Absolutely one of the coolest vampire books I've read. I always find SGJ's creatures so interesting.
It's is a historical horror and slow burn story but definitely worth it.

Tw: animal death and a SA described

READ IF YOU LIKE...
• Getting revenge
• Fresh takes on vampires
• Journaling

I THOUGHT IT WAS...
A clever and cleverly written take on a vampire story, where the vampire gets revenge on the white colonizers who massacred a Blackfeet tribe. Etsy, an academic in her 40s, discovers a long lost journal penned by a potential ancestor of hers. In the journal, a Lutheran pastor transcribes the story told to him by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, which uncovers foul sins that still reverberate over a hundred years later.

This story within a story within a story was a refreshing take on both historical fiction and vampires. Jones places his main characters around the Marias Massacre, a real event in 1870 where the U.S. army slaughtered over 200 Piegan Backfeet people. This novel confronts this history in a visercal, vivid way. It's horrific and uncomfortable, as it should be with an act so vile and gruesome.

I felt the outermost wrapping of the story, Etsy's portion of it, was underdeveloped compared to the other two characters. Part of me questioned if it was even needed. I also felt some sections were repetitive, unnecessarily drawn out. Otherwise, this was a great read, pushing what the horror genre is capable of.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter was my first Stephen Graham Jones novel, and I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about my reading experience. On one hand, I can absolutely recognize and appreciate why SGJ is such a beloved author. He is adept at building suspense and mystery, while simultaneously writing compelling historical horror within the context of horrific real life events (settler colonialism and genocide). With that said, I personally found this book challenging to read. I don't mean thematically challenging, or difficult because of the heavy content. I found the author's actual style of writing made it hard for me to access the story. The best way I can think to describe this is that my brain had to work exceptionally hard to process each and every sentence. As a result, I didn't particularly enjoy the reading experience, even though I was invested in the characters and the outcome. Still, I would be interested in reading more of Stephen Graham Jones' books.

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

One of the most unique horror reads I’ve picked up in a while. Set in 1912 Montana, it follows the confessions of a Blackfeet vampire named Good Stab, framed by a pastor who finds his writings years later. The mix of historical trauma and supernatural horror hits hard—but it’s handled with care and depth.

The prose is definitely different—fragmented, lyrical, and sometimes dense—but it’s absolutely worth sticking with. Jones has a way of getting under your skin, and by the end, I was totally immersed. If you like your horror thoughtful, unsettling, and rooted in real history, give this one a shot.

The concept of this book is amazing, and the ability to use the idea of an immortal, unkillable vampire as a protector of a vulnerable people overrun by conquerors has a ton of potential. I just wished I enjoyed it more. For me, it seemed like the pacing and the repetitiveness made it hard for me to really invest in the story. It is a relatively short novel, but it took me a long time to get through and there were moments where I seriously contemplated giving up on it.

I loved Jones's The Only Good Indians, but that book took hold of me and pulled me through the story in a way this one did not. I wonder if it was the style choices of the prose (which, while maybe accurate to the times, got a little insufferable) or the framing device (a modern scholar who finds a early 20th century diary which relays a late nineteenth century story) put too much distance between the reader and its characters. I just didn't work for me, as much as I wanted it to.

This was such a well written, atmospheric, historical and moving book. I was able to follow ebook with the audiobook and omg it was perfect! The narrators did such a good job of jumping back and forth from character. And the fade in and out while switching narrators was such a good move. It made it seem more like a movie than a book. Thank you so much for the ebook and Saga Press for the audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for this ARC!

THIS is peak horror. I don't think it's any secret that SGJ is PROLIFIC but this might be his best work yet!

Indian vampire? I'm in! Horror novel? I'm in! This story starts out as Etsy is planning on writing a paper about a journal she found from her great great grandfather, Arthur Beaucarne but she gets way more than she bargained for!
We find out that Arthur is a Lutheran pastor in 1912 in the Wild West. One day a stranger walks into his church asking to give a confession. And that was the day he met Good Stab and his life would never be the same!
Those last few chapters thou! Pure horror genius! I've heard other say they wanted Etsy in book more but I thought it was perfect and loved how it all tied up to a horrifying climax! Thank you SagaPress for the book to read and review!

