Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Only Good Indians

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS accomplishes what all the best horror novels should - providing scares and spooks while ruminating on a deeper message.

Here SJG tackles generational trauma in a specific Native American community through the eyes of four friends and one very scary Elk Head Woman. What does it mean when we ignore the warnings and stories of our ancestors? Where's the line between hunting for sustenance and hunting for sport? And most importantly: How can you stop a seemingly never-ending loop of violence?

This was my first Stephen Graham Jones but it certainly won't be my last. I will say his writing style takes a minute to get used to, but once I did I couldn't put the book down.

Content Warnings

kaitlinjohnson's review against another edition

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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

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cneighbors36's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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lakinlindsey's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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lollipup's review against another edition

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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.

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snwalsh's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked the voice and found the switch between perspectives interesting (except for when the Elk woman's perspective would pop up in second person randomly within a paragraph). There was way too much basketball, in a way that needed to be heavily edited down and distracted from the storyline.

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sidekicksam's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"The only good Indian is a dead Indian."

Wow.

I've seen people gushing about this book, and all of it is true. SGJ writes with a pen so sharp, it'll slash you. The complexity and layers of the story, which do not complicate the reading experience; this book is a marvel.

And it's scary AF!!! I've more than once expected to see it lurking in the dark. It's gore-y, bloody and creepy and definitely a future re-read.

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