This book really was not for me. I had a very difficult time following the writing which made it difficult to read. The book crossed one of my hard lines which also made it difficult for me to read. Someone else may very well like the writing style and enjoy the story.

Four Native American friends are being haunted and tracked by an entity seeking revenge from a mistake made in their past. A poignant story of cultural identity, trauma and loss.

Happy Native American Heritage Month! What better way to start it off than with a powerful read that pays homage to indigenous Americans in an artistically beautiful way.

I’m not too familiar with the horror genre, but this one didn’t disappoint. To be honest, it started off extremely slow and it took me until 38% (!!!) on my kindle to really get into this read. Part one was difficult to keep up with what Jones was aiming for because the timeline would switch from past to present in a way I’m not used to. You soon catch on to why he’s doing this: to show how your past can become part of your present if you let it, like when you’re doing something and all of a sudden a weird memory pops into your brain and distracts you. But once you appreciate the uncomfortable tone he’s creating for you, you get sucked right in.

The metaphors and symbolism were poetic and prevalent. The horror was gruesome but not overdone. Even though it took some time to get there, I really enjoyed this book and the insight it gave to the indigenous culture. If you’re looking for a horror novel that also has a ton of literary elements, add this one to your list! I’ve also heard a lot of people enjoyed it on audio.

I did have a few issues however which is what drastically brought my rating down. I’m not sure if this is because I don’t normally read horror or if I personally just didn’t like what this book did for me:

1. My number one biggest pet peeve with authors is when they do not have any faith in the reader to figure things out for themselves. It was honestly insulting the way Jones did this sometimes. He would do a good job of showing and not just telling...but then a page or two later he’d tell you everything that he just tried to paint for you!!! Like with even just naming LEWIS like Lewis & Clark..he brought up that reference like 5 times again it’s like, “could I not just get that reference myself without you telling me?!” And Sacajawea, he immediately had to explain it all to us. all the symbolism it’s like ughhh

2. Speaking of all the symbolism in here: 🗣 I understand what you’re going for with your symbolism and metaphors, sir, now please move on with the plot 🗣 I honestly wanted to scream this at the book at times!!!! He could not go one single page without bringing up “the dogs” or “the horses” or “the crow” and it was already so on the nose to begin with did you really have to bring them up EVERY page?! It drove me nuts. I’m all for literary devices but this was soooooooooo overdone it made the story and the points he was trying to make way less meaningful. It was as if he wrote a short story with this entire book but then wanted to fill an extra 200 pages with JUST literary elements. Majority of the book had zero plot advancement, and finally towards the 2nd and 3rd parts got more into the cultural aspects, which is what makes me really like and want to recommend this book.

3. The majority of the first half was maybe one of the slowest starts to a book I’ve ever read. It picked up, then slowed down and then the book was over too soon. Just a weird layout which didn’t satisfy me.

Overall, I do truly recommend it. The things that bothered me might not bother some readers, but I think it was a bit cheap in the way he was trying to make it so literary. It was kind of like if you, the reader, were Jones’ child and you’re playing with those shaped blocks that fit in certain shaped holes, and you knew which ones fit in each but instead of letting you do it Jones handed you the correctly shaped block EVERY time. Infuriating but gives you that fake gratification of being like, “oh I figured it out!” which is why I found it cheap. It almost was trying to be so dense with the literary devices to try to trick you into thinking it was better than it was. It was beautiful and poetic, just too much for a less satisfying payoff.

Thank you NetGalley & Gallery/Saga Press for the ecopy!

For me this book was a really difficult read. It was hard to follow and at times I had little idea of what was going on and I kept switching off. The story was meandering and sometimes pointless. After reading the hype I was looking forward to getting stuck into the book, but regrettably I just got stuck! Not one for me I’m afraid. Perhaps I can revisit at a later date and discover what I am missing. Thanks to NetGalley.

I loved this book for insights into Native American culture and suspicions. I was truly out of my element and had never read this writer before but looking forward to future.
Each character was well developed and I liked the way the backstory was slowly revealed.

"The Only Good Indians" is the perfect Halloween read. It's a story of four young Blackfeet men haunted by a day in their past that they can never escape. Ten years later, two have left the reservation entirely, and hear the echoes of hooves in the distance. Something is chasing them, following them. But such things can't be real, can they? Far more likely that someone's simply gone postal and their transmission has slipped a few gears. This horror fantasy has several different speeds. Sometimes it slows down and then the author hits you with it so suddenly you almost miss it. And, of course, it builds up to a crescendo by the end. Haunting, disturbing, distressing, and straddling the borderline of sanity.

