If you’re looking for a book that blends horror, history, and deep emotions, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is definitely worth reading. Stephen Graham Jones tells the story through an old diary from 1912, hidden in a church wall, that reveals a series of interviews with Good Stab, a Blackfeet man who survives a brutal massacre—and then becomes a vampire. As the story unfolds, we see his struggle with grief, identity, and a need for justice.

This isn’t just a scary vampire book. It dives deep into the real-life horrors of colonization and racism, using supernatural elements to highlight historical truths that people often ignore. The way it’s written—through diary entries and interviews—makes it feel like you’re uncovering a dark secret from the past.

The book is intense, emotional, and sometimes disturbing, but it’s also beautifully written and impossible to put down. If you like horror that actually means something, this is a must-read.

This was my first experience with this author and perhaps it wasn't the best choice for starting. I really did not click with the writing style. I've since heard from other readers that love this author that this a typical thing for this author, that he has a unique voice and it can feel harder to get into. But I really wanted to give him a shot and I loved the sound of this story but it just didn't work for me. I know I'm in the minority with this because everyone is always raving about him so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. It just wasn't for me, unfortunately.

Through the blending of both historical and fictional horrors, Jones has written what I would consider one of the most enthralling works of modern horror. Let's be honest, the history itself is brutal and terrifying, and the Marias Massacre which this book centers around is devastating. To take that story and build this revenge narrative around it, to turn the nightmare of colonialism and its inherent violence around, was absolutely genius. There were a few things I particularly loved: first, the frame structure, which reminded me of Frankenstein and did a beautiful job of not just connecting the present to the past, but acknowledging that the impact of the past endures. Second, the language, which takes some getting used to, both because it is not modern, but also because of the unique terms Good Stab uses—I thoroughly appreciated the fact that I needed to be entirely focused and absorbed into the story to grasp it all and that no easy translation was provided. Third, this book is genuinely scary. The atmosphere is alternately suffocatingly creepy and horrifically sad and it just never lets up. It was truly impressive to me that that tension was able to be maintained throughout. While I don't think this will be for everyone, I do think it is an incredible, worthwhile, masterful read that deserves every ounce of patience you have to take your time with it.

I just read The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. I received a free eARC from NetGalley.

After her ancestor's diary is recovered in the walls of an old church, Etsy Beaucarne (love that name) decides she is going to do a research project on her family's history. Stuck in the "publish or perish" cycle of academia, she sees her chance to ensure a tenured position. What she finds is the first hand account of an ancestor who was a small town reverend in Montana where strange bodies keep turning up. At the same time, he is visited by a Native American who wishes to confess to him. But neither the reader nor the reverend are ready for the tale that Good Stab is going to tell. Spanning over 200 years, this novel addresses the systemic injustices that the natives endured in the name of American Colonization.

I love Stephen Graham Jones. I think I've reviewed almost every book that he's put out lately. He has such a wonderful literary style that is so rare in contemporary horror. This one though, this one blew me away. From the very first diary entry I was completely taken away into a Western-style survivalist story of the old West. But make it vampires. And also, for once, make it from the point of view of the Natives. Beaucarne the elder is so well written as a man of his time with an intrinsic disdain and distrust of Good Stab, his white supremacy is only eclipsed by his need to be a white savior. Oh what a selfless deed he is doing by lowering himself to give spiritual guidance to this "savage" in front of him. Good Stab's story is both brutal and heartbreaking. There's a scene very early on where he's on an excursion and he just wants to be home, and God if that doesn't just break you a bit-- knowing what horrors were inflicted on his people. The question is, who is the monster-- Good Stab, or the colonizers? I think we all know the answer to that.

Best historical horror I've ever read-- nice to see historical horror that isn't set in a Victorian manor house.

Thank you Kabriya from Titan for providing me with an ARC of this title.

"This, I believe, is the story of America, told in a forgotten church in the hinterlands, with the dead mutely witnessing."

I've been waiting for SGJ to deliver another revenge tale like The Only Good Indians, and this is all of that and more. But it's not just a revenge tale - it's a tale of repeated brutality, colonial vampirism, and the pain that comes with losing community and culture.

