Ive read a lot of stephen Graham Jones' work and I can say that his unique writing style (Demon Theory, The Last Final Girl) while absolutely refreshing and fantastic is not for everyone. This however will appeal to everyone. A great page turning horror novel. Kept me up all night.

I started reading Stephen Graham Jones when I read Mongrels. I thought it a powerful piece of a family living on the precipice of a society to which they didn't really belong. I enjoyed the understatement and appreciated the coming-of-age narrative. That set me up for pretty much anything SGJ. More than anything, I think it's his voice which is as unique as his POV.

So, it was with a little glee that I was able to arrange for an advanced copy of The Only Good Indians. I had no idea what it was about. If you were to believe Paul Tremblay in his cover blurb the book is a masterpiece. When I saw that, I decided to reserve that opinion until I finished the book. Well, I finished the book and Paul is as right as he always is.

The Only Good Indians takes place in and along the BlackFeet Reservation in Montana. Four young American Indian men are chased by a ghost who is as implacable and cunning as any ghost in fiction. The reader isn't exactly sure who the protagonists and the antagonists are until they learn the backstory, and once learned, it's an interesting morality dance to see which side the reader comes out on.

Without giving any spoilers, ultimate survival hinges on a sixteen-year-old basketball phenom's ability to play res basketball in an epic game of 21 that will resonate through modern fiction for dozens of years.

The point of view is from those who live on an American Indian reservation. The narrative is so authentic, no Custer like me could have ever written it. Like Jordan Peele, Stephen Graham Jones shows us life through an uncomfortable but real morale lens, then dares us to inhabit it, and upon doing so, slams our heads back and forth into the harsh reality of it all. I've never been on a reservation, but I never doubted the authenticity. SGJ brought as much realness to the narrative as a scientist would to a textbook.

In the end, the book is about humanity. It's about love and friendship and regret and acceptance and the hardscrabble to accept or not accept a predetermined fate, all things that transcend race, religion, or economic circumstance. I read through The Only Good Indians in two days and in those two days I was ensconced in a way of life so unlike my own, but with people who I almost knew, that I regretted sliding past the last page.

But what I remembered throughout was that there's another part to the saying, The Only Good Indians are dead indians - said by too many white men over too long a span.

Order this book now so you can read it the moment it comes out.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones is a very well written horror tale that combines a creepy story of revenge with traditional Native American beliefs. This story centers around four men who all grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation. Throughout the story, we are allowed to feel what it is like to be a Native American living on a reservation and the struggle to be successful (which may involve leaving the reservation) while still respecting the beliefs of their elders and ancestors. I love that the reader gets to see the story from the point of view of all of the four hunters. The reader also gets to peek into the point of view of the elk as well when we get to hear the inner thoughts of the elk. This was reminiscent of Stephen King's Cujo when the reader is allowed to hear the inner thoughts of the dog as he succumbs to rabies. It allows the reader to feel the motivation of the spirit elk as it haunts/ hunts the men responsible for the slaughter. I also enjoyed to social commentary that was sprinkled throughout this book. The only thing I did not enjoy about this book were the many basketball scenes. I understand that basketball represented escape, both by simply playing the game for fun and as a potential means to earn a scholarship to go to college. But, there was just too much basketball talk and it really distracted me from being in the story. It lowered the book an entire star for me. Overall, I think this was a great read and I highly recommend it!

Kind of bummed that one of my most anticipated releases for Summer 2020 did not work out for me. Like others who did not rate this highly, I really struggled with the writing style. It was super hard to get into to and I found it made the story REALLY confusing. I had to back track and re-read parts on several occasions because I could not make it make sense. The author just expects you to know what he's talking about without even explaining it. And then 5 pages later you're like "oh, THAT'S what that meant." Not good. I also don't know where the "horror" aspect game in. Brutal deaths, yes. Edge of my seat, no. I also skimmed every basketball scene. I cannot read pages describing basketball moves. I actually liked the characters and found the parts about Native American culture really compelling and interesting, but it was so hard to find the parts to enjoy. I admittedly skimmed the last 5-10% of this book and probably would've DNF'd if it weren't provided by the publisher. Thank you NetGalley for advanced copy! I hope this works for someone else!

For Native Americans, there exists a special relationship between their lives and the natural world that surrounds them, which forms much of their spiritual beliefs. Animals also feature prominently in Native creation myths, legends, and art. They live with respect to the world around them, with care given to the environment they co-habitate in, careful not to over-fish, over-harvest, or over-hunt, and to use all the parts of an animal which they kill, with an eye toward sustainability. But what happens when a group of Natives indiscriminately kill animals and show no respect or reverence to the hunt?

