The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is Stephen Graham Jones’s most powerful novel to date.

Heartbreaking is not a strong enough word to describe this book. It’s emotionally heavy. There are themes of loss of identity, loss of one’s homeland, and loss of one’s People. My mind keeps going back to Good Stab’s story again and again, processing it bit by bit. I think I’ll be doing that for a while, and I think that’s a good thing. I think stories like this need to sit with us. They need to weigh on us.

In traditional Stephen Graham Jones fashion, this devastating story is mixed with moments of humor and moments of bat sh_t crazy horror. Jones takes his imaginative kills very seriously. It is a vampire novel, but the true monsters in this story are all too human.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter hits shelves March 18th. Read it. Take your time with it. Listen with a good heart.


5 out of 5 stars
✔️ Highly Recommend

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, releasing tomorrow, March 18th!

First of all, so excited to get another Stephen Graham Jones ARC-I work at CU Boulder and when my students get to take classes with him I'm extremely jealous like...can I audit lol. ANYWAY.

This was a great (mostly) historical horror novel told from three viewpoints-a Pikuni man, a Lutheran preacher, and a modern-day professor reviewing the diary in which the historical story is being told. The epistolary style took me a little bit of time to get into but once I did I was locked in-I was also really impressed with the completely different voice compared to his other novels I've read (the last section, which takes place in present-day, reminded me a lot stylistically of the Indian Lake books).

As another reviewer said, this one hits differently than many other horror novels as it's based around a real genocide event (the Marias Massacre-a few reviewers have recommended reading up on it before reading the book, and I can see how that would give some context but I went into it relatively blind and don't think it impacted the story in any way-I was able to read more about it after I finished). The historical elements of the book feel as important and engaging as the vampire story-themes of memory, narrative, and trauma run throughout and as usual (at least based on SGJ books I've read) there's lots of violence and gore (although certainly not to the slasher-movie extent we got in the Indian Lake trilogy). It did run a bit long-we switch back to present-day near the end of the book and while I initially wasn't sure about that move and the pacing of it, on reflection I think it worked well. Add this to the list of Stephen Graham Jones novels I would absolutely recommend (which has so far been *checks notes* all of them).

A slow-burn historical novel that was good. It's written with passion and the story is interesting. The pace was a little too slow for my taste. Others may find it a great novel to hide away with and read.. Will try other books from the author as I have heard good things.

I raised my rating by a star after digesting the book a couple of days after finishing it.

(4.5⭐️) A historical western/horror story set around some of the most horrifying events to happen to the Blackfeet people in history.

Disclaimer: I did do this as a tandem read with the audiobook and the e-book. Thank you to NetGalley and saga press for the advanced reader. Copy in e-book form. Thank you so much to Libro.FM for the ALC copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.

First of all, if you're expecting the classic vampire that is included in almost every vampire tale, this isn't gonna be for you. This is not your classic sleeps in a coffin, hangs upside down, turns into a bat kind of vampire. This is taken directly from indigenous lore and is very different than what a classic vampire story is going to be. So know that going in.

As is classic Stephen Graham Jones style, this is a slow rambling buildup to an absolute avalanche of horror and emotion. We follow Good Stab, a Blackfeet native who has run a foul with a nefarious man that he shouldn't have. During a massacre of his people, he encounters a man that doesn't seem to be quite 100% human. Thus, Good Stab starts on his centuries, old journey of trying to make right wrongs and trying to track down people who are involved with the massacre of his people all while trying to stay alive. And get revenge.

Told as a story within a story, you're taken on a historical quest of death and survival through a frozen Wyoming backdrop. We have Good Stab who is narrating a confession to a Lutheran priest about his past transgressions. The Lutheran priest is therefore dictating the story of confession, as well as his thoughts and current happenings into his journal. And we have the Lutheran priests granddaughter, several generations down, reading these transcriptions and learning about what happened in the past. So it is a little jumbled in the way it's told, but it is very clear which storyline you are currently reading and the narration in the audiobook. Book reflects this wonderfully as well. There's distinct and different voices for everyone who is currently "talking" and it's really easy to follow.