Reading this reminded me of the first time I read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which I think is a huge testament to Jones. It captures all the broken promises and all the cruelty that went into making the 'American' West, and it doesn't give you a minute to catch your breath. Wedding this with the vampire narrative is honestly so brilliant, and in typical SGJ fashion he doesn't shy away from using authentic language even when it makes it difficult to read. It's an uncomfortable read, and that's a good thing.

Pour one out for Weasel Plume.

Wow wow wow! This was my first SGJ book and I think it was the perfect one for me to read first. This was such a haunting and unique story. I loved the format of an old story being told through journal entries. I just loved this so much.

Another absolute banger from Stephen Graham Jones. Like his previous works I've read (The Only Good Indians, I Was a Teenage Slasher), this book is dark, emotionally loaded, and is surely eye-opening to many readers concerning the US's horrific treatment of Native Americans. Each one of these three books have been consistent in theme, and all draw from his lived experience, while they are also very different in execution. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is set in multiple timelines from 1870 to 2013, primarily set in Blackfeet land in modern Montana. (I'm sorry if I'm not saying that properly- no offense intended). Like in I Was a Teenage Slasher, much of this novel is told from the perspective of a reluctant antagonist- one who is doomed to be the villain in his own story despite their best efforts to be the hero. And similar to The Only Good Indians, this is a story about justice and revenge, with supernatural entities stopping at nothing in their fight for vengeance.

I 100% recommend The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, though check your content warnings if needed. I loved this book and most definitely need a physical copy as a bookshelf trophy. Thank you x a million to Saga Press for the ARC of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, which is available now.

One of the best takes on the vampire from one of the most masterful storytellers in horror today. I could not believe the way this story unfolded. There are layers upon layers.

Stephen Graham Jones’s latest novel released earlier this month, but I received it back in January as an ARC from NetGalley and finally got to read it. The story opens as Etsy Beaucarne, a junior professor, discovers a manuscript from 1912 penned by her great-great-grandfather Arthur, a pastor in Miles City, Montana. The document contains Beaucarne’s accounts of his exchanges with a Blackfeet Indian, Good Stab, who attends Beaucarne’s sermons and convenes with him for a multi-chaptered confession. We find out early on that Good Stab was turned into a vampiric monster and condemned to live apart from his Pikuni culture, endlessly preying on humans and animals to survive. Eventually, Good Stab begins to hunt the settlers that have massacred his people and the buffalo herds. As the confession continues, it becomes clear that he’s also hunting Beaucarne—but why?

There’s so much going on in this story at once that it’s difficult to encompass it all here. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a historical horror novel, an American gothic western, a revenge quest, a vampire story, and a scathing critique of Christian hypocrisy, manifest destiny, and settler-colonialism. The story weaves between Beaucarne’s verbose, overdetailed ramblings and Good Stab’s candid recountings of the miseries and horrors he’s endured. The charged interplay between the two narrators is one of the more electric elements of the story. While vampires are an overwhelmingly populated genre, Jones’s bloodsucker lore inhabits a world entirely of its own. More to the point, the horrors that Jones fabricates pale in comparison to the real horrors he recounts from America’s history, one of the darkest chapters being the Marias Massacre.

While I’ve only read three works of Jones’ expansive oeuvre, I got the sense as I was reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter that this may be his magnum opus. There were a few lines and exchanges that actually made me exclaim out loud because they were that good. The horror also goes extremely, extremely hard. I have very mixed feelings on the ending (hence the four stars), and sometimes the structure and pacing become repetitive, but those are pretty minor trifles in a book as good as this. Reading it also reminded me of The Last Report on the Miracle at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich, so I was very happy (and #validated) when Jones shouted it out as a huge inspiration in his acknowledgements.

THE BEST HISTORICAL HORROR NOVEL I'VE EVER READ!

MY TOP CONTENDER FOR MY FAVORITE BOOK OF 2025!!

THE MOST THOUGHTFUL VAMPIRE NOVEL I'VE EVER READ, AND PROBABLY EVER WILL!!!

AN EXCEPTIONAL AUDIOBOOK PRODUCTION -- GET YOUR HANDS ON IT IF YOU CAN!!!!

I CRIED REAL GROWN-LADY TEARS AT THE END!!!!!

