Night of the Mannequins: A Tor.com Original by Stephen Graham Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUINS isn’t what I expected it to be, but like so many of the works of Stephen Graham Jones, it pulled me in right from the start regardless. Jones’s mastery of narrative voice is in the spotlight here. You’re so deep in Sawyer’s head from the get-go that it’s almost like a magic trick how Jones is able to do it without you noticing. His command of characterization and detail while using an economy of words continues to amaze me. As with most of his fiction, there’s a deep, underlying sense of tragedy throughout, a sadness that seeps under your skin. Jones always writes something special, and even if this novella isn’t what you think it is, it’ll stick with you long after you read its stunning finale.