This is a very slow buildup. You will feel like there is a lot of rambling early on into the novel and it really is setting up and telling a lot of the backstory. But trust me when I say that all of these ramblings are extremely important to the absolute avalanche of despair, emotion, and revelations at the end of the novel. If you're OK with a slower start with a spectacular ending then this is definitely gonna be something for you to read. There is definitely some battles and interesting happenings going on throughout the ramblings. So just wait for those because they are extremely interesting and very well described.

The new take on vampires in the novel was really interesting to me. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I thought it was extremely well done and told. As someone who is basically obsessed with anything vampire, it was really interesting to see a fresh take done on something like this.

The ending was extremely captivating! Will you realize and start putting everything that's been happening and being told together and realize what is literally happening here it is mind blowing. The ending is 100% worth reading the rest of the book and I absolutely recommend.

"The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" by Stephen Graham Jones is a historical fiction based on the Marias Massacre of 1870, where the US Army killed over 200 Blackfoot individuals. The book features horror elements, including vampires in an atmospheric setting. It centers around one of American history's tragic events. This novel, like Jones's previous works, is immersive and well-written with developed characters. It's reminiscent of "The Only Good Indians" but also original. The book provides representation of Indigenous perspectives on the colonization of America.

"The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" will be available on March 18. Thank you to Saga Press for the gifted copy, NetGalley and of course the author Stephen Graham Jones.

Based on your responses, MANY of you are interested in this one, and I don't think you will be disappointed if you are a true horror lover. This book is many things: historical fiction of indigenous peoples, a vampire story, a priest's story, a revenge story,  a supernatural story, a generational trauma story, and big time horror. 
The plot summary is best taken right from the jacket copy: 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.
While horror isn't really my thing, the voice(s) in this novel sucked me right in and locked my eyes on the page. I imagine this would be TREMENDOUS on audio. The language feels true to the time period and not of our current moment. This is a dark book, and a scary book, and highly atmospheric. So much of this is rooted in truth and Stephen Graham Jones did so much so well. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter publishes tomorrow.

I was an American History major in college, love vampire books and have been dying to try one of Stephen Graham Jones' books. I figured The Buffalo Hunter Hunter would be the perfect book for me, but I was wrong. I DNF at about 70 pages in. Since I haven't read anything else by Jones, I don't know if this is his writing style generally or if it is just this book because it is set in 1912, but I found the writing to be an obstacle to the storytelling. The sentences are long and difficult to follow. The pace is slow. The word choice is often burdensome. In fact, I was trying to explain to my husband the difficulty of the vocabulary and it led us to discovering a new word: sesquipedalian. Sesquipedalian is an adjective that means "given to or characterized by the use of long words." It's funny how the word itself is a fantastic example of its own meaning, words described as "a foot and a half long." Merriam-Webster explains that it was popular in the 17th century among literary critics to lambast writers for using unnecessarily long words. I had more fun discussing all this with my husband than I was having reading the actual book. After picking it up countless times over several days and trying to force it, I realized it wasn't worth the labor. I don't doubt that Jones explores important themes in this novel and has likely created fantastic characters. But I felt like they were buried in an insurmountable task of decoding his writing. And I say that as someone who has read a fair share of nonfiction about Native American history in the course of my studies.

