The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a fantastic historical fiction horror story from one of my favorite authors. It has a pacing similar to his other work so I found myself flying through this to find out what happens. In the beginning, I had a little trouble with all the different names but got used to it soon enough. I wish I had read about the events this book is based on, it would have given me a heads up to who was who in the story and what was being avenged. This is a great story and the ending will blow you away. Loved it!

Thank you to Saga Press for the digital ARC and Libro.fm for the ALC prior to release!

This was my first five-star read of 2025 and a book I will be thinking about forever!!!
Stephen Graham Jones is absolutely brilliant. He wrote this book in 10 weeks, and I am afraid of his brain, truly.

This novel is told in epistolary format from three different narrators—each with their own voice actor on the audiobook, which I HIGHLY recommend for a very rich experience.

In 2012, Etsy Beaucarne is contacted about a journal hidden in a church house wall, written by her ancestor, Arthur Beaucarne, a Lutheran pastor. Dated in 1912, Arthur’s journal describes his experience preaching in rural Montana and his encounters with a Blackfeet man named Good Stab, who claims he is an immortal vampire. But in listening to Good Stab’s story, Arthur reveals some secrets of his own…

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is rich with so many things, but above all, this novel is a story about revenge and justice and REAL horror—not rooted in the mystical, but in racism, murder, vices and guilt. Good Stab’s tale is full of Blackfeet culture and legend, but he also describes the way white settlers destroyed Indigenous communities’ native grounds and the people and animals dwelling there, like the buffalo. Having this story recounted by Arthur—and paired with his biases and offhand comments about Native Americans—showcased the tensions of the time period and the terrors inflicted upon the Blackfeet.

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

The mystical is primarily the framework for the story, but wow is it great. I loved SGJ’s take on vampirism and the ways Good Stab survives and evolves as he learns about his fate. He feels so many things about what happens to him—guilt, shame, regret, power, vengeance—and we see them all acted on over the pages.

The voices in TBHH were very rich but at times challenging. Arthur’s sections, in particular, were rambly (the man loves a tangent about food) and dated, while he postured as “educated” and “high-brow.” Good Stab’s voice was much more grounded, even though he uses Blackfeet terms for animals. These were unfamiliar to me at times, but context helped a lot. The way the POV shifts between Arthur and Good Stab’s chapters kept me engaged, and I was eager to push through slower parts to discover what happened to this small but intense cast of characters.

TBHH is historical, terrifying, shocking and funny all at once. It has a very different tone to some of SGJ’s other books (for example, I was not a huge fan of Teenage Slasher, but devoured this one). It’s simply an outstanding, gruesome, slow-burn read that, like Good Stab, you can really sink your teeth into.

I am a huge SGJ fans so I am very grateful to Saga Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a historical horror fiction novel. The story follows a diary written by a Lutheran Priest transcribing the life of a vampire set our for revenge.

Rating: 4/5 stars ⭐️

Historical fiction and horror are two of my favorite genres so I was excited to dive into this book. I was not disappointed. The historical elements mixed with horror were incredible and had me on the edge of my seat. This book is devastating in the best ways.

This novel speaks on historical events and it’s devastating to read but it’s incredibly important to be educated. It definitely gives more understanding to Good Stabs motives.

The pacing is a bit slow, so there were times my mind did wonder while reading, but I was always drawn back in.

I am a huge Stephen Graham Jones fan! I have read numerous books of his and loved them all! So I couldn’t get Buffalo Hunter Hunter fast enough! I even preordered the special edition. However, it just did not work for me. I’m not sure if this is more of a timing thing, or if it’s just not for me. Which is fine, because I know not every book will be! But I wanted to love it so much. It’s more historical fiction and was too slow for me. I couldn’t stay in the story and found my mind wandering. I will absolutely continue to read Stephen’s books and can’t wait for what’s next for him.

Historical fiction horror... vampire lore in the old west. Two of my favorite genres but with vampires- I'm hooked! The historical information, based on the Marias Massacre, in this book was very interesting. It was something I knew little about but was intrigued to know more. Stephen Graham Jones is a master of horror. This book, while intriguing, was also very disturbing to me. It was a no night reading book for me! Thank you to Saga Press and Net Galley for the advanced copy!

Stephen Graham Jones continues to be one of the hardest working writers, and one of the best, in his genre. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is an incredibly dark, challenging read set in the American west against the backdrop of our very real genocidal history - particularly the massacre of Piegan Blackfeet Natives peoples by the United States Army, and the near extinction of the buffalo.

The horror novel is told in alternating points-of-view; the story follows a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire stalking the fields of the Blackfeet reservation seeking revenge and justice.

I know that Jones is not everyone's cup of tea - this is a difficult book from start to finish that ultimately satisfies and rewards the reader. It's also a deeply entertaining and absorbing informative piece of historical fiction.

A very special thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for the advanced copy - The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is now available for purchase.

Love, love, love Stephen Graham Jones. This book is no exception. Thank you for the ARC and the opportunity to read! If you’re already a fan, purchase and enjoy! If you’re new to Stephen Graham Jones, purchase and, once finished, gobble up the rest of his books!

Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a western with dark fantasy elements. What I loved about it is that it captures the spirit of a western without the problematic components of celebrating colonization over indigenous people. It is emotionally difficult to read because Stephen's eloquent prose emotionally cuts to the core.

This book definitely touched some really tender places of my heart in the best possible ways. I am grateful I obtained a review copy through Netgalley. You can't go wrong with anything by Stephen Graham Jones!

I'm so pleased to see what Stephen Graham Jones is doing for horror right now, getting it on the shelves at big box stores, bringing it to a wider audience, making them check out obscure slasher movies from the 70s. All that and more. Thing is, it might just be time to accept his work doesn't agree with me. I'd like it to, like when you eye up an ad for a spicy burrito, and think maybe this time it'll work out. Alas.
The epistolary nature of this one is intriguing, and some of the ideas revolving around how vampires change depending on their food source, and choices that must be made, treatment because of it, they are as unique as they are fascinating. For me, what it comes down to is execution. I found the book murky and bloated, hard to follow at times, and even when it wasn't, not riveting to make me want to pick it right back up. I recognize that some of these issues are there very thing Jones's regular readers eat up, so if you enjoyed The Only Good Indians or I Was a Teenage Slasher, you might absolutely fall in love with this book. It just wasn't for me, and that's okay.

This is a brilliant, unique take on vampires, with the potential to become a future classic. I will start off by stating that you have to be in the right mindset for this if you are not used to reading historical fiction, with a very unique execution. This is told in an epistolary structure, from a pastor in the early 1900s whose dialogue is old fashioned and long winded. This was heartwrenching, brutal, eye-opening, and terrifying. The descriptions were vivid, allowing the reader to capture the atmosphere and imageries throughout. This wasn't just a horror story. This was a beautifully written tale of injustice and retribution. Four and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Saga Press, for this ARC.

This was my first SGJ read and WOW! I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to pick up one of his books! I had also forgotten how much I love historical fiction before reading.

I loved that each character’s pov/Good Stab’s stories were written in their own unique voice. They were all such vastly different characters and their entries showed it.

I really felt in Arthur and Etsy’s heads during their sections. They didn’t glance over things or keep things strictly to the point. I liked how their side thoughts and emotions came through as well.

That ending? Perfection!
Everything came full circle and ended exactly how I hoped it would.

There’s not much I can say about Buffalo Hunter Hunter that hasn’t been said already, but I will still share my two cents 😅.

Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a story written in an epistolary format featuring 3 pov’s: Etsy Beaucarne, a professor struggling to make tenure who comes across her great-great-grandfather’s letters, Arthur Beaucarne, Etsy’s great-great-grandfather and also Lutheran pastor and Good Stab, a Blackfeet native/vampire.

Here’s what I loved about the story:
* This felt fresh. It didn’t remind me of any vampire novels I have read in the past and I loved a lot of the specificities of being a vampire (like you turn into whatever you’ve been feasting on most!)
* Loved the revenge portion of this story
* Loved (well not loved - you know what I mean 😅)the historical aspect of this. It made me get lost in a research rabbit hole of the Marias massacre and made me place holds at my library for more books from the native perspective about the atrocities inflicted upon them by the U.S. government.
* Really loved that each character was consistently themselves and easily identifiable. I was never lost as to who was speaking - every character has their own voice, tone, even vocabulary and that is important for world-building and reader immersion.

My only qualm about this novel is that I am still not 100% sure I needed Etsy’s POV in it. I think for me, the novel would have been more impactful if it was left off at the last letter from Arthur and he was never seen/heard from again. It would have let the reader make up his fate.

Overall though, this book was very entertaining, the characters will stick with you and I think it’s an amazing historical horror.

Stephen Graham Jones absolutely knocks it out of the park every time. This is a hard book to give a quick summary of. It's a story within a story within a story -- an oral story from a member of the Blackfeet tribe, as related to a Lutheran minister living in Montana Territory in 1912, framed within his written diary that finds its way to a descendant in 2013. But by the time you get to the end, it becomes apparent that it's not always clear where one person's story ends and another person's story begins, and in a country like the United States of America where the horrific sins of the past are never dead and buried but remain ever-present and very much a part of our current narrative, it's not even clear if some stories have an ending at all. There are some parts of this book that may require patience on the part of the reader, but it absolutely pays off. This is one of the most exciting and engaging books I've read this year.

Like with any SGJ novel, the foundation of the plot is laid down deep, roots set and all. He is a master at story telling, and leaves no stone unturned, no detail is missing, no plot lines go incomplete. Typical for me, it takes a while for me to get into it, solely because of the amount of detail - it’s a lot to take in and I have to make notes for my ADHD brain - but let me tell you the payout is so damn worth it.

