I haven’t read much written by Indigenous authors, unfortunately, so I was very excited to get my hands on The Only Good Indians. Stephen Graham Jones is an esteemed Horror writer, which makes someone like me, a big scaredy-baby, a little nervous to be honest.
The plotting of this book is interesting. I’d say the majority of the time is spent on character development and relatively benign interactions of regular Native people living their lives. It almost hits you like a sucker-punch when everything starts going off the rails. Seriously—one moment I was reading about a guy obsessed with his ladder, and pages later someone has their head caved in. Part one in the novel, The House That Ran Red, didn’t have that much tension through the beginning and middle. But after a mid-book bloody climax, there’s a discernible current of it running through every seemingly innocuous action or phrase uttered by a new character. I ended up being pretty shaken thereafter.
Not sure if I can say much else without giving stuff away. I went into this book blind, something I don’t normally do, but it left me caught off guard with the way the storyline progressed. I can see it’s getting some mixed reviews, but for those who are uncertain if they want to read it for that reason, I’d say it’s worth your time.
The plotting of this book is interesting. I’d say the majority of the time is spent on character development and relatively benign interactions of regular Native people living their lives. It almost hits you like a sucker-punch when everything starts going off the rails. Seriously—one moment I was reading about a guy obsessed with his ladder, and pages later someone has their head caved in. Part one in the novel, The House That Ran Red, didn’t have that much tension through the beginning and middle. But after a mid-book bloody climax, there’s a discernible current of it running through every seemingly innocuous action or phrase uttered by a new character. I ended up being pretty shaken thereafter.
Not sure if I can say much else without giving stuff away. I went into this book blind, something I don’t normally do, but it left me caught off guard with the way the storyline progressed. I can see it’s getting some mixed reviews, but for those who are uncertain if they want to read it for that reason, I’d say it’s worth your time.