The Only Good Indians
by Stephen Graham Jones
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Pub Date 21 Jul 2020 | Archive Date 14 Jul 2020
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Description
Ten years ago, four young men shot some elk then went on with their lives. It happens every year; it’s been happening forever; it’s the way it’s always been. But this time it’s different. Ten years after that fateful hunt, these men are being stalked themselves. Soaked with a powerful gothic atmosphere, the endless expanses of the landscape press down on these men – and their children – as the ferocious spirit comes for them one at a time.
The Only Good Indians, charts Nature’s revenge on a lost generation that maybe never had a chance. Cleaved to their heritage, these parents, husbands, sons and Indians, men live on the fringes of a society that has rejected them, refusing to challenge their exile to limbo.
A contemporary gothic thriller from one of the genre's most exciting voices, The Only Good Indians will delight fans of Adam Nevill’s The Ritual and Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies.
A Note From the Publisher
Open for UK, Europe and Common Wealth (excluding Canada) requests
Advance Praise
"Stephen Graham Jones hits his stride with a smart story of social commentary—it’s scary good.”
Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“A heartbreakingly beautiful story about hope and survival, grappling with themes of cultural identity, family, and traditions.”
Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“This novel works both as a terrifying chiller and as biting commentary on the existential crisis of indigenous peoples adapting to a culture that is bent on eradicating theirs.”
Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“This novel will give you nightmares. The good kind, of course.”
Buzzfeed
“One of 2020’s Buzziest Horror Novels.”
Entertainment Weekly
“The Only Good Indians is scary good. Stephen Graham Jones is one of our most talented and prolific living writers."
Tommy Orange, 2019 Pulitzer prize finalist and author of There There
"The Only Good Indians is a masterpiece. Intimate, devastating, brutal, terrifying, yet warm and heartbreaking in the best way."
Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World
"The best yet from one of the best in the business. An emotional depth that staggers, built on guilt, identity, one's place in the world, what's right and what's wrong. The Only Good Indians has it all: style, elevation, reality, the unreal, revenge, warmth, freezing cold, and even some slashing."
Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box
"Packed tight with language you can chew, deeply original, and stinking with the fear-inducing funk of folk horror... without Stephen Graham Jones, horror would be a hell of a lot more boring."
Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires and My Best Friend's Exorcism
"The Only Good Indians is a triumph; somehow it’s a great story and also a meditation on stories. I've wondered who would write a worthy heir to Peter Straub's Ghost Story. Now I know the answer: Stephen Graham Jones."
Victor LaValle, author of The Ballad of Black Tom and The Changeling
"Bloody and brutal at times, but also intimate, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful. Jones boldly and bravely incorporates both the difficult and the beautiful parts of contemporary Indian life into his story, never once falling into stereotypes or easy answers but also not shying away from the horrors caused by cycles of violence. I highly recommend." —Rebecca Roanhorse, New York Times bestselling author of Trail of Lightning
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781789095296 |
| PRICE | £8.99 (GBP) |
Links
Featured Reviews
Dominique d, Reviewer
I’m having a hard time writing this review of Stephen Graham Jones’ The Only Good Indians. Sometimes you have to step away from the novel a little bit to let your thoughts simmer. I had to do that big time for this story.
In its essence I think the story is incredibly strong. It’s about four Indigenous Americans in their 20s who go hunting a forbidden part of the reservation that is only reserved for the elders. They find a pack of elk there, and mayhem ensues.
They think they get away with it, but when they’re in their 30s they come face-to-face with an entity bent on revenge.
It’s a horror story as old as time, but it works. I will never look at an elk as a harmless animal again, that’s for sure. The effect it has on the four men is all different and that’s where the great storytelling comes in. The book is propelled forward by gruesome horror scenes. I also enjoyed the fact that this is an #ownvoices story, which gives the reader a good insight into the Native American culture.
However, it’s also stopped by lengthy passages about the characters’ thought process and nothing in particular, really. It’s like riding a rollercoaster where sometimes the build up takes a bit too long.
The reason I had to take some distance from the novel, is because I didn’t grasp the full concept. I couldn’t really keep up with the author’s thought process. I have this feeling it’s me and not the book though.
This together with the slower parts of the rollercoaster made my reading experience a bit less pleasant than it could have been. I’m giving this book 3.5 stars and I’m rounding it up to 4, because it’s a solid read nevertheless. At the end of the day, all I will remember is the interesting revenge story and the horrible scenes that are written so incredibly descriptively I will not forget them very easily.
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