Joyride in Splatterpunk

Mar 24, 2011 Kasia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ketchum is quite satisfying when I reach for his stories; the horror and gore are based on things that with some stretch of really bad luck could really happen to someone which he balances on that too close to comfort crossing line perfectly. Joyride has a few murderers in it and some you hate and despise and the others you root for, crazy yes, you do want some of the characters to be okay, the story is twisted and even though it’s a good read it’s not his most visceral. This goes easy on the us Ketchum is quite satisfying when I reach for his stories; the horror and gore are based on things that with some stretch of really bad luck could really happen to someone which he balances on that too close to comfort crossing line perfectly. Joyride has a few murderers in it and some you hate and despise and the others you root for, crazy yes, you do want some of the characters to be okay, the story is twisted and even though it’s a good read it’s not his most visceral. This goes easy on the usual Ketchum gore and focuses on speedy shock and a thriller to keep the reader alert thought the tale, as usual there is more than one story line going on and sooner or later they join for an interesting ending. This was originally published under the title of “Road Kill” in the nineteen nineties in the UK and the flavor of the story reflects the place and time of its publishing, you get the darkness and the battle between good and evil or in this case evil and lesser evil based on the characters and who’s on top versus on who’s more of a mad man chopping and killing like in his previous works, here the mental games take over the pain of the flesh that he can make real very easily.

Howard is a sick young man on the killing spree of his life, traveling with him is Carol and Lee, you know why he takes them when you start the story and absorb their sticky and stressful backgrounds. He takes them on a ride but in this case the journey is more important than the destination, it’s either them or random innocents who will get their share of bad luck for the day, Ketchum makes this an addictive read that’s hard to put down and one that stays in the memory for a while. You pick who you root for, both sides have their black acts and it doesn’t take too long for some very bad things to start happening to some random good people and a few damaged souls in need of a new start. This was a fast and easy read, not the most potent from Ketchum but then again this is the same man who wrote Off Spring which was the most insanely gross and intense book ever in a good way if you love horror, so perhaps it’s not such a bad thing.
- Kasia S.
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Jun 30, 2025 Pisces51 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2025

JOYRIDE [1994] By Jack Ketchum
My Review 5.0 Stars

I read Ketchum’s 1994 novel “Joyride” the end of June as a Buddy Read with two of my closest Goodreads friends. The novel has an interesting history, originally published by Berkley Publishing Group and initially released as “Road Kill” in the UK. The book we read was a reprint by 47 North published in the Summer of 2010 titled “Joyride”. The three of us read this novel by Jack Ketchum over three decades after he wrote it.

Ketchum is credited with JOYRIDE [1994] By Jack Ketchum
My Review 5.0 Stars

I read Ketchum’s 1994 novel “Joyride” the end of June as a Buddy Read with two of my closest Goodreads friends. The novel has an interesting history, originally published by Berkley Publishing Group and initially released as “Road Kill” in the UK. The book we read was a reprint by 47 North published in the Summer of 2010 titled “Joyride”. The three of us read this novel by Jack Ketchum over three decades after he wrote it.

Ketchum is credited with pioneering the subgenre of Extreme Horror though defining designations had not yet been refined, popularized, and released into the lexicon of a legion of horror fans. Both Ketchum and Laymon rejected what was thought of as the subtlety of the horror genre. Both grandmasters of the macabre rebelled against the status quo and penned books which were “dark, depraved, cruel, violent and sexually explicit”. It is then hardly surprising that the mainstream horror publishers reacted with a kneejerk response of nervous anxiety, stress, and refusal to print such outrageous manuscripts.

Ketchum “wore a lot of hats” in his lifetime which included American horror fiction author and filmmaker. He garnered numerous awards to include the Bram Stoker Award in 1994, 2000, and 2003 twice. Jack Ketchum was honored with the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award in 2011.

The first novel I ever read by Ketchum was 1980’s controversial “Off Season” and I was both horrified and thrilled. It is interesting that while still in his teens, Ketchum was befriended by the great Robert Bloch (“Psycho”) who became Jack’s mentor. Ketchum’s writing career would later span almost four decades. He is credited with writing some of the most powerful and disturbing horror novels in the annals of horror fiction. His death in 2018 was both regrettable and an immense loss to the field of horror fiction.

Finally, I would like to make a point about the novel we just read [1994’s Joyride]. Stephen King, the undisputed King of Horror, wrote a lengthy piece at the time which stated emphatically that Ketchum had achieved the status of a cult figure among the throngs of horror genre readers and “a kind of hero” to the writers of terror and suspense. This praise and acknowledgment by King were instrumental in the stratospheric rise in popularity which Ketchum subsequently received.

