I loved the structure of this story as we follow childhood friends who are being pursued for revenge by an entity that was hunted by them when they were younger. It follows their different POVs as one by one the entity hunts for them. The characters were not as memorable in this story as his iconic characters of Jade Daniels in My Heart is a Chainsaw and our killer, Tolly, in I Was a Teenage Slasher. However, the plot was fantastic and the creeping horror and suspense were so well-done.

I love that this is an own voices for the Blackfeet representation and Graham Jones is able to show fantastic representations of native peoples and utilize real horrors to create new, fictional ones that add to the genre.

A brutal and violent novel that reads like a myth. Stephen Graham Jones cements himself as a master of dread horror with this one. The story feels bigger than it's 320 pages. I really loved this take on a final girl, as well.

February 27 update: TikTok post
No spoilers. The Only Good Indians took me on a deep journey into the lives of four friends. This novel played on all my senses, sliced into my memories, and pulled me into unknown terrain.

When I recall a scene, I'm there, present in a fully-dimensional happening. That's a rare thing. The last time it happened was with my first book by Stephen Graham Jones, the Buffalo Hunter Hunter.

I'm stunned. I'm going to stick to sharing a few impressions:
Sharp. Kinetic prose, muscular storytelling. Visceral horror--literally.
A moving journey into friendships and mistakes of the past and the horrors they can visit on the present. Harrowing.
The horror's source and the ripples cast through time and families, and the orchestration of key details to deliver the climax: Brilliant.
The detailed, squelchy scenes all felt intrinsic, not sensationalistic.
Grief and guilt are real and lasting, the same as they are off the page for people with heart. There's a lot of heart in this book.

This book hit me hard, in a good way. Stephen Graham Jones is a phenomenal storyteller and an essential voice.

This edition includes a book club guide.

Highly recommended for all non-squeamish readers.
My thanks to Saga Press | Simon and Schuster for the digital review copy for consideration. These are solely my own opinions. I'll add the TikTok link when I post there.

𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 • 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘍𝘪𝘤 • 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 • 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭
𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥: 14 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 2020

This was a trippy, chilling, supernatural horror novel. Not for the faint of stomach, be prepared for a fair amount of gore and entrails. The book follows 4 Native men — with flashbacks to when they were growing up together on the rez. There is an event that happens when they are kids that seems to be haunting them but we don’t know exactly what happened, beyond some illegal hunting of elk on sacred tribal lands. Thus begins the mystery.

I do class this as literary fiction as well as Horror/Thriller because of the sheer volume of references, jokes, and satirical commentary relating to Native American stereotypes, culture, and lore. This book is packed page to page with trivia, events and facts to highlight to look up later. For me this was the best part of the book. The depressing fact of life and [likely early] death as an indigenous person in America and how stacked the deck is, juxtaposed against the harsh reality reality of how some of these things predisposition domestic abuse, addiction/alcohol abuse, bad decisions, and murder.

The actual thriller/mystery pieces were hard for me to grapple with as I found myself lost for the first quarter of the book. This may be due to my having initially started this on audio; after I eventually swapped to the book (TW: chapter 12-13), I was able to follow the flow/events more easily and keep track of the characters’ names, extended family, and friends.

I am glad that I took the opportunity to read this book club pick, although I would not say I truly enjoyed the journey. An important read.

Sadly this was a DNF for me. I really wanted to get into this one but I just couldn’t get into the writing style. It just felt a little all over the place. I’m sure I’m in the minority and others will really love this! Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review.

New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones ' The Only Good Indians is a chilling blend of horror and cultural identity. This novel immersed me in the lives of four American Indian men as they grapple with a haunting event from their past which has reared its ugly head.

The Only Good Indians follows the lives of four American Indian men and their families, all haunted by a disturbing, deadly event that took place in their youth. Years later, they find themselves tracked by an entity bent on revenge, totally helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

Stephen Graham Jones has keen ability to weave together horror with an examination of cultural identities. He takes this skill to new heights in The Only Good Indians. As the story unfolds, these men find themselves dealing with their past decisions that pull them back into the heart of their heritage with some pretty chilling consequences.