I'm not sure I need to say too much else about this. I'm sure from the stunning declarations above, you get the picture of my thoughts and feelings on The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. I would also say though, as far as the content of the story goes, the Publisher's synopsis really does a good job of telling you everything you would want to know going in. The book is best served if you just take your time with it, and let it reveal itself to you in the way SGJ would want. Trust him. He knows what he's doing.

If you follow my reviews at all, you probably already know that Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favorite authors; bested only by Stephen King in my rankings. I always look forward to his new releases and I feel like every time I finish one, I end up saying, this is his best work yet!
I know I said that last year upon completing my favorite book of 2024, I Was a Teenage Slasher, and I'm about to get repetitive, because THIS IS his best work yet.

When I tell you I was engrossed in this story, I mean it. Every fiber of my being was invested. The way it was told, it was like I was there. Each aspect of the narrative was blended seamlessly together for maximum impact. I couldn't stop once I started. I needed to know the truth behind this story; the everything behind this story.

The audiobook production was a master class in bringing a story to life; in transporting the Reader to another place and making them a part of the action. Particularly, in the final act. OMG, I cannot express how good it is. If you have the opportunity to get your hands on the audio, in addition to the hard copy, I would 1,000,000x recommend that.

At the end of the day, Stephen Graham Jones is such a talent. His edgy-style brings a distinct voice to all of his stories. You can tell that he pours his entire soul into his work. It shows. Every book is a journey that I don't want to end. Thank you so much to the publisher, Saga Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Finally, a sincere thank you to the author, Stephen Graham Jones, for continuing to hone your craft. Your ability to stay creative and keep pushing boundaries always astounds me. You are so appreciated. I can't wait to discover what's next!!!

This is my first Stephen Graham Jones after all of my coworkers being (rightfully) obsessed with him for ages. It is gross and sad and humane and absolutely one of the weirder takes on vampire biology I've read. It's a beautiful example of the horror renaissance and the genre's ability to deal with historical atrocities.

Stephen Graham Jones delivers a haunting and brutal reimagining of vampire lore, weaving historical trauma and supernatural horror into a blood-soaked narrative. The concept of Good Stab as a Blackfeet vampire was fascinating, and I appreciated the way the novel tied into real historical events like the Marias Massacre. It felt raw, unsettling, and deeply rooted in revenge—exactly what I was hoping for.

That said, this book read like a fever dream. The complex language and shifting perspectives sometimes left me struggling to follow what was happening, especially when it came to distinguishing animals from monsters. I don’t mind graphic content—in fact, I was expecting even more scalping—but the dense storytelling style made it easy to get lost in certain sections.

Still, the eerie atmosphere, the unique take on vampires, and the brutal, historical edge made this a compelling read.

Stephen Graham Jones is a fucking master class. This one, however, sadly, not really for me!!! I’m upset!!! Extremely well-written but, this is a historical novel, which I just! don’t! like! I would’ve never picked this up if SGJ hadn’t wrote it.

But, SGJ did write it, and I did pick it up, and I did like parts of this! I love the idea of an Indian who can’t die. I love the Indigenous revenge. I really liked Good Stab.

I definitely liked it, there’s no way this gets any less than a 3, I was just pretty bored throughout honestly :( the writing is so beautiful but lacks SGJ’s campy style that I so so love.

Stephen Graham Jones is a master storyteller. He brings to life a story of revenge and absolution det in both the modern era, and the late 1800s as Montana Natives are impacted by the arrival of the white soldiers bent on pushing them put. And since it's SGJ, we get some paranormal horror that takes it from a Western to a monster novel.

I sucked this down, a self referential pun, I'll be going to hear SGJ read from this novel this month and can't wait to hear him discuss the spoilers within.

This one hurt in some ways (let’s talk about how cows are my favorite animal so by extension bison are too and SGJ knows how to make you love an animal before heartbreak okay) but felt healing in others. Stephen has this talent of weaving together components of loss, anger and growth into beautiful stories and BHH is no exception.

One of the biggest pitfalls I hear people talking about when trying to get into his reading is how he writes too conversationally. I’ve felt that was part of the charm, as most of his characters and stories tend to be Native and oral story telling is part of that culture, so his writing style lends an air of genuinity to his stories. BHH really feels like a response to that negative feedback, where we see him write in three voices (well, two if you wanna get in the nitty gritty) that wildly differ from each other. Good Stab’s repeated “like this” show and tell of speech made me wish I was sitting in those pews witnessing his story first hand. I love this response, intentional or not, from SGJ, and I love this book.

