Incredible. Just when I think Stephen Graham Jones can't get any better, the next book he puts out manages to blow my expectations out of the water. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a book that is very upfront with the ugliness and horror of its content- it is by no means an easy read so right away I am going to give a content warning for extreme violence, racism, rape, and self-mutilation- if you've read Stephen Graham Jones before then you know what level of gore to expect.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is told through three POVs, in 2012 we have Etsy- a college professor who is trying to qualify for tenure by writing a book about a diary discovered, written by her great grandfather who mysteriously vanished shortly after the final entry. The other two take place in 1912 and follow Arthur Beaucarne's personal diary as well as his recording of the story of Good Stab- a Pikuni man who claims to be a vampire.

Describing this book is difficult- it's incredibly written, the characters are complex, with modalities that sways between gray and pitch-black, and aside from the fact that one of them is a vampire- they are incredibly human and realistic. The story is engaging and captivating, it sucks you in and you end up spending hours reading when it feels like less than a few minutes have passed, it's an amazing read, but it's not one you can exactly "enjoy". This book seamlessly weaves together fiction with real, historical events and that's a huge part of why it was so hard to read, you'll have a few pages describing Good Stab figuring out his new vampiric physiology followed by violent revenge committed against the white colonizers who brought the original vampiric presence into the land in the first place, and then you'll get to a part describing the violent and horrific massacre committed against a Pikuni camp which at that time consisted of women, children, and elderly- many weakened due to smallpox brought to the country by white colonizers- and that's real, that is a documented, historical event. This book doesn't even need vampires- the history it recounts is bloody and horrifying on its own and the reality of many events that occur in this book is something that left me feeling more disturbed and disgusted than any amount of vampire-mediated murder.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter might just be one of Stephen Graham Jones' best work as of now, it's impossible to look away from and it brings a lot of much needed focus to a portion of American history that is often neglected, ignored, and given a mere passing mention in a history text book if it's mentioned at all. Whether you're a fan or horror or historical fiction I would highly reccomend picking this up, the writing is incredible and the character work is genuinely some of the best I've seen in horror so far with Good Stab being the obvious stand out both as a character and as an incredibly unique twist on the classic "vampire". His story along with his interactions with Arthur Beaucarne easily comprise the most enthralling portions of the book (although the rest is by no means uninteresting by comparison), and the last few portions of Arthur Beaucarne's diary were impossible to look away from.

I honestly cannot reccomend this book enough and I greatly appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is such an outstanding slow burn historical horror that will leave you emotionally drained.

I love how thought provoking this novel is, making you question who the real monsters are. It is definitely not your average vampire story nor is it your average historical fiction. It’s just completely brilliant.

I would absolutely love (and very much hope) for this to become a film one day. Stephen Graham Jones writes in a way that you can mentally visualize the atmospheric setting, the action behind the words, and even the physical details of each character.

This is a phenomenal read. I didn’t particularly care for many other SGJs novels, but he knocked it out of the park with this one. SGJ belongs in the pantheon of great vampire novelists. This is partly a horror novel, part social commentary, and part western. Outstanding work.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️ literally obsessed with this author now. The story, characters, mystery/ horror, and more URGH!!!! I have been in such a western horror genre kind of mood and this takes the cake. 🎂

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

SGJ continues to be the absolute best at slow-burn horror, and TBHH keeps him on that pedestal. Told mostly through journal entries from 1912, we follow as a Lutheran pastor gets a confession he never expected to hear - and faces the consequences of the choices he’s made.

With a fresh take on the vampire genre and a creeping historical narrative that would fit next to Dracula, this book forces you to confront the bloody history of America and its treatment of the native Americans who were here first. Bloody and compelling, we can’t help but sympathize with the actions of Good Stab even when he leaves a trail of bodies behind him in his wake.

I also loved the interpretation of the vampire within this novel, and how one specific thing affects those who are afflicted with the condition. When we finish with the journal entries that one specific trait suddenly becomes front page and center, and we are confronted with a type of body horror that - while mentioned - was always relegated to the back-burner before this point.

My only issue is that I wasn’t as familiar with the history as I wish I was before getting into this novel, as well as I wished there were a translation guide for some of the words Good Stab uses to describe his narrative. The book does an excellent job of not holding your hand throughout, but with some of the names for the animals used I wished there was a way for me to look up a translation, as in many ways Google was unhelpful. (Some words are given definitions, like I now know that dirty-face means mouse, but others were not or I had missed it during my read-through.) This didn’t take away my enjoyment of this novel, only that in some ways I had difficulty understanding what exactly was going on, as I wasn’t sure which animal was actually being described here.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Saga Press for providing this e-ARC.