“Joyride” was a relentless trek through hell. I was pulled into the story with the surety and speed of a largemouth bass hitting a “white tailed mouse” lure on a quiet pond with moss cover. The essence of the narrative is that Carole, an abused spouse, is unable to escape the tyranny of a monster. She enters into a romantic relationship with Lee, who perhaps does not realize the true depth of his feelings for Carole until the bitter end. The pair plan the perfect murder of her savage husband, but unbeknownst to them there is a sadistic sociopath watching them commit first degree premeditated murder. The watcher (Wayne) is excited and enthralled by the violent and bloody killing of Carole’s husband Howard. The suspense is sustained and with no letting up on the throttle the reader is frantically turning pages. Carole and Lee are abducted by the remorseless Wayne and forced to witness one atrocity after another on a godless, bloody, and senseless spree killing. The characters are well developed, the narrative is propulsive and infused with adrenaline, and you cannot look away from the carnage.

It is not my intention to reveal any spoilers so I will avoid an in-depth analysis. This novel depicts stark realism and as a reader it was all too plausible and horrific. Fans of Ketchum know that he was prone to incorporating true crime into his works, and the effect of this decision renders the action only too real and believable. The character arc of the detective (Rue) is well written and the plot twist at the end was unexpected but welcome.

I do want to share with potential readers that Ketchum included an interesting and informative piece at the conclusion “ON WRITING JOYRIDE”. The character of Wayne is thus a composite of traits from multiple true crime villains. Ketchum shares that he had his doppelganger from real life to take (Carole and Lee) “for the scariest ride of their lives through his own private Mister Rogers’s Neighborhood of paranoia, true evil, and sudden death.”

This book was brutal and bloody and due to Ketchum’s adept writing style the narrative is certainly a dark crime thriller but with elements of unadulterated horror. I would say that however you want to characterize the novel is not as important as the recognition that it is a heart-thumping tale of murder and madness. I loved it and I am a huge fan of Ketchum’s spartan writing style where less is more. He writes in the lane that runs between the dark suspense thriller and the extreme horror novel.

VINTAGE KETCHUM AND A “JOY” TO “RIDE” ALONG!!!
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Jan 25, 2025 WTF did I just Read Reviews rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Joyride by Jack Ketchum
Character Development is so great in this story. I love Reule (The cop) his character is just having a time let me tell ya.
Carole is also very likable and I feel for her and what her life has been up until this point. Finally thinking that she has gotten her life back by killing her abusive astrainged husband, except now she is paranoid. It could be worse, and then it is worse.
A crazy man Wayne, I am talking more nuts than crunchy peanut butter, more nuts than a Manson fam ...more

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Apr 12, 2023 Anja Henriksen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: new-or-almost-to-me-authors-2023, alphabet-titles-2023, decade-challenge-2023

I listened to the audiobook and unfortunately I didn't think the narrator did the best job. The narration was too monotonous and with very little change in voice for characters, which make it very difficult for the listener to differentiate between the characters making it unnecessary more chaotic.
With that in lind, it can effect my review of the story some of course.

I really liked the plot. The bluntness and graphic describtion seemed fitting for the storyline.
What I did find somehow chaotic w I listened to the audiobook and unfortunately I didn't think the narrator did the best job. The narration was too monotonous and with very little change in voice for characters, which make it very difficult for the listener to differentiate between the characters making it unnecessary more chaotic.
With that in lind, it can effect my review of the story some of course.

I really liked the plot. The bluntness and graphic describtion seemed fitting for the storyline.
What I did find somehow chaotic was the many shifts in POV, for example in a dialogue between two people, we often get a comment from each person on what they think, but doesn't say. I don't know...maybe it seems a bit messy, and end up with too much "tell" instead of "show", especially as it didn't seemed structured at all when we got some"inside knowledge" in the nature of these thoughts, but rather just when the author needed us to know something in a situation.

Imo the story could have carried the burden of more fleshed out details of the backstories to some of our characters, especially our 3 main a) the abused woman, b) the crazy individual on killing spree, and c) the detective. We only get hints about their background to somewhat explain some of their behaviors (with incest being hinted as catalyst for both a and b at least), but we only get a tiny glimpse. I realize this story is a fast paced one due to the matter of the killing spree, and that might be the reason for their backgrounds not being dived into. I would have loved it more detailed though.

What I loved at the end was the author note about the story! I wish all authors would write a note about their inspiration, background, or what ever sparked the firework for the story. It almost never fail to make me love and understand the story more.
This is an older story from the mid 90s and the author's note reminds the reader of the gigantic difference between then and now, when he writes about how he visited the places, drove between locations to make sure the time in the story wasn't screwed to reality and such 😁 we have it easy these days lol.

All in all a great story ...more

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