The Only Good Indians

I loved this book so much I could not put it down. Published in 2022, The Only Good
Indians takes the typical horror trope of a ghost seeking revenge and turns it into something new
and refreshing. Stephen Graham Jones takes elements of Native American myths and legends
and spins a modern story of revenge, guilt, and redemption.

After a “massacre” of a herd of elk on a protected reservation forest—a scene which spoke more of frenzied bloodlust than hunting for sustenance—four Blackfoot men become the prey of a creature bent on revenge.

Jones’s narrative satisfied my thirst for wholly original horror while exploring the clash of Native American traditional and contemporary culture. The story touches on the characters’ drive to assimilate, guilt and sense of identity, and the need to move beyond resentments to create a life worth living.

I loved the originality of the beast, the slice of reservation life, and the endearing, flawed characters, all… show more.

One thing I love about horror is how it allows authors of different cultural backgrounds opportunities to explore their mythology and express the complexities of their lived experiences. 

All cultures have ghosts, or demons, or monsters. And the stalking spirit in The Only Good Indians is strange, wonderful, and terrifying all at once.

Told as three interconnected stories, it builds both terror but also a sense of empathy, not only for the human victims but for the monster herself. It’s a tale of trauma, guilt, and survival that I could recommend to anyone.

The Only Good Indians is a three-part horror novel that deals with the trauma of losing one’s cultural identity with very dark and violent consequences of supernatural revenge.

Stephen Graham Jones has a wonderfully readable style of prose. He takes on grief, shame, and generational trauma themes, weaves in folklore and horror in such a way that the book is incredibly difficult to put down. 

His character Lewis Clarke would frame darkly comic newspaper headlines in his mind to showcase his insecurities: “Former Basketball Star Can’t Even Hang Graduation Blanket in Own Home,” and,… show more.

They say never judge a book by its cover, but I was drawn by the elk illustrated cover and the blurb. You are taken on a very authentic cultural journey by Jones as he invites the reader into the Native American world and shows how tradition and contemporary life come together. While it is a true literary gem it is also a bona fide horror dripping with non-gratuitous gore and menace as a group of young men are hunted by something otherworldly, haunted by an event from their youth. I was very taken by the Native American spirituality when I… show more.

This novel reminded me of just how brilliant the horror genre can be, and how deeply a book can wound, no matter how much we have read or how jaded we think we have become. Jones is a master at evoking not only visceral but achingly genuine emotional reactions in his readers, and there are scenes in The Only Good Indians that I will never be able to forget. Unflinching, sharply written and laced with unexpected black humour, this is super-smart horror fiction that takes no shortcuts and resists the cheap and easy shot. There’s good reason it’s won so… show more.

These days, horror is all about diverse voices, and The Only Good Indians is top of the list. Stephen Graham Jones is my favorite living author. He writes scary stories like a man on fire, and they’re always stories you’ve never heard. Shapeshifting monsters, final girls, nature’s vengeance, and basketball. You can’t go wrong with this book!

I haven’t seen evidence that the Elk-headed woman is actual folklore of the Blackfeet, though elk-based legends and anthropomorphic animals are certainly common across Native American stories. This horror novel is another example of a genre book weaving relationships with a literary flair but also a spare, gut-punch writing style as it explores themes of regret and revenge. By the end of chapter one, I knew it would end up on my favorite books list.