The Only Good Indians was a spooky read. The story used an unusual antagonist to make me question the justice of what the antagonist did. Because of their unique nature, I didn't know what to expect from the antagonist or what they were capable of, which amped up the terror. The plot moved at a pace that let us meet and understand characters without getting dragged down by character studies. For most of the novel, I didn't feel 100% engaged, but towards the end I was reading as quickly as possible to see if a character survived. I would recommend this book to someone looking for an unusual antagonist, a spooky psychological atmosphere, and persistent dread.

This was a perfect blend of horror and cultural representation. I loved the structure of the novel as we discover what happens to each of the men and their families.

Unfortunately, I read up to 40% and just was not getting anything from this story. I know many have enjoyed this book, but for me it just seemed that the words and concepts were not appealing the way ,I am sure, the author intended them to.

Thank you for forwarding a copy of this story to me.

I don’t usually read horror, but this one swept me off my feet! I gave it four stars instead of five only because I had to reread sections a few times to make sure I was tracking the plot accurately, taking me out of the story a bit each time, which is something I don’t want in a horror novel. Other than that, it was an excellent read that I’d recommend!

WOW! The first part of this book is a phenomenal reading experience. I was absolutely gripped to the meltdown of the guilt-ridden hunter, Lewis. Step by torturous step, each page turned is a held breath or a covered eye. Hard to read at times, propulsive at others. And Jones' noir-horror literary style is the extra icing on the blood-soaked cake. I was in. And the part two start and everything changes! The writing remains propulsive and the horror refuses to stop, yet the twist kicks off a whole new, wonderfully strange story and it's something to behold. I enjoyed this and have picked up some of the author's other works. Poetic, stylish, forceful, unrelenting, educational -- I adored this. Thanks!

Y'ALL. AIN'T. FOUND. HIM. YET. I mean, in your millions who buy Clive Barker and Stephen King. That's the audience that Stephen Graham Jones merits. Major film franchises. TV development deals. The whole shootin' match.

Because this is top-quality writing, using the bones of the genre fleshed out in new and interesting ways. Psychological splatterpunk. Rez Noir. Gore with more.

And now the literary crowd is making "get-up-and-leave" noises. No, no! Sit down. This book isn't another exploitation of "Noble Savages Get Revenge Via Folklore" (seriously, go to Goodreads and search "the wendigo" to see what I mean about exploitation...monsterporn galore and white people writing from their deep personal knowledge of Native American life as far back as 1910). It is #OwnVoices do horror. The point of #OwnVoices is moot if it is construed by the very white people who celebrate it so vocally if it can't be applied to *sniff* mere genre fiction. (And for the record I'm all down with white people reading more Otherwork. I just find the labeling a bit depressing and not a little bit condescending. Do y'all really need roadmaps to find an interest in people who are-but-aren't like you?)

You are defined by the worst thing you've ever done. We all are. But what if the worst thing you've ever done offended not only the social norms and personal dignity of the community you live in, but the very powers of the Universe your community resides among? (There are different powers in every community...?) What the hell is wrong with you, first...you can't not know what you're doing is offensive when you are sneaking around...and second, when you're going against the Universal powers that little sick feeling in your gut should tell you to break the hell off, abort, and go back to where you were before. I speak from experience. As does our point-of-view character, Lewis. One of four buddies who need to get their freezers full before winter hunger attackes their families, these goofuses trespass on the Elders's land to bag an elk. They do that, alright, so strike one. It's a female, strike two. She's pregnant, strike three. The game police, the tribal councils, AND the Universal powers are all lined up to take turns beating up these criminals.

The rest of the review is on my blog.

A dark and twisty story that leaves the reader unnerved and hoping those being punished can find redemption.

Wow, this book was incredible. Highly, highly recommend! I’m giving it 4 starts only for one aspect that I can’t get into without revealing too much, but I really enjoyed it and the insight it gave me. Entertaining and educational at the same time!

Now that was one hell of an experience!!! 😳

Wow!! I need to read more Stephen Graham Jones, like......RIGHT NOW!!!

I am a huge fan of horror fiction! HUGE! I absolutely love a good scare! Bloody and foul, gut-wrenching and gruesome! Bring it on!! I’ve read plenty of horror books that have given me the heebie jeebies. But to be honest, there’s only been a handful of times where I’ve been truly terrified! The Only Good Indians definitely had me shook!!! The gore was on point! It actually caught me off guard to where I had to stop reading (listening) and just process what the hell just happened!
So.....The horror factor is most definitely present! It gets extra points for that! But what I enjoyed the most was being immersed in Native American culture. I’ve always been captivated by their values and beliefs, and how tradition is extremely important and still very active in their lives. Even the way they tell their stories; so masterfully and beautifully done. SGJ displays that superbly. He definitely knows how to weave a story, balancing the atmosphere and characters with the absolute horrifying plot. He is one heck of a storyteller! And I loved everything about his story!

