Horror

The Only Good Indians

The Only Good Indians

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  • Create Date：2021-04-09 14:56:53
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Stephen Graham Jones
  • ISBN：1789095298
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Summary

The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in a dark novel of revenge， cultural identity， and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature， Stephen Graham Jones。

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary， The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives。 Tracked by an entity bent on revenge， these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent， vengeful way。

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Reviews

Emily Brown ，

I feel like this would have been better for me as a physical book， because the middle got a bit muddled as an audiobook。 But damn if this book didn’t make me stop whatever I was doing and just go 😳。 Shit’s spooky。

Allison Floyd ，

Oh， man。 I'd been curious about this book， but was skittish about reading it due to my being a bleeding heart when it comes to anything involving animal harm。 In the end， curiosity， my enduring reading drought， and the availability of this title courtesy of my library's OverDrive holdings won out。 And yes， this is definitely a tough read for squeamish animal lovers （particularly if you have a soft spot for dogs， be warned）， but actually the bigger challenge was that， not being a basketball （espe Oh， man。 I'd been curious about this book， but was skittish about reading it due to my being a bleeding heart when it comes to anything involving animal harm。 In the end， curiosity， my enduring reading drought， and the availability of this title courtesy of my library's OverDrive holdings won out。 And yes， this is definitely a tough read for squeamish animal lovers （particularly if you have a soft spot for dogs， be warned）， but actually the bigger challenge was that， not being a basketball （especially）， motorcycle， or gun buff， this book was kind of a slog， like #dudeswritingfordudes。 I almost GUTGed several times and probably would have if my reading pastures were greener at the moment。 But！ I am so glad I didn't because the ending is drop-dead gorgeous and I suspect I will carry it in my heart for years to come。 Make of this what you will， but it says something about the author's prowess that he actually made me as sympathetic toward his human characters （almost） as toward the elk。 Also， I wish he would write the fantasy series that Lewis was so partial to， because there definitely need to be more books starring elves in the food court， etc。 Neanderthals！ 。。。more

Joe Wuest ，

Didn't want to put this one down and it scared me too。 Didn't want to put this one down and it scared me too。 。。。more

Chelsea Strong ，

I have to say I’m not the biggest fan of this book。 I don’t mind that it’s horror。 One of my favorite books from last year was horror。 What gets me is gore and violence towards animals。 I knew this book was going to be weird。 I was told by so many people before I even started it that it was going to be weird。 I don’t mind weird; I usually like weird， but I don’t think I liked this。 I had to force myself to keep reading the book and to keep picking the book up。 I actually thought about DNFing thi I have to say I’m not the biggest fan of this book。 I don’t mind that it’s horror。 One of my favorite books from last year was horror。 What gets me is gore and violence towards animals。 I knew this book was going to be weird。 I was told by so many people before I even started it that it was going to be weird。 I don’t mind weird; I usually like weird， but I don’t think I liked this。 I had to force myself to keep reading the book and to keep picking the book up。 I actually thought about DNFing this book， but I’m really trying to keep up my streak of not DNFing books。 I’ve only not finished three books I believe。 So maybe that’s on me for suffering through books I clearly don’t like。 I couldn’t connect to the characters。 We get a blip of Ricky at the beginning of the book and then we find out he’s dead。 The first chunk of the book is about Lewis。 Within less than 50 pages there is animal violence towards Lewis’ dog， not once but twice。 I liked Lewis’ wife Peta， but it was annoying that Lewis kept bringing up that she wasn’t an Indian。 I get that it’s a big deal， but I don’t need constant reminders that Peta is white and that she’s not an Indian。 Lewis just got crazy paranoid that both women in his life could be the elk he killed ten years ago， come back to avenge their dead calf。 He killed his coworker， who yeah was flirting with him， but let’s face it， that is harmless。 He full on planned to kill her and then did it because he thought she was a stupid dead elk he killed TEN YEARS AGO。 Then he goes on a time of trying to figure out if Peta is really Peta or if she’s really the dead elk。 Then Peta dies and he’s sad because Peta is just Peta。 Go figure your wife of ten years was really just your wife- color me shocked。 Gabe and Cass’ sections are mostly told together since they are both at the rez。 I think of the four guys Gabe is my least favorite。 He discovers Cass’ dogs （three of them）。 Two of them are already dead and then he kills the third to put it out of its misery。 Then the jerk just decides he doesn’t want to deal with it and doesn’t tell his friend about his poor dead dogs。 We’re a little over 200 pages into the book and the death count is: 4 dogs and 4 （Possibly 5） humans。 Gabe is a pretty annoying drunk in my opinion， but the dog thing really grinded my gears。 The second section just ends in so much pointless death。 I guess this elk mom was just on a vengeance roll。 Taking out everyone and everything。 The final section is about Denorah， Gabe’s daughter。 Things just got weirder and weirder as the story went on。 I feel like Denorah was the only main character I could stomach。 I liked Peta and Jo for the little bit we saw them， but they were not main characters by any means。 As a whole I did not like this book。 I struggled to get through it。 I did not enjoy my time reading it。 I will not recommend this book to people， nor will I be rereading it。 MVP: Denorah （Congratulations you were the only character I did not hate）。 。。。more

