Stephen Graham Jones just doesn't miss! (I say this about all my favorite authors but y'know, bear with me). What a brilliant writer. What a brilliant book! Jones is phenomenal at really soaking the reader in the horror of the past, and reminding us that the past isn't some distant country but affects us now, in the present. The slow, creeping tension built up throughout this book was utterly brilliant, and the anger was infectious. What a talent!

A slow burn that takes a bit of work at first eventually melds seamlessly with the imagination in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. I wasn't sure about the three different narrators and the heavy lifting required to follow the setup, but at some point I realized I was completely immersed in the Old West, trusting SGJ's confident voice. Just when I thought the vampire trope had nothing more to give, SGJ breathed new life into it, or perhaps "undeath." This is at the top of his catalogue now.

This book was alright in my book. I had trouble getting into the story based on the way it was written. The writing and format of the book made the book drag in my opinion and made me want to put down the book. The more I read the more I del like the story was not progressing . I really wanted to love it but the pacing is what really made the book just alright.

There is just something about this author 0and thank you saga press for introducing him to me. I have always loved the horror genre, and i struggled with them all feeling like they follow the same 5 points. Stephen Graham Jones, is such a talent and a palette cleanser for me. I usually read it after a harder read and this arc came at a perfect time... However, I feel like this book made me use my brain more than his past books I have read. There are trigger warning I would mention including death, and gore. The gore reminded me more of a tender is the flesh amount of gore. It has traces of historical aspects as well. So if you enjoy historical and horror genre I would definitely recommend to you. I would 100% go back and reread.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Stephen Graham Jones has been an author I've heard about in horror circles for a while now. I was planning on getting to My Heart's A Chainsaw at some point this year, maybe, but when I saw all the hype around this novel I knew I had to get my hands on it.

Almost everything about this novel worked for me from the prose of the journal entries, to the unique vampires, to the simmering anger holding the novel up. The dynamic between out two main characters is just riveting, especially as the twists start to unfold as the novel continues.

My only complaint would be the frame story feels sorta out of place. I think the end sequence is really great, but it does just feel like it could've been chopped.

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

🦬🩸🦫

ARC Review: “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones

This book is one of the best books I’ve ever read! I already loved SGJ’s writing but this probably solidified his spot as one of my favorite authors.

I found the style of horror in this book to be super interesting; definitely more of a slow-burn horror, if that’s even a thing. The true beauty is the tension that builds over the course of this story between Good Stab and Arthur Beaucarne and learning why exactly Good Stab is there in the first place. Ultimately, I think it asks us to consider what is the actual horror of this story, and is it what (or who) we think it is.

This is not just a great horror book, but a great book overall and is a masterful blend of horror and historical fiction told to us in such a unique way! Definitely recommend it even if horror isn’t your typical genre ✨

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Overall Rating | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was not a favorite of mine. I did not enjoy how it was written. I could not get into the story via ebook or audio. I wanted to love it.

One of the most profound novels I've ever read. TBHH is a horror novel based in the darkness of American history. There are vampires, yes, but other monsters much more evil fill this story. I read this one slowly because it demanded me to look, really see, and pay attention. Watching this tale unfold was poetic, cutting deep into my soul and eliciting such a strong emotional response that I had to pause at times to weep, truly weep, at the power behind the words. There is brutality, revenge, blood, and pain, but also love in these pages. I will keep this one in my heart.

This novel is an unique take on Vampires only Stephen Graham Jones can do. It has a different lure than your traditional Vampires bit same but mostly different and to have Jones tell the tale! It is Steeped in ingenious lore that just gives another layer than just Vampire story. I loved the atmosphere and the writing.
This is definitely one of my favorite books from Jones.

While I really enjoyed this book overall, it just felt LONG. I liked the different take on a vampire story and enjoyed the historical element. Good book but not a favorite for me.

In his most recent novel, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Stephen Graham Jones has crafted a chilling vampire story only he could tell. Set in the old west in the Blackfeet Nation, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a deeply American tale of Native American culture and pride, and its struggle to survive the encroachment of white settlers.

