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.
Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones Series: The Only Good Indians #2
Published by Saga Press on October 13 2026
Genres: Adult, Horror, Indigenous horror
Pages: 416
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A surreal, hallucinogenic road trip to repatriate the old bones of a Blackfeet boy takes a deadly turn in Stephen Graham Jones’ latest, a terrifying—and sometimes confusing—tale of redemption.
“This RV was a rolling circus, a nightmare unfolding at sixty shaky miles per hour.”
That quote pretty much sums up Off the Reservation, Stephen Graham Jones’ latest horror novel. This has got to be the craziest and most bizarre road trip story I’ve ever read, and to be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. This isn’t my favorite of his books, and I’ll explain more below, but it’s worth reading for sure, especially if you’ve already read The Only Good Indians. Off the Reservation is more of a companion novel than a sequel, so you could read it first, but if you are a SGJ newbie, I would not start here, you will probably be lost and frustrated.
The story takes place five years after the ending of The Only Good Indians. Blackfeet Indian Nate Yellow Tail survived the Duck Lake Massacre but is still dealing with both physical and mental scars. One night, he and his best friend Sebby decide to raid one of the “summer houses” on the lake. Assuming the cabin belongs to a white person, the two break down the door and trash the place, taking items that they might be able to sell. But the joke’s on them, because the cabin turns out to be owned by a Blackfeet named Benjamin Heavy Runner, and their antics set off a chain of events with dire consequences. On the way home from the raid, their car is hit by a gravel truck and both Nate and Sebby wind up in the hospital, Nate with a serious head injury and Sebby on life support.
When he’s finally healed and ready to leave the hospital, Nate’s nurse Seine Plenty Wolf informs him that he must help her with an important task in order to atone for his violent actions: journey to the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania and complete a mission that Benjamin had started, to dig up the bones of a Heavy Runner boy who was murdered at the Carlisle School many years ago and bring him home.
And so Jones’ madcap road trip begins. Nate and his three travelling companions—Seine, who has a hidden agenda, Mooch Loomis, a broken woman who has refitted the RV as a monument to her dead son, and Christian the driver, who is harboring an emotional secret—head out in a 1980s Sundancer RV to repatriate the bones, but there are lots of unpleasant surprises along the way. Off the Reservation is an interesting blend of magic realism and horror, so it’s best to go into it with an open mind. Is Nate really seeing two miniature deer outside the cabin? Is the RV’s rear view mirror actually twisting reality whenever Christian looks into it? And is Mooch really getting phone calls from her dead son Conrad? In Jones’ world, anything is possible.
The horror is slow to kick in, since the author takes his time setting the stage and introducing us to his motley bunch of characters, but when it does show up, it’s in the form of a spirit who possesses one of the group and wreaks havoc on the others. Expect plenty of blood and violence, one prosthetic tongue and a very sharp ice pick, and if you are squeamish when it comes to car crashes and people being hit by cars, do be aware there’s a fair amount of that in the story.
I love the way Jones develops his characters. Each one has a tragic event in their past and they are just trying to hang on. There are very few moments of happiness in the story, although Jones doesn’t hold back on the black humor. Mooch was probably the most tragic of the bunch, having suffered a terrible amount of loss, and the weird way she uses Conrad’s bike to memorialize him is such an offbeat element, I literally can’t even describe it! I also loved Nate’s journey and his friendship with Sebby. He is just trying to be a “good Indian” but he knows he’s failing miserably (one of the ongoing jokes is that he imagines a flashing neon sign over his head that says “Bad Indian” every time he does something wrong). I also loved Christian, and in one of his point of view chapters we discover that she is really Christiana. The author uses both names depending on whose POV we are experiencing, and I thought it worked well and was a beautiful if heart wrenching peek into the thoughts of a trans person.