Zena Hirsch ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Often beautifully written and with skillful character development， but I’d hoped it would be scarier。 His attempts to frighten me with elk didn’t quite succeed， and the long descriptions of basketball were probably meant for a different audience。 Still， I’ll eagerly watch whatever comes out when HBO or Netflix invariably picks it up。

Michael ，

I think the concept was good but the execution was poor。 Felt as though they tried to make four short stories into a novel and it just didn’t gel

Ali Gilbert ，

There is so much about this book I loved but there was also enough that I didn't like that I think I'd rate it 3 or 3。5 stars。 The first half of the book I LOVED。 It was eery and invoked a lot of emotion。 I felt physically ill reading a few of the scenes。 But the second half of the book just fell flat for me and I was not interested in any of the characters。 There was something about the writing style that was very hard for me to follow and it was hard for me to really grasp what was happening/i There is so much about this book I loved but there was also enough that I didn't like that I think I'd rate it 3 or 3。5 stars。 The first half of the book I LOVED。 It was eery and invoked a lot of emotion。 I felt physically ill reading a few of the scenes。 But the second half of the book just fell flat for me and I was not interested in any of the characters。 There was something about the writing style that was very hard for me to follow and it was hard for me to really grasp what was happening/imagine the scenes。 Saw someone else mention that there was too much basketball and I have to say I agree。 If the book ended at the first half I'd give it a four or five stars。 。。。more

Lindsay Romo ，

Made it to about page 60 before stopping。 Just couldn’t get into it。

Liah ，

I just don't like sports lol I just don't like sports lol 。。。more

Kaetlyn ，

This book is so unique。 I can’t even really put my thoughts into words on it。 I knew nothing about this book going into it so maybe that’s why I wasn’t let down by what it ended up being。 Stephen Graham Jones is phenomenal。 His writing style is compelling and unique and had this strange fluidity to it。 There were parts that sagged for sure but this is such a good story and I couldn’t stop reading it。The overarching themes and allegorical nod to Native American life and death is weaved so seamles This book is so unique。 I can’t even really put my thoughts into words on it。 I knew nothing about this book going into it so maybe that’s why I wasn’t let down by what it ended up being。 Stephen Graham Jones is phenomenal。 His writing style is compelling and unique and had this strange fluidity to it。 There were parts that sagged for sure but this is such a good story and I couldn’t stop reading it。The overarching themes and allegorical nod to Native American life and death is weaved so seamlessly into a horror story that you almost forget it is there until it peeks through in parts。 Also shout out to Shaun Taylor-Corbett who reads the audiobook because it was a phenomenal performance。 。。。more

TJ Bibliosmia ，

I'd say 3。5 stars。I really don't know how to take this book。 Weird， I'll give it that for sure。 Had some really good scary parts in it， but a lot of it was just plain freaky。 I struggled to follow the story a few times。 I enjoyed the part about Lewis more than the other 3 characters。 The first character， Ricky， it was only a few pages long， so there wasn't much to that， than Lewis' story - which like I said， that was probably my favorite part of the whole book， him loosing it。 Then the last part I'd say 3。5 stars。I really don't know how to take this book。 Weird， I'll give it that for sure。 Had some really good scary parts in it， but a lot of it was just plain freaky。 I struggled to follow the story a few times。 I enjoyed the part about Lewis more than the other 3 characters。 The first character， Ricky， it was only a few pages long， so there wasn't much to that， than Lewis' story - which like I said， that was probably my favorite part of the whole book， him loosing it。 Then the last part about Gabe and Cass， including Gabe's daughter， Denorah was where I started losing interest。 First off， I'm not a basketball fan， so therein is probably a lot of the problem。 Someone who loves basketball， would probably really enjoy the last part， I just skimmed over the big game part， was bored and wanted to get on with the story。 I also felt the last few pages was a little too long。Nonetheless， overall 3。5 - 4 stars for the Lewis part and 3 stars for the ending。 。。。more

