Three Miles Past

by Stephen Graham Jones

A collection of three powerfully disturbing novellas by multiple award-winning author, Stephen Graham Jones.

There are lines that probably shouldn't be crossed, doors that should stay shut, thoughts that shouldn't be considered. In these three novellas by Stephen Graham Jones, the dead talk, ancient evil opens its eyes, and that guy across the parking lot, he's watching you, and has been for a while now.

Lock the door, tell yourself it's nothing, turn the radio up. It won't matter. You're already three miles past where you meant to stop.

“My hat is off to Stephen Graham Jones, because he is the kind of author that makes the frustrated writer inside every book reviewer cringe with self-doubt.” -PopMatters

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Novella, Indigenous, Fiction, Collections, Anthologies

234 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 2012

About the author

Stephen Graham Jones is the NYT bestselling author thirty-five or so books. He really likes werewolves and slashers. Favorite novels change daily, but Valis and Love Medicine and Lonesome Dove and It and The Things They Carried are all usually up there somewhere. Stephen lives in Boulder, Colorado. It's a big change from the West Texas he grew up in.

Reviews

[Char]

THREE MILES PAST is a wickedly disturbing collection of 3 novellas by one of the masters of the horror genre, Stephen Graham Jones.

All three tales here are unique, strange and unsettling, to say the least:

INTERSTATE LOVE AFFAIR is about a nasty, nasty human named William. And dogs, it's also about dogs.

NO TAKEBACKS is about the creation of an application that takes on a life of its own.

THE COMING OF NIGHT was...I don't even know what to say. Seed pods, hand lotions and hotel rooms all play a part.

I listened to the new audio version, narrated by Joshua Saxon. Joshua has quickly become one of my favorite narrators, right up there with Ray Porter and Scott Brick.

This collection is impressive as hell. These kinds of tales are not what I've come to expect from Stephen Graham Jones. As a result, I have come to the conclusion that this man can write anything, in any genre, and it will be good. (Even in the very few stories from him that I didn't care for, I have to and must always accept that the writing is phenomenal.)

Highly recommended, especially for fans of extreme horror and complete darkness.

*I bought this audio with my hard-earned cash and this is my honest feedback.*

[Matt M]

Man oh man this little collection of three novellas was a trip.

The first story, “Interstate Love Affair” rivals his novel The Least of My Scars as one of his most disturbing stories. It’s told from the POV of a serial killer with a unique way of disposing of the bodies. It is unnerving how well SGJ describes this one and if you cannot read anything involving animals, you might want to avoid this one.

“No Takebacks” is a strange one but possibly my favorite of the three. It’s close with this and “Interstate Love Affair”. “No Takebacks” is one of those liminal space weirdness stories that will get under your skin. It’s a slow burn and I thought I knew where it was going and I was sooooo wrong but in a great way.

The last story, “The Coming of Night”, is another serial killer story, but this time told in second person to really put you in the shoes of the killer. This is a super psychological story that will have you questioning what is real and what isn’t.

Overall, this is a really strong collection from SGJ, and while I think some of his other collections are stronger, this is a must-read for fans of his work. Just check your trigger warnings first.

[Emily Carter-Dunn]

DNF at 49%

I just could not keep going with this collection. I love horror stories, particularly novellas, but this really disappointed me.

The first story made no sense for the most part, but did gradually clear up when the author spelt out what was going on. I was not impressed with the story though. It involved animal abuse and sexual horror which really isn't my thing and I didn't understand the ending. It was just weird.

The second story centred around an app, but I didn't really understand the concept behind it or why they downloaded it onto someone else's phone. The actual app may have been spooky 10 years ago, but a "computer whizz" like the girl mentioned would know what it was. I gave up halfway through this story as it was boring and didn't make any sense.

[Lisa]

The first story in this was awesome and disgusting. I loved it and it’s the first of his that genuinely fucked me up. (i’ve got a lot more ground to cover) the other two were a bit disjointed but still forever amazed at the quality of writing SGJ produces.

[Estevam (Impish Reviews)]

This whole book is interesting concepts garbled into stories that just makes you go: "What the actual hell i just read?".
That normally is how i define some of this author books, some like least of my scars are brilliant but he drops the ball hard on this one it is really, really hard to follow the stories, this one is a confused three stars, maybe two and a half, don't know.

[Neofytos Kaltzidis]

This book made me feel like an idiot, I have no idea what I just read...

[Dana]

4.5 stars. Nobody writes dark and depraved madness like Stephen Graham Jones.

[Meredith]

Definitely content warnings for violence/goriness. I actually didn't finish the last story - it was not working for me (plus SGJ is kind of at the edge of my tolerance for horror). I liked the author's notes for the stories and appreciated the insight into his writing and how he thinks about things.

[unstable.books]

This collection of three short stories leaned ALL the way into fucked up and I loved every word. Thank you so much to Open Road Media for providing me a copy!

[Donald Armfield]

I received a free copy of "Three Miles Past" from Nightscape books in exchange for review. And picking SGJ's book just recognizing his name was a pick I didn't regret.