Thank you to NetGalley, Steophen Graham Jones for the oppurtunity to review this ARC!


Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication Date: March 18th, 2025


Synopsis:

A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. This is an American Indian revenge story written by one of the new masters of horror, Stephen Graham Jones.

Review:

“What I am is the Indian who can’t die. I’m the worst dream America ever had.”

I have enjoyed a few of Stephen Graham Jones’s books– but nothing prepared me for “Buffalo Buffalo Hunter.” This is a truly unique experience. Steeped in history and true horror, Stephen Graham Jones' The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a stunning reinvention of vampire lore that will transport you to the early 1900's American West. The epistolary format, reminiscent of Dracula, pulls readers into a chilling fragmented narrative that unfolds like a long buried secret finally coming to light.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is an unforgettable, meticulously crafted work of horror. Thought provoking, terrifying, and impossible to shake, Jones proves why he's one of the genre's greats with a must read for lovers of historical horror and vampire lore alike.

This book is chilling and will grip you from the get-go. This was my first book to read by this author but I cannot wait to read more by him! Do yourself a favor and read this book!

Actual rating 4.5. Another fantastic read from Stephen Graham Jones! I loved the interesting historical take on this one. It was a little more grim and less humorous than some of his other work, but that was fitting for the telling of a story that reflects real life atrocities. Will definitely be picking up any future SGJ books!

"Good Stab fell to his knees, pressed his forehead to the floor and he screamed too, and I daresay our screams harmonized, at least in how much they pained us.
This, I believe, is the story of America, told in a forgotten church in the hinterlands, with a choir of the dead mutely witnessing.
“Your tore out the heart of my people, Three-Persons,” Good Stab said into the floor.
“I’m sorry,” I said back, I knew how weakly. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.”
“Is it wrong to kill?” he asked then, again, sitting back on his haunches, his bared arms hooked around his knees. “Is this what you tell your people who come each Sunday?”
“Yes,” I said."

"What I am is the Indian who can’t die.
I’m the worst dream America ever had."

The vampire genre has a new dark star. Far from the European roots we all know, Stephen Graham Jones has created a uniquely American, a uniquely Native American version of the tormented and tormenting blood-sucker. The novel is rich, not only with the horrors of the genre, but with the very un-magical horrors of the time. No vampire could possibly compete with the mass slaughter of the American Bison, nor of the Native American peoples. This envisioning of an American vampire includes a remarkable twist, new to the genre, at least as far as I am aware.

"Good Stab’s damnation comes with a wickedly satisfying pair of rules: he must feed on his prey until it’s dry—sometimes causing his side to literally burst open—and he grows to resemble whatever he’s feeding from. "– from the PW interview

The structure is frame within a frame within a frame. Etsy Beaucarne is our outermost, in 2012, a struggling academic, the descendant of a pastor from the 19th century. Arthur Beaucarne, a Lutheran, ministered to the religious needs of the residents of Miles City, Montana. His journal, stowed in 1912 was recently found in an old parsonage undergoing renovation (cheekily referred to as revamping). In this journal, Arthur, the second frame, relates the tale told to him by a strange Native American man, Good Stab. The Indian appears at the back of his congregation, in dark clerical garb, wearing sunglasses, and wanting to talk. His tale is terrifying and compelling.

It is an American history not taught in Western schools. The Marias Massacre took place 1870. A U.S. cavalry troop was sent to do damage to a particular branch of the Pikuni tribe, not the branch that had made an alliance with the incoming settlers. The leader of the troop, despite being shown documentation of the alliance, decided that one Indian is the same as another and proceeded to massacre 217 mostly women, children, and old men, many suffering from small pox.