Such is the central question in The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, which follows a group of Indians that are being haunted -- and hunted -- by a beguiling apparition. Ten years ago, these four friends trespassed on elder hunting grounds and massacred a herd of elk, a crime that banned them from the hunting preserve and made them infamous. Now, as the eve of that Thanksgiving massacre approaches, Lewis and his friends find themselves targeted by a strange, horned entity.

Stephen Graham Jones is a hell of a writer, man. His prose moves along in rapid clips, and he's terrific at character development. I had a real fondness for Lewis, one of the principle figures we follow over the course of the book, and Jones sucked me in. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to figure out Lewis's background, his past crimes, and why he was suddenly being haunted by this odd specter. I was right there with him as his paranoia grew, tracking and dismissing various claims to get to the bottom of things.

As good as he is at fashioning characters that get under your skin, Jones is especially, horrifyingly, good at crafting scenes that shock and make your blood run cold. I practically leaped off my sofa at one particular "OH HELL NO!" moment, unable to believe what I was reading, not because it didn't make a kind of sense for the narrative, but simply because I didn't want it to be true. And that was also when I knew all bets were off with this book and that Jones wasn't particularly interested in playing it safe with this narrative.

The Only Good Indians has plenty of shocks to be sure, but it's Jones' ruminations on these men's lives and the culture they've left behind and turned their backs on that seals the deal. Beyond being a wonderful ghost story of sorts, it's also a poignant commentary on mankind's relationship to the world and ecosystems around us, and the hope that we can somehow break the vicious and cyclical natures of violence and revenge. If there's any hope for our future generations, we have to rediscover that semblance of balance with the world and our place in it.

*I, stupidly, waited until access to my copy of The Only Good Indians expired before actually writing up this review, so please excuse the lack of specific reference to character names! Events kept vague to avoid spoilers*

I loved this book, though had to read it slowly, to take in the events - to handle reading some of them. I'm not a fan of the term 'literary horror' (because I honestly think good horror is, by default, literary), but I think TOGI is as fine an example of it as you'll read. It creeps, is thoughtful - makes the reader examine societal stratas, prejudice, rituals, respect and understanding of one's past - all while layering terror on horror, with some great action sequences to boot. Jones can draw a scene as clearly as if you're watching it in a film, with added smells, taste, textures - which is great until you reach the particularly gory moments (when I, for one, had to step away and take a little break!).
Jones treads that fine narrative line of making you wonder: is the protagonist haunted? Or is he mentally ill? Are we, the reader, being drawn into his guilty delusions? There's a switch up of POV part way through that answers many of those questions - and I rather suspect that might be the Marmite moment where other readers (having skimmed other reviews) find themselves shaken loose. I fell on the side of loving it - rage, tenderness, revenge, history, present day thoughts, despair and hope all weave together throughout the plot - which has depth. TOGI made me think hard about the world, but it took me there not by smacking me over the head with social commentary at the detriment of the plot, but by leading me gently, sometimes reluctantly, through shadows and memories, past blood and family. It's quite beautifully, and horribly, done.

The Only Good Indians is one of the hardest reviews I've had to write to date. This is an own voices horror novel about four friends who ten years ago committed a crime on their reservation that is coming back to haunt them, literally. Stephen Graham Jones broke his novel into three parts and a prologue that read as their own distinct sub-genres of horror. Honestly some portions hit better for me than others. I personally prefer parts 2 and 3 to the prologue and part 1.

I do not think I was the intended audience for this book and for that I'm sorry because I know I can't give this book the justice it deserves. There is quite a bit of Native American lore within this novel, some of which Jones explains, but other bits I know I'm missing since that isn't the culture I grew up with. Although it is a horror novel it isn't your typical horror novel. Do not go into this novel with preconceived ideas of horror but allow yourself to be taken along for the ride with these four friends and the monster that's haunting them.

Needlessly convoluted with a writing style some may find incomprehensible at times, The Only Good Indians nevertheless deserves its place in the current zeitgeist of horror focused on persons of color.

This book was a slow burner that burned bright at the end. The story is as intriguing as any Native American folktales and takes the revenge story to a new level. There could be moments that you want to just speed through the chapters, but I promise that soaking up every word, and every detail will be worth it.

Another superb piece of literary horror from Stephen Graham Jones, as always. Scary and original slasher novel with great kills and plenty of twists. The Native American themes are CRUCIAL to the plot; never heavy handed or pedantic. Highly recommended!