Angel Mayumi ，

The story is powerful; I like how it was presented。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or jo

Stacia ，

Tried the first few chapters & found it getting gory。 I know it's horror， but I really don't like bunches of dead animals。 Thankfully， I then looked at some of my friends' reviews here on GR。 The first paragraph of Lewis Szymanski's review gave me the warning info I needed as to why this book is not the one for me （though many seem to like it）。 Tried the first few chapters & found it getting gory。 I know it's horror， but I really don't like bunches of dead animals。 Thankfully， I then looked at some of my friends' reviews here on GR。 The first paragraph of Lewis Szymanski's review gave me the warning info I needed as to why this book is not the one for me （though many seem to like it）。 。。。more

NICKAVACaDO-PAPERBACKDREAMS ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book is good but its not amazing in the sense that it just doesn’t do it for me。 Ricky and Lewis’s story seems kind of pointless once you get half way through the book。 Their stories seem wasted， especially Lewis’s story because once he dies that’s literally the end of his story and his character is never really given anymore depth。 The part that mad this book a 3 star is how the Elk Women is never explained in detail， like why she chose Shaney as the person she transformed into or how she This book is good but its not amazing in the sense that it just doesn’t do it for me。 Ricky and Lewis’s story seems kind of pointless once you get half way through the book。 Their stories seem wasted， especially Lewis’s story because once he dies that’s literally the end of his story and his character is never really given anymore depth。 The part that mad this book a 3 star is how the Elk Women is never explained in detail， like why she chose Shaney as the person she transformed into or how she came to be。 Overall the book is good but will leave you with many unanswered questions but non the less still a good read。 。。。more

elizabeth jovena ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 - The 'sweat lodge massacre' chapters were masterful。 The tension， the action， and the horror of it all！ Violent bursts of action make up for the slow burn （e。g。 the motorcycle/ladder lewis scenes）。- I was very confused at times with what was happening， although maybe it was because I was listening to the audiobook， and I wish the ending was more satisfying。 Also I need to read up on American Indian culture。- This is a heavy read and you do need to pay attention but it gives you a lot to think a - The 'sweat lodge massacre' chapters were masterful。 The tension， the action， and the horror of it all！ Violent bursts of action make up for the slow burn （e。g。 the motorcycle/ladder lewis scenes）。- I was very confused at times with what was happening， although maybe it was because I was listening to the audiobook， and I wish the ending was more satisfying。 Also I need to read up on American Indian culture。- This is a heavy read and you do need to pay attention but it gives you a lot to think about with the different perspectives。 。。。more

Natalie ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Thoughts:-didn't expect it to get as fucked up it did-so so so well-written-loved the use of second person for the Elk Head Woman-was so gripped during the last sectionThemes:-time （dis/connection to the past， cyclical time）-trying to feel like a "real Indian，" what does it mean to be "really Indian"-storytelling （passing on stories to the next generation）-younger/older generations-family （what it means to lose a child）-animals vs。 humans， to what extent are we different from each other-revenge- Thoughts:-didn't expect it to get as fucked up it did-so so so well-written-loved the use of second person for the Elk Head Woman-was so gripped during the last sectionThemes:-time （dis/connection to the past， cyclical time）-trying to feel like a "real Indian，" what does it mean to be "really Indian"-storytelling （passing on stories to the next generation）-younger/older generations-family （what it means to lose a child）-animals vs。 humans， to what extent are we different from each other-revenge-ending a cycle of violence-wanting to leave the reservation， feeling like you can't leave-references to land sovereignty， indigenous suicide rates 。。。more

David ，

I'm loaning this out to a few people so I'm not going to post spoilers。 My only complaint is that there are a few parts that are somewhat confusing when initial reading that is frustraiting to read over to figure out the details。 Overall， I loved this book。 Stephen Graham Jones writes a lot of books， so do yourself a favor and read one or two （or more）。 I'm loaning this out to a few people so I'm not going to post spoilers。 My only complaint is that there are a few parts that are somewhat confusing when initial reading that is frustraiting to read over to figure out the details。 Overall， I loved this book。 Stephen Graham Jones writes a lot of books， so do yourself a favor and read one or two （or more）。 。。。more

Joshua Mantilla ，

The story is powerful; I like how it was presented。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or jo