Good Stab, a Pikuni, named for his nifty defense against an attacker, was 37 when he encountered the creature he calls Cat Man.

"The thing had a thin white face with intelligence to it, and at first I thought its chin and mouth were painted for ceremony, but then I saw that it was just that it ate like a sticky-mouth, where it made a mess, and then let that blood stay like it was proud of it, wanted all the other four-leggeds see what it could do. Its mouth looked like it was pushing out too far, too, bringing the nose with it. But I told myself that was just because the dried blood made it look that way.
Its eyes were like mine, like I see you seeing, and its hair was hanging in its face, and it was naked so we could see it was a man, or had once been a man.
But it was no man"

We follow Good Stab’s tale through decades, as told to Pastor Beaucarne, as he struggles to survive, and finds purpose in taking down those who seek to kill “blackhorns.” There are many adventures along his journey of discovery, and many internal struggles. He is a complex character who seems at times inured to the havoc he inflicts, but one who manages to sustain a kind, caring heart, at times anyway. We feel his pain in being an outsider as he yearns to connect with his people.

The backdrop for this story is the Western expansion into the west, including the racism, colonial military dominance, destructiveness, wastefulness, genocide, inhumanity and cruelty of the era. Killers, murderers, and thieves preaching a religion of peace. The irony is not lost. Ultimately, this is a revenge tale. Punishment for many who have come west to pillage nature’s bounty, and targeted attacks on those responsible for the Marias Massacre.

As we get most of the story from Good Stab we get his usage as well, words for creatures of the American west. “Blackhorns” for Bison, as well as Whitehorn, Wags-his-tail, Long-legs, Sticky-mouth and plenty more. Part of the fun of reading this is identifying each species as it is introduced.

Part of the joy of reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is seeing the coming together of history and horror in a way that is reminiscent of one of America’s most inspired writers. While this is hardly a magical realism version of history, the incorporation of actual Native American history gives it a very Louise Erdrich-y feel. There is another form of joy to be had here. I have a particularly high bar for horror. I lose no sleep, nor do I have scary dreams as a result of reading a horror book. But there was a night, while reading this one, when I felt that I had somehow ingested three fist-size dollops of Vampire and they had taken root in my torso. I knew in the dream that I could, with effort, expel them, but knew also that it would take a supreme effort to do so. That, to me, is the sign of a good scary book.

Stephen Graham Jones is a prolific writer. Even more than Stephen King, maybe into the domain of Isaac Asimov. I have read only a few (listed below in EXTRA STUFF) but of those I have read, this one stands out. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is most definitely worth whatever time and trouble it takes to track down. Once you sink your teeth into it, you will have a tough time stepping away until you have ingested it all. This is simply a bloody wonderful book.

"You don’t know this yet, but once a generation, once a century, someone is born with a kind of blood no one else has. If you drink from that person . . . how to explain it? It’s like the difference between an animal and a person. But the person is the animal now, and this new one is above them. Their blood, you do anything for it. I’ve only tasted it twice so far in all my years. She’s going to be the third time.”"

Review posted – 2/27/25

Publication date – 3/18/25

I received an ARE of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter from Saga Press in return for a fair review. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.

Stephen Graham Jones has done it again. This is a fantastic novel that looks at America’s bloody history. No one should ever forget what a horrific and bloody history America has had. There are many triggers so please check before reading. Trappers, Native Americans, a vampire and preacher are just some characters. This Historical Horror novel will keep you thinking about it even after you finish it. Creepy, violent, horror. A definite 5 star book.

Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for this ARC copy for an honest review.

Wow, this book gave me so much to think about. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is told largely through the journal of Arthur Beaucarne’s. The story begins with Etsy, a professor under immense pressure to get tenure (as a professor, this is something I deeply relate to). She discovers the journal of her great-great-great-grandfather, and from there, the narrative shifts between Arthur’s journal entries and the voice of Good Stab, a Blackfeet man seeking revenge.