In Native American cuture the Elk is generally considered masculine in nature and a symbol of a sucessful hunt. For four American Indian men, this would be appropriate and a curse. Ten years ago Lewis, Ricky, Cass and Gabe are out hunting and make the decision to break tribal rules and enter an area reserved for elders. Here they come across the mother lode: A massive herd of elk gathered below them in a welled valley ripe for the picking. However things don’t necessarily go as planned, leaving a nightmarish scenario that would stop anyone from hunting for sport.
Cut to the present where revenge raises its antlered head as a spirit from the past comes a calling to claim justice.
I found this a mixed bag. If I had to classify this I think I’d call it literary horror. Jones is a good writer and yet as far as sheer thrills go it wasn’t until the final third of the book I found myself needing to read until the end. Perhaps some of this is his decision to focus primarily on one of the four men for the first third of the book leaving the others as supporting characters I didn’t care much about. His build to the payoff around a sweat lodge, climaxing in a stand off between the daughter of one of the four men and the supernatural entity is the highlight of the novel and appropriately pulse pounding, ending the book with a satisfying conclusion.
On a side note, I love to read acknowledgements and Jones has written one of the best and most heartfelt. I had to quote this, what he says about his wife, because it so moved me. “As always, thanks to my beautiful wonderful smart and perfect wife, Nancy, for putting herself between me and the world time and again, leaving me little pockets out of the wind where I can sometimes write a book or three. I write nothing without you shielding me like that time and again.But, really, thanks for seeing me across a wash of sand when we were both nineteen and holding my eyes that one moment longer, a moment that’s lasted for us, and still has a lifetime to go.”

This book earns a solid four stars for me, with several aspects rounding out what was a refreshing take on the eye for an eye proverb – literally at times.
Let me start with the highlights of this book, for me: females took charge of this story in a way completely unexpected, after the summary and the first forty percent or so of the book. I was very surprised, and happy to be so in the face of what I was afraid would be a cringey, male-focused plot. Insightful cultural musings and commentary are introduced through each character’s perspective; their respective battles with native identity in face of modern times and struggle were poetic and thought-provoking for me as an outsider to read. There was a bit of spooky mythology, but I enjoyed how it was almost insidious, presented in a way that didn’t paint out in all-caps the Native American lore – rather, the universal concepts of guilt, revenge, and motherly protectiveness, relatable for any reader, emerged tinged with some truly haunting imagery.
If I had to pinpoint some parts I enjoyed less, it would mainly be the details – violence against animals, which is of course intrinsic to the plot and the book would cease to exist without it – and some of the gritter depictions of gore and violence. I admittedly watch more horror movies than I read horror novels, and the, uh, visceral language was at times a lot to take in. The unsettling aspects made an impact, though, and that in itself deserves acclaim. There was also a lot of basketball talk, most of which went completely over my un-sportsman head – until the end, where a simple round of basketball becomes so much more than dunking a ball in a net. Speaking of that ending…
While the first few acts were interesting through a social commentary lens, parts admittedly dragged a bit for me, but the final act was incredible, absolutely redeeming the rest. It was reminiscent of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon if I had to make a comparison, but I enjoyed this book more than I’ve ever enjoyed a King. A new voice in horror for me, Stephen Graham Jones crafted a unique spin on the final girl trope and a poignant final twenty percent of the book, managing to keep that large a portion suspenseful, yet simultaneously slow-burning?
Finally, I just have to applaud Graham Jones for everything he fit into a book that wasn’t a thousand pages long. Insight into the modern struggles between culture and self for Native Americans, female characters completely owning the males on-page, and some deeply unsettling imagery all painted a completely satisfying picture for this reader.

I didn't make it all the way through this book, I only got to 50%. I had an issue with the writing style it was just odd and not working for me. I would put it down pick it up, then repeat until it was just kinda meh oh well maybe next one. I haven't read any other books from this author so I'm not certain if this is his normal writing style or if this was a one off for him. It's funny how so many reviews can be in the extreme positive and then so many can be in the negative, and most of the review that I saw in the negative couldn't get past the writing style.

I’m not much of a horror reader, but the premise of this thriller caught my attention. Four young American Indian friends are haunted throughout their lives by the memory of a hunting event. On an elk hunt, they ran nine elk off a cliff, reminiscent of an old-time buffalo jump. As they butchered the dead and dying crippled elk, one young female elk with gold and hazel eyes refused to give up. Even after repeated attempts she still showed an unearthly desire to protect the baby fetus still in her womb. It was an unforgettable, scarring event to witness for each of the men, but they had no clue how it would haunt them for the rest of their days.
Told from the sad, wry, down and dirty angle of how American Indians are treated in today’s America, the lives and events of these four men are challenging enough without the constant specter of this elk, who still refuses to pass on without protecting her unborn. At times a bit slow but at others, terribly bloody, haunting and fast-paced, this is a story that will hang with you long after you’ve finished.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to Gallery / Saga Press and NetGalley for making it available.)

The writing style wasn’t for me, and I found myself reading sentences to grasp what was going on. Also, the story didn’t start on a high note for me so the rest was really a struggle. Couldn’t bother to finish it because I didn’t care for any of the characters.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this title.

