Four Indian American men have a dark secret of a youthful hunting trip gone wrong. Now as adults, they've tried to move forward from their shared history and culture, but there's a dark entity not ready to let them forget.

Dark, creeping, and atmospheric, this book certainly has a sense of fantastical horror. And I made the mistake several times of reading it before bed! I really appreciate the push and pull of the main characters' relationships with Indian American culture, and the theme of nature never forgetting how it was wronged. This book often feels like a fever dream where you can't tell what is real and what isn't, but everything is scary. If you're into that vibe, you'll love this book! I must say that it left me a little lost and confused in a way that pulled me out of the story at times. But if you're looking for dark horror with complex themes, you'll love it!

I requested an eARC of The Only Good Indians last year and was approved on Thanksgiving (nice play, @gallerybooks , nice play) and took my darn sweet time getting to it. I haven't read Jones before, but stumbled upon his website a couple years ago and immediately loved him, the person who blogs critically about all things horror.

I think this horror novel rooted in Native, specifically Blackfeet, tradition is brilliant. The way Jones is able to incorporate Indigenous tradition into modern-day Indigenous life while building tension and then just occasionally scaring the crap out the reader is admirable. The first section immediately draws you in, and the end... Jones gives the reader the tiniest little twist that sets all the pieces you've been holding through most of novel neatly into place.

So here's the thing. The Only Good Indians is a horror novel, yes, but it's not a thriller. Some of Jones's tricks are so subtle that you have to be paying attention... As in, you cannot skim this novel and say you read it. The other thing I caution is you really have to be able to suspend your disbelief for this one, especially if you're a Western reader that reads mostly contemporary fiction.

So do I recommend? Yes, absolutely! But with caution, because what I don't want to see is a book undervalued because it got the wrong reader.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. - quote attributed to many sources

I have been looking forward to this horror book and I was not disappointed.

Ten years ago four Native American men went on an illegal elk hunt. It was on their Blackfeet reservation but it happened in an area reserved for tribal elders. This spontaneous act starts a snowballing landslide of revenge against these four men.

This book was different and it took me awhile to immerse myself in the story but I am so glad I persevered and read until the end.

The story is told in different segments by the four men and also by some of their loved ones.

In some ways it reminded me of the novella THE WENDIGO written by author Blackwood. There was another horror book I read about the Wendigo MANY years ago but I can't remember the author but it seems like, from what I remember, there were similarities in it too.

I appreciated that the book is written by a Native American author about Native Americans. It does tip the scale, at least to me though, from the horror genre more towards literary fiction.

I highly recommend this book.

I received this book from Saga Press through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

This book definitely felt different than many books I’ve read or that I would consider reading. I enjoyed reading from an Indian perspective, something that is quite rare. It was a great combination of suspense, thriller, and folk lore. Unfortunately, it involved a few things that don’t ring my bells: hunting, motorcycles, the intricacies or basketball. But otherwise it was quite enjoyable! Would definitely recommend.

I have been trying my best to ensure that I am actively reading more diverse voices these days, so I was really excited when I was approved for this ARC back in April. The overall premise was incredibly alluring - four lifelong American Indian friends are haunted by a disturbing event that occurred nearly a decade previously. Not only are they haunted, but they're individually being hunted down by an unknown entity hellbent on exacting its revenge.

The overall story telling had so many wonderful qualities. Stephen Graham Jones has a way of bringing his characters to life that I haven't experienced in quite some time, and the unique and fresh voices of present day American Indians added a lot of impact and social commentary to the overall story. The overall plot was definitely original to me, and there were plenty of wonderfully creepy parts that kept me coming back throughout.

Unfortunately, while there were many things that I thoroughly enjoyed about this book, there were just too many things that I struggled with for this to reach a four-star rating for me. I can't truly say why, but the overall pacing couldn't keep my attention. I started this so many times over the past few months only to put it back down after a chapter or two. I also struggled to understand the "WHY" behind the overall story - as the actions didn't seem worthy of the consequences. But my biggest detraction overall was the graphic nature of certain scenes involving animals - despite it being nearly 3/4 of the way through the novel it took a lot for me to pick it back up after that.

So for me, this was a solid 3.478 - definitely worth picking up, but it won't be a contender for my own personal BOTY.

Four Native Americans kill an elk years in the past and live, and die, to regret it. After all, The Only Good Indians are vegan Indians.

The first part of the book has the pacing and the plot of a thriller. However, the middle slows down substantially to a slow-burn horror tale’s speed. Luckily, the ending once again picks up the pace leading to a slam-bam conclusion.