However, the story suffers a bit when it comes to Jones’ frantic storytelling style. Off the Reservation is packed with all sorts of elements that don’t always make sense or seem important until much later in the story. I do love when authors plant interesting seeds early on that eventually come to fruition, but here there was just too much going on to keep track of everything. Perhaps a reread would clear up some of the confusion, although I’m not sure I want to work that hard. Some of the action is confusing too, since the story jumps around a bit. All of the characters have at least one POV chapter and often call each other different names, so there was a learning curve when Mooch is suddenly “the Lomas widow” and Seine is “Christiana’s cousin.”
I also felt that the main plot—the RV trip to recover the Blackfeet’s bones—lost its drive once they get to their destination. This made the second half confusing in places, especially the possession subplot which I didn’t even pick up on until long after it happened. Stephen Graham Jones rarely guides his readers by the hand, and I love that he allows you to connect the dots yourself, but here it was a little too much.
But at the end of the day, this is Stephen Graham Jones, one of the most unique horror writers I’ve read, and each story he writes hits me emotionally in ways other authors’ books don’t. Die hard fans will not want to miss this!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Another reminder that I still need to read The Only Good Indians. And I will! Eventually…
It’s soooo good!
I still need to read “The Only Good Indians,” but I plan on reading both books back-t0-back!
Oh that will be a cool experience! I hope you enjoy them:-)
Glad you enjoyed it. This authors books always sound good but don’t work for me. 🙁
I’m in the same boat. I think rarely do I actually get through one of his books without feeling disappointed because the writing was needless frustrating. He has amazing ideas; why muck them up with a bunch of tendrils that reach out to different places and don’t make a lick of sense? I will say he’s a lovely person! I have met him way back when he was a new author and shyly signed a copy of his first book, surprised that I even wanted his autograph.
I would love to meet him one of these days!
I totally get it, he’s not for everyone:-)
Did you like The Only Good Indians? I’ve got that one on my TBR list.
I loved The Only Good Indians, you should try it!
I’m with Storm – I think I’ve decided that this author doesn’t really work for me – I don’t know why because he is really very well liked by a number of people whose taste in books are usually similar.
Lynn 😀
He does have the same writing style in all his books and it’s definitely not for everyone!
I remember being impressed by The Only Good INdians, but I did not enjoy The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, and I have a feeling (especially after reading your review) that I just might not be a good fit for his writing style.
Yeah, I would definitely skip it!
This is the review I’ve been waiting for! I remember feeling like the plot of The Only Good Indians stalled a bit, and this one seems to do the same. Still, I was enamored with the way Jones brought everything together. I suppose I’ll have to give this one a read, too!
You should definitely try it! It’s definitely more chaotic than TOGI.
I’ve been curious about this one having adored The Buffalo Hunter Hunter but I want to read the book linked to it first. The characters here sound interesting and I do appreciate a tragic backstory. I have to admit that I’m a little unsure as to how I’ll cope with thie horror wise though. The ice pick mention and abundance of accidents sounds rather grisly to say the lead. Maybe I’ll put this, and The Only Dead Indians, on hold for now and check out Mongrels next instead.
I loved Mongrels! It’s sad but it’s one of my favorite SGJ books.
One of these days I really want to read this author. Sorry this had some issues for you, but sounds like in the end it was still pretty good. Great review!
https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2026/10/15/l-l-l-little-reviews-2028-29-truman-committee-possibilities-4-6/
Horror aside I think I would have been difficulties to keep up as I ususally don’t like when authors leave events or clues that don’t make sense in books even if the big reveal usually explains it.
Wonderful review, Tammy. Glad you enjoyed this one so much.
Excellent review! This is on my TBR butI need to read the first book first.
I’ve yet to try Stephen Graham Jones so it’s very good to know not to start here. Being the ebook collector I am, I’ve already purchased 4 of his books, one of which is The Only Good Indians, though I’m leaning towards trying The Buffalo Hunter Hunter first.
The prosthetic tongue is a peculiar thing for sure. This is not my cup of tea, at all, but I am glad that you enjoyed this one so much!
I just read another review of this that said the body horror is pretty extreme. Well, now I can’t wait to check this out 🙂