Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Jedyni dobrzy Indianie by Stephen Graham Jones

50 reviews

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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2.25

Finished reading: December 27th 2023


“When the whole world hurts, you bite it. Don't you?”

WARNING: it's unpopular opinion time again!!

I should have known this would happen. I've come to the conclusion that literary fiction just isn't for me, although there have been exceptions in the past... I guess this story ended up being another nail in the coffin of this subgenre though. Don't get me wrong: I was SO intrigued by the premise of The Only Good Indians, and I loved the social commentary and own voices Native American aspect. This is probably the only reason I kept reading, because I had a very BIG issue with this book. There was just something about the writing style I clashed horribly with, and I was only feeling more annoyed and frustrated with each page... Add the often slow pace and confusing POV and timeline switches, and let's just say that I wasn't really motivated to continue reading The Only Good Indians. I even put it on hold twice to see if that would help... But in the end I simply don't think I'm a good match for his author's writing style. That said, I also struggled with the characters themselves, which felt rather flat and were both unlikeable and easy to mix up. Things also get pretty graphic with lots of focus on violence, hunting and animal cruelty... I usually don't mind a more twisted plot, but there was a bit too much focus on the animal cruelty to my taste. Anyhow, I guess that The Only Good Indians is just one of those books that you either absolutely love or struggle to finish... Sadly, I ended up belonging to the second group, and I confess that I caught myself skimreading more than once. It's such shame, because I really wanted to love this one! 

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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense

4.75


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bhillenb's review against another edition

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5.0

Stephen King COULD NEVER. Wonderfully told, awesome, complex, flawed characters, surprising attention to detail

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winter_loves_cookies's review against another edition

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I can’t do graphic animal death.
I read some of the spoilers and it says that the dog gets trampled to death later. But before that I was reading and got to the point where the dog accidentally hangs himself on a fence and is in a bad way. The main character also imagines taking the dog out back and shooting him with a rifle to put him out of his misery.
At that point I had to call it for my own mental health. But the story is intriguing and the writing is excellent. I was listening to the audio book and the narrator does an excellent job.

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bashsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The Only Good Indians is such a compelling and gripping horror story once you get into it. The beginning is a little slow, and the author makes you work to decipher his writing style - but it pays off to figure out the rhythm of it. I especially liked the various POV shifts and the importance of even the most miniscule details. Will definitely be reading more by Stephen Graham Jones.

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makabra's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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elkboy23's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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blacksphinx's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is not normally my speed. If you love slasher movies and have a high tolerance for gore and violence towards humans and pets alike, pick this book up. 

I somehow managed to hold on through things that normally would have made me put the book down forever and it was so good. One of the most PERFECT uses of second-person I've encountered in a novel; a genius way to incorporate the slasher movie PoV-of-the-killer shots directly into the narrative. I knew it was going to be 5 stars at the ~70% mark when
the goddamn slasher challenges the basketball-loving final girl to a game of basketball because she wants to wreak her in a game of her favorite sport before killing her OMG.
If you can get through the things that start occurring around the 1/3rd point and aren't squeamish about animals dying, you should finish the book - it's totally worth it.

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nisquah's review against another edition

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

3.0


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ms_sarah621's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0


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