Book Review: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Gallery/Saga Press (July 14, 2020)
Length: 320 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
The Only Good Indians has been getting some rave reviews, and for good reason; it’s extremely well-written and candid, its themes darkly jarring and intense. Unfortunately though, while the book has all these great points and more, as a horror novel, I confess it failed my expectations. The story was a bit confusing. It was slow. And although Stephen Graham Jones does a fantastic job putting his characters in eerie and disturbing situations, I had a hard time actually feeling frightened or even unsettled.
At the heart of this novel are four young Blackfeet men: Lewis, Cass, Gabe, and Ricky. A decade ago, they ventured off their hunting territory, killing a herd of elk on restricted land. As a result, the group faced some serious repercussions from their community, but little did they know, their punishment was far from over. Many years later, they will be made to answer for their reckless violence and disregard for life by a mysterious, vengeful force.
In the present, the book catches up with the four friends and reveals their fates. All of them have moved away from the Reservation and are experiencing strange and disturbing things, and in fact, one of them meets his end in the prologue. One of the our more prominent protagonists, Lewis, also starts spiraling out of control as he suspects he is being haunted by a malevolent entity, after seeing a terrifying vision of a dead elk so much like the one he killed all those years ago. His paranoia taking hold, Lewis starts to become unraveled amidst the pain, terror, and chaos caused to loved ones and friends by his spiteful demon.
This is my first time reading Stephen Graham Jones and I am in love with his splendiferous writing. He clearly has a way with words, and ironically, I think the smoothness of his prose inadvertently diminishes the edginess and grit of the gruesome, dark scenes he tries to write. In other words, as a literary piece, this book soars, but as a horror novel, I found it somewhat lacking. That’s because reading about the terrifying is one thing, but actually feeling terrified by them is another. While the author certainly knows how to set up nightmare-inducing sequences by employing disturbing imagery and some of the grossest, most blood-soaked provocative descriptions you can imagine, at the end of the day, they are still mere words. As well-written as some of these characters were, as realistically as their terror was conveyed, I simply did not feel any of it in my heart or mind.
Then there was the story. I’ll be the first to admit I sometimes fare poorly when it comes to unconventional plot structures, so many other readers will probably have no problems. The Only Good Indians follows a unique and artful storytelling style, unfolding in a way that emphasizes its distinct sections, giving the overall narrative a disjointed, stop-start juddering feel. In between these sections, we also have a lot of meandering exposition which slows down pacing, disrupting any interest building in the supernatural horror aspect.
That said though, while these exploratory, soul-searching passages might not have done the book’s momentum any favors, they added plenty to the characters and the central themes of the novel, highlighting the struggles of cultural identity and generational anxiety. As detached as I felt from the story’s horror elements, it was the weight of the characters’ malaise and disquietude that really got to me. Threaded through this tale are important reflections on family, community and heritage, the expectations and responsibilities they demand on the characters as seen through a Native American lens.
Ultimately, The Only Good Indians was a book that worked for me on some levels but not on others. Had I not gone in expecting a horror novel, I might have enjoyed it more, but well, that’s what the book is billed as and the risk with expectations, eh? Still, I’m glad I read this; I’ve discovered a new author to watch, and with his strong talent for character development and wordsmithing, Stephen Graham Jones is definitely worth reading again.
The BiblioSanctum 
Sorry it was a mixed bag for you – I’ve read only rave reviews before, like you indicated, but I can imagine that my take on it may be similar to yours. That said, I’m planning to give it a try, but now with somewhat curbed expectations 😀 Great review, Mogsy!
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As long as you’re not expecting a horror novel! I didn’t really find it that frightening or even eerie at all, even though it sure seemed like author tried his best to make it so. But on the flip side, I loved his prose 🙂
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😞
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No my cup of tea, unfortunately. At least as a horror novel. It worked well as a literary novel though.
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All good. Can’t agree all the time 🙂
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Great review, Mogsy. 🙂 I have been hearing only rave reviews about this one, so much that I was planning to get my hands on ti anyhow. But now I am going to stop and rethink my decision. I really trust your judgement, Mogsy.
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It just depends on what you’re looking for 🙂 I think it’s a great literary novel. But despite it getting quite bloody and brutal and gruesome in places, I just didn’t find it to be good horror.
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This is definitely leaning toward literary fiction, in fact I’ve seen it on a few big literary publication lists, so that tells you something. I loved everything about it, the slow pace and disjointed format just felt right to me. And I adore his writing!!
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Yeah, I’m not surprised to hear that because I definitely felt more “literary” vibes from this one more than anything!
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Intriguing review, although ultimately the book proved something of a disappointment to you: it would seem that the disconnect between what you described as “splendiferous writing” and the horror elements did a disservice to what should have been a heart-stopping premise…
Thanks for sharing!
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Yeah, I loved his writing and the concept, but it was the story structure and stop-and-start style that took away from the experience. So, it’s really just me and not really the book 🙂
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It’s sometimes a bit complicated when a book isn’t what you expected
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Yup, darn the preconceptions! 😀
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Even though I seemed to like this one more than you, I remember commenting in my review that it actually felt like short stories that tied together rather than a cohesive novel. He is a great writer though and I do think this would make an awesome movie! Great review.
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I can see that, actually. The story definitely had distinct parts which felt like they could be read separately but made up a whole. I think he’s a great writer too, but I just don’t do as well with unconventional plot structures 🙂
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I know what you mean about expectations sometimes affecting how we feel about something. I often enjoy going into something (book, movie, show) with as little knowledge of it as I can, thinking there’s a better chance I’ll enjoy it. And that is often the case. But it’s also a bit ironic given how much I enjoy reading these reviews. 🙂
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I’m glad to hear that 😀 I did struggle to get my thoughts across in this review, because I think it’s a good book – but I don’t think it works as well the way it was pitched. I definitely prefer a more traditional plot structure, and my horror to be creepier and more atmospheric than just blood and gore 🙂
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Sorry this wasn’t the best! Hope your next read is even better!
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Thank you! I hope so too 🙂
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Even though you didn’t like the book as much as you had wanted, I still enjoyed your honest and immaculately detailed review. I don’t know anything about this author or his works but his writing – as you say diminishes the horror element – would maybe do good with the other genres?
Still, I really enjoyed reading this review, Mogsy. Very, very well written! ❤️🦋
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I’ve just started this and was also kind of looking forward to being terrified, so I’ll lower my expectations on that front. 😛 His Mongrels was also marketed as horror, if I remember, but it was more body horror than anything visceral and spine-tingling. I’m glad this introduced you to his writing, though! He DOES have such a way with characters.
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You won me with ‘splendiferous writing’. Sorry this didn’t work as well for you as you’d hoped but I think this might tick some boxes for me and I’m definitely curious.
Lynn 😀
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Thanks for the heads up about this one! I think I would have been pretty bummed expecting horror. I can’t wait to read this one!
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Sorry this one didn’t quite live up to your expectations, it looks like it was a still a pretty good read though so that’s good at least!
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The premise sounds good, the execution could have been better
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I’m halfway through the book and was feeling so irritated by the structure and lack of psychological tension that I searched the reviews to see if I was the only one! Yours is spot on. Following you now!
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