The Only Good Indians

dnf 50%
well written, interesting premise, just couldn't stomach it

I made it about 22% into it. But I'm struggling with the writing and the pace. I even tried the audiobook but just couldn't get through it. I'm still very intrigued by the plot and concept, so maybe I'll come back to it one day. But for now I'm dnfing so I don't get myself in a slump. 

I am so in awe and in love with this book. I almost bailed a couple times because animal death is very tough for me, and this book has A LOT of it, but I'm glad I persevered. I think on some level, it's a better book if you do have that soft spot in your heart.

This is one of those books where you root for everyone, even as you know everyone is flawed, and that not everyone can persevere. You even root for the “antagonist.”

I wondered for a long time who was meant, on the non elk side, to be the protagonist, and then it became clear, inevitable, preordained. A test of skills and wills.

Sometimes anger covers pain, grief, and longing, I realized at the end, as I cried. This is some good next level horror!

The narrator was terrific.

Please take the time time to read and prioritize reviews by OwnVoice reviewers, of which I am not one. :)

I enjoyed this book. It was a little different from what I thought it would be but that is not a bad thing in this case. The friend group is no longer together and what haunts them is a little different. But all this is what makes this book good. I think I am really getting into this author’s style of writing. The more I read, the more I like them.

The author does well at writing the inner rambling monologues people have. When this is added to the story, it does well at showing the unease the characters feel. Overall, the characters feel like real people full of confusion, stupid thoughts, and pop culture.

I will say that this book talks a lot about basketball. Parts are good for me, but it is a lot. The first half of the book is very good, but the second half is a little weird and a touch silly. The basketball game was just unnecessary. I do wish the book kept up the quality of the beginning. It would have made this a great book.

The last stretch really dragged but the first 70% or so was great

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book up through Lewis' ending, and then it became kind of a mess. The death scene for Gabe, Cassidy, Jo, and Nathan felt extremely contrived and over-wrought, and it took me completely out of the story. I think if the entire book had shifted continuously between the main characters and all had the same kind of slow descent into madness Lewis did it would have been a lot better.

Also, the introduction of Denorah as an important character in the last fourth of the book was very odd; it felt a lot like SGJ slapped a Final Girl plot onto the end of a completely different story. I cared about Denorah surviving but it was hard to be invested in her because I barely knew her outside of “she's just like her dad” and “good at basketball”. The way she played basketball against a vengeful spirit was pretty rad, but SGJ's attempt at describing basketball in prose didn't work for me. Half the time I didn't know what was happening. Having her show up, play basketball, and then plow straight into the Final Battle was a disservice to her character. Again, if she had made appearances throughout, if the story had shifted perspectives continuously and then tied them all together at the end rather than splitting them into sections, I think it would have worked a lot better.

Lastly I was kind of uncomfortable with the way SGJ would give detailed descriptions of the brutal murder of women while the men either died offscreen or their deaths were much more vague. It just felt very bizarre; if you're going to lean into the gore, then why not also describe Cassidy getting beaten to death by Gabe the same way you did Shaney getting scalped by a motorcycle?

3 stars because I really enjoyed Lewis' section and I think it had a lot of good creepy stuff in it, but the structure and pacing kind of ruined it and SGJ should have waited to keep all his Final Girl stuff in the book he wrote a year later.

I see that a lot of people found this book scary and put it into the horror category, but to me it feels more like a mediocre slasher movie. There is a lot of gore described in great detail, but most of it just makes me question how it even happened. I'm also not a fan of Stephen's writing style in general.

If anyone has read H.P.Lovecraft's “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” they will know about a chase scene that happens in it. I found that whole story a lot creepier than this book, but the chase scene in particular, was in my opinion done a lot better by Lovecraft.

—

Now, the thing that annoyed me during this whole reading experience is that this book could have been about any regular kind of white trash and with minimal changes, the plot would've stayed the same. Essentially, Native Americans could have very easily been “spared” the pointless bad light that this book shines on them.

For starters, The Only Good Indians doesn't actually have many good people in it. It focuses exclusively on a group of poor, fairly uneducated Native Americans driving beaten up trucks and wasting their lives away in bar fights. This might be a somewhat accurate representation of todays youth growing up in the reserves, but without the social commentary on why this is so, I feel like this book simply uses them as a sensation.There are no rituals here, besides one towards the end, that is only used as a convenient plot setting. There is no real folklore, there are no tattoos, no tales, these guys don't even follow their own clan rules. In fact, they don't seem to know much of anything related to their roots. Word “Indian” gets repeated a hundred times in this book, but besides protagonists thinking of themselves as such, there are no other indicators that they are.It's worth noting that the author himself is an Indian so I wonder why he chose to write this book the way he did. If anyone should be aware of both folklore and modern social problems, it should be him. And if anyone should feel the obligation to showcase the beautiful traditions and abilities of a certain group of people, it should be one of them.

Either way, I doubt that most Indians would like to be portrayed in this light. And I also doubt that the wider audience will gather anything positive or useful from this portrayal of Natives.

