alexfrankfiction's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racism, Animal death, Violence, and Gun violence
thefoxyreader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Holy shit.
This book was good.
SYNOPSIS: Four Native American men learn the meaning of “f*** around and find out” with the spirit of an angry elk.
There are several reasons that I really enjoyed this book, but I think the main reason is that it works as both a very serious horror film with a creepy creature and a lot of suspense AND it also packs in a lot of cultural commentary about Native Americans and their beliefs and feelings.
It just works on several different levels without having to sacrifice any horror or suspense. It was an entertaining read cover to cover.
The characters are all really well-written as well. It’s a fairly short book, but Stephen Graham Jones manages to make them well-rounded characters with hopes and dreams. I also appreciated that the four main characters are deeply flawed. It really had me contemplating who the protagonist of the book actually was.
And there is a clear protagonist and I lovethis character
Spoiler
even if she doesn’t show up until halfway through the book. But damn, she’s a teenage badass.The designated antagonist is interesting as well. I like that SGJ took the antagonist beyond just being a menacing presence and gave her a lot of agency in the story as well as having understandable motivations.
If I’m going to nitpick, I would say that the middle part of the book drags a bit. The first third is FANTASTIC and paced so well. The last third is also FANTASTIC and has that same ingenious pacing.
It’s just the middle where SGJ has to reset the story and start building up these secondary characters where it drags before picking back up again.
But seriously, that is just a nitpick because I still enjoyed what I was reading.
The Only Good Indians is a modern horror classic and I’m ready to read more Stephen Graham Jones’ books after this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Violence
kaitlinjohnson's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Violence
Minor: Police brutality
lollipup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Overall this book was great. Thrilling, mysterious, gruesome all mixed together with the supernatural. I would have rated it 5 ⭐ except I found the climax basketball scene so absolutely boring and not fitting with the rest of the story at all and it took away a lot of the tension and scariness of that scene for me. Also the gratuitous animal cruelty and death was difficult to get through but I understand it did mostly have purpose for this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Gore, and Violence
sonygaystation's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Wow this was unbelievably boring sprinkled wifh approximately two (2) interesting scenes and way too graphic animals deaths!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, and Vomit
Moderate: Alcohol and Gun violence
Minor: Racism, Addiction, Colonisation, and Sexual content
lilybisliterate's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Gun violence, Blood, Violence, Murder, Medical trauma, and Gore
missmali's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Suicide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Gore, and Murder
georgiesutton's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
3.0
I found the story overall really good and interesting, but I felt like the writing style really ruined this book for me. The pacing was off and some sentences and paragraphs were impossible to follow which meant action would happen but I’d be confused about what actually happened. Especially in a book where reality is questioned, I found key events were not well described. I loved the family and friendship dynamics, the basketball and native culture, but some bits dragged and some were just plain confusing.
Overall I feel like it was a really intriguing premise but between the pacing and the writing it wasn’t all that enjoyable to read.
Overall I feel like it was a really intriguing premise but between the pacing and the writing it wasn’t all that enjoyable to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Death, Child death, Blood, Murder, Vomit, Violence, Death of parent, Car accident, Body horror, and Animal death
catghost's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Pregnancy, Gun violence, and Violence
mary_stormageddon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
There was very little structure to this book which made it hard to read at times. I'm still not sure I fully followed the plot. But it scared me, it kept me up all night, upset. And that's what I was hoping for. Also, I learned a fair bit. Not sure if I'll read any more of his books, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Gore, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence