After the People Lights Have Gone Off

By: Stephen Graham Jones

Narrated by: Eric G. Dove

Winner, Best Collection of the Year, This Is Horror

Nominated, Best Collection of the Year, Bram Stoker Awards

Nominated, Best Collection of the Year, Shirley Jackson Awards

The 15 stories in After the People Lights Have Gone Off, by Stephen Graham Jones, explore the horrors and fears of the supernatural and the everyday. Included are two original stories, several rarities and out-of-print narratives, as well as a few "best of the year" inclusions.

In "Thirteen", horrors lurk behind the flickering images on the big screen. "Welcome to the Reptile House" reveals the secrets that hide in our flesh. In "The Black Sleeve of Destiny", a single sweatshirt leads to unexpectedly dark adventures. And the title story, "After the People Lights Have Gone Off", is anything but your typical haunted-house story.

With an introduction by Edgar Award-winner Joe R. Lansdale, After the People Lights Have Gone Off gets under your skin and stays there.

Table of contents:

• Introduction by Joe R. Lansdale
• "Thirteen"
• "Brushdogs"
• "Welcome to the Reptile House"
• "This Is Love"
• "The Spindly Man"
• "The Black Sleeve of Destiny"
• "The Spider Box"
• "Snow Monsters"
• "Doc’s Story"
• "The Dead Are Not"
• "Xebico"
• "Second Chances"
• "After the People Lights Have Gone Off"
• "Uncle"
• "Solve for X"

©2014 Stephen Graham Jones (P)2018 Journalstone

Great book, poor choice for narrator

The story was excellent. However, the narrator was not a good fit for this one. I think he would be great on some other genre.

something for lots of different tastes

Stephen Graham Jones has a riveting writing style and a lot of range. there's something here for many different tastes in horror.

the vocal performance is earnest and consistent.

Love this collection!

I highly recommend this collection for anyone who loves short stories, horror, or just excellent writing. These are far too well written to be dismissed as “genre” fiction.

“Brushdogs” is one of my favourite stories - it’s haunting. I appreciate the way SGJ draws on his Blackfeet cultural heritage in a lot of his writing. To me, some of his best writing comes from that part of his well.

I’m not sure I fully understand the titular story, but I re-read it every year or so and each time I find something new in it.

The final story in this collection is just too brutal for me. I’m writing this review in part to remind *myself* not to listen to it again. I don’t cope with torture well, and this concerns physical and psychological torture so extreme that it leaves me in a very dark place. Not to mention the character! It’s well written - really well written - so if you can go there then it’s worth reading. I just can’t do it again.

Eric G. Dove provides excellent narration.

Weird

Well, what can I say, searched weird books and this was one of the many which were suggested. I was startled at how I related to the mannerisms and internal dialogues of the stories protagonists, meaning they seemed "normal". I can see myself drawing some of the same connections and analogies in non similar situations. I hope there are NO similar real world situations anyway. I enjoyed some stories better than others but was not bored by any. Enjoyable!

an acquired taste

a couple of the short stories were good, the writing is descriptive, which I liked. However, most of the stories didn't hold my attention well.

Excellent stories, not the right narrator

This is a brilliant collection of stories. Raw, real, creepy, and sometimes absolutely gutting, they truly pack a punch, and many are still lingering in my mind.

My only complaint is the narration. It just really didn't lend the life, emotion, and inflection needed to properly convey Stephen Graham Jones' stories.

This book is seemingly impossible to get now in physical form, though, so given my limited options I'm very glad I listened!

Great collection

I had to pick this up after reading The Mongrel, as I was quite interested in Stephen's writing style. His first person stories put you right there in the story, and it's hard to not see his world when you look around. There's a lesson to be learned there for writers. Great stuff.

A wonderful collection

Almost all of the stories deal with loss and realistic hardship in a way that is uniquely strange, emotionally compelling, and well thought out. Stephen Graham Jones has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I'll have to get this in print.

Stephen Graham Jones is on another level

If you’re a fan of the best speculative fiction authors these days — Laird Barron, Gemma Files, John Langan — then you undoubtedly already love Stephen Graham Jones. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this man’s work: enjoy.

One of the best horror collections of the past decade.

An ok experience

I think I might have preferred reading these stories in a traditional book. There were several times when I wanted to go back to see what I missed and it became too much of a hassle to keep rewinding it. I also didn't like the narrator very much, I thought the tone was too upbeat for the eerieness of the stories.