The Only Good Indians is a good monetization of author's roots, but one that, in my opinion, comes at a moral cost.

What a satisfying read and ending! Also appreciate that this story was partly inspired by an episode of Masters of Horrors, a show I grew up watching with family. I didn't get some of the basketball terminology but that didn't take away from the story whatsoever. It turned out to be a pretty big deal, actually.

Wow. Not me crying over a horror novel. 
I wish I had the words to explain how deep and moving I found this story. It was somehow the perfect blend of creepy, gore, twisty, and beautiful. 

If you're into mythology, character-driven horror, and basketball, this is your jam!

Jones's novel blends a supernatural revenge horror story with commentary on cultural identity, traditions, and racism. The four main characters are all members of Blackfeet tribe who deviate from what is expected of them culturally, to disastrous consequences. It all started with a hunting trip. Like most tribes, the Blackfeet are hunters, and like most hunters, they have norms about how to hunt honorably. When those norms are violated, the characters seem to be cursed and their lives slowly start to unravel.

It's a very interesting novel with great characters and commentary that bites without feeling preachy. And the villain in this story is unique, something that could only come from a tale written about this particular culture.

All of that was great. The problem is that the horror aspects don't work. It's not scary, has little tension until the end, and the antagonist, though interesting, is more goofy than intimidating.

Still worth a read if you want to experience a horror story from a Native American point of view.

Fantastic work of horror here. Truly fantastic. Stomach-churning, thematically tight, chilling, and you'll cry too. The thing keeping this from 5 for me is I got lost during the basketball parts. I'm stupid. I don't know what the hell is sportsballing and where. If you struggle with sports, I recommend reading up on basketball rules and lingo real fast. I should have done that.
But it's so GOOD!!!!!!!! I gasped so much. I screamed! I cried. I had to physically walk away to read because I wanted to tell my girlfriend SO BAD about what was going on but she needs to READ IT!!! So I didn't want to spoil it. Incredible.
This is a story about Indigenous (Blackfeet) identity and modernity, Reservation life versus diasporic life, a story about intercultural relationships, about cultural expectations and cultural realities, a story about generational trauma and generational cycle-breaking. It's good. READ IT !!!

It took me a while to warm up to this book. There were sections, especially in the first half, that I had to reread several times because the writing style was borderline rambling to the point it confused me. I think this was done to reflect the character that the perspective was focused on but it definitely took some time to get used to.
The story itself was quite a fun read. The more visceral descriptions made my stomach churn (in a good way!) Even beyond the horror part of the story, I really enjoyed reading about the different generations of characters and their perspective of each other. Overall I'd recommend the book but just be warned that the beginning might be hard to get through.

Can't ddcide between 2.75 or 3 stars 🥴
Okay...this was a swing and an overall miss for me. A good chunk of this story dragged for me. The final 100 pages (or so) were fantastic, but I felt like I had to cut through a lot to get there. I also wasn't a huge fan of the way it was written. The semi-stream of consciousness/2nd person narration didn't really work for me, except for in the last 2 sections.
I loved the creepy elements, lore, and the building sense of dread, but was completely pulled out by the sheer amount of basketball that was being played and described in the novel. I think I understand what Jones was trying to do, but it didn't land for me at all.

One thing I love about Stephen's writing is that it really feels different reading his work, he makes his horror uniquely indigenous and I think that creates really compelling stories. This story is no different it tells a horror story that feels very unique to indigenous people and yet feels like it doesn't alienate non-indigenous readers. The characters weren't necessarily good people but they were interesting and complex, and were all in different stages of growing through trauma. The horror aspect was a little out there and a bit wild but was still enjoyable. And I found the pacing to slow in some places but the end was done very well. 4.5*

Rating: 2.7 leaves out of 5Characters: 2.5/5 Cover: 3/5Story: 3/5Writing: 4/5Horror: 1/5Genre: Horror/Fantasy/Thriller/MysteryType: AudiobookWorth?: YeahHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LovedI wouldn't say I liked this book but I wouldn't say I hated it either. This is my 2nd to 3rd try reading it and I am glad to have it finally read and done with. What I liked about the book was the story it told about hunting animals and respecting them. I liked that she took revenge but her going after innocent people is what stopped me from sympathizing with her. What I didn't like is her going after innocent people and the random basketball plays going throughout the book. It threw me off a lot. And as for horror? Unless you are very easily scared I don't think this book is really big on horror. TOGI is my second book by Stephen and the second time I am feeling left with wanting more in the horror department.

I really enjoyed the bulk of this novel, but the final section was a bit much for me personally. The same way that Stephen King can drag a story out, can take something scary and make it absurdly funny, Jones does here. Maybe that's just horror. I don't need the scary antagonist who has been very meticulous in their brutality up to this point, to reach the climax of the story and start offering up monologues, or performing a song and dance, or playing a game of basketball. It doesn't work for me, and I felt like that whole final section could've been done differently and this would've been a much scarier, much more effective, and much better book. But it definitely works for King, and I'm not typically a reader of horror, so I'm far from an expert. That's just my personal take.

