Holy crap. I don't even know how to articulate how absolutely lacerated I feel by this book. It's a bit unlike anything else I've read in the horror or indigenous (aboriginal?) literature categories. Like all the best horror, it is warm and real and funny and evisceratingly sad as well as having an almost unbearable sense of creeping dread that actually made me feel slightly sick. The friendship between the three doomed men, the hunting camaraderie, the young male goofiness, was achingly perfect. The enraging, ridiculous nature of the racism that is woven into the very fabric of existence for indigenous people is very much present. The bad choices and the self-justifying interior monologues of the older men, the second chances and the hopefulness pinned on relationships when the reader knows the likely outcome. There are some deep, natural, archetypal rules in place but then some of them get broken which felt "unfair" to me, which I then realized was probably a big part of the point. This is my favourite Netgalley book since The Girl With All the Gifts - everything is here, amazing story, wonderful characterization, memorable imagery. This was just masterful.

More Native American perspectives, please! Creepy and thought provoking at the same time. The atmosphere gave me chills. Although, I connect more with female leads, this book was still enjoyable.

"The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way."

An incisive, cutting, supernatural revenge tale. Stephen Graham Jones digs deep and cultivates an unsettling, grim atmosphere that kept me anxious until the last page. I'd be shocked if this isn't my top horror novel of the year.

If you like your horror smart and infused with social commentary, this is the book for you. I know other reviewers have mentioned that they didn't love the pacing, but I love the way the narrative shifted perspective throughout the book. There's a chance to inhabit the minds of multiple, fully fleshed characters here that really stood out to me. I want to heap praise on this book, but I also want future readers to go in as blind as I did. Look down through the spinning fan blades for the first time, without warning.

Thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press for the opportunity to read this one.

I was surprised when the publisher granted my wish on NetGalley for this book. I wished for it based on the cover (the side view of the elk) and the blurb. I was looking for a book that would scare me. While The Only Good Indians did scare me, in certain parts of the book, it also bored me.

The Only Good Indians plotline had two paces. It went between going fast and slow. I wished that it had stayed either fast or slow. The constant slowing down of the plotline made it hard to read. I did like that there were no dropped characters or storylines.

The characters in The Only Good Indians were well written. I did have a problem connecting with the characters. I can pinpoint why I couldn’t connect with them.

I loved the main plotline in The Only Good Indians. I loved that the author used Native American folklore and wove it into the plotline. I liked the build-up to the final encounter was well written. But, I do wish that there was a glossary at the end of the book. It would have helped with some of the Native American terms used in the book.

The horror angle of the book was well written. I did think that it was drawn out towards the end of the book.

The end of The Only Good Indians was interesting. I get that the cycle had to come full circle. I also wasn’t prepared for who Denorah’s stepfather was.

Stephen Jones mixes "Big Little Lies" alongside "Cabin at the End of the World" -- but with, for, and including indigenous voices. I loved this one. Warning: the book is gory at times, however, I really enjoyed the emotions that I felt while reading this novel. White people, take note. This is a book about contemporary Native American life that doesn't fall into gross colonial stereotypes or give simple explanations for sociocultural factors.

I love the spooky factor of this novel. Love that it's an #ownvoices novel also. Definitely a dark rainy day read.

I really enjoyed this very much. It was a solid horror book. Oftentimes, it takes a lot for me to enjoy horror stories since I've read so many. This was original and not something that I've read before. I like how the feeling of dread simply escalated.

Jones has this way of writing characters that make them feel so real, like they're fully fleshed out from the word "go". While I found that this book had some pacing issues, I enjoyed it overall. As a Native American, I think it's interesting that this is somehow both a story about respect for nature and a story about intergenerational trauma, which is something I'm not sure white reviewers will pick up on.

One of the things I like most about The Only Good Indians is Jones’ voice. The style feels very much free flow. Jones skillfully guides you through this story, ebbing and flowing with the current. The way he presents it is very dreamlike. It’s like you’re on the river with no paddle, but you know you will inevitably reach your destination, and you’re patient getting there because the scenery is breathtaking. That’s what it’s like reading The Only Good Indians, and Jones’ words are the scenery. You just kind of get lost in them.

You can read my full review at Horror DNA: https://www.horrordna.com/books/the-only-good-indians-stephen-graham-jones-book-review

The Only Good Indians is an outstanding horror novel that will leave readers feeling unsettled. The story focuses on four friends and a disturbing event that occurred on Thanksgiving ten years earlier. An entity bent on revenge tracks the childhood friends. The story is split into parts each following the story of the separate characters. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy early Stephen King or more currently Paul Tremblay. Stephen Graham Jones has proven to be an author to watch out for.