☆ Fun Factor 5/5 (Etsy's chapters suck but the rest is page turner at its best)
☆ Writing Style 5/5 (3+ different writing styles in one work, fantastically done)
☆ Characters 5/5
☆ Plot 4/5
☆ Setting 5/5
☆ Feels 3/5
☆ Spiciness --/5 (no sex)
☆ Gore 10/5 (WARNING: this book is intensely graphic animal and human violence and cruelty)

If this were a movie it'd be rated: R for frequent deaths, murders, blood, gore, intense violence, terrifying imagery, body horror, torture, intense animal cruelty, animal deaths, mutilation, and stalking

☆FOR FANS OF: The Vampire Chronicles and Let The Right One In

Ultimate verdict: ☆☆☆☆/5

☆☆☆Best Character Award goes to:☆☆☆ There's a small cast here, but Arthur and Good Stab are both incredibly compelling characters

Review: Interview with a Cat Man

It's hard to talk about this one without giving too much away, and the less you know going into it the better. It's a diary within a diary within a diary. Etsy our 2012-2013 voice as she goes through the diary of her ancestor Arthur who wrote in 1912, and Good Stab, who tells his 80+ years of life to Arthur as a confessional in the church. Each of the three POVs has a distinct voice and style, and 2/3 of these were VERY good.

This gets a 4 not a 5 from me because I feel that Etsy's unnecessary and actually takes away from the point, the horror, and the mystique of the other two POVs. I highly HIGHLY recommend skipping her chapters and ending the book with Arthur's final chapter.

That being said, about 80% of the book is either Arthur's or Good Stab's story and they are both exceptional. Compelling twists on the vampire genre galore: Good Stab is not your white European gentleman upper class vampire like Lestat. What exactly makes him special was too cool to spoil, both in his racial perspectives as a Blackfeet Indian and his powers as a vampire. This is a wild ride from start to finish.

It's not scary, but it's incredibly grotesque: reader be warned. If you are squeamish DO NOT pick up this book. Death happens so frequently I lost count after awhile, and it's not pretty. Animals and people suffer through terrible things in this book.


Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

At this point, I need an option that just instantly preorders every Stephen Graham Jones book for me the second they're announced, and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is one I will be so glad to have on my shelves.

Honestly, this book had me at "revenge horror," but the historical aspects included in made it even more fascinating. Fictionalized horror always hits even better ((or perhaps more devastatingly)) when it's mixed in with historical horror and events that did take place. Jones' signature depth and immersive writing is on full display here. This isn't a book you read, this is a book you FEEL. And it's HEAVY, so know that going in if that's not your thing.

Don't come to this book hearing "vampires" and thinking of the typical version that is depicted. This is not THAT vampire novel. What you’ll find instead is a violent, gutting, enthralling piece, injecting an incredibly unique take on the vampire mythos into the horrific events of the Marias Massacre. You won't find glitter here. This book is a knife to the gut in the best possible way.

I've yet to find a Stephen Graham Jones book that I don't love, and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is no exception. This book demands respect, and it deserves exactly that.

((While the viewpoints shared are my own, I want to thank NetGalley, Saga Press Books, and Stephen Graham Jones for this complimentary copy.))

This book is outstanding! The creepy atmosphere, the literal historical facts in the diary. The lady finding the dairy and trying to find out how her relative vanished off too. I don't usually read books that end up as diary entries but after the first part you dont even notice. It was sad in the instances that some of the events actually did happen and the dying of the buffalo is sad. I love buffalo, so I understand why the Indians wanted vengeance vampires or not.

I really enjoyed Buffalo Hunter Hunter. I’ve always enjoyed SGJ’s short stories, but this was a very unique take on vampire lore and it wasn’t like anything I’ve ever read before.

Written in epistolary style, the book is primarily journal entries from a Lutheran minister in 1912. Told from his perspective, but then also his translation of the stories his Native American visitor, Good Stab relays to him over several Sundays.

At first I wasn’t quite sure where the story would take me, but then we were introduced to the Cat Man and I was hooked. Good Stab is attacked and changed by this seemingly immortal creature who craves blood. Not only does Good Stab become a creature like Cat Man, he also realizes that he physically becomes whatever he eats. That was such an interesting twist.