Jones has become one of my favorite horror authors in the last few years because of his ability to weave captivating narratives full of bone-chilling horror. And, Jones, a Blackfeet Native himself, also brings his culture into all of his work, which is a welcoming thing in the horror genre, which is, historically, painfully white. I’ve said a whole lot over the years that, as a straight, cis-het, white male, I know the story of people like me so well it’s boring. People like me is all I have ever seen in art and it’s so uninteresting to me at this point. Jones’ characters and their views of the world are so interesting and enriching and, dare I say, educational.

This is no less true in this book. Set mostly in the years between roughly 1862 and 1912 (with wrap-arounds at the beginning and end set in 2013), The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is the story of Good Stab, a Blackfeet who, in a tussle with white soldiers, encounters a vampire and ultimately becomes one himself. Good Stab, in the year 1912, comes to the church of Arthur Beaucarne, a Lutheran preacher Good Stab calls “Three Persons” after the Holy Trinity, to “confess” to him, to tell the story of his life. Through Good Stab, we get an incredible, beautifully written, often sad tale of a man desperate to maintain his identity despite what he has become.

Ultimately, that is what the story is about, identity. Good Stab wants to stay Blackfeet, Pikuni in his native language, but he also wants to try to save his people from settlers. We follow the story of Good Stab as he struggles not just with being a vampire, but with a world that is becoming more and more the property of white settlers and less the world of the Native People. Drawing attention to Native culture and its place in the modern world is something Jones has done so well in other novels of his like Mongrels and The Only Good Indians, but the historical nature of this novel really elevates it to another level.

In Good Stab and the vampire that created him, The Cat Man, Jones has also created a type of vampire entirely his own, introducing powers and weaknesses never before seen in vampire lore to great effect. He creates a whole new breed of monster, one that is incredibly cinematic and sparks the imagination. That’s really all I can say without giving it away.

As for Arthur Beaucarne, the second lead character, he is mostly uninteresting, that is until we learn why Good Stab has chosen to tell his story to this specific preacher. It’s an amazing twist. For most of the novel, Beaucarne is the vessel through which we experience Good Stab’s story and little else. Not that he’s a bad character, just a rather plain one. But when the twist comes, suddenly the entire story takes another turn. It’s pretty brilliant on Jone's’ part.

My only complaint with the novel, and it’s a small one, is that I reached a point where I felt like it was too long. The length of a book is a criticism I typically hate, be it to say “it’s too long” or “it’s too short.” But, unfortunately, I have to say it here. And it’s made worse because I honestly don’t know what I would take out of the story to change that. But, around 75% through, I started to feel myself going “I can’t believe there’s so much left.” I didn’t even not enjoy the final 25%. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that it could have been a bit shorter. In the end, though, that didn’t change the fact that I found the book incredible.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a vampire story for the ages and deserves to sit up there with Dracula and Interview With The Vampire as a defining novel of the vampire genre.

It’s enjoyable, and I think historically very interesting to see (even in fantasy) the world through the eyes of someone who is Native American. That’s important in itself.
However, I found the prose a bit hard to follow at the beginning and that took me out of it a bit. Once I figured out the flow and jumping back and forth between timelines it flowed really well. I put 4 stars, but honestly I think it’s a 3.5. Fun, vampires, killing dudes harming animals.

Read If You Like:
- Horror
- Westerns
- Psychological tension
- Native American folklore
- Revenge stories
- Unreliable narrators

Set against the vast, unforgiving landscape of the American West, this novel follows a man obsessed with avenging his family, who were slaughtered by a notorious buffalo hunter. What begins as a straightforward revenge tale quickly spirals into something much stranger and darker, as the lines between man, beast, and spirit blur. The protagonist’s relentless pursuit of his target drags him deeper into a world of hallucinations, curses, and blood-soaked violence, where nothing is as it seems or is it?!

