This book is soaked in hypnotic prose and characters who feel as if they're speaking directly to you through the pages. Scary, thought provoking, and utterly readable- The Only Good Indians will go down as a seminal work of horror fiction.

This was definitely an eerie and unique book about revenge. This would make such a good horror movie. Beautifully written but heartbreaking and horrifying.
Many thanks to Gallery Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jones is one of the best writers working in dark fiction. THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS is further proof of this.
It's dark, filled with flawed characters, and a gripping tale like only Jones can tell.
It was a powerful read in a growing catalog of such by the author.
The only problem I had was with the pacing in a few spots. Jones has a weird dream-like quality to some of his writing and i sometimes feel lost when I hit those patches. They were few, so don't take that as a reason to not dive into this one.

I give it 4 stars!

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS is my very first (completed) Stephen Graham Jones' novel. Honestly, any book that keeps me flipping the pages gets a 4-star rating. And the author did a fantastic job altering his writing style to fit each character's POV. With saying that though...it took me a while to get into this book. The author's style is considered "literary horror" and I have to agree. At times it is just as jarring as it is poetic. Nonetheless, the imagery and gore is visceral, as if truly spilling out of the page to wet your face, and overall THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS is a decent, thought-provoking work of Native American horror.

(A shout to Gallery/Saga Press and Netgalley for the digital ARC!)

***4 out of 5 stars***

Alot of horror stories have trouble keeping the story interesting without getting of on some cheesy tangents, not this book it starts a bit slow and picks up quickly. Well weitten

The Only Good Indians
by
Stephen Graham Jones

4 Stars

I agree with a lot of the things other reviewers have said about The Only Good Indians on Goodreads. One noted that she “struggled with the writing style [and] found it slow in parts”. I too struggled with the writing style at first, although I eventually did get used to it, and I also found the beginning of the book painfully slow, but it picked up steam quickly as it went on. Another reader found the book “devastating, brutal, terrifying, yet warm and heartbreaking,” and it’s all of those things. Another said that “the characters are memorable, interesting, flawed, funny—REAL,” and they are. In short, I found The Only Good Indians to be very frustrating at the beginning, terrifying through the middle, and “warm and heartbreaking” at the end. It’s a great story that would make a great movie, and I definitely want to read some of Stephen Graham Jones’ earlier works.

This book was a hard read, but a very good and necessary one. Blending supernatural events with the mundane, everyday life of a Native person. seamlessly, everything about this narrative hit close to home.

'The Only Good Indians' was an amazing read eventhough I struggled with rating this book. On the one hand, the horror elements along with the Native American culture representation got me hooked immediately. On the other hand, the writing or the flow just wasn't my favorite. The story is deceptively straightforward. Four native American men are cursed after they hunt a herd of elk when they were not supposed to and are preyed upon by a malevolent spirit seeking revenge. The plot, though it's simple, is elevated by some great horror moments and the creepy atmosphere where it makes you feel the build-up and the tension with a jump-out-of-your-seat payoff. I even liked that this happens many times throughout the book and none of it feels cheap or repetitive. The let down though is the writing. Something about the flow or the style of the author just didn’t do it for me and made it difficult for me to read personally. Despite this, I really liked the imaginative quality and creativeness of the story, the fantastical quality of it not to mention the fact that the scary bits were actually really scary (trigger warning for animal abuse and graphic death scenes).
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Thematically, this book was both similar and different to other horror novels I've read. A haunting for revenge is not unusual fare for a reader but this particular kind of cursed haunting is. The pacing is that of a good classic horror- slow and steady, increasing in intensity until you're at the edge of your seat by the end, silently screaming for the finish, whether it's ultimately relieving or eerily unresolved. To an outsider, the Native American lives and culture, as well as the folklore, makes it a particularly interesting read.

Stephen Graham Jones works magic in this novel about a group of Indian friends, haunted by a youthful mistake. Ten years have passed and Ricky, Lewis, Cassidy and Gabe still owe a debt for hunting on a part of the reservation where they shouldn't.

Humor and horror intertwine along with Jones' unique, easygoing form of storytelling, and, while all of <i>The Only Good Indians</i> is enjoyable (if occasionally horrific), the book's final act is all kinds of heart and fireworks. Fantastic and highly recommended.

Thanks to S&S/ NetGalley for the advance reading opportunity. Thanks to SGJ for this and all the others.

4.5 Stars, rounding up.

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS, by Stephen Graham Jones, is a novel that kept my attention throughout most every single page. Whether we were in the present time, exploring past events, or changing point-of-view, I never had any question as to what was happening, or when.