"Interstate Love Affair" is Highway to Hell murders just pooring out over a stretch of highway out some where like Nevada.

"The Coming of Night" is told like a choose your own adventure story. A murderer's survivalist that Jones takes to another level of must read entertainment.

I will be sure to read more from Stephen Graham Jones.

[Kelby Losack]

How does a story mostly about phone app coding make my chest hurt? Probably the same way a story about roadkill makes me want to call my dad and offer up so many apologies. Stephen Graham Jones always delivers the goods--always--and I've read a good chunk of his extensive bibliography, so it's not lightly when I say this is some of his most hard-hitting work. Don't sleep on Three Miles Past. Pick it up and dive in.

[Boden Steiner]

You'll be looking over your shoulder, in your rearview, maybe a little sideways at your dog, not feeding him for a few days, just in case. The title is rural legend, interstate legend anyway. Jones either made it up or heard it whispered under cigarettes in a quiet truckstop. Believe what you want.

Full review forthcoming.

[Kent]

This book was great. Jones has got it all going on. Another genius out of Texas. I don't want to give anything up people, suffice to say, get a hold of this as soon as you can.

[Amanda Hubbard]

I hated this book. If I could give it 0 stars, I would. Horribly written and just gross.

[Erica Summers]

Sincerely one of the most chilling collections I've ever read. SGJ currently holds the title of my number one favorite author of all time because his work is terrifying and reads like poetry. Something hard to explain. This book as three long short stories. The first chilled me to the bone. I had to stop reading at one point and pick up a few days later (which never ever happens to me. Might even be the very first time). The second story is well written but not really my style plotwise. And the third story was so haunting and bizarre that I burned through it in one long sitting because I just couldn't stop and put the book down. Probably my favorite single author collection to date. Bravo!!!

[sydney | books + cats || thebookishcatmom]

The first story was disgusting and wholly awesome and written with SGJ's signature horror elements. I couldn't stop reading the first one, i quite literally DEVOURED it. Then the second story did nothing for me, unfortunately. I think it was meant as more of a metaphorical horror story, and while i can definitely appreciate that, i was mostly here for more body horror & gore, not so much psychological. The last story was more reminiscent of the first and kind of melded psychological with body horror. It was also giving major "psycho" vibes, which i believe was the whole point for sure, but the lack of emotion was just not for me. it felt monotone and read that way. maybe in another headspace i'd have enjoyed it more, but i just wasn't as excited to read it as i was for the first story.

[Jeff Wait]

Three novellas, each around 50 pages, each giving a different kind of fright, and each carrying its own as incredible short fiction. The middle one -- about an app with free consequences -- is the weakest of the three, but it makes up for it by being the most fun and most teen-hangout-y. It's like an intermission between the serial killer intensity of the other two. The third and final story uses second-person narration in a cool way, while the first one gives you a really sick and twisted mind to observe (and pairs well with Killer on the Road). (That was all out of order and that's how it's going to be). SGJ can do it all. Here's three more things.

[Lezlie The Nerdy Narrative]

This is a collection of 3 novellas: the first one I had a very difficult time getting through because of the dog element, the second one I loved and it scared the pewp out of me, the third one was okay.

If you're new to Stephen Graham Jones, I'd put this aside for favor of another of his pieces. Save this one for last if you're like me and intent on reading the entire backlog - if you're popcorning around, skip it.

[Snoop Lannister]

good stuff yet again, i think im starting to hear his voice and understanding where his turns are coming from. love the upsetting imagery and the ideas are really cool and would do well on film. favorite one was probably the first story holy live in my head will ya

[Michelle {Book Hangovers}]

on the way

[Escapereality4now]

RTC

[Mike Wallace]

"The Coming of Night" really is the star of this book of short stories by Stephen Graham Jones. Gruesome and far-out. An amazing piece of writing.

4 Stars ****

[Stacy]

4.75⭐ Absolutely what you would expect from SGJ. Dark, demented, and disgusting. Perfectly disturbing in every way possible.

[Michael Lasco]

Some truly poor editing here. Although the ideas were interesting, a lot of the writing was garbled.

[Summer]

I received a free copy of this title from a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

There are plenty of synopsis so I'm just going to get into the meat of my review....

The first story is probably my favorite and the most thought-out and the most chilling. The writing is a little disjointed and difficult to follow, but it's okay- I rather enjoyed it because most of it is in the presence of the mentally-disturbed protagonist.

The second story was the weakest. The plot was uninteresting, and the characters were flat and boring. I didn't care about what happened to any of them. The choppy style like the first story continues here, but it doesn't help the story at all. Instead it just made it more confusing. By the end, I wasn't sure what I was even supposed to be scared of.

The third story was, in my opinion, just okay. I wasn't a huge fan of the second-person/first-person switching, but after a few pages of getting in the groove, it was passable. There's a significant level of gore, and suspense that really made this one stand out for me.

Overall, an entertaining book of novellas. I look forward to seeing Jones grow as an author, because he clearly has talent.... this collection isn't worth writing home about though.

