I had a lot of thoughts about this one, but it’s definitely good to get outside my comfort zone. Look for this book coming out in July!
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TITLE: The Only Good Indians
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GENRE: Horror
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SYNOPSIS: Ten years ago, four young Blackfeet men went out hunting together. An unexpectedly good hunt went wrong, resulting in a murder that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. A decade later, the men have gone their separate ways, and though some of their lives have turned out better than others, while some suffer more from systemic racism and inequality, nothing is particularly out of the ordinary. But, as the ten-year anniversary of their fateful hunt approaches, a vengeful entity straight out of legends arises, coming from execute its version of justice upon each of them.
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THOUGHTS: I have mixed feelings about this book. At first, I wasn’t sure how highly I would rate it. Horror isn’t my favorite genre, and there are some definite slasher-style portions in this one. But considering it against other examples of the genre, I would rate it higher. The author uses different genres and narrative voices within the book, delving into slasher and psychological horror, monster stories, and Native American legends. Race, gender, and cultural identity are dealt with pretty well—the author is an #ownvoices writer, and he does use the book to highlight lingering prejudices—external and internalized—against Native Americans. Ultimately, I still felt it was a little gory for me, as I prefer psychological horror to other styles, and I would have liked it better had the monster in the story been more motivated by narratively-satisfying justice rather than vengeance with a lot of collateral damage. But it was definitely hard to put down, which speaks in the book’s favor. So at the end of the day, judged within its genre, it ended up being a good read.
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TITLE: The Only Good Indians
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GENRE: Horror
*
SYNOPSIS: Ten years ago, four young Blackfeet men went out hunting together. An unexpectedly good hunt went wrong, resulting in a murder that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. A decade later, the men have gone their separate ways, and though some of their lives have turned out better than others, while some suffer more from systemic racism and inequality, nothing is particularly out of the ordinary. But, as the ten-year anniversary of their fateful hunt approaches, a vengeful entity straight out of legends arises, coming from execute its version of justice upon each of them.
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THOUGHTS: I have mixed feelings about this book. At first, I wasn’t sure how highly I would rate it. Horror isn’t my favorite genre, and there are some definite slasher-style portions in this one. But considering it against other examples of the genre, I would rate it higher. The author uses different genres and narrative voices within the book, delving into slasher and psychological horror, monster stories, and Native American legends. Race, gender, and cultural identity are dealt with pretty well—the author is an #ownvoices writer, and he does use the book to highlight lingering prejudices—external and internalized—against Native Americans. Ultimately, I still felt it was a little gory for me, as I prefer psychological horror to other styles, and I would have liked it better had the monster in the story been more motivated by narratively-satisfying justice rather than vengeance with a lot of collateral damage. But it was definitely hard to put down, which speaks in the book’s favor. So at the end of the day, judged within its genre, it ended up being a good read.