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Synopsis
From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist—perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix.
1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.
Review
A huge, huge thank you to Saga Press for the ARC!
With a catalog as extensive as Stephen Graham Jones’, to say that I Was A Teenage Slasher is the best thing he has written feels rather bold. But, what a force this novel is. A small town in West Texas, Lamesa in 1989 is about how you would imagine. The land is flat, the kids are looking for something fun to do, and the killings have begun. For Tolly Driver, seventeen and a little aimless, this feels not unlike some other strange situations he’s found himself in. That is until he begins to kill, the truth of the matter laid bare in the stark Texas sunshine by his best friend Amber. Much more than your normal slasher story, I Was A Teenage Slasher packs a hefty blow unearthing coming-of-age themes, what it means to live on the fringes of society, and more than anything, the intricacies of love that may even defy slasher rules.
Stephen Graham Jones’ unique voice possesses a wandering storyteller tone, not uncommon to that of hearing a tale from a stranger in a bar. This is especially true of Teenage Slasher with Tolly recounting the violent events that transpired back in 1989. And with Tolly, SGJ has created one of his most interesting characters which is really saying something considering he also created modern horror’s favorite final girl, Jade Daniels. Tolly is kind of a “lost” kid; he’s lost his dad, he doesn’t know where his life is heading, and he often finds himself in less-than-ideal situations. He reads a little aloof and a little reckless, but more than those things, there’s a goodness to Tolly in the face of all this mess. It’s a little hard to tell where SGJ stops and Tolly begins given the afterword of the novel, but, at any rate, he’s a riveting character that in the wrong hands, you would be rooting against, not for. You see, SGJ manages to pull off what seems like the unthinkable on paper, having you actively root for a slasher.
To pinpoint where this story really wins out is hard to say. There isn’t one scene, one storyline that signifies something great. Rather Teenage Slasher is an amalgamation of things that work with an astounding amount of fluidity and surprise. The first ninety pages or so felt like a Mack truck bowling me over with just how quickly things escalate and how much rapport we build with Tolly. It’s the best brand of a horror novel, a deep character study told straight from the horse’s mouth. But do we trust that horse? Dare I say SGJ is pulling a Paul Tremblay here in terms of character ambiguity? And while reliable narrators are a point of contention here, there’s a greater desire to just let the story flow. And flow it does. Despite the languid quality of Tolly’s storytelling (thus SGJ’s), this is a fast-paced novel, one that doesn’t lay off the gas once the engine’s revved. We can ask questions about what really happened later.
I Was A Teenage Slasher is perhaps one of the smartest horror novels my eyes have graced. That’s a striking statement, but effectively turning what we all know to be superhero story into a bloody, violent slasher tale is nothing short of astounding. There’s no aspect of the slasher genre that goes untouched with Tolly’s predicament, not a single facet of slasher rules not observed by SGJ. Many moments felt as though they were glancing over breaking the fourth wall, immersing us so deeply in Lamesa, Texas, and wondering how the hell this situation was going to conclude. Just when it seems this genre can’t be explored any further, here comes SGJ to turn the whole thing on its head. The rules by which Tolly must play are ingrained with that of the genre sparking lot of action, but there’s no shortage of heart here either. Sure, this novel would be stellar with its slasher bravado alone, yet SGJ injects so much emotional intelligence into this story, the action seemingly falls away at times. This blend of violence and love, heartache and growth, begs to ask if this is even a slasher at all, rather a bona fide tragedy.
Utterly heartbreaking, compulsively readable, and brilliant in every sense, I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones solidifies his place not only as a slasher great, but also as a remarkable literary force to be reckoned with. Every page of this novel drips with character and conflict fueled by a plot that places readers squarely in the slasher’s seat. Yet, this is much more than just that story, experimenting with feelings of “otherness,” the morality of being this type of outsider, and who knows your heart best. It’s a tragedy, a love story, a blood-soaked fever dream that will linger for an indeterminate amount of time.
I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones releases on July 16th from Saga Press.
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