The novel masterfully blends horror with Western tropes, turning the traditional frontier mythos on its head. The prose is sharp and unrelenting, mirroring the brutality of both the setting and the story. The psychological unraveling of the main character is as gripping as the external horrors he faces, making the novel feel like a descent into madness.

Steeped in Native American storytelling traditions and the eerie loneliness of the frontier, this is a chilling, atmospheric read that lingers long after the final page. Fans of genre-bending horror will find themselves enthralled—and unnerved—by its haunting vision of vengeance and survival.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my eARC and audiobook!

What can I say about SGJ that I haven't already screamed from every mountain top a hundred times? What this man has contributed to the horror genre will go down in history, and this book is no exception. Every book he offers, such fresh ideas, to the horror genre and his take on vampires in this was so original.

It's hard to say that this book was enjoyable due to the subject matter. It's hard to digest and very difficult to read due to the fact that if you take away the vampires, these events did happen. But despite that, SGJ crafts his words so beautifully that they will break your heart. Good Stab is such a great and complex character. Reading his chapters were the best part, especially as he became more of a vampire and dealing with the loneliness of no longer really feeling like a Pikuni anymore.

SGJ won't be holding your hand in this one. There are multiple Pikuni words/phrases that aren't ever explained, and you have to figure them out on your own. If you don't like that kind of thing, then I suggest looking them up.

If you're already a fan of SGJ, then definitely read this. If you haven't read this work, this book definitely starts off slower while the plot is set but worth it all in the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for the arc.

I’ve never cried so much reading a horror book, and I loved every moment. The author is so capable in their story telling that you feel you are with these characters every step of the way. I’m on my knees crying blood with Good Stab. I’m hidden away scrawling words on a page with the pastor. Each small reveal of these character’s larger story and connection is like an IV drip maintaining my addiction to turning the next page. I loved the slow progression of this epic tale. I already knew I loved Stephen Graham Jones, but this has officially put him on my list of favorite authors. Please read this book! A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

Another stunning, intense horror story from SGJ, who could be surprised at this point? His stream-of-consciousness/journal-entry narration is top-tier, as ever, and so easy to immerse yourself in, even when the worst atrocities are being described.

Another stellar and horrifying and heartwrenching horror tale from Stephen Graham Jones. Part vampire story, part Western, part indictment of American Imperialism and genocide, THE BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER is a slow burn of a tale of terror that had me hooked, horrified, and emotionally wrecked. I really enjoyed Jones's take on vampirism (so unique in so many ways), I loved the epistolary set up, and I really, really liked the way that he calls out the United States ongoing violence towards Indigenous Peoples, holding back nothing as he calls out atrocities in our history that have been whitewashed and ignored. This book doesn't let the reader ignore it and it's very, very effective, and many of the horrors come from the real world atrocities. Phenomenal.

This book was just not for me. The writing was not as gripping as I had hoped for. I had a hard time getting into the story.

I have to admit I was expecting more as I found at times it was just too slow in developing the plot. The characters were good for the time period and I enjoyed the way the novel was written. I found the story to be adventurous with great details involved in each chapter. One may feel like they are living in 1912 as it was very realistic. I do like the back-and-forth conversation between the characters. I was intrigued by how the pastor thought about his conversation after they were over. How he struggled to put the pieces together in his small town. In the end, I was left wanting to know more. Also, I wondered if I missed important details along the way. An interesting view of vampires in 1912. This was my first Stephen Graham Jones novel and I think I will be looking into more in the future.

Thank you to Saga Press for this ARC!
I was absolutely blown away by this book. It’s horrific, heartbreaking, violent, entertaining, cinematic, I could really keep going. I loved this take on the vampire as a remnant of indigenous and generational suffering, but also of the enduring presence of indigenous people despite genocide and assimilation to an empire. And that’s just an initial thought I’m having. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long while. I also liked the tight pacing, the graphic attention to detail, and the writing style of the diary entries. I haven’t enjoyed Jones’ other work before, but this is a true gem that I’ll be recommending to anyone.