The Only Good Indians deserves all the attention it’s getting. And Stephen Graham Jones deserves all the good things coming his way! The hype is real, people, and well deserved!!

This was a wild ride of a story, and yet, I had a hard time leaning one way or another with it. Yes, I liked it, but I didn't love it and I don't have it in me to be overly critical of it. Solidly three stars, I suppose.

It was very weirdly paced for me. There were a lot of lulls punctuated by sudden, gory bits, and then a perspective shift making for a very jarring transition from visceral horror back to a more literary slow burn, and that made it difficult at times to move forward with it. I understand this is mostly due to the literary nature of literary horror, but I don't know, it took something away for me. Especially since for all the lulls, it still felt like there just weren't enough pages for the whole story. Something was lost in the multiple perspectives here. I found myself dreading picking it up at times, and not in the usual way I both dread and anticipate picking up a horror novel.

That said, it was still extremely well-written, atmospheric, and ultimately I did like it. The representation of Native American life and culture was honest and refreshing, and I found that it maintained itself solidly throughout the entire story, rather than being a feature of it (makes sense, given the author is a Blackfeet himself, but the cultural aspect is something he makes stand out without being heavy-handed). Most importantly, this book is so original. I've never read anything like it before, and I'm constantly seeking out books that surprise me.

Ultimately, I think this was just another instance of me getting my expectations really high, but the book itself couldn't deliver that level of hype. I was really, really excited about this one, then I was reading it, and then I was a done with it, and felt just exceedingly indifferent. There was no lingering chill, no heebie-jeebies that followed me down the dark hallways of my apartment, nothing but a sense of doneness. I get the feeling that if I tried reviewing this a month from now, when I haven't just finished it, I doubt I would have more than the lingering feeling of, "I enjoyed it." I probably won't be able to tell you much about it a month from now, but I know I would encourage you to read it anyway.

Thank you muchly to NetGalley, Gallery/Saga Press, and Stephen Graham Jones for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the story of a man who kills an elk, only to find himself haunted by it in the most literal of ways. Tracked by an entity that will leave you guessing through the whole book, 4 childhood friends try desperately to escape it, and the lives they left behind. This was action packed an thought provoking. It would appeal to fans of Stephen King. I did find it to be a little much at times but I'd recommend it.

I've never read anything by Stephen Graham Jones, but now I need to add everything he's ever written onto my TBR. This book was amazing. I'll admit that it started off slow for me and it took me a little while to get into it, but halfway through the first section I was completely gripped and ended up finishing the book in one sitting. Jones does a great job mixing cultural elements, gore, horror and tragedy through this story, connecting each section to one another and the original events that started it all. How can a narrative be so horrific and yet so beautiful at the same time. Seriously, I have chills. There are definitely some disturbing elements in this book, but if you can make it through to the end, you won't regret it.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A horror novel set on a modern-day Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Years ago, four friends – boys in their early twenties – do something bad while out hunting for elk one winter. Not terribly bad, not anything worse than the dumb things a lot of us get up to in our late teens or early twenties, but these four are spectacularly unlucky in that one of their victims turns out to be something more than the usual elk. And now she's out for revenge.

Part One of the book focuses on Lewis, the only one of the friends to have left the reservation; he's seemingly the most successful, with a wife, stable job, and new house. This part of the The Only Good Indians is mostly psychological horror. Minor creepy occurrences begin to build, but the constantly lurking question is if they're actually happening, or if Lewis only thinks he's being haunted and is about to do some real bad things because of that misconception.

After an incredible climax halfway through, which makes it very, very clear that this haunting is real, The Only Good Indians switches genres to essentially become a slasher story, complete with a really excellent Final Girl. Though the mental games continue, and I love how most of the deaths are not done by the monster herself, but by how she's able to mainpulate one character against another. The worst horrors are the ones you commit yourself, after all. There are so many amazingly frightening images left behind by this story: a silhouette half-glimpsed through the blur of fan blades; an elk calf, kicking its way out of the womb; the removal of teeth; an old car falling off the cinderblocks it's propped on; ants on a boot. God, just – this book is so filmic, and so good, and so scary.

I had high expectations going in, and The Only Good Indians succeeded over and above them. The early buzz made me think would be literary fiction, perhaps more concerned with social justice than with monsters, and while it handles that aspect of the plot wonderfully, it's also a genuinely terrifying horror novel, one of the scariest I've read in a few years. Honestly, I loved this, and if you've been putting off reading it, stop that! It's Halloween season, and the perfect time to get yourself a copy of The Only Good Indians.

Note: several dogs die gruesomely, in ways that are graphically described. As do humans and other animals, but I know a lot of people are particularly sensitive to dog-death.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3598751960

This book was creepy in all of the right ways. I kept looking behind me and jumping at each little noise around me while I was reading. I loved that this book did that to me!