Arthur, the minister also seems preoccupied with the act of consuming food. And there are a lot of instances of him being overcome by hunger. Hunger itself seems to be another character in the book.

The beginning and end are told from Arthur’s great great granddaughter Etsy. She’s drawn into this immortal story when someone finds Arthur’s journal and traces it to her.

Great book! Loved the story and style of writing!

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review a copy of Stephen Graham Jones’s new book The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. I’ve read a few other books by Stephen Graham Jones, and my favorite was The Only Good Indians, mostly because it reminded me of a few other books I’ve previously read. While My Heart is a Chainsaw also wore its influences on its pages, I felt like it was almost too referential and the allusions became a little too much for me. It is a creative book, but the continuous references to slashers took away from the story for me. Thankfully, this new book has plenty of historical and literary allusions, but also tempers them so that they do not overwhelm the characters and the plot. In fact, I felt like this was a highly creative and compelling story where Graham inhabits the minds and personas of two very different characters. I also enjoyed the frame narrative that Graham employs to tell his story, using the discovery of a manuscript from the early 20th century to set the story in motion. Etsy Beaucarne, a professor of communications, received a manuscript of her ancestor, Arthur Beaucarne, a Lutheran minister in Montana, who recorded his interactions and the confessions of Good Stab, an Indian in the town. While I’ve read some reviews that compared this kind of story within a story to Frankenstein and even Dracula, where the log of the Demeter essentially tells the story of what happened on the boat, I actually thought the framing was reminiscent of Heart of Darkness. However, we learn about Arthur’s story and experiences through his journal, but we also learn about Good Stab’s background and history, as well as his confessions through his own recounting to Arthur. This kind of structure creates some unreliability, but also allows us to see the events from different perspectives, especially since many history texts have left out the perspectives of Indians and Indigenous People. Good Stab is somewhat mysterious, and seems to unnerve Arthur initially, but Arthur also seems to be harboring some secrets of his own and doesn’t seem to completely fit into the town. He’s not only different, but some of the men make fun of him. In some ways, he finds a fellow outcast in Good Stab, an Indian on the periphery of the town, near where buffalo were nearly hunted to extinction and a massacre of the Pikuni Tribe previously occurred. Through this framing of the Beaucarne Manuscript as both a journal and a confession, Graham Jones is able to draw some initial parallels between the characters of Arthur and Good Stab. However, as we learn more about Good Stab’s story and origins as a Nachzehrer (I had to look this German word for a folkloric spirit that can drain the life from the living—almost like a vampire in Graham Jones’s novel) or catman, we will eventually learn more about the secrets that Arthur Beaucarne is hiding.
Both Beaucarne and Good Stab have unique voices, and Graham Jones effectively established characteristic differences between the two. However, I found it a little hard to adjust to their different styles at first. For one, Beaucarne writes like an educated member of the upper class from the late 19th/early 20th century. I found myself a little lost at times in his musings and observations about the town and Good Stab. As the story picks up and we learn more about both characters, I think I warmed to his peripatetic thoughts, but it takes some adjustment. Nevertheless, Graham Jones authentically re-creates this kind of narrator. I found Good Stab, on the other hand, more entertaining and endearing. His story about transformation from a Pikuni whose family is in the Sandhills (the afterworld) into a creature somewhat like a Vampire is incredible. Graham Jones uses literal names from the Pikunis (I think) to name animals. For example, Good Stab talks about Long-legs, swift-runners, and Blackhorns. It took me some time to figure out what these animals were, but I really enjoyed that kind of language use. It reminded me a lot of Achebe’s use of Igbo in Things Fall Apart. I also kept coming across the word napikwan, which sounded familiar. This is where I realized the similarities with James Welch’s book Fools Crow, which retells the story of the Marias Massacre and how white settlement (or colonizing) preceded this massacre of innocent Blackfeet Indians. In many ways, Good Stab is somewhat like the main character Fools Crow, who also undergoes a renaming and transformation, mostly due to his stories and exaggerations. I felt that Good Stab also exaggerated, but we also learn that there is truth to his stories. Furthermore, we learn that there is also a connection between both Graham Jones’s and Welch’s novel in that the Marias Massacre plays a part in both books. If you have the opportunity to read the Acknowledgement section, make sure you do. Graham Jones talks about visiting Welch’s house and sitting at his desk, which I thought was really amazing giving that the books both memorialize this massacre, giving voice to the dead, and trying, in some ways, to bring the dead back to life.
I’m not completely sure that Good Stab is a vampire, a Nachzehrer, or a Cat Man, but whatever he is, I can see how his ability to live forever is both a blessing and a curse. He’s able to continue to tell his story and recount the atrocities he’s witnessed as settlers continued to overtake the land of the Blackfeet. However, he also has to rely on others to sustain his lifeforce. One of the more interesting and creative twists on this story is the rules that Graham Jones creates for this kind of vampiric creature. I loved how the creature took on the qualities of what is was feeding on. For example, Good Stab noticed that as he was drinking the blood of trappers, he began to grow a beard and his hair color changed. When he drank the blood of animals, like long-legs, he grew antlers. This was a really cool element of the story, and it took the trope of a vampire in a new direction. I also enjoyed that this was also like a revenge story, where Good Stab was pursuing vengeance, not only for his transformation, but also for his people. In some ways, this part reminded me of the excellent film Ganja and Hess, which is also a unique interpretation of the vampire myth. Good Stab is not completely heartless, and he feels some guilt for some of his victims. He also ends up taking care of a buffalo calf named Weasel Plume. This showed that Good Stab was a complicated character, who was capable of both kindness and violence; yet his violence was also a result of his changed nature and interactions with white society. There’s a lot to think about and consider with this book.
In addition to being a historical vampire story that deals with a real-life massacre of Blackfeet Indians, there’s also a mystery happening in the town. The townspeople are ending up murdered in horrific ways. I enjoyed this mystery, and Graham Jones’s descriptions of the deaths are inventive, yet gruesome. For a horror fan, this is a highlight of the book. Furthermore, Beaucarne is haunted by some of these murdered people he has encountered, and he’s trying to understand how he’s connected to these murders.
The ending of the book comes back to the modern day, when things return to Etsy Beaucarne. I also liked her character, even though she’s limited to the beginning and the end. The last part of the book is interesting, but I also felt like it was tonally different from the other parts of the book. Nevertheless, there’s some humor and absurdity that is balanced with the idea of history and tradition and enabling a voice to emerge from the past that was mostly suppressed. I loved that Good Stab could continue to tell his tale and celebrate his people for his long life. As I was getting towards the end, I also realized that Beaucarne’s name translates to “Good Meat”, which is also something interesting to think about with his character and this book. Although the book is a little long and some of the Beaucarne sections dragged a little with maybe a too-realistic portrayal of a 19th-century clergyman’s observations, it was a creative and compelling book that also tackles issues of culture and violence, as well as assimilation and history. This may not be a book for everyone, but I definitely enjoyed it.