[Cheryl]

Three horrific vignettes

Three nasty, macabre little tales:

INTERSTATE LOVE AFFAIR
William is one sick "puppy." You will never look at doggie roadkill the same again.

My favorite of the three - truly cringeworthy.

NO TAKEBACKS
The next time you pick up that new app for your smartphone or tablet, think about the creators of that app - and wonder what they were thinking/experiencing as they tested it. Their creation might have got away from them.

Maybe it's because I'm not into gaming or coding but this was my least favorite of the book.

THE COMING OF NIGHT
A serial killer finds that all victims aren't what they appear to be. Watch out for seed pods - and hand lotion in hotel rooms.

This slasher tale with a "twist" was great but still liked INTERSTATE LOVE AFFAIR more.

I appreciated the author's story notes on the three tales. They were enlightening.

[Nathan Holic]

Continuing my love-hate relationship with Stephen Graham Jones…

He’s so damn talented, and can write a mean story, but too often surrenders to the worst impulses of voice, to the point where he thinks he’s saying something, or has said something clearly, but really the reader has no idea what the hell has happened or what to visualize. We get “vibes,” and disturbing images bracketed by action that is indecipherable.

I’m sure I’ll love the next book of his that I read, but this didn’t work at all for me.

[Mike]

Kept thinking of King's "Full Dark, No Stars" while reading this. For the darkness. Would be interesting to read them as companions.

[ri]

I should have known that the day would come when I read a work by SGJ that I disliked. I had a really hard time choosing between 2 and 3 stars for this one - I wish I could rate this 2.5 on goodreads. I settled on 2 because although I really can not deny that this collection of stories was well written, they were much grittier than I expected and I personally really did not enjoy reading them. As my friend said when I texted him about this collection - "Even the best have to fumble sometimes." That pretty accurately sums up my feeling about Three Miles Past.

Interstate Love Song - this is probably the story that I think is most well written, and the one I liked the least. I don't enjoy reading about violence against women or sexual horror and it was hard to read a story from the POV of somebody who perpetrates that, so I really really disliked reading this story. This is maybe personal taste, and the MC did get what was coming to him in the end, but I still really did not enjoy this one.

No Takebacks - This was more like the other stories by SGJ that I am familiar with. It also felt almost out of place in this short story collection, as it was sandwiched between two short stories about extreme violence. I enjoyed it, although I still would not say it is one of my favorite SGJ works that I have read. It is hard for me to separate my experience reading this story from the experience of reading the other two stories in the collection, since I didn't take breaks between reading them. Overall this one was the easiest read and maybe the one I enjoyed the most despite being, in my opinion, the weakest story writing-wise.

The Coming of Night - I don't have much to say about this one. This story skewed slightly splatterpunk which is a horror subgenre I have really mixed feelings about. The POV of this one was really interesting - I haven't read a lot of works in second person POV outside of TTRPGs, but I wasn't very interested in the actual story and disliked reading the extreme violence through the eyes of the main character/"you". Again, this is maybe just personal taste? And I don't dislike reading violence or gore generally so I'm not sure what was so different about the stories in this collection, other than the MCs/narrators being... violent/depraved/unpleasant to read.

Overall I find this short story collection really hard to rate. It's difficult for me to separate my enjoyment of reading these (or lack thereof) and the actual quality of the stories. I also am trying to keep in mind that the point of horror is to make you uncomfortable - and the first and last stories in this collection absolutely succeeded in doing that. I was uncomfortable to the point that I stopped enjoying them. So.. I don't know. I'm glad that I am finished with this collection and can move on to something else.

[A]

A set of three truly unsettling and at times disturbing novellas, this collection is no-holds-barred, raw, gritty SGJ. When you dive into this dark murky water, don't expect to come back up the same person.

All of these stories seemed to riff on ideas found in other works by Jones, like they are nightmares he can't get out of his head, so he's decided to pollute our dreams too. Can't say I blame him.

Interstate Love Affair: I thought I really hated this story, right up until I didn't. It gave me PTSD flashbacks of The Least of My Scars, which is the only Jones book I have had trouble stomaching, just for the gross derangement of it, which I think in the long run, is really a compliment. But it really goes all the way past that line of what's right so that it can slap you in the face with the ending. I promise, it's worth it. Readers of The Only Good Indians may see a parallel between these.

No Takebacks: Probably the trippiest story of the set (though it's had to say since they are all pretty trippy), this one has that geeky weirdness that infests The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti, but where that one skews into the absurd, this one is just clearly scary. I recently watched Skinamarink and that weirdness aligns with this weirdness, all hallways and camera angles and hauntings.

The Coming of Night: A missing X-Files episode if ever there was one, this piece delves into body horror and conspiracy with bad stuff happening in hotel rooms. All you really need to know is this: "Something was crawling up your esophagus. Hundreds of little wet feet, scrabbling. Leathery eggshells in your gut, left behind."

If/when you make it to the end, be sure to check out Jones's story notes. Always interesting to see what's going on behind the curtain and how writers deal with their own fears through writing. I'm not saying you can cure your fear of turtles, but maybe?