I loved this story, retribution is always an enjoyable storyline for me and indigenous horror in general is a favorite of mine, so I knew once I got going this was going to be so good, aside from the fact that it’s a SGJ novel. I rooted so hard for Good Stab even though he was also kind of a “bad guy” towards the end, I really felt like he was deserved it. This story has so much, there’s a lot of grief and heart break and also a lot of painful history that is overlooked daily. It will definitely remain in my top 10 for the year. It goes without saying that I will read every SGJ novel I can get my hands on, but I do think that it should be a must-read.

Thanks to Saga Press for my ARC. 🖤

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC.

"It's about how bad you wanted to live.

And I wanted to live."

This might be SGJ's best work to date and certainly his most ambitious. It is an incredibly compelling take on a vampire story with a pointedly Indigenous American turn on the trope (harkening to trickster deities such as Coyote and the sanguine folk hero Blod Clot Boy), despite the word "vampire" being using only once throughout its entirety--a feat in and of itself.

"[Pulling the bark from the tree] with the boy was the most Pikuni I had felt since I died from the soldiers in the Backbone."

"'I know you think I drank his blood,' Good Stab said ... but the corruption in him is worse than that other one's flag.'"

SGJ taps into that irresistible horror framing narrative brought forth by Shelley and Stoker before him, the epistolary novel, to give us three distinct voices in shaping the world of *Buffalo Hunter Hunter*. In doing so, he presents an unflinching narrative digging at the corrosive heart at the seat of this country's founding: one of genocide wrought by avarice and desperation; such human, paltry things to justify such atrocities that we see them played out to this day.

Our three narrators are Etsy Beaucarne, our resident researcher who uncovers the document we are reading, Arthur Beaucarne (aka Three-Persons), the author of "The Absolution of Three-Persons," which frames the last narrative section, "The Nachzehrer's Gospel" told via confessional interviews with Good Stab, the titular Buffalo Hunter Hunter. In this we see every extreme of humanity, almost a response to Cormac McCarthy's death-tinged *Blood Meridian*, the wholesale slaughter responded to in kind again and again with a note of vengeance from a voice laced with sharpened teeth.
Take note, Good Stab is a vampire, but one you haven't quite seen before. This morally gray anti-hero will send you through a Miltonian gamut of emotional swings, and you see the same depth expressed within his heart as well.

"I opened my mouth in what I would call pain, but it was deeper. It was all of my sin trying to find a way out."

For those who are new to SGJ or have had trouble with his particular style (that of a slightly meandering barside conversation), this is him at his most readable, and I cannot recommend it more. Perhaps not an entry-level SGJ (*Mongrels* or *Mapping the Interior* might remain my recommendations), but it is a needs must read. I foresee this being taught for many classrooms to come and look forward to doing the same.

A vampire revenge story? Yeah, that’s my favorite niche genre now.

This is one of the hardest books I’ve ever read. The writing takes great concentration and effort to read but once you get in the flow, you feel like part of the story. That is what I love about historical fiction. I was transported to 1912 Montana and that is quite a different world. Very brutal and raw, this story may not be for everyone. So much death and destruction in our country’s history but it is important to remember.

It is written as diary entries following a Pastor named Arthur, a Blackfeet Indian named Good Stab, and a professor in present day named Etsy. I loved Good Stab’s POV. Loved learning about the Blackfeet’s culture and customs and the description of Montana’s lands. I am obsessed with this author’s take on a vampire that blends in Native American spirituality and culture.

The story created a buildup of tension and dread that I love in horror. The character arcs are really fleshed out (literally) and I just loved this story.
This is my first book from this author and I will definitely be reading more from him.

Check trigger warnings, there is A LOT of animal abuse and death which made it hard to read at times.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

I’m am at a loss for words. At first, this was hard for me to get into. I’m horrible with history, which is something I want to improve on. I restarted the first few chapters countless times to make sure I had the set up properly built in my head. That completely set me up to enjoy every bit of this marvelous story. Marvelous is a weird word to say considering the subject matter, but wow. Impactful would be a better choice. This is so much more than a vampire story. SGJ does it again. Gives me a skin crawling story that simultaneously teaches me and makes me an emotional wreck. It’s completely engrossing and is not one of those stories that you read and forget.

This was such an incredible book. I loved the epistolary format and through that we were able to learn so much about Good Stab. I trust SGJ to put me into a subgenre I don't normally read (historical fiction) and to bring me to a place of just being absolutely drawn into the story.

Stephen Graham Jones can really give me whiplash. Coming off of "I Was a Teenage Slasher" this was a little challenging to push through, but was an excellent story overall. This one really harkened back to "The Only Good Indians" between the tone and the loads of dead animal imagery, which definitely will not be for everyone.

I really enjoyed this take on the vampire and found the brutality of the circumstances that Good Stab existed within extremely compelling. Weaving together vampirism and the effect that colonizers have had on this continent is really well done and also deeply resonant. Also on a very superficial level, Graham Jones description of Good Stab makes for a fairly iconic vampire character and I would love to see it realized on the big screen.

Much in the same vein as The Only Good Indians, this book dives deep into revenge undertaken on behalf of slaughtered animals. The diary style adds an element of troubling reality, and interspersed with actual historical incidents, becomes a hair raising tale of sadness and loss.