Alex ，

This book is so good。 I'm surprised to see so many middling reviews， but having thought about it I think many of them come from fans of traditional horror novels。 This is something a little different， and admittedly a little slower。 I kept thinking while I read this that this is what literature could be， and what I hope it will be， as people from increasingly diverse backgrounds are published。 This book doesn't just have a monster， it has a culturally relevant monster。 Turn-of-the-century Brits This book is so good。 I'm surprised to see so many middling reviews， but having thought about it I think many of them come from fans of traditional horror novels。 This is something a little different， and admittedly a little slower。 I kept thinking while I read this that this is what literature could be， and what I hope it will be， as people from increasingly diverse backgrounds are published。 This book doesn't just have a monster， it has a culturally relevant monster。 Turn-of-the-century Brits found Dracula frightening because vampires represented something entirely apart from god - the total loss of one's spiritual tradition in a changing world。 Without spoiling too much， I feel that this book works in a similar way。 And this book plays in so many different worlds: in the past and the present， in human and animal， in the city and the forest and the reserve。As someone who is fond of animals to a fault， I also found it exceptionally unique to read a book in which an animal is treated as a character who is an equal counterpart to the human characters。 On a related note， though， I will say that my one caution for this book is that there are some really graphic animal deaths。 I go into a book like this expecting human 'victims，' but was caught a little off guard by dead dogs。 。。。more

julia ，

i love when an entire book of dread pays off

Erin Jones ，

I liked the Native American culture， the basketball， and even the weird elk horror aspect in he beginning。Then it just got too weird to the point of being confusing for me， making for the okay rating。 Wish I had liked it more。。。Audiobook

Catherine （SimbaReads） ，

After seeing nothing but rave reviews， I decided to give The Only Good Indians a try。 I'm glad I did because it really is good。 The minor complaints I've seen for this one had to do with how the story was told which I can understand。 Sometimes the way an author lays out a story isn't everyone's cup of tea。 After seeing nothing but rave reviews， I decided to give The Only Good Indians a try。 I'm glad I did because it really is good。 The minor complaints I've seen for this one had to do with how the story was told which I can understand。 Sometimes the way an author lays out a story isn't everyone's cup of tea。 。。。more

Mike Finn ，

This book is astonishingly good。 So astonishing that I struggle a little to explain what makes it good。 The story， four Indian men marked for death and pursued， ten years after the act that doomed them， by what initially seems like guilt but becomes a vengeful spirit， isn't an original concept but the execution is breathtaking。These are immersive stories。 We get a ring-side seat on what's happening inside each man's head as his doom approaches。 We start with a man on the run from home who meets This book is astonishingly good。 So astonishing that I struggle a little to explain what makes it good。 The story， four Indian men marked for death and pursued， ten years after the act that doomed them， by what initially seems like guilt but becomes a vengeful spirit， isn't an original concept but the execution is breathtaking。These are immersive stories。 We get a ring-side seat on what's happening inside each man's head as his doom approaches。 We start with a man on the run from home who meets his death in a parking lot that is filled with balletic violence。 The incident seems almost like not-unexpected bad luck except you know there's something more， something not quite natural， something linked to this man's past that has dressed punishment as misfortune。 Then we meet a man who has spent ten years building a life for himself with his white wife。 A man who reads。 A man who knows that he and his wife are saving each other。 A man who is still haunted by guilt for what he did ten years ago。 A man who， as strange things begin to happen， reasons carefully but whose reasoning slowly starts to incorporate myths and magical thinking that walks so close to madness that， by the time the destruction of his life comes， he accepts it fatalistically and is thankful for the ten years he had beforehand。 Watching this process is painful， partly because it's so plausibleIn the second hall of the book， back on the reservation， things become more complicated。 The vengeful spirit becomes visible and sets up and feeds off conflict caused by the distrust and anger and grief of the two doomed men。In each story we get a version of Indian men struggling to find a place for themselves。 Overcoming what feels like a deeply rooted sense of doom。 Attaching their hope to luck or to a woman who will rescue them or a daughter who will be better than them。 When they lose everything， it feels like an outcome that they had always been waiting for， a second shoe that had to drop， an expiration date that they couldn't read but knew would come due。All of the men are flawed， have made bad decisions， but they are all trying， in their different ways， for something different and better either on or off the reservation。 The sadness in the book comes from knowing that these are not bad men but also knowing that they are unlikely to survive to live the lives they want to live。 Although the story is one of supernatural vengeance for a wrong done， it felt as if this was just one possible version of the doom these men were under and that， spirit or no spirit， they face daily the chance that some act or decision or inaction will take everything away from them。The ending is wonderful。 Original。 Full of hope but not fluffy。 It's a hope based on courage but tempered by compassion and powered by the refusal of one young girl to be doomed or to doom anyone else。This is a stay-up-late-to-finish-it book that is also a don't-skim-anything-cos-it's-all-too-good-to-rush book。 I'm sure there's some clever structural stuff in there that's making this happen but I couldn't see it on the first read-through because I was being swept along by an immersive storytelling style that felt immediate and urgent while still being almost conversational in tone。 As if you were catching up with someone you grew up with but haven't seen in a while and who has had some strange things happen in between that you need to know all about。This is a full-length novel that feels like an oral story。 Sometimes it's a story told at a bar to a friend。 Sometimes it's a story you tell yourself in your head to convince yourself it's all going to work out OK， probably。 Sometimes it's a legend told by an elder to children so that they can know threats when they see them and have the courage not to back away。I can't explain why the prose works but I love it and I want more of it。My advice: read the audiobook version of this book。 The narration is perfect。 It makes the prose dance。 Click on the SoundCloud link below and listen for yourself。https://soundcloud。com/simonschuster/。。。 。。。more