This is, at its core, a story of vengeance and is set against the backdrop of the 1800s and early 1900s, when white settlers were slaughtering buffalo, displacing Native communities, and stealing land. The language reflects the time period, which makes the story dense at times. Good Stab’s voice in particular can be challenging, as he translates Indigenous concepts into English phrases that are unfamiliar at first, often referring to animals or natural elements in roundabout ways. It took me a while to get used to it, but once I did, it added to the depth and authenticity of the story.

I loved the twist on the vampire mythos (or “Cat Men,” as Good Stab calls them), though I won’t spoil what makes these vampires unique. The first 70% was a slow burn for me as I had to really push through the writing style, but the last 30% absolutely made it worth it. That’s when the pacing quickens and Etsy’s present-day reactions start to re-enter the narrative. The emotional payoff and thematic resonance in the final stretch bumped this up a whole star for me.

Like in The Only Good Indians, Jones rewards readers who are willing to work for it. The storytelling is layered, haunting, and powerful, demanding your attention and rewarding it in full.

In The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, there’s no shortage of blood, guts, and a vampire you’ll find yourself strangely rooting for—but none of that is as chilling as the real horror told by Good Stab; the violent legacy of colonization, the near-eradication of the buffalo, and the Marias Massacre.

Stephen Graham Jones has a signature gift—blending the fantastical with the historical in a way that doesn’t soften the truth but sharpens it. He reminds us that the real monsters aren’t always supernatural. They often wear the face of ordinary men. BHH resurrects the horrors history tried to bury, forcing us to confront how easily truth is twisted, erased, or rewritten by those in power. SGJ delivers a narrative many of us were never taught in school—one built on the bones of real violence, layered with creeping dread.

Make no mistake: this is not an easy read. SGJ makes you work for it. Good Stab’s voice isn’t simplified for convenience—there’s no glossary, no guide. I was living on Google for quite some time. But once you get into the swing of the book, it's almost impossible to put down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC!
4 stars!

[insert incoherent screaming here]

Wow. Just. Wow.

That is all.

I received an ARC from NetGalley

This book might start a little slowly, but settle in for a wild ride because you KNOW Stephen Graham Jones has an extremely twisted, terrifying story to tell. I took my time reading this one and I'm so glad I did, because the way it all comes together is extremely satisfying.

I was skeptical of the story within a story within a story, but Jones pulls off this structure perfectly in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. Already one of my favorite books of 2025.
Protagonist Good Stab tells his story confession-style to Lutheran priest Arthur Beaucarne, who writes down the narrative in the early 20th century. Decades later, Beaucarne's descendant Etsy transcribes the diary in a last bid to save her tenure-track university job. The structure is absorbing, with each voice distinctive, adding layers to the story. Further, it mirrors one of the book's major themes, questioning who is telling the story and who has the "final" word on history. It's difficult to root for any of the characters, as they all do chilling things to serve their own interests. Good Stab's motivations of survival and the survival of his people ring true, yet make his path no less disturbing.
I'm a horror fan, but was still disturbed by some of the turns in this novel and surprised by the twists. Haunting, beautifully written, and deeply unsettling. Highly recommend.

4/5 stars!

Stephen Graham Jones does not miss. A gripping, visceral horror, that wields both the horrifying truth of colonization and the fantastical nature of vampires. Jones's prose may not be for everyone, but one cannot deny his sheer ability at portraying the type of fear that slides deep into your bones. The multi -pov should have been arduous, but it instead we were led through the twists and turns by voices that felt grounded right in the soil. There is something so perfectly scary about this book. Soon to be lauded as a true horror classic.

Another excellent book by Stephen Graham Jones! I finished this book today and gave it 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟! Thank you so much to @sagapressbooks #sagasayscrew for the audiobook and ebook, definitely recommend the audio with the full cast or narrators! It made the experience so enjoyable! 🦬🩸

Read if you like:
Vampires
Native American historical fiction
Gory horror elements with an animal twist

This reminded me a little bit of Dracula with the academic aspects, and if you’ve read Dracula, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this book!