Still, I've seen quite a few stellar reviews for the novel. So perhaps this is a case of this book is not for me

Stephen Graham Jones has once again proven why he is one of the most important voices in horror with this chilling and really emotional novel.

the story unfolds through the discovery of a 1912 diary, hidden within a wall and it belongs to a Lutheran pastor. at first i thought it will just be like a historical artifact but it quickly turned into an insane confession. one that ties back to the brutal massacre of 217 Blackfeet in the snow. Good Stab, the Blackfeet man who through transcribed interviews, recounts his own life story across a series of confessional visits. his words were so heavy to read..my heart was pounding like crazy because not only this is about revenge, but it's about the slow, haunting echoes of generational trauma. as he talks about the truth of what happened and suffering and injustices, insane shit just started happening and it was really impossible for me to look away. so what did my butt do? i kept reading lmao

the emotions in every page of this book was making me sob so hard, i kept choking on my tears. it's a horror rooted in reality, in history, in the atrocities that Indigenous communities/people went through and STILL continue to endure. the weight of loss, of vengeance, of justice delayed but never forgotten, it presses down on you and the weight of it was so heavy i ended up having to stop because some scenes gave me an anxiety attack. i kept having to put the book down. this story is terrifying in ways that go beyond supernatural horror—it’s the kind of fear that settles in your bones, that makes your heart heavy with the knowledge of real-life suffering. the slow burn unraveling of events, the way history refuses to stay buried, and the eerie, almost dreamlike quality of Good Stab's confessions was so haunting and heartbreaking.

by the end, I WAS IN TEARS. this book is not just a horror story; it’s a reckoning, and a reminder that the past is never truly gone. the author has crafted something unforgettable.

It’s a must-read, but be prepared: this book will break you before it lets you go.

5 freaking stars. 6 freaking stars idc
thank you so much Saga Press. I'm gonna need a few business days to recover from this book.

Wow. This was, in short, brilliant. It was such a unique take on vampires and just an overall fantastic book I think everyone should read.

I am used to Stephen Graham Jones delivering a raucous good time, especially with his past few novels. This one is different; it is devastating and eye-opening. It is historical horror that pits a monster against human monsters. It doesn’t let up. Jones is unrelenting in delivering some of really uncomfortable truths about the colonization of America. Even through all the discomfort, I couldn’t put it down. I am used to twists, but Buffalo Hunter Hunter had revelations that I did not see coming. It is fast-paced and unflinchingly gruesome until the end.

Maybe my expectations were too high. I was intrigued by the notion of a vampire novel set in 1912 Montana during the struggle for the livelihood of the buffalo and the Pikuni .

The vibes:
- 1912 Montana
- the Marias massacre
- buffalo and the hunting of said buffalo
- Vampire / ghouls
- Interview with a vampire but the interviewer is a pastor and the vampire is giving him his unhinged confession
- You are what you eat.
- the most unhinged confession, girl wut

I had such a hard time wading through this prose, and I’m not afraid of dense fiction. I think I could have set that aside if I’d gotten more from the plot. Weird lit is one of my fave genres so I’m not scared off by confusing plots. ( I mean I did read Perdido Street Station and The Scar by China Mieville). The problem was the pacing wasn’t moving fast enough to keep me wanting to digest the old style prose. I didn’t care enough about the two main characters. I felt so detached from them.

I did find the history surrounding the story to be interesting and I finished the book.

If you love literary fiction written in a historical style but it’s also horror and weird, this is for you.

One thing can never be in doubt, Stephen Graham Jones always paints a striking picture verbally when he writes. In his new book The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, as the name implies, we follow a paster from 1912 as he encounters strange deaths of murdered frontier men. I hung on every word. It was written journal style with the character's grand daughter having found said journal. Stories within stories and books within books are literary favorites of mine so I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint. The pacing, as with SGJ other books is slow but still engaging. The characters were so vividly described I fell easily into the tale. This whole book was a hit for me. I enjoyed the paranormal aspects as well as the historical horror elements. There are a few book boxes doing special editions and I can confidently say it's very worthy of the special treatment.

Tw: racist language and scenarios, descriptive murder, animal harm

Stephen Graham Jones does it again. ❤️‍🔥

A professor hoping that transcribing the journal of an old pastor will get her tenure. The old pastor, living a quiet and simple life in his church, until a man appears at the back of his congregation one Sunday. The Native man, in his long black robe and dark sunglasses. The man with a "dark gospel," a story to tell.