That said, there's a lot of great writing in this novel, and the same way I return to King every once in a while to satiate that need for a good scary story (always accompanied with a heavy dose of eye rolling), I imagine I'll be returning to the work of Stephen Graham Jones.

Quite possibly one of the best works of horror fiction I've read in ages. I truly haven't read any other book like this, where all of the prose reads like the characters' thoughts and it shifts tone as the character whose perspective the story is told from changes.

Very worth reading.

Stylistically, it can be a bit hard to follow, but the story is strong and propulsive. The characters are haunted by past actions that are so specific to their culture that at first, I didn't think that what they did was a big deal. But the journey to understanding why it was a big deal for them is exactly why I love reading.

I had a very mixed feeling while reading this bram stoker award winner. On one hand, the plot seemed really interesting and unique, on the other hand the writing style made my brain hurt. Sometimes the writing felt brilliant, other times I had to reread sentences quite often to get a sense of the events happening, thus ending up in a quite choppy reading experience. That really dampened the enjoyment I could've got because I the plot and premise seemed really interesting.

Overall a ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 from me.

DNF @ 52%

Just not interesting whatsoever. When I reached the halfway mark and realized I cared about nothing happening, or anything that could happen, and that there was nothing that could salvage this experience of pure boredom, I had to pull the plug.

However, I do think the way Jones explores the indigenous experience is good, I just think ghost Elks are not scary, and these characters are not compelling.

Wow, I really don't know what to say. I struggled to convince myself to keep reading, but once I did pick it up it was hard to put down. (Although that probably says more about me than the book). It was a little gory but well written. I'm glad it didn't end the way I thought it was going to.

Wow. Horror in its layers of teuenand fiction forms. I listened to the audiobook of this, which was excellent, and definitely try to get a gold of it for bo reason other than to listen to the authors acknowledgements qt the end which were beautiful, rhe kind that make you want to laugh and tear up sentence to sentence in their realness.

So...my rating is very me and not very this book.

The book is well written.

I was not prepared for it to be horror. So scary. Very much a psychological thriller. You will probably love it.

The book follows characters 10 years after an incident that seemed to have broken them. It's painful and poignant.

I was worried the whole time but kept expecting something lovely to happen. I do think that the ending was magical, and after all the time waiting for a different sort of magic to happen, I was able to let go of my breath.

Holy shit. This was, like, a lot. I can easily see why so many people love Stephen Graham Jones so much, and I can also easily see why his work may not be for everyone. I felt this might have worked better as a novella, as there were a few points where I was like, “...okay, get on with it.” The last lengthy ‘scene' is one example – while it was incredibly tense, it started to lose that for me the longer it dragged on. But this is a minor qualm, most of the book had me on the edge of my seat in anticipation or terror.

The characters are all flawed in their own ways, but you can't help but root for them even as you see the damage they've caused and the things they've done. I'm not very well-versed in Native American culture and SGJ doesn't hold your hand through the slang and the customs. It takes a little bit of adjustment, but the way he contextualizes everything makes the learning curve an easy one. I also struggled at first with the way SGJ hones in on minor details, but quickly came to appreciate it and the way it informed readers.

The graphic horror is something that I think will lose a lot of people, which is fair. There are a lot of gruesome descriptions of both animals and humans. But the violence doesn't feel gratuitous to me; it all feels like it has a place, not that it's just there for shock value (as shocking as it all may be). At times I would have to put the book down for a moment just to breathe because of how impactful some of the depictions can be.

I will say I was also left with some questions and couldn't pin down some of the ‘rules' of this entity, although perhaps there are no rules to follow. The timeline just didn't make sense to me, although I can't really say more without risking spoilers. While this wasn't a five star read for me, I do still wholeheartedly recommend it to folks who find themselves interested, but caution that you check out the content warnings and avoid this if graphic animal death is a no-go for you. Stephen Graham Jones is a great writer and I'm really excited to check out more of his novels!

click for content warnings

I haven't read a lot of horror yet, so I guess my opinion here is only worth so much, but this was fantastic. Loved the writing style, loved the twists, satisfying ending, and was new perspectives (for me). I'm really happy I liked it so much, I got this as a gift last year and had been waiting until October to read it, and it was worth the wait. I would have finished the book sooner, but the end of Lewis' section I did NOT see coming and I put the book down for a couple weeks after that, lol. Some characters are morally better or worse than others, obviously, but I liked all of them and they were well fleshed-out.

Dogs (and elk) get seriously messed up in this book, and it's not avoidable. I know some people get more antsy about dogs getting hurt than people getting hurt in fiction, so if that's a problem for you, avoid this one. Otherwise, this was a lot of fun.

Minor side-note: I have problems with my shoulders that make holding a lot of books for long periods difficult, and have been avoiding certain kinds of books because of this. The hardback copy of this was very easy to hold, though. Perfect size for my little hands too.