I made it about 45% through this before I chose to DNF. I was highly anticipating it and I struggled a lot with deciding to keep trying to read or not. First, I want to say I acknowledge this is a great book that works for the right audience. I just don't think I'm that audience. I'm not huge on historical fiction and the writing style wasn't my jam. I love multiple POVs but I was having a hard time following the trains of thought. The vocabulary was rich and it was apt for the time period but it made things confusing for me and I had a hard time keeping up.

This is the right book for a lot of people so while I never put DNFd books on my feed, I'm doing so with this one because I know it still deserves to be talked about!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read an advanced copy!

DNF at 35%.

The sysnopsis sounds great, and I have really loved some of Jones's books in the past, but last year's I Was A Teenage Slasher I was not a fan of, and this one I definitely am not. Stephen needs a better editor. The rambling got incredibly old, and this was one of the slowest starts to a book I have ever read. The writing was unnecessarily pretentious, and I just did not care about the characters nor could I stand the writing for one more minute to see if there is any payoff.

I dnf'd this book at about 40% unfortunately . I had a really hard time getting into it. I like the premise I just couldn't grasp the story. I didn't like the characters.

What if I scream, cry, and throw up actually. This was my most anticipated 2025 release and it did not disappoint AT ALL. Stephen Graham Jones can actually do nothing wrong and has never done anything wrong ever in his life.

I didn't really know what to expect going into The Buffalo Hunter Hunter but I knew it was going to be an insane take on vampires and it did not disappoint. The story unfolds when Etsy finds her great-great-great grandfather's journal from 1912. From there our actual story unfold through his diary entries, leading us to a place where I was both very confused but also captivated. We slowly learn about the massacre of over 200 Blackfeet and the chain reaction those events caused.