I also found myself cross referencing so many things. I’m not usually a historical fiction fan, but being able to see how much reality he was able to fit into a vampire story

(SPOILER ALERT:


surprise Titanic reference)

was such a gratifying adventure for the reader in me. I’m inspired to try and read more books in this vein. I really hope this book finds a home on bookshelves; it’s got sad and funny and heartfelt moments, but it’s got a message as well. “This is an Indian story (…) and you’re on Indian land whether you admit it or not. We all are.”

This is my first full dive into Stephen Graham Jones and what a start. I have been meaning to read his books for a while now and will definitely be reading more. My only "negative" is the book to me felt over long but the payoffs were so worth it I can't really knock it for the length. His take on the vampire is wholly unique and mixture of other cryptids and folklore type monsters that blends incredibly well. A lot of the situations you knew were coming or how they would go but at the same time incredibly original and surprising in payoff. Its historical backing also makes it all the more terrifying. In its quite moments it is tense and contemplative. In its loud moments it is bloody and brutal. This book tears you open and curls inside where it will stay for many years to come.

I want to preface this review with my {strong} belief that not every book captivates every person. More specifically, not every person loves every book. And, quite honestly, that is okay. There now, I have conveyed my belief and can proceed with my most honest review of The Buffalo Hunter. I gave this book two stars and stand by that rating. I found this book to (here goes...) strange. At face value, the plot was interesting. However, I really struggled with how the author used, and convey meaning for, Indian names for animals, places, people, and things. I do not have any problem with those names occurring, especially in a historical fiction book whose origin lies in Indian lore. However, names were often introduced without explanation of translation into English. Translation did not occur until pages, or even chapters later, and often required inferences as to what was being discussed. Overall, I felt that this add an element of confusion to the story that I struggled to overlook.
I did feel that the book’s slow point occurred during the first 250 pages but gradually improved in both speed and overall enjoyability. Enjoyability also improved as I begin to learn and associate the words used by Good Stab during his confessions. Overall, I would caution any reader before picking this book up to be willing and ready to undergo a literally challenge by taking on this book. Is it a bad literally challenge, no... but it is a challenge.
Thanks to the Stephen Graham Jones, the publisher, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

I am absolutely enamored with this book! I found the layout and storytelling to be amazing, though my only issue is that I feel that it took a bit too long to truly get into the story.

I really struggled with this one! The premise and the story were so good, but I found the writing really hard to get through. It was written like it was from the 1800s and a lot of indigenous words were used that I didn’t understand. It took me a long time to finish because of that. But it was really good otherwise.

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

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a chilling historical horror novel set in the American West, where a Lutheran priest transcribes the life of a vengeful vampire haunting the fields of the Blackfeet reservation. The narrative is rooted in the real Marias Massacre of the Blackfeet in 1870, during which the U.S. Army killed 217 members of the Blackfeet nation - primarily women, children, and elderly men suffering from smallpox.

“We just wanted to live…how could you shoot us in our winter lodges?”
“You weren’t even there,” I told him.
“The best part of me was,” he said."

Written in an epistolary format, this is an unflinching tale of revenge (possibly the most brutal revenge arc i’ve ever read - like that ending??!) that unravels over the course of 100 years. Pretty sure my heartrate was steadily increasing throughout the course of the story, and once I passed the ~250 page mark, I could not put the book down. The tale is immersive, disturbing, gut wrenching, and thrilling all at once, and I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

I particularly liked the way that The Buffalo Hunter Hunter offered a haunting reinvention of vampire lore - I won’t spoil the details, as the surprise is part of the thrill, but as someone who is often drawn to stories of immortality, this one stands out as perhaps the best I’ve read. SGJ captures the emotional depth of Good Stab's heartbreak so vividly, as the immortal Indigenous vampire is forced to live through the gradual erasure of his people, culture, and homeland. The narrative also so masterfully subverts the conventional notions of monstrosity, and is just a brilliant story overall.

This is definitely a book that I will be thinking about for a long time (it's already getting better and better the more that I think about it) - that said, please note that this book gets extremely dark and graphic at times, so please proceed with caution.

“This is my telling for today. The pipe is empty.”