Hey there, GoH friends! Dustin here again with some more Recent Reads coming at you. For this one, I’m giddy with glee as I tackle my favorite subgenre of horror yet again, the slasher. Here, we dive into a sequel to a YA slasher favorite, as well as an earlier book by one of my favorite and underrated authors. Let’s go!
Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo’s Revenge by Adam Cesare
Going into Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo’s Revenge, I had several ideas running in my head about how it was all going to play out. Happily, none of what I was expecting came to light. Instead, the book was even better than I imagined. This one steps up the game in terms of the concepts introduced in the first book, as well as the carnage and insanity present.
The sequel to the hit YA slasher by Adam Cesare, Clown in a Cornfield, Frendo’s Revenge takes place one year in the aftermath of the first book’s massacre. The survivors I know and love are left to pick up the pieces as a new enemy emerges, leaving our survivors and their new friends to fend against two types of sinister forces.
I have to be incredibly vague here because I don’t want to spoil the fun of this book. It’s definitely going to piss certain people off with the subject matter that it tackles but I’d say it’s spot-on in the social commentary department. The book takes a while to get going and multiple character perspectives may prove to be challenging but in this slow-burn, they stir the pot before s**t hits the fan. The threats in this book aren’t just from the kind of psychos in Part 1. Here, it’s the corruption of facts that spur on our villains. The churning of confusing, misleading, and inconsistent information gets people riled up, leading to some carnage and chaos that bring The Purge films to mind. And my goodness, these books may be labeled YA but the vile is anything but. Injuries and deaths sustained come off as super painful and gruesome with the detail that the author puts into it.
I mentioned earlier that my expectations were shattered, and this is true. For a slasher sequel, I found the book largely unpredictable, and this air of anything-can-happen had me truly worried for our characters. This is especially as we get new characters who get just as much development as our established ones.
Overall, I love the direction that Clown in a Cornfield 2 chose to go. It’s not going to be a decision that everyone likes but I love how it makes sense with what we know happened in the first one. After all, hate and bigotry don’t just go away, and don’t just come from one place.
Season’s Bleedings by Bryan Michael Ellis
I’m on a roll once again with slasher reads! I can’t help it, it’s one of my favorite subgenres of horror! After the last read, I wanted to keep the ball rolling and go for another slasher read. I absolutely loved Bryan Michael Ellis’ Still He Kills — like instantly loved it so much that he became an instant-read author for me. That book had a beautiful love story at its core but Mr. Ellis isn’t afraid to break a few hearts in the service of a slasher story with teeth. How does its predecessor hold up?
Season’s Bleedings tells the story of a family coming together for the holidays from far and wide. Personal dramas burst and bubble at the scene while a twisted killer picks off the members one by one.
Of course, if you know your slashers, you’ve probably heard all the premises a slasher story could have. The author has a few tricks up his sleeve that make Season’s Bleedings stand out: character development and merciless kills. Admittedly, I had a hard time juggling the multiple characters, which was a very slight detriment to my experience. However, in due time, I’ve come to know the family a bit better, including the personal battles that they face. A plotline that really spoke to me is that of Sam and Branden, who basically are our main leads. They’re a gay couple and while they’re out to their immediate family, certain members of the clan are finding out for the first time. It spoke to me because, as a gay man myself, I can imagine the tension of coming out to your loved ones. It also speaks to me because I am single and these two are such a darn cute and hot couple. Since this is a slasher story, and since Bryan Michael Ellis is in it for inclusive LGBTQ+ representation, there are some pretty spicy scenes in this book that I absolutely gobbled up. It felt at times almost like a grindhouse-type of slasher with how explicit it gets. Not just with the sex but also with the gore.
Season’s Bleedings boasts a number of inventive and gnarly kills, thanks to the large body count. When the book crossed a line, it meant to me that all bets are off and that no one is safe, but that didn’t mean I still winced as I read about characters I wanted to live. As I said, this book is merciless, even to the nice characters, so that is a testament to the author’s skill for me. There are even callbacks to beloved holiday and winter-set slashers like Black Christmas, and even possibly some deep cuts like 1983’s Curtains. The slasher fan in me just screamed inside with glee at these moments!
At the end of the day, I think Mr. Ellis’ Still He Kills is where he really came into his own so far as a horror writer but this predecessor — Season’s Bleedings, it’s got balls, it served c*nt, and the whole shebang. Sure, I had personal trouble remembering everyone but I come to know them soon enough as the plot thickens and the blood coagulates.
And that’s about it for this one, friends! We didn’t actually get Clown in a Cornfield 2 here in the Philippines through my usual outlet, Fully Booked, so I had to do a special order with them to get it here. Season’s Bleedings is something I got through Amazon. Both books should be available there! Stay awesome and have a good one.
*Affiliate link
Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo’s Revenge by Adam Cesare is available to purchase here.*
Season’s Bleedings by Bryan Michael Ellis is available to purchase here.*
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Dustin is a horror fan and sometimes short story writer who hails from the Philippines. He likes a lot of the horror genre but usually goes for slashers and arthouse/slowburn stuff. Currently, he’s trying to make up for lost time in the horror literature world by digesting as many horror books as he can.