It feels like author Stephen Graham Jones is on a mission to revolutionise the slasher sub-genre.
The critically lauded My Heart is a Chainsaw was a swerve, but with his latest I Was A Teenage Slasher, he has gone into melancholic territory.
Sure we may have seen things from a killer’s POV before, but has it ever been so heartbreaking?
Jones explores the curse of being a slasher killer, and all the baggage that comes with it.
This is a life of service, just not like being in the Police or the Military, in fact, it’s probably the flip side of that.
I Was A Teenage Slasher follows Tolly Driver, a rather aimless 17-year-old, who after a fateful night at a local pool party has his world turned upside down and his destiny changed forever. It’s Tolly’s relationship with best friend Amber that is the heartbeat of this story, as they try to navigate his new-found slasher status, and figure out if there is a way out of this scenario, preferably with all limbs intact and hearts still beating.
This novel feels like it breaks new ground and takes the slasher tropes and flips them on their head. It won’t fully resonate with everyone, but you have to admire the balls of Jones to attempt this.
Once you fully understand I Was A Teenage Slasher, this is an instant page-turner, as you will constantly wonder where it will go next.
Jones is playing his own game now, and it’s up to other keen slasher novelists to keep up.
I Was A Teenage Slasher is available now in various book formats from Titan Books.
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