I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones Published by Gallery/Saga Press on July 14 2020
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: An unflinching look at cultural identity, revenge, and the horrors we bring upon ourselves, The Only Good Indians is one of the best SFF books of the year.
You may have already read some rave reviews for The Only Good Indians, and now you’re about to read another one. Everything you’ve heard is true. Stephen Graham Jones is a fucking genius, a poet dressed up in an old elk skin, and a master storyteller. I’m certain this book is going to wind up on all sorts of award lists next year, and believe me, it will deserve its place on those lists. I’m going to start this review with some trigger warnings, which I’m including specifically for those of you with tender, animal-loving hearts. This book contains animal deaths, violence towards animals, gruesome death of a pet dog, graphic violence, gun violence and suicide. I think that about covers it, although my apologies if I’ve missed anything.
Now that that’s out of the way. I’m only going to give you the bare bones of the story, because this is one of those times you should go in as blind as possible. The story centers around a group of four Blackfeet Indians and an event that they were involved in ten years before the story begins. Lewis, Gabe, Cass and Ricky were young and stupid the day they decided to hunt elk on restricted land, and even though they knew they were breaking an important tribal code, they ended up slaughtering a fair number of elk before getting caught. Banned from ever hunting on that land again, the boys went their separate ways. Now ten years later, a dark, angry force has risen as a result of the slaughter and is coming for revenge.
Jones breaks up his tale into three distinct sections that could almost work as separate short stories, yet they work perfectly together as well. The first half of the book is told from Lewis’s point of view and follows his descent into paranoia when he sees the body of a dead elk on his living room floor, the same elk he killed ten years ago. We follow poor Lewis as he begins to suspect that something is stalking him, a ghost from the past perhaps, and his paranoia leads him to wonder if someone close to him is the culprit. The second section takes a sharp left turn and is narrated by a new character, a young girl who is way more than she seems. This section, entitled Sweat Lodge Massacre (and how’s that for some foreshadowing?), follows Gabe and Cass, who decide to hold a “sweat” in honor of their dead friends, Rick and Lewis. We also meet Gabe’s teenage daughter Denorah, a rising basketball star who lives with her mother and “new” father and rarely sees Gabe. And the final section follows Denorah, who ends up running for her life, innocent except for the fact that she is Gabe’s daughter, and that means something to the entity that’s chasing her.
There’s also a short prologue that worked really well and tells us what happened to Ricky. Because you see, bad things are happening to all four men. So I already gave you all the trigger warnings, but just to reiterate, this is a violent, bloodbath of a story. The author lulls you into a false sense of calm, and then boom, bad stuff starts happening. And the beauty of the way Jones pulls this off is that he invokes a sense of dread, slowly building tension but never really showing his hand until the horror jumps out at you. This is a slowly evolving story with nuanced character development that takes its time, so if you’re looking for a breakneck-paced narrative, you might be disappointed. My advice is to hang in there, though, because this book contains a multitude of unforgettable moments. At the end of the second section is one of the most gut wrenching scenes I’ve ever read, almost Shakespearean, in fact. And in the last section we get a thrilling and dangerous game of basketball that left me gasping—and trust me, I don’t think I’ve ever used the words “thrilling” and “basketball” in the same sentence, ever.
I haven’t heard any news about The Only Good Indians being optioned for film yet, but come on, studios, get with it! This book is extremely cinematic and would be perfect for film. Jones adds so many creepy details to his story, details that don’t seem important until much later. For example, Lewis is puzzled over a flickering ceiling light in his living room that he can’t seem to fix. This seemingly random detail later plays into his paranoia and grows into something much bigger. It’s the sort of visual detail that screams “movie!” to me, and honestly, this is just one example in a book filled with them.
In short, The Only Good Indians is a visceral, devastating, heartbreaking tale of madness, revenge and redemption. Stephen Graham Jones tops the entire thing off with a surprisingly hopeful ending that left me in tears. Highly recommended and not to be missed.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
This was an amazing review!! And it really seems the kind of book that would be a good movie, from what you wrote here. There are some books that have this movies vibe in them, and usually this is something that add up to the experience of reading them!