I was ecstatic when I was approved for an ARC of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. I've made it pretty clear that I love SGJ. While I have not read all of his work (yet!), I feel like this one showcases his talent in a different way. Three distinct voices ebb and flow throughout. Etsy, the professor in modern day. The minister in the early 1900s. And then there's Good Stab. The man who Takes No Scalps. The Fullblood who seeks revenge on all those who have hurt and killed his people.

Good Stab was an amazing character. There was so much confusion, fury, and heart in him. The story took a lot of turns I wasn't anticipating, and while there were so many characters to absolutely loathe, there were also the ones who pulled at my heart strings. Good Stab, Kills-In-The-Water, and Weasel Plume. Oh sweet Weasel Plume.

And much like I Was a Teenager Slasher peeled back the layers and gave new explanations for all those slasher cliches, SGJ does the same here with vampires. I'm not a generally a vamp fan, so I appreciated his new twists on their lore. It grounded the creatures (and the characters) in a really cool, new way.

Grab your copy March 18th!
Thank you @sagapressbooks and @NetGalley for this ARC. And to the master, @stephengrahamjones.

#stephengrahamjones #thebuffalohunterhunter #bhh #sagapress #sagapressbooks #netgalley #arcreview #bookreview #bookstagram

♡ Thank you @sagapressbooks & @librofm for the ARC & ALC ‧₊˚🎧⊹

·˚ ༘₊·꒰➳: ̗̀➛ Native history is raw, punishing, tears forever-flowing, grief never-ending. But revenge tastes good.

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

This is my third novel from SGJ. Though his books are tough reads, the destination has made the journey fulfulling.

Told in epistolary format, via a series of journal entries serving as confessions, it’s a bit of a western gothic and a whole lotta grim history — true horror.

History is written by the victor; as a result, the bloodiest, most horrifying massacres and shameful atrocities dealt by our nation have largely been buried, erased from our collective memories.

To honor the dead, we must remember, we must acknowledge harm done and bear witness. Knowledge is power.

This is an important read. Beyond that, I love a good revenge story. There will be violence, death, & despair, true to historical events.

There are a lot of anglicized Pikuni words, many not explicitly defined. I made a glossary for myself [swipe for pic in carousel]. I hope it helps someone else. Sections of the prose were slow in the mid-sections, the style a bit rambling. The language felt true to the 1912 frontier country of Miles City, Montana.

‧₊˚🎧⊹ The audio was well done, with a cast of 3 narrators for the voices of Lutheran Pastor Arthur Beaucarne, Good Stab (aka Weasel Plume, The Fullblood, Takes No Scalps), and Beaucarne’s great great granddaughter Etsy. I recommend experiencing the audio if you are able, although as with other challenging reads, the written word is easier to comprehend.

TW: Murder, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Racism, Animal Torture

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. And thank you to Stephen Graham Jones for writing this book. If I could sum it all up in one word: powerful. The emotional response I had at the end of this one was both unexpected and overwhelming. He puts it all on the page and in a way that is hard to describe. It isn't an easy novel. It is going to make you work for it and it is going to make you feel uncomfortable. The vampire aspect adds so much to the story but even without it, this is a powerful story to tell. The writing is beautiful and the epistolary format, which sometimes doesn't work, works extremely well for this novel. The long chapters set the pace for the novel in a way that makes room for reflection. This is not a heart-pumping action story. It is a story that breathes between the action beats with a looming sense of dread engulfing its entirety. Having the right expectations jumping in is going to be important for this one, because anyone expecting an action vampire thriller could be disappointed. This is a historical novel first and foremost, and the research that went into this is very apparent. I recommend this to anyone, horror fan or not, that is a fan of fantastic story telling and looking for an emotional story that is going to make you think and reflect when it is over.

As always with Stephen Graham Jones I felt hooked right away and it had me feeling on edge and creeped out all the way through, such a great book overall especially for horror fans.

Wow. I just finished this book last night and I have so many thoughts. I have been a fan of SGJ for quite a while now, and have come to expect great things from his works. His last book I Was A Teenage Slasher was hands-down one of the best books I had read last year. This book however, takes the cake for me. I think it is in my opinion his best work and I was so honored to read it as an ARC.