Some horror novels creep up on you- those slow burns- and some are just straight up hardcore slashers where you rush towards the end. But every once in a while, you come across a work that scares you because it hits too close to home, because you feel it deep in your bones. The kind of book that you are still thinking about days, weeks, months later- the kind that has you turning on lights, your heart beating a little too fast. That is what The Only Good Indians was for me, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

This is the story of the past haunting four Indian friends, and not in a metaphorical way. When they were young, these four cocky Blackfeet indians went on a hunt on forbidden elder tribal land, and what happened there has followed them into adulthood. They are coming up on the ten year anniversary of the hunt, and one of them has already died. Will any of the others survive the revenge that is coming to them? And what exactly does it mean to be a “good Indian?”

This story is raw and bloody and heart-wrenching in all the best ways. I love horror that draws from folklore and traditional stories, and this is one of the best that I have read. Graham-Jones draws from his own tribal background, and the horrifying stories of other tribes to create a heart-rending modern folk tale. Growing up in Oklahoma, all children (white & red) were told about the Deer Woman, and her story struck fear in my heart- still does- and so Jones’s twist on this old tale took me for a deeply horrifying ride.

I give this book a HUGE 5 Stars, and highly recommend that you mark your calendars for its release on May…..! I will be putting up a more thorough & spoilery review at that time.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy!

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS is a superb, gut wrenching novel, and it wrecked me.

I've been sitting here struggling to come up with some words that don't sound like the same old thing. This book is not the same old thing.

I've been sitting here struggling to find a way to relate to you the mind-warping effects of this novel, because it is mind warping.

I wish I had a way to explain how the guilt here was wrapped up and entwined with grief and shame and then buried under the burdens of Native American life.

I wish I could tell you that the tragic truths told in this book were not true, but I'd be lying if I did.

With beautifully written prose that demands your full attention, the ugliest of stories unfolds here. I loved every black and brutal, dark and gray minute of it. I don't what else to say.

My highest recommendation.

Available May 19th, 2020, but you can pre-order here: https://amzn.to/32HkuDS

*Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for the e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of “The Only Good Indians” by Stephen Graham Jones. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

So first off, I think this author can really write. There were times I was captivated and other parts where the story dragged. I felt like the pacing was all over the place and often jarring at times. At least for me! I’ve seen this book get some mixed reviews and I can see why it appeals to some people and might be too slow for others. The ending had me glued to the pages needing to know what would happen next, but I can see why some readers might not stick around to get there with the earlier pacing inconsistencies.

If this got made into a movie it would probably be too frightening for me to watch! I did alright with reading along but had to read in smaller chunks to handle the more gruesome bits. The wronged spirit was an interesting character to follow throughout although the book definitely gets more violent and gory as the story progresses. While reading I felt as though I could see this as a horror movie unfolding. There were so many specific details that made the scenes vivid. I’m not a big horror fan but have been trying to read outside my comfort zone so my rating is reflective of that. I do think this author is a very strong writer and if you’re a fan of horror you should definitely pick this book up.

3/5 stars

"The best jokes are the ones that have a kind of message to them. A warning."

I'd say the same goes for horror stories. Jones's latest book is customarily disturbing and has much to say beyond its supernatural scares. A decade ago, four friends went (a little less than legally) hunting on tribal land. What happened that day has stayed with them since then. But what they aren't ready for is what's now hunting them, in an otherworldly, impossible quest for revenge.

The horror here is physical — bloody and visceral — but it's also psychological, probing the emotional states of its main characters who leave, stay, or return to Indian Country.

Craft-wise, the thing I'm struck by is the way Jones is able to write exactly as people think and speak. The prose never feels stilted or writerly. It feels like it's coming out of the heads and mouths of the characters on the page.

I was very much looking forward to this book and while it did reach my creepy undertones expectations, the story itself did not for me. However, that being said I honestly felt like it was just because I didn’t really understand big parts of it, or the story as a whole. I “got” what was happening but I guess I just felt almost like it was a sequel or that I was missing something. That could be bc I don’t know a lot about Native American culture, I’m not sure. I would sell this book in my store but don’t know what demographic I would recommend it to?

First off, thanks to Netgalley, Stephen Graham Jones and Saga Press for sending me an ARC to review.

A tale much more than revenge, The Only Good Indians is also about culture, self reflection and survival.

“When I was fourteen I knew everything, too. “

Four young boys of the Blackfeet Nation decide to go hunting for Elk on land reserved only for the tribe elders. Not realizing they were making a terrible mistake, the hunters now become the hunted, as a supernatural entity comes looking for revenge.