I literally saw every scene in my head while I was reading, with a music score in the background, lol.
I’m so excited for this one- I just haven’t been able to read lately. Super excited see such high praises for it though. Maybe I’ll try to start it this week. I need to get back to blogging soon…. lol.
I miss your blog posts, Sarah:-)
That is too kind ☺️. I miss blogging and reading in general. And there are so many good books out right now- it just stinks. Worst reading slump ever.
Yay!! This is coming up quick for me, and I love so much that you loved it.
Looking forward to seeing what you think!
Right????
RIGHT!!
I’m thrilled you loved this one, too!
It blew me away. The skill that man has is unbelievable.
Wow. This sounds crazy and scary and really good!
Yes, all of that:-)
Ooh. Amazing review. I’ve had this on my TBR list, but didn’t know much about it until now. Bumping up to must-read status!
You must read it, I need more blogger opinions!
So I actually read this at the beginning of the month but since Stormi and I read it together for a buddy read, our review is going up Thursday. I REALLY loved this book as well and that’s even with all the gruesome dog deaths. There was just something about the atmosphere and the culture and the darkness of it all. I think I devoured it in 2 days. I agree that it would make an awesome movie. Wonderful review!
I’m so glad you loved it! I was thinking about you during the dog scenes but you can’t deny SGJ is an amazingly talented writer. Can’t wait to read your review!
This sounds like a terrific emotional rollercoaster and despite your warnings I’m fascinated by what you hint at in your review, particularly where you mention huge-impact scenes that follow a deceptive moment of calm. Exactly the kind of setup that works so well in movies and makes you jump out of your skin… 😉
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…LAST ARGUMENT OF KINGS (The First Law #3), by Joe Abercrombie
It was a rollercoaster, lots of emotions, and not all of them good! But definitely worth reading and I hope this book does well:-)
Okay so this wasn’t on my radar until a few weeks ago but now I’m REALLY excited for it. Great review, Tammy!
Thanks Lisa! I’m dying for some other bloggers to read it so we can compare notes:-)
Gruesome death of a pet dog? I’m not sure I can handle that right now… But it does sounds like a good read and I trust your judgement!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Cover Reveal: Relentless Stranger by Inger Iversen
I know, it was not good. This book isn’t for everyone for sure:-)
What a cracking review, Tammy! I’m delighted that you loved this one so much – and also a little envious, because there is no way I’ll ever be able to handle anything this full-on, being the wuss I am… Thank you for sharing it. I suppose looking on the bright side – this is one less book you’ve persuaded me into acquiring:))
This is not for the faint of heart for sure:-) And I’m glad I did something good for your TBR!
You got me so curious about it. Def adding to my TBR.
Definitely worth reading as long as you can get past the trigger warnings.
I love reading reviews that are this positive. About the only thing better is reading the books the reviews are about. 🙂
I love writing positive reviews!
This really does sound amazing but I really appreciate you including those trigger warnings. As much as I’d love to read this, I’m not sure I could deal with the gruesome death of someone’s pet dog.
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Review: REBEL SPY by Veronica Rossi
Yeah, it was not a fun scene, but it’s hard not to be impressed by his writing, even though parts were hard to read.
Nice, this one’s on my tbr for July. Now I can’t wait.
I need to go back and read his backlist now:-)
You’ve sold me! This is going on my tbr right now. 🙂
Hope you love it!
I’m scared to read this and yet also really want to do so – great review.
Lynn 😀
Ha ha, yes it’s brutal. So you have to go in knowing that. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, and I’m a HUGE animal lover, so that’s saying something.
I very briefly skimmed this review as I still need to read my ARC and I prefer to go in knowing as little as possible. But I’m excited to hear more good things about it!
Jenna @ Falling Letters recently posted…My First Robin Hood Retelling [Review]
I think you first put me on to this earlier in the year, and now you’ve made me Really Want To Read It Now Please 🙂 Thank you – great review, and really looking forward to scaring myself silly 😉
This is already on my library requests list (someone on Twitter recommended it too), but if it wasn’t, this review would make me add it.