Killer on the Road / The Babysitter Lives

Killer on the Road / The Babysitter Lives | Stephen Graham Jones

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Well thank goodness I loved ONE of the two stories! Think it's pretty clear by the cover I chose which one it is...😏 This is a long review full of spoilers for what is actually two short novels in one book, so be prepared! 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? I started with Killer on the Road, and loved it, as will most likely be the case for most final girl-focused horror stories by this author. I really thought The Babysitter Lives was going to fall under that same ending, but, and maybe that title should have read more as a clue than a reassurance, it doesn't feel so much like a final girl story because it's not clear at the end if Charlotte survives the neverending nightmare she's caught up in. (edited) 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 3/? Back to Killer on the Road:
I love that though we start with a straight-up yucky scene with a serial killer making a name for himself, we spend most of our time with Harper and her dwindling group, and it's left to the reader to try and figure out on this wild night who actually had the higher body count. Certainly, long term and removing accidents that went worse, Bucketmouth is the serial killer, but it was jaw-dropping to witness the chain 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 4/? of events Harper &co got caught up in. Harper started the book trying to escape in one way and finds herself running from several something elses soon after.
I appreciate Harper's struggle, with younger sister in tow, to try and find the right action even as attempted evasion of responsibility morphs into the commission of criminal acts. Add to that the recurring recognition of her Indigenous status as likely to garner less aid, belief, or 1mo

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Robotswithpersonality 5/? sympathy from law enforcement, how that plays out in a horror setting, amping the stakes. The shattered, grotesque road trip the perfect background to both a seemingly endless pursuit and to her and Dillon's casting memories back to absent trucker fathers, what they loved about them and their trucks, how they retain knowledge of that trade, those vehicles, wishing them home. 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 6/? Bucketmouth with his cannibalism-based shape shifting and its particular rules is formidable and disgusting and relentless but not insurmountable, exactly what is needed to drive the pacing, to allow for just a bit of repartee, and a feeling of matched foes in amidst the gut-wrenching gore and horror.
The emotional impact of the ending, the meet up but not detailed explanation or reconciliation with the mom, being Harper's last moments with 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 7/? her, the closure with her 'father', finding out who actually survived the night, without a clue where they'll go next, it's just the right stopping point.
Now, The Babysitter Lives...
It seems odd to say after reading the first story, but I think it was just too ever-expandingly horrific for me to want to stay involved. Towards the end I could feel myself getting less invested, a little exhausted, even if the author's creativity wasn't. (edited) 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 8/? This one gets pretty surreal. And there's some quality, tragic reveals.
It's inventive, but even if Harper's crew is getting devastated, she spends so little relative time alone, while Charlotte in her story spends most of that time either locked in a shadow world or trying to look after two young kids without anyone to turn to, which no doubt adds to the feeling of loneliness, on top of which, the replacement of the lover's face, 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 9/? while threatened in Killer on the Road, actually happens (in a believable figment way) in The Babysitter Lives. A lot of despair, a lot of body horror, a lot of scurrying around without progress. As much as I can skim a gory scene in a horror novel, it's really not possible to 'skip the stressful part' when it's basically the whole plot.
And yeah, I think the author mentions in acknowledgements the thin sliver of hope, but it's really, really 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 10/? thin, and in no way resolved, by the end of the story.
This story also had some icky stuff that rides the line of sexual assault (guy records video of touching himself which gay teen girl finds, and connects that he touched the same teen babysitter in greeting right after, possible bodily fluids involved; evil ghost taking over gay teen girl has sex in one reality with same guy - using her body without consent - though it's unclear if she'll (edited) 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 11/? ever get back in it🤢).
I appreciate that the Indigenous identity of the young female protagonist is not just mentioned but a strong point in both stories, not just Harper's concern in Killer on the Road, shared by her friends, that any consequences will be harsher, any help less likely due to this, but also that Bucketmouth's lore/weakness features it as well. 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 12/? Charlotte is put in an uncomfortable but no doubt relatable position of navigating an offensive, appropriative Halloween costume while interacting with a young, white child who is parroting everything their parents, who have an economic influence over how Charlotte might respond, have said or implied. And Tia is very obvious in her opening salvo of mocking Charlotte while taking over her body in the real world that she is aware of the 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 13/? appropriation as it echoes back to the costume.
For all that the supernatural plays heavy in these stories, the real world intrudes with its own ugliness.
Indigenous single mothers also feature in both stories, and while they are strong and reliable role models in both, neither seems to have a happy ending in store. 😕 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 14/? Perhaps that has more to do with the imminent maturation of the teenage girls in question. Both are about-to-head-off-to-college/move-out age, could it be so psychologically, brutally simplistic as cutting the last tie to home from a narrative perspective? 🤷🏼‍♂️ It's almost nicer to think it was for the further development of the main character's independence than just to add to the body count and associated trauma, though those come as a 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 15/15 package deal. 🫣
⚠️cannibalism, gore, body horror, racism, SA 1mo

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