When I realized what the monster was initially, I thought it was silly. But the author convinced me by the end why it should be feared. I’m sure someone will option this book for a movie and I can’t wait to see it.

The Only Good Indians is defiantly not politically correct. If that bothers you, you should skip this book. I also wouldn’t recommend it to thriller fans due to the pacing issues I described above. However, if you love horror and are bored with the usual zombies, werewolves, and vampires, you must read this surprisingly fresh monster novel. 4 stars!

Thanks to Saga Press, Gallery Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a tremendous novel. I read it in one gulp, and was so happy- as there aren’t enough horror novels these days, and to incorporate Native American culture was superb. Am telling everyone to read this!

This one has been on my TBR since the first moment I heard of it.

This unnerving, unsettling, understated horror book will leave you satisfied AND longing for more, all at the same time. On the eve of an anniversary of a hunting incident on Indigenous land by Indigenous men unauthorized to hunt there, weird things start happening, and within the span of a few days, many are left dead. “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.” Snagged that line from the original summary, because it’s too good and apt to change.

This one is weird. I mean that in the best, possible way. I love my fiction weird, and I love my horror weird. This book is everything I love about horror. It’s got solid social commentary (which all good horror should do), it’s a bit horror for its own sake, presented without a lot of explanation or apology, and the characters are sometimes unreliable narrators. I flew through this one, and I’d like to revisit it at some point, having full context for each of the friend’s stories.

It’s out now, so don’t sleep on it. I’d love more of all these elements in the modern book world, please, particularly modern Indigenous stories.

I am not normally one for horror or revenge narratives, but Graham Jones has such a reputation that I thought I’d give his latest a shot. This book disturbed and thrilled me, and I learned so much about this culture and community. Very highly recommended.

I'm still processing this one. I liked it, but the pacing felt a little weird to me. The first half of the book was great, but then it seemed to go in fits and spurts - slow then quick and then slow again. At times I felt like I had to force myself to keep reading. But I really liked the ending, so that bumped it up a half star, making it a solid 3 stars.

This is a story about curses and revenge and there were a lot of elements that reminded me of The Crow in the best ways. The writing was solid and I especially enjoyed the social commentary about Native Americans. I will never look at an elk the same way again.

Brutal. Haunting. Visceral.

Ten years ago, Lewis, Ricky, Gabe and Cass, did something on the last day of hunting season that they will ultimately live to regret. They knew it was technically wrong, felt it at the time, but spurred on by each other and the adrenaline of the hunt, went against their better judgement anyway.

Close to the 10-year anniversary of the event that came to be known as the Thanksgiving Classic, Lewis, now living far from the reservation, begins to be haunted by images of that day. When a new work colleague, a Crow woman, reaches out to him and a loose friendship begins, Lewis confides in her, thinking she'll understand.

From there, sh*t hits the proverbial haunted ceiling fan pretty quickly. This is my first novel by Stephen Graham Jones and to say I was impressed would be putting it very mildly. His writing has such a texture and grit. Oftentimes you are waiting for a novel to take it all the way and it never does. This one goes the distance.

It is bloody, brutal, fast-paced, genuine and horrifying. The nature of the storytelling feels so classic and traditional whilst also being cutting edge. The only issue I had while reading it, which is completely a personal taste issue and nothing to do with the quality of the writing or story, was a lot of the animal content was hard for me to make it through. While this is a personal taste issue, I still rate books I read based upon my reading experience and I had to be honest that those scenes did bother me.

With this being said, I will mention that I do not think in anyway that the author threw those scenes in recklessly. They definitely served a purpose in the narrative. I get it.

Overall, I think this is a purposeful, creative and engaging horror story. I will absolutely be picking up anything else SGJ writes. Thank you so much to the publisher, Gallery / Saga Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. It will haunt me for a long time to come!

Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Right from the start the storytelling is intricate and carefully place, and we get a taste of the creepy parts. That hooked me in and kept me reading because I wanted more. I felt the start was a little slow to build, but it was worth it because once I hit the halfway mark everything started to make sense and I found myself holding my breath in suspense. This was an amazing, gruesome story of the moral of what happens when a group of young Indian men take something that wasn’t theirs, and how the spirits got their revenge. I definitely felt some King-esque horror going on, and loved it! Highly recommend for any fan of Adult horror, as this really scratched an itch for a good old haunting story.

This book is an absolute gut-punch. For those sensitive to scenes depicting domestic violence or violence at large, you should definitely go into this book knowing that there will be plenty of blood and viscera to wade through. For fans of the genre who have been waiting for the next big atmospheric horror novel, this is IT. More than any other book I've read this year, Stephen Graham Jones knows how to stick the landing.

