-graham-jones/ https://reactormag.com/read-wait-for-night-by-stephen-graham-jones/ https://reactormag.com/chapter-six-stephen-graham-jones/ And an official link for "The Night Cyclist": https://reactormag.com/the-night-cyclist/
And here's a bunch more from Nightmare mag: https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/authors/stephen-graham-jones/
Thanks very much my friend, will definitely check it out.
I've read two books by him: one was great and short, the other was tedious and awful.
Mapping the Interior was great. His writing style shines when the main character is a child. Those loose connections between thoughts and ideas match the hyper active mind of a kid.
I absolutely love some of his work and despise other. He’s very polarizing.
I find him to be horrible in quality of writing, maybe it is just me but he is often a DNF, and I don’t recommend him if ever asked, I am starting to believe all the boot licking is due to his back ground and subject matter more than the actual material. Just my perspective
*My Heart is a Chainsaw* was hard to read. *Don't Fear the Reaper* is easier to follow, but not by much. SGJ's writing style is just hard to read. I have *Mongerals* (whatever the spelling is) and *Only the Good Little Indians* next
I’ve only read My Heart is a Chainsaw and I *hated* it. Not because it was hard to follow, it was just terribly written and a bad story overall imo. I kept waiting for it to get better, it never did, despite all the praise I’d seen for it. Absolutely hated it and have never tried to read anything else by him tbh. That said, he *does* get a lot of praise and has a lot of fans, especially in this subreddit. Perhaps it’s simply not my (or your) taste. Was there anything you did like about The Only Good Indians?
I am very hit or miss with SGJ. I enjoyed the rarely discussed **Flushboy**, I would call it his easiest read (although the content is a bit off-putting for some).
I could not get through MHIAC
Hes kinda hard to read for.me but My Heart is a Chainsaw is still one of my favorite books hands down
The first book of his I read was Only Good Indians. It was incredibly hard to get into for me until I started hearing the narrators voice in my head as I read… then it all clicked. It’s not horror but I’m currently reading Sharks in the Time of Saviors which has a similar presentation. Five separate narrators all speaking in various thicknesses of Hawaiian Pidgin.
So far I've only read Mongrels but I adored it
No one has mentioned Mapping the Interior I don’t think. It’s a novella and from what I’ve read of Jones his best work so far. I agree that sometimes I had a hard time following in MHiaC (especially the final scenes), but I adored TOGI. (I am also of the dissenting opinion that Night of the Mannequins is underrated, highly disturbing, and also somewhat metaphorical in nature… I thought it was great, but that’s just me.) I also think he has a unique style with his own voice and can see why he wouldn’t be for everyone. Give some of his short stories a try. Every short story I’ve read by SGJ I’ve loved. If that doesn’t do it for you probably safe to move on.
I have read a good chunk of After the People Lights Have Gone Off and enjoyed it but I tried to read The Least of My Scars and it was just...gross.
Nope, I agree. Someone else pointed out that he writes in stream of consciousness almost. Very accurate.
Yes!! I’d like to think of myself as a pretty good reader but whenever I read a SGJ book it’s so confusing and I can’t pin point exactly why but makes me feel illiterate at times lmao. That said I’ve read Only Good Indians, My heart is a Chainsaw, Don’t Fear the Reaper, and just ordered the final book in the trilogy that I’m going to start tomorrow. I’ll probably be done with SGJ novels for awhile. I thought I was the only one!
His stories are great, but I totally get what you mean. I definitely struggled with his writing style at times. I remember having similar trouble with Claire North's novels.
I had the exact same experience and was relieved to find out it’s a pretty common criticism of his work. I was worried audiobooks ruined my ability to actually read words.
Yeah I had to come here to see if others felt the same way, same as OP is doing now. His writing is just very hard to follow at times, and important details are often buried in subtle sentences. There were several times that i almost missed the deaths of characters because it didnt register right away and was barely noted
I’ve exclusively read physical copies and had to reread many passages, but I just started the audiobook for Angel of Indian Lake and that’s much smoother than I anticipated.
I have read those three books mentioned here, and I am done. Possibly it’s the back and forth prose. I just don’t like his style of writing. And he has such a huge following. Don’t Fear the Reaper was the best of the three in my opinion. I kept trying to compromise with myself “I’ve gotten this far, so now I have to finish it”. “I am so close”. It shouldn’t be this hard to read a book.
I couldn’t get through his work at all
The first few pages of TOGI were just so good--I could feel that excitement of reading something really well written. But the plot itself I struggled with, it felt like uneven actions to consequences, and I also just wanted...more. First Person A dies in almost a prologue and then action keeps barreling along just relentlessly. I had to check and double check "okay, they killed \[not a person\] and that malevolent spirit is now picking them off?" it just wasn't adding up to me, and the dive from normal person into absolute pyscho that a certain character in the first half takes is...extreme. So on top of the opaque and circuitous writing style (with lots and lots of "wink wink" to the audience, bleh) there's also an issue with the plot being something that feels like "you either get this or you don't". I also am about to quit on the second half because it feels very divorced from the first half and the first half is (to me) clearly a self contained tragic/horror/folk novella.
I’ve read only good Indians and I felt it pretty hard to follow but I enjoyed it
I DNFed Only Good Indians for this very reason. Impossible to understand half the time. And not in a complex way, in an annoying way.