At its core, The Only Good Indians challenges us as the reader to reflect on cultural identity. These men are caught between their heritage and the modern cultural landscape–something a lot of us can likely relate in today's world. Jones masterfully uses supernatural horror to symbolize these tensions; as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that you can never fully escape your past or cultural expectations without paying a some sort of price.

Jones' ability to craft characters is on fully display in The Only Good Indians. Each character is fleshed out with distinct personalities and histories that hooked me deep in their individual stories as well as the overall tale. Stephen's ability to draw me into their lives and allow me to care for them through thick and thin is a true skill that shines in this novel.

In addition to bringing his cultural background to this novel, Jones delivers some spine-chilling horror throughout the story. Gore and suspense are intricately balanced with the remainder of the tale in such a seamless way. This juxtaposition creates an atmosphere where tension continuously simmers just beneath the surface before boiling over. Crafting a novel in such a way gives so much more to look forward to on each page.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones is a gripping horror story that includes a deep commentary on identity, cultural legacy, and the potential consequences of abandoning your roots–a blend that I have become accustomed to with Jones. With a thrilling storyline and fantastic characters, this novel offers an experience that is as meaningful as it is terrifying.

The Only Good Indians is a culturally complex psychological horror centered around four friends who made a stupid decision nearly a decade ago, insulting their ancestors and branding them for life. I first heard about this book from other literature teachers, and I understand completely why it is so popular with this particular crowd. There are POV shifts, deep symbolism, and cultural richness rarely found in the horror genre. I understand also the criticism about this starting off slow. While the first chapter is fast and unsettling, Lewis's section is my least favorite of the bunch, which immediately follows it. Characters are underdeveloped overall, but this isn't a book about the individual: this is about being Blackfeet. This is an experience with consequences and feeling. And this is worth reading. 4.5⭐

I love everything that SGJ puts out and this was so wonderful. So far this is the only one of his books that snug past me and I ATE THIS BOOK UP! His writing here is so vivid and so descriptive you FEEL the book, the emotions and the feelings the characters are feeling in that moment. The way that he wrote so deep on cultural and generational trauma was perfection. The characters development here was 5 star, the horrorish aspects of this was perfection and the way you feel at the very end of this book was why this is as usual for our author, a 5 star read for me. ALREADY have recommended this book to all my book besties and my book club. Keep them coming Mr Jones.

READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS.

I did not. This was a DNF for me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read it NetGalley.

Do you ever read a book and know that it is amazing but just not for you?

I am not opposed to bashing a book. There have been two recent books where I have rooted for the bad guy, despite there being nothing redeeming about said bad guy. This is not the case. I mean, I do root for the elk woman, but I also didn't hate the men. They made a mistake, a stupid mistake.

I did struggle with the Lewis section. It was just gross and I was unable to enter his state of mind that would allow that amount of gratuitous violence.

This is not for me but I see how others would like it. I have heard such amazing things about this novel but I should have known better.

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

3 stars!

This harrowing story of a vengeful spirit had some really intense, awesome moments! However, I really struggled with the writing style and it significantly impacted my reading experience.

I've been aware of Stephen Graham Jones for a long time and went to see him talk at a book event a few months ago, which made me want to give his books a shot. Conceptually and atmospherically I really enjoyed this. Hannibal ingrained a love of elk-related horror into me so I was unbelievably down for a vengeful elk spirit. The kind of escalation of cruelty was really compelling and chilling, very much a car crash in slow motion. My main issue with this book is the writing style, which I know is an issue for a lot of people. It's really unique and I'm sure it works for some people, but I just had so much trouble keeping up with what was happening. At times I had to look up a summary to confirm what I thought was happening, and I never really got a grip on the characters or their personalities.

I understand why the feelings on this book are so mixed, because I bet if you can get behind the writing style it's amazing. If you can't, the whole story really feels distant in a way that detracts from the story's impact.

Thank you to Stephen Graham Jones and Saga Press for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

Happy reading!