I will say, Stephen's writing improves with every books, I've never left one of his books and not loved it but this one did take me a little bit to get into. I was a little confused when we moved from present day to the diary entries but also I'm kinda dumb so take that with a grain of salt. Around 30% the book started to really click with me and around 40% I couldn't put it down, I read the last 60% of this book in two days. I absolutely recommend anyone who has a passing interest in this book pick it up, and stick it out for a little you will not leave this book disappointed.

For fans of;
Vampires
Revenge stories
Epistolary novels
Historical horror

Thank you so so so so so much to Saga for gifting me an ARC of this book!!!! You're all icons

Stephen Graham Jones weaves horror & historical fiction beautifully in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. At times, it was very difficult to get through, especially during the massacre (that was based on real historical events) because it was just so heartbreaking. SGJ adding the vampire element and having Good Stab seek revenge quickly made this one of my favorite vampire stories that I have read in a long time. It was so well done with how it blended historical events with the supernatural. I also loved that it's told in epistolary format, it made it feel more real and more unsettling. Thank you saga Press and netgalley for the eARC of this amazing book!

This is one of the most interesting vampire stories I have read in a long time. This book explores the pain and trauma of colonialism, using the conventions of a vampire tale. The characters in this story are fully fleshed out and very well-written. I really enjoyed the found-manuscript framing of this book and think it is very well-paced.

4.75 stars Like every other Stephen Graham Jones books I’ve read I walk away angry and irrevocably changed by his woven words of history, betrayal and barbed truths. I can’t say I loved the book, but I can’t say I hated it either. I can say I hate the truths between the verses of his carefully woven history lesson of Indigenous brutality. I can say I love the horror aspects and the folklore, while raised on its beliefs, feels like careful retribution. But Jones isn’t quite about an outcry for a people that has long been screwed over by the white man. He’s bloody and angry and in your face and that's what I think needs to be out there everywhere screaming and asking - NO demanding blood for blood. An understanding that these atrocities will no longer lie quietly in the dark, but rather grow teeth and feast! And Etsy, I freaking love that she choose to do the right thing! She stood against the white patriarchy and said nope, you’ll answer for what you’ve done! History lesson aside, the horror and storyline are fantastically written in a narrative confession by a Blackfoot, Good Stab as he shares the magical realism of his transformation at the hands of a world that never had love for him and his people.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a historical horror largely set in 1912 in the American West and told through the diary entries of a pastor. This pastor is transcribing a series of confessions from Good Stab, a vampire seeking justice for past wrongs.

I went into this one very unsure. I read everything Stephen Graham Jones writes, but I've never been that into vampires. I shouldn't have doubted. Jones is not your average horror writer, and Good Stab is not your average vampire. If you're like me and got burned out on vampires after your 13-year-old self read ALL of the Anne Rice, never fear. Jones brings some fresh vampire mechanics to the game.

Reading this book feels like watching a master at their craft. It's humbling, in a way; Jones is just so good here. He does make the reader work for it, which is typical of his books. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter isn't a quick or a light read. The prose is dense, and the action can sometimes be disorienting, but the reward is well worth the effort. It is gross, disturbing, and upsetting. The punishment he hands out to his characters is so creative and delicious.

The characters are all excellent, and I felt like I really understood them and their motivations. Good Stab is a total badass, absolutely terrifying, yet sympathetic. Somehow, Jones made me care deeply about Etsy, even in her relatively short screen time. I wasn't sure if her POV would be necessary, but the payoff is enormous. Beaucarne is, appropriately, pathetic.

There were several typos in the eARC, so here's hoping this gets another round of editing before publication, but it certainly wasn't enough to keep me from enjoying this.

Obviously, read this if you're a Stephen Graham Jones fan because it's his best so far. It's also a great choice if you're tired of the same old vampire schtick, looking for a genuinely satisfying revenge tale, or want some historical fiction with your horror. If you enjoyed the atmosphere of Lone Women but want something a little meatier and a lot meaner, you'll like this one.

Oh, and if you cried at I Was a Teenage Slasher, stock up on tissues for this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for the eARC and to Stephen Graham Jones for writing yet another book that caused me to put it down and stare into the middle distance for a while.

I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately, there is a distinct writing difference (for me) between the Jade Daniel's and Tolly books than there are for his other reads. I just couldn't get into this one. I will continue to pick up his books going forward though and hope I hit a jackpot again like I did with Jade! Thank you for the arc!

Jones's latest is once again a deft, fascinating work that plays around with genre conventions and social narratives to produce a chilling, layered story. I'm usually not a fan of vampires in horror, but this worked surprisingly well for me despite some initial misgivings.