We have a set of main characters--each of whom we get to know intimately--who shared an experience ten years in their past that was to forever alter the course of their futures. The pacing was just about perfect, in my opinion, letting me really get invested in the people and events without feeling rushed or missing any pertinent information.

". . . His whole life he's been looking in the wrong places. Why should tonight be any different?"

The emotions were poignant in each scene. This was a novel in which it was impossible for me not to feel invested in every action taken, every word uttered or thought.

This book made me FEEL.

Whether exploring the . . . inexplicable . . . aspects going on, the day to day relations between the Blackfeet and whites, or even the feelings towards those who moved out of the Reservation, the tensions and societal issues are still relevant.

Yes, there is most assuredly horror. Bloody, impossible vengeful spirits, combined with stereotypes both inside and outside the Reservations, and you have a novel that's both visceral and cerebral in its implications. This is the kind of book that continues to haunt you long after its conclusion.

. . . When the whole world hurts, you bite it, don't you? . . . "

Stephen Graham Jones is an author who knows how to deliver on all levels. I'm looking forward to reading more from him in the near future.

Highly recommended.

Throughout I repeatedly asked myself why I had waited until now to read Stephen Graham Jones, vowing to read everything in his prolific oeuvre. The simple phrase "new favorite author" is overworked but very true. Stephen Graham Jones is exceptional.


THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS is a painful novel to read. I am ashamed of the Caucasian treatment of indigenous Americans throughout history, and as the case of character Ricky Boss demonstrates (reminding me of the Wyoming Matthew Shepard case), continuing today. Just reading it is painful; living it is unimaginable.


But THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS is not Horror only because of wrong-minded people performing wrong acts, nor the main characters living trapped in a history of sorrow and seeming inescapability. It is also a story of Supernatural Horror: one in which the four main characters make poor choices, driven by their economy, need, and resentment; and all the efforts of one, Lewis, come to no avail for any of them, a decade later, at the anniversary of this event.


This is not a book you read and leave behind. This is a book you live.

This was different to what I expected, but not in a bad way. The book is split into parts, each part following the story of one of the characters. It was a well written story....I don’t want to spoil anything as it is better reading the book as I did, not knowing much at all, so I won’t write more other than to say it was a horror story unlike anything I’ve really read before. I liked reading about a different race and culture and I recommend giving this book a go, it really is worth it.

When I started this book I had no idea what I was getting into - a fantastic, mythological, Native American tale that makes me hope there is going to be more like this. Gruesome in parts with a fast-paced story line, this is a recommended read for those who enjoy 'folk-horror'. Roll on another book!

This horror novel is perfect for fans of The Terror. The story sucks you in before you know it and soon you are as unsure and terrified as the protagonists. The blend of folklore and legend, of myth and supernatural, of real and make believe are what keeps you reading long after it’s given you the creeps.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, is a horror story that will make you realize that past mistakes are never truly in the past.

Four childhood friends made a grave mistake ten years ago, when they hunted for elk in a forbidden section of their reservation. None, but one of them, realized at the time that what they had done was wrong.

Ten years later, the same men find themselves haunted by a supernatural entity that craves revenge more than anything.

Let me start of by saying that the premise for this supernatural horror story was excellent. I loved reading about the Native American culture, and life on the reservation. This book had good horror elements to it, and was at times quite thrilling.

That being said, I felt the novel was too drawn out. I understand basketball was a big element in the story, but it was just too much for me. I felt extremely lost in all the play by plays. Also, the writing style was not for me. Some things made no sense to me, so I had to go back a few times to reread some sentences. I'm not sure why it was that way either. The story itself was pretty straight forward.

I know this book has mostly excellent reviews, so I'm in the minority here. I urge everyone to read the other reviews, and then make up your mind.

3 out of 5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Gallery for the Arc!

Will appear in print magazine LOCUS April issue. Cannot post until after publication. I also boosted via Twitter and Facebook on January 21.

This book didn't quite do it for me. There was a lot to like, but ultimately I just didn't love the plot, plus the story's construction didn't feel like a novel, really. The seams where the book switched to a different point of view just felt too visible and contrived to really work for me.
All that said, this did pique my interest toward Jones as a writer so I fully intend to check out more of his stuff in the future.

"The Only Good Indians" has been getting superb reviews from horror bloggers, but I'm afraid I found it astonishingly dull and boring, with a writing style so tedious I felt I was walking through treacle. If I bought this book after reading one of these many positive reviews I doubt I would ever trust another review again. One of the most boring books I have ever read.

Being an Indian and loving horror I was excited to get this ARC. The premise was original and intriguing, it drew me in. It turned out to be a huge disappointment. The writing was flat, banal and confusing. It was slow paced adn just never grabbed me.