Andrew ，

A really compelling and excellent horror novel。 The portrayal of reservation life and culture was the most interesting aspect， but the scares and horror were top notch as well。 The stream of consciousness style might turn some off but I thought it flowed well。 Highly recommend。

Betsy ，

Absolutely loved this book！ Read it for my Native American Literature class， and so glad to have read it。 Will maybe write a more extensive review later。 But， I definitely recommend this book！ It's thrilling， keeps you hanging in anticipation on every word！ Absolutely loved this book！ Read it for my Native American Literature class， and so glad to have read it。 Will maybe write a more extensive review later。 But， I definitely recommend this book！ It's thrilling， keeps you hanging in anticipation on every word！ 。。。more

Blayne Fekete ，

Bean and Egg's Book Club （March）。 Bean and Egg's Book Club （March）。 。。。more

Victoria ，

For some reason I found this book really hard to follow。 It's probably user error， but there were a bunch of super creepy parts。 I just wish it was a bit easier to read。 I also didn't care much for the last section。 For some reason I found this book really hard to follow。 It's probably user error， but there were a bunch of super creepy parts。 I just wish it was a bit easier to read。 I also didn't care much for the last section。 。。。more

Marissa ，

**mild spoilers below**This is a genuinely scary read， perfect for the dark winter months。 It didn't seem overly frightening as I was reading it at first， but something about the chilling imagery it conjured for me worked really well。 Using second person so the reader inhabits the entity while also including descriptions of the entity was a great idea。 I was looking over my shoulder at night for Elk Head Woman。 At first， I was admittedly a bit confused about why she would be coming after them。 W **mild spoilers below**This is a genuinely scary read， perfect for the dark winter months。 It didn't seem overly frightening as I was reading it at first， but something about the chilling imagery it conjured for me worked really well。 Using second person so the reader inhabits the entity while also including descriptions of the entity was a great idea。 I was looking over my shoulder at night for Elk Head Woman。 At first， I was admittedly a bit confused about why she would be coming after them。 Was it really so bad， what they did？ But the book isn't just about that。 It's about injustice， and it's about revenge， it's about the modern Native cultural identity versus ancient traditions。 It's about how violence begets more violence。 It's about the harming of something innocent and it's about guilt。 I don't want to be presumptuous， because as far as I know none of the players were Blackfeet or Crow， but the large presence of basketball in the book seemed to be a reference to the Fort Shaw Indian School Girls Basketball team （originally a boarding school set up to assimilate Native kids into white American culture， the girls team absolutely dominated and became world champions）。 I was not expecting a climactic basketball scene against a vengeful entity but it worked really well。 Heads up， the book is pretty gory and there are very graphic scenes particularly of women dying。 However， I enjoyed the book and I am definitely going to explore his other works。 。。。more

Ben Williams ，

Great job author， I really like your writing style。 I suggest you join Novel Star’s writing competition on April。

Enci ，

I am so sorry， I really wanted to like this。Like， I REALLY REALLY wanted to like this。But it just didn't work for me。 I am so sorry， I really wanted to like this。Like， I REALLY REALLY wanted to like this。But it just didn't work for me。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Only Good Indians

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Only Good Indians&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Only Good Indians&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0