Jeff’s Reviews > Night of the Mannequins > Status Update

Having read King's Danse Macabre immediately before this and having that mini-primer for an homage to Frankenstein, the vision behind this story is apparent to me and I'm impressed with it; still not enjoying it.

The protagonist's voice is written flawlessly and the unreliable narrator aspect is undeniably effective, but the mythology doesn't hold up. In The Only Good Indians I was guessing about the ending, but it seems inevitable here.

So, here's the twist the reviews all highlight. I'm not sure it's a twist if you've ever read SGJ, though. Pretty much the same trick as The Only Good Indians, <spoiler>distract with the supernatural, then make the protagonist a sociopathic murderer.</spoiler>. It's effective, and I don't mind reading Jones in this mode, I just prefer books like Buffalo Hunter and Mongrels that don't feel so nihilistic.

Irresistible opening.