I haven’t read much written by Indigenous authors, unfortunately, so I was very excited to get my hands on The Only Good Indians. Stephen Graham Jones is an esteemed Horror writer, which makes someone like me, a big scaredy-baby, a little nervous to be honest.

The plotting of this book is interesting. I’d say the majority of the time is spent on character development and relatively benign interactions of regular Native people living their lives. It almost hits you like a sucker-punch when everything starts going off the rails. Seriously—one moment I was reading about a guy obsessed with his ladder, and pages later someone has their head caved in. Part one in the novel, The House That Ran Red, didn’t have that much tension through the beginning and middle. But after a mid-book bloody climax, there’s a discernible current of it running through every seemingly innocuous action or phrase uttered by a new character. I ended up being pretty shaken thereafter.

Not sure if I can say much else without giving stuff away. I went into this book blind, something I don’t normally do, but it left me caught off guard with the way the storyline progressed. I can see it’s getting some mixed reviews, but for those who are uncertain if they want to read it for that reason, I’d say it’s worth your time.

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS
Stephen Graham Jones
Gallery/Saga Press
ISBN-13: 978-1982136451
Hardcover
Horror/Thriller

It seems as if we are experiencing a resurgence in the literary horror genre. Every week seems to at least one new book which could easily tiptoe its way into the mainstream consciousness without compromising or sacrificing the core values established in the long, noble, and yes, gory tradition of what has gone before. This week’s must-read book in the genre is THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS, a tale whose unpredictability is the stuff of nightmares.

Author Stephen Graham Jones has written an entire shelf or two of books across a boatload of genres. He has only relatively recently made a foray into the horror and dark fantasy waters. That makes THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS all the more remarkable. Jones, a Blackfeet indigenous American, presents a powerful work that threads bits and pieces of American Indian culture into a tapestry which is dark, frightening, and ultimately uplifting, even as he gently toys with his storytelling structure to constantly surprise the reader.

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS begins with a vignette which telegraphs almost from its opening paragraphs that it will not end well. Jones then begins to reveal the backstory to the tale. It involves four Blackfeet friends, full of alcohol and vinegar, whose elk-hunting foray into the wrong territory ends badly with a massacre and something more. It is only after a decade or so goes by that things begin to go gradually and terribly wrong. The first third or so of the book is particularly haunting, as bad choices lead to terrible results in spite of good intent generated by guilt but manifested far too late. Something is seeking its revenge upon the quartet of friends. It is relentless, seemingly unstoppable, and very, very angry. Jones could have gratuitously slipped nuggets of Native culture into his narrative but instead --- in a manner that is far more effective --- uses elements of Indian life on and off the reservation to support and guide his story in such a manner that the reader thinks they know what is coming. More often than not, they could be wrong, particularly about the ending, not to mention the beginning and middle. THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS is in some ways the ultimate revenge tale, one in which it is all but impossible to pick a favorite character. That would include the all but indefinable avenging spirit, which takes a number of forms and which is, quite honestly, arguably justified in (most of) its actions.

Those who function on a steady paleo diet of dark fantasy are already familiar with Jones’s work. For those looking for a way to break in, begin with THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS, move on to the critically acclaimed MONGRELS, and proceed from there. That resurgence in the horror genre which I mentioned at the beginning of this piece is being fueled by Jones and others for good reason. As far as Jones’s other work is concerned, you have some catching up to do across a variety of genres and after reading this wonderfully frightening and compelling work you will be happy to do so. Recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2020, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS is a masterpiece. Intimate, devastating, brutal, terrifying, yet warm and heartbreaking in the best way, Stephen Graham Jones has written a horror novel about injustice and, ultimately, about hope. Not a false, sentimental hope, but the real one, the one that some of us survive and keeps the rest of us going. And it gives me hope that this book exists.

Happy one day late release date to this creepy ass book! Stephen Graham Jones, a native author who teaches in Boulder, CO, but who is originally from TX (word up!), brings the chills in this three part story about a group of four Native American men who break an agreement with the elders and end up killing a buttload of elk outside their Rez territory. One of the elk women doesn’t take this well (for an incredibly justifiable reason) and seeks revenge.

I received an ebook ARC thanks to #netgalley and @gallery but enjoyed it so much I bought my own copy. One of my friends who grew up with the legend of deer woman warned me that you just don’t mess with the deer woman and she cringed at the thought of even watching John Landis’ corny Deer Woman film with me, which Jones actually references in his Acknowledgments along with a short story by Louise Erdrich. I can understand the sentiment now, as this novel is shockingly gory and haunting.