The book is an epistolary-like novel revolving around a story documented in a journal written by Arthur Beaucarne, a preacher in small Montana town in 1912.. The story reports a collection of "confessions" told to this preacher by an Indian man who claims to be a vampire and is seeking vengeance on the white men that are hunting buffalo only for their skin. The narrative flips back and forth from these confessions, to Arthurs interpretation of these confessions, and this whole tale is re-analyzed after this journal gets discovered by Arthurs great-great-great granddaughter.

I was truly gripped by the story and the way it was told. SGJ really overperformed in this novel and I cannot wait, once again, for his next book. Below is my CAWPILE ranking for Buffalo Hunter Hunter.

CAWPILE Score (For CAWPILE rating explanation visit https://bookriot.com/the-cawpile-review-system/)
C: 10
A: 10
W: 10
P: 9
I: 10
L: 9
E: 10

5/5 stars; 9.71/10

This is an absolute masterpiece!!!! This story is horror at its finest and Stephen Graham Jones did an amazing job at weaving in historical fiction throughout the story. The story is about loss and revenge and it is very raw. I don’t think I’ve ever been so invested in a book or the characters.

The story starts with the discovery of a diary/journal written by a Lutheran Pastor back in 1912. The journal is passed on to a surviving relative of the Pastor and from there we learn what is in the journal.

The story is mainly told in two POVs which is the Pastors and a vampire named Good Stab. One Sunday during service, Good Stab shows up which peaks the interest of the Pastor. From then on Good Stab begins to tell him of his life and tells him that while a lot of what he says will be hard to believe, he will eventually believe him.

We learn of how Good Stab became what he is and what he has done in his new life. We learn that he carries a big weight over his shoulders and as he continues to recount his story we learn of the Marias Massacre which was a true event. The way that SGJ was able to incorporate this massacre with Good Stab’s story is just so heartbreaking.

Throughout the story this is very graphic and raw violence that takes place. Some parts were very hard to read but it is the reality of the revenge that Good Stab is seeking and the ending was just perfect!!!

I can’t say too much without giving things away but I will say that this is one of those books in which you have to pay attention and possibly even take notes. Some of the words or phrases used may be confusing because it is how Native Americans refer to things such as “big ears” which refers to horses or “napikwan” which refers to white people/settlers. I enjoyed reading this and while it may be confusing to some, I enjoyed it and took notes to refer back which made it easier.

I recommend this book 100000% percent. Thank you Netgalley and Saga Press. All opinions are my own.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, which releases on March 18th, is Stephen Graham Jones at his best. The story follows a Lutheran priest in the new state of Montana in 1912. The priest encounters a vampire, a Blackfeet named Good Stab, in his congregation, who begins to tell him his life story, that goes back to the Marias Massacre, where 217 Blackfeet were killed by the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. This is an incredible book, it is unflinchingly realistic and powerful. The dueling points of view from the priest and Good Stab pull you in and no matter how bad it gets for either of them, you want to see it to the end. Jones crafts an incredible narrative through his unique style. It’s been a long time a horror novel has unsettled me and it’s probably now one of my favorite books of his. I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s a fan of his work.

Very immersive story. A lot of vivid violence. Jones really transported me to this… just awful time in history. I have to really commend him for that. I don’t usually fly through longer historical books as I did with this one. It was tragic and epic and I couldn’t look away, I had to know.
It took me a bit to get used to the style of writing, but I was so entirely invested by the end of Good Stab’s story. Although, Good Stab’s narrative was so compelling that the other chapters did often pale in comparison. His struggle and morality was the most compelling part of this book, though that probably goes without saying. Whenever the story shifted to another pov I just wanted him to reappear. *Especially* the last few chapters. But the last image this story leaves us with gave me chills. One of my favorite endings I’ve read in a while. I do really recommend it to horror fans.
4.5 stars.