#Jade Daniels trilogy

[finalgirrls]

A playlist for one of the best literary horror girlies: Jade Daniels from the Jade Daniels trilogy (My Heart is a Chainsaw, Don’t Fear the Reaper, and The Angel of Indian Lake) written by Stephen Graham Jones.

I had to make this as I read an advance copy of The Angel of Indian Lake (out later this year!!) with a moodboard because I’m well into my feelings about the series and Jade.

[gigantomachylesbian]

Stephen Graham Jones could write Beverly Marsh but Stephen King WISHES he could write Jade Daniels

[destroyscout]

[technicolorrelays]

[transfigurationsgonnacome]

The Angel of Indian Lake, Stephen Graham Jones

[buildarocketboys]

Truly gonna have to make a post promoting/begging people to read the Indian Lake Trilogy when I've finished the final book, aren't I? Not enough (read: basically zero) people have read this book and they NEED to GOD I am DYING over here

[do-you-ship-it-polls]

Do you ship it?

[lucyfrostblade]

I need I was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones to be released yesterday. I cannot explain how excited i am for that book

[incorrectindianlake]

Jade: Just trust me. Have I ever put you in an unsafe or uncomfortable situation?

Letha: All the time.

Jade: Then you should be used to it by now.

[hotpinkstaples]

one thing i appreciate with 'my heart is a chainsaw' is how realistic the protagonist is, cuz yeah, at seventeen you're the dumbest bitch on the planet but u think ur oh so smart thinking u can just witness a tragedy and not really be a part of it bc your too mentally ill and fucked up to recognize that not everything's about you. and it's refreshing as heck bc them basic ass protags is so fucking boring, but not my niece jade. she's so fucking mentally ill and stupid that she doesn't even realize she's crushing on her final girl. dumb ass bitch (affectionate)

[horror-thriller-brackets]

Propaganda:

Margaret: Her log has something to tell you. She's also flipping your light switch on and off.

[sofipitch]

Hi my name is Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way and I have long ebony black hair (that's how I got my name) with purple streaks and red-

[luthorcorp1313]

I finished The Angel of Indian Lake recently and there were so many feelings. I was originally just going to say a couple of things and it got away from me so I just did it this way. If you want to read my rambling, cool, if not, long story short: Stephen Graham Jones is fucking awesome, Jade Daniels is 100% my Final Girl of all final girls, and the Indian Lake Trilogy is such a good read on so many levels so everyone should read it.

There is an amazing amount of depth and heart to it that you just don't usually see in horror fiction and on top of that, the trilogy starts out as a total love letter to 80s slashers and final girls, with the real surprise being the protagonist, half-Blackfeet and full outcast Jade Daniels, the rebel girl who is always in trouble for something and has memorized everything about every slasher film (up to that point) while praying for a real slasher to hit her town of Proofrock, Idaho, but be careful what you wish for, right? Love her!! Lots of subplot about the colonization and takeover of Native lands, as SGJ is a Native American writer and that figures into his work. So much depth. Anyway, did I say this was the short version??? Just read the books! 😂🔪🖤🫀🩸

[peerless-cucumber]

has anyone else read stephen graham jones don't fear the reaper yet

[buildarocketboys]

Hurt/Comfort Bingo Fills Masterpost for @sweetspicybingo

1. Punch in the face to teddy bear: wanna sleep on every piece of fuzz and stuffing that comes out of you (Fall Out Boy, peterick, 2,153 words)

2. Mind break to "You can rest now.": one more off-key anthem, one more troubled soul (Fall Out Boy, peterick, YBC-verse, 2,653 words)

3. Self harm to words of affirmation: troubled thoughts and the self-esteem to match (Fall Out Boy, peterick, ED tw, 2,587 words)

4. Cheating to "Can I give you a hug?": behind my back I already am (Fall Out Boy, peterick, 2,639 words)

5. "I can't breathe." to gentle touch: alone together (Fall Out Boy, peterick, 1,058 words)

6. Hypothermia to good night's sleep/emergency room to "It's okay, let it out.": so damn cold, like twenty below (The Indian Lake Trilogy, Jade/Letha, 955 words)

7. Touch starved to chicken noodle soup (alt hurt prompt used): like a heart first-aid kit (Glee, Blam, 2,788 words)

8. Missed call to bridal carry (alt comfort prompt used): speak now (Fall Out Boy, peterick, 1,242 words)

[mylifeinfiction]

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

Scars proved you lived.

I admittedly have a pretty serious love/hate relationship with Jade Daniels. Her papers throughout My Heart Is a Chainsaw really tested my patience, and her immaturity throughout the events of that book seemed a bit too much. But the person she begins to grow into by the end of Chainsaw and throughout the events of the all-around masterpiece that is the middle book of this trilogy, Don't Fear the Reaper , is so interesting and complete that I couldn't help but fall in love with Jade Daniels and every blood-soaked thing for which she stands.

"...the cool thing about trilogies is you get to use every last part of the buffalo."

Stephen Graham Jones's The Angel of Indian Lake isn't quite the all-around horror masterpiece that Reaper is, but it is a wholly worthy final chapter in The Indian Lake Trilogy, or: The Savage History of Proofrock, Idaho. Throughout the trilogy, we've seen Jade Daniels go from immature, delusional slasher fantasist, to begrudgingly badass final girl, to hesitant horror historian. Best to call it the The Violent Coming-of-Age of a Reluctantly Willing Final Girl. It's an authentically compelling character arc that relishes the romance of the final girl without ever shying away from the traumatic weight of the role and the cyclical nature of violence throughout the history America.

She's right. In the rock/paper/scissors of horror, chainsaw always wins. Cops and guns don't work against slashers, trucks and fire are big fat fails, but a chainsaw? If you've got a chainsaw, you're pretty damn golden.

The Angel of Indian Lake ties the trilogy together so beautifully, so viciously, that even its flaws are fascinating. SGJ makes the risky decision to close out Jade's story by throwing us headfirst into her mind, writing Angel in an (often stream-of-conscious) first-person narrative. Jade's mind is a chaotic, damaged landscape that can often create pacing issues due to her unfocused, rambling narration, but it also gives us a deeper look into the root of these horrific events, bringing the many disjointed storylines together in a brutally bloody, emotionally exhausting and thematically cathartic manner.

And the plotting itself is even more risky, bringing together every last piece of this epic horror saga in a batshit crazy onslaught of slaughter. But thankfully, SGJ's vision is complete, and he conducts these exceedingly insane displays of slasher carnage in a way that only ever enriches the overarching themes; and more than makes up for the lulls between. The climactic massacre is so dam wild, and I loved every bizarre, messy minute of it. Jade and those she loves are seriously put through the wringer, here, but it all comes together for such a fitting, bittersweet ending that brings Jade to exactly where she needs to be.

Despite those pacing issues and some moments of feeling completely lost among all those players and plot-points, SGJ sticks the landing, delivering a third installment that does indeed "mash that pedal to the floor until it gets stuck", and thankfully never loses traction.

It's supposed to mean Proofrock's slasher days are over.

8/10

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.