As I normally would not rate a book that I could not finish, I am giving this a rating for what could probably be a good one. I read 45 percent of it and still had no idea what was going on, or understood what the characters were doing or talking about. I'm sure this will be a great book to others who have read his works and love it, this just was not for me.

* I wanted to thank Netgalley, and the author, Stephen Graham Jones for giving me an ARC digital version of this novel.
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It’s been a decade since four Native American men of the Blackfeet Nation walked away from a hunt with nothing to show but empty yet blood-stained hands. They’ve all moved on but someone or something has not and it’s back for revenge. The past catches up with each man in chilling ways, walking a fine line between the stereotypes placed on their culture by mainstream society and the haunting power of traditions.

I really don’t want to give too much of the plot away here! I went in knowing little and it heightened my sense of anticipation. The story struggles to gain a steady pace in the beginning; readers are introduced to each character and slowly given an explanation of what happened to the group on their last hunt together. Despite the slow start, Jones delivers a fascinating horror story that manages to speak volumes on cultural identity while giving readers a violent rollercoaster tale!

The Only Good Indians is a captivating and inventive novel that I highly recommend to readers who enjoy horror.

Thanks to Gallery/Saga Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Only Good Indians is scheduled for release on July 14, 2020.

This is a "sound effect" book. As I read, a lot of "oh no", "look out" and many other noises escaped. My husband said it must be a really good book and yes, it was. As the story begins, you will feel the frustration that leads to bad decisions that lead to the fight that will follow them the rest of their lives. This is one book that you will set down then come back to quickly. WOW!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This is a horror book with a fresh voice, the horror intricately intertwined with Native culture and norms, mixing tradition with the current reality of the rez, the addictions, the cycle of poverty.

Ten years ago, a group of four young Blackfeet men went hunting on the last day of the season, just before Thanksgiving. Their freezers empty from a fruitless year, they were desperate to kill something, to try to be "real" Indians. Finding nothing on the land they were allowed to hunt on, they make the decision to cross over into the elders' land, knowing that better elk lay ahead, even though the price of getting caught is losing their hunting permits for a long time. I won't spoil the rest of the story, but the decisions they make on that fateful day - dubbed the Thanksgiving Classic - will haunt them.

Ten years after the Thanksgiving Classic, the four men are in various states of relationships and jobs, both on and off the rez. But the horror that happened ten years prior are coming back for them, one by one.

I don't know if I would say this book is necessarily scary - although I have yet to be truly scared by a book in the same way I get scared watching horror movies. But the execution was fantastic. Jones's writing is whip-smart, lean and casual and fast, almost like Nico Walker's Cherry but much, much better. The story is woven with the complex ideas of modern Native life, with the ruts of being stuck on the reservation, what sweat lodges are like now, interracial relationships, trying to be a "proper" Indian, etc. Jones fills the book with sharp insights, criticisms, and reflections on what all of this means, and it makes the reading experience much richer than a run-of-the-mill revenge thriller. Even the entity exacting the revenge is deeply tied to ideas of what's right and wrong in Blackfeet culture.

This book was much different than anything else I've read all year, and its differences make it a standout in the horror genre. There were some weak points for me - the ending was a bit drawn out and didn't hit the climax I hoped it would - but I enjoyed it overall and would recommend it for anyone who's looking for an interesting new take on the revenge horror genre. Thank you to Gallery / Saga Press for the ARC!

Do you like the Final Destination franchise? If you say yes, just know this novel is for you.
Did you like Paul Tremblay's The Cabin at the End of the World? If you say yes, this novel is also for you.
Are you a fan of the Charlie Daniel's song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia?" Again, here's your next favorite read.

Now, I am going to say something that may be a bit of a hard sell for horror readers: This is a novel that gets better the more I reflect on it. As a white man, it took me a while to acclimate to the use of storytelling, mythology and folklore used in this book. But Jones is a master storyteller and should be trusted at every step of the way.

This book is also such an interesting piece in the pantheon of horror in how it changes genre. You read the prologue, and you think you are getting a monster story. Then Part I brings you a ghost story. But you hit Part II and find a "cabin in the woods" slasher. And you end on a "demon comes to collect its debts" slow burn. So I find myself able to recommend parts of this book to fans of any style of horror, but only able to push the whole novel into true genre devotees.

This book loses a star for me because two of the central passions discussed in the book (cars and basketball) are not passions I share, so I found parts of the book hard to visualize.

I will end my review with the strangest push I've ever given: Buy this novel for the acknowledgments, ESPECIALLY if you are a writer. These acknowledgments have set a new bar in their amazing stream-of-consciousness look into how a writer gets from Point A to Point B in the writing process.

Do yourself a favor: Preorder this one and save it for a sunny day.

Rating: 4/5