Stephens writing felt very real. Very raw. Like we were allowed into a secret locked door in his mind that no one else has been allowed into. And after all that time sitting in that room, the door finally burst open and left all its contents, naked, out for everyone to see. No bullshit. Just pure raw emotion.

The story itself felt like a nice even slow burn, that had a lot of action closer to the end. The characters felt realistic and there were a few surprises and twists along the way. Even a switch in who’s point of view the story was told from. Overall I found it a very original and powerful story.

The Only Good Indians follows four American Indians (Ricky Boss Ribs, Lewis Clarke, Cassidy Sees Elk and Gabriel Cross Guns) that face the consequences of an illegal elk hunt they engaged in. The men are seemingly stalked by an entity hell-bent on revenge for what occurred on a snowy ridge during that fateful hunt. Beyond this, the men grapple with their heritage, identity, and what it means to be a good Indian.

As is often the case, their actions also come to roost on the next generation. Denorah, Gabriel’s daughter, a star basketball player on her junior high team, also gets drawn in and must come face-to-face with her biological father’s deeds. Is history doomed to repeat or can they find a way to break the cycle?

Stephen Graham Jones voice is authentic; and he weaves a tale that is brutal, tragic, yet sprinkled with warmth with a hope for redemption. The early buzz for this one is well-earned. This is a can’t miss for any horror fan in 2020.

I don't usually struggle with writing reviews as I lean towards rating books based purely on enjoyment - yes I liked reading this or no I did not. With this latest horror novel by Stephen Graham Jones, I have to confess I did not enjoy reading large portions of it. However, I think this book has powerful messages, and I see a lot of merit beyond pure reading enjoyment.

Jones is a Native American and writes in a style that evokes traditional Native American oral storytelling. He credits Louise Erdrich as an inspiration, and if you've read her book Love Medicine, you'll definitely see the influence. At times, this style can be jarring. In the first part of Indians, it serves to make the story feel disjointed. Rest assured eventually it does come together. However, shifting POVS even mid-paragraph later in the novel still make this prose more difficult to follow. You have to really pay attention to what is happening. This aspect of the writing was well done.

This is a ghost story and it is brutal, violent, and a bit depressing. There is a lot of social commentary here about Native Americans and their way of life, their views, and their culture. This part of the book is fascinating. What I found less fascinating - no, I'll say it, downright boring - were the long and detailed descriptions of basketball playing, and almost everything having to do with Lewis.

I felt the bones of the story were absolutely outstanding. I enjoyed the circular writing style, but there were simply too many parts that dragged considering the unique and unsettling premise. I would have loved to read this as a novella with all the good parts intact and with a major edit job on the longer, less satisfying parts.

This book is not perfect, but it has a lot going for it.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Native American folklore is both beautiful and terrifying. This book was slow but creepy. I like that in a book. I like the dread to build up. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of horror.

I will definitely be looking to read more from this author!

I got a free advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books!

The Only Good Indians is a story about revenge. An elk on forbidden ground is killed along with members of its herd by Native Americans of the Blackfeet tribe, Ricky, Gabe, Lewis and Cassidy. When cleaning it, Lewis discovers an awful secret. Ten years later, it has been resurrected and is seeking vengeance.


I struggled with the writing style a bit. It took me a while to absorb the story and in some places, I found myself a bit confused. However, the story itself was brilliant. Normally, a spirit seeking revenge is human or can pass as human. You would not think an elk which is normally killed when hunting would avenge its death. 

The book showed the relationship America still has with its Native Americans. Some of the younger generation would talk about the prejudice still very present in their lives. Gabe's daughter, Denorah, most often encountered this when playing basketball for her school. I find it awful that Native Americans still have to deal with this when they were the original inhabitants of America. 

This book, while classed as a horror book, is so much more than that. It speaks of the challenges of being a native in a place which does not accept you. It shows the struggles the younger generation face while trying to live in two worlds, the reservation and the Western world. It is a tough read but it is still an excellent book.

Suitable audience: Because of the violence contained within this book I would suggest that parents use their discretion. Older teens and young adults who enjoy horrors can read this. 

Recurrent themes: Native Americans. Elk. Poaching. Haunting. Revenge. Prejudice. 

Violence: Very violent murders with graphic descriptions
Sexual Content: Sex in hinted at but no details
Profanity: Multiple uses of profanity
Religious Themes: Native American mythology is mentioned
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: One of the main characters is an alcoholic. Some characters drink beer