It wanted to devastate you with its bleak philosophy and unrelenting violence. Off Season was a white-knuckled descent into the blood-soaked pits of Hell. At first it is hard not to be a little disappointed in how familiar this all seems, but as you read, the book slowly reveals itself to be a much different – and much richer – piece of work. Two steps behind them is Dead River’s law enforcement. Some are killed in the initial attack, others are taken to the cannibals’ lair, and one of the group escapes, working to free their captive friends. Offspring is nearly identical to Off Season in terms of plotting: over the course of one night, a group of friends are terrorized by a pack of feral cannibals living in the Maine wilderness. I say “ultimately” because this isn’t obvious right away. Ketchum has not delivered the sequel to end all sequels here, but he is a smart enough writer that Offspring ultimately falls under the latter category. Better ones – and certainly the best ones – preserve what was wonderful about the original, but explore fresh themes or take the plot in unexpected directions. Off Season found its way back to print, and it’s still his most famous novel, with the possible exception of The Girl Next Door (1989).īut what of its sequel? Most sequels follow a general rule: “the same, but bigger.” These are instantly forgettable. Ketchum wanted to write something that would get his debut back on the shelves. When Offspring was written in 1991, Ketchum was still best known for Off Season, and that had long been out of print.

As slyly self-deprecating as that statement is, he wasn’t entirely joking. But I’ve been trying to go for a slightly higher profile these days.” That’s Jack Ketchum in his Afterword to Overlook Connection Press’ 2005 reprint of Offspring, the sequel to his unforgettable debut novel Off Season (read my review here). Onward and upward always seems a better idea. “I generally don’t like sequels even in the movies.

Off season by jack ketchum