The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Published: March 18th, 2025 by S&S/Saga Press
Genres: Horror, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Indigenous, Paranormal
Pages: 448
My Rating: ★★★★★(5 stars)
“What I am is the Indian who can’t die. I’m the worst dream America ever had.”
About the Book
A diary found within a wall reveals a story recorded by a Lutheran pastor dating back to 1912. Within the pages, there is a massacre over time that all began with the slaughter of hundreds of Blackfeet people. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a novel told in interviews between this pastor and a Blackfeet man by the name of Good Stab. Good Stab confesses the events of this life in a tale both fantastical and horrifying.
What unfolds is a story of revenge and loss. What was taken from Good Stab he takes back twice as much. He has been turned into a monster and denied the life he should have lived among the Blackfeet. Good Stab is cursed to live an endless life of thirst. Transformed as he is, it becomes his journey to make those who have become his people’s monster pay.
My Thoughts
Stephen Graham Jones has been an instant buy author for me for quite awhile. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is yet another work that truly rends my heart to pieces. As an indigenous author, SGJ roots the horror of his stories in real historical genocide. In this novel there is much commentary on stolen land and resources. White settlers come into Blackfeet territory and take and take and take. They put up fences and erect buildings and call the land theirs. The Blackfeet are vilified and discarded, and hearing Good Stab’s recounting of the life he’s lived is so gut-wrenching.
This is truly a wholly unique vampire story. Most vampire novels I have read are rooted in old European lore. This take on a vampire is so refreshing and completely reframes not only this storied creature but the perception of what a vampire even is. I love the way Good Stab described the changes happening to him. He feels forsaken by the spirits he believes in. He loathes himself for the things he has done that have harmed his people. As his penance, he survives to bring the justice his people have long been denied.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a slow burn of a novel. Confession by confession, the narrative expands, and the darkness creeps in. I loved the juxtaposition of these strong narrative sections from Good Stab’s point of view and the slow unraveling entries of our Pastor, Arthur. SGJ takes his time in leading the story where he wants it to go. It is emotional and raw. Parts of the story hurt. Gruesome as it may be, I was so invested in the bloody reclamation of what had been taken.
Fans of Stephen Graham Jones will be elated, and those new to his work, I believe, will find a lot of bite to this gritty horror novel.