I don’t read a lot of horror, but this book relies a lot on character development, which is my jam. Jones’ writing is cinematic and deceptively simple. If you love a good woman centric revenge thriller, you will love this, but be warned, it will follow you around for days.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Available July 14, 2020

Thanks for the nightmares Stephen Graham Jones. Thanks.
When four high school friends break the rules and hunt on elder ground, they do more than go against tribal law. Their killing of a pregnant elk and her unborn calf releases a spirit bent on revenge. Over the course of the next ten years, her spirit will seek to exact revenge on the men and their families.
Absolutely chilling and terrifying, The Only Good Indians is a haunting look at how nature always gets her revenge. What seems like a simple story-boys commit a crime and now must pay the price-is actually filled with great depth. The four friends go their separate ways and have their own struggles. None of those struggles excuse their behavior and not all of their actions are redeemable, but over time they seemed to realize that what they did that night was incredibly wrong and they never should have killed the elk the way they did. Jones crafted characters that felt incredibly real with their struggles with relationships, alcohol, money and regrets over not keeping up with old traditions.
Intensely graphic, The Only Good Indians is not for the faint of heart. There are some vivid descriptions of animal and human death as well as harm to children. That said, it’s necessary to the overwhelming sense of dread and danger felt throughout the novel. I flew through this in one sitting because I was so scared if I stopped reading, I would just pick up at an even scarier or more gruesome part. A very solid and terrifying horror story and I highly recommend it. .

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

"The Only Good Indians" by Stephen Graham Jones is an experience - and I mean that in the best way. I started out not liking the characters all that much before the book smacked me in the face with fear (and a bit of gore). It was at that moment that I understood that the characters weren't really the point. While the novel's plot is fast-paced and interesting, it's also, somehow, about our relationship to the natural world and it makes you think about what death feels like to animals. Did I mention there is a vengeful ghost of a young, pregnant elk? There is also, as in all good horror with supernatural elements, the characters' disbelief, their attempts to push back against the intrusion of the impossible. One character rationalizes, for example, "If animals came back to haunt the people who shot them, the old-time Blackfeet would have had ghost buffalo so thick in camp they couldn't even walk around, probably." But this one does have ghosts - ghosts of how tribes have been treated in America, animal ghosts, ghosts of social and humanitarian problems we haven't, as a country, put to rest. Eerie as well as scary and well worth your time if you can stand to be scared any more in 2020!

When I read the title for this book I should have known that it was going to hit racism right between the eyes. Stephen Graham Jones is known for capturing Native American life or as he says "putting the Blackfeet in it" without submitting to white gaze. He is also known for his experimental fiction and works of horror.

I am not a horror aficionado so I cannot say how well this book fits into that genre. What I can say with conviction is that <b>The Only Good Indians</b> defies categorizaton.

Four friends ignore tradition and tribal law by hunting on elder ground. They slaughter a whole herd of elk, including a pregnant cow. Bent on revenge her spirit becomes the hunter and the four men and their loved ones her prey.

The prologue opens up like an action adventure, full of adrenaline and testosterone. The hunt and then a bar room brawl. Then we are introduced to Lewis and the book slows down and becomes more of a character analysis with the reader getting a sense of the inner workings of his mind, his ideas on being an Indian married to a white woman and what this says about his identity. Lewis has a wry, denigrating sense of humor. He pictures his life as headlines while deliberating native stereotypes; at times judging himself against them.

During this portion of the book I found myself confused, unaware of where this book was headed. I wasn't sure if Lewis's assertions could be trusted or if he were an unreliable narrator with his guilt getting the best of him. Was he imagining things? Was he experiencing lapses in memory? Did he harm Harley? I kept flipping back and forth to see what I had missed only to realize that Graham Jones had laid down a trail of crumbs. All the clues were there to resolve the mystery of what went wrong in the hunt and set the stage for what happens next.

Like a movie, when the scene changes the story takes another turn. So as Graham Jones takes us back to the reservation, the book picks up its pace and becomes more plot-driven.

On the rez there is tradition, family, love . . . We feel connected to these men. We know that they did something wrong in their past and we understand why this beast is seeking a reckoning. But we want them to win. And I think this is where the real horror lies. All who tread here are victims as we get a sense that in the end there will be no survivors, no victor. So we hope against hope and we say our prayers as Graham Jones unleashes one gory scene after another.

This feeling of empathy for both sides is a testament to Stephen Graham Jones's skill as a writer. I may have picked it up for the thrill but I walked away touched by these characters and moved by the social commentary. <b>The Only Good Indians</b> is literary genius; both thought-provoking and inventive.

<i>Special thanks to the folks at Gallery, Pocket books for making this wish come true.</i>