The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

TL;DR: An absolute fantastic book.
Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher!

Plot: We follow Good Stab after he becomes a ‘cat man’ and decides upon a path of revenge.
Characters: I loved all of them. Unlikeable and horrible as some of them were.
Setting: The horror of this time period really did lend well to this. I loved it.
Horror: Yes, this time period is horrific as it is, but the added touches from Jones really amplified this.

Summary:

This chilling historical novel is set in the nascent days of the state of Montana, following a Blackfeet Indian named Good Stab as he haunts the fields of the Blackfeet Nation looking for justice.

It begins when a diary written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall in 2012. What is unveiled is a slow massacre, a nearly forgotten chain of events that goes back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow, told in the transcribed interviews with Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar and unnaturally long life over a series of confessional visits.

This is an American Indian revenge story, captured in the vivid voices of the time, by one of the new masters of literary horror, Stephen Graham Jones.

Thoughts:

I slept on this book, I’ll admit it. I was intimidated and wanted to read it physically and then I just kept putting it off. I’m also not super mad at that fact though. I recently lost my Father in-law and this book heavily reminded me of him, so reading this was actually a bit of a balm to my soul.

One of my many thoughts that reoccurred with this book was that it really showed the greed of the men that came and killed and destroyed the native people of America. It was reflected in the greed of the Cat Man within Good Stab but he used it, he lived with it and grappled with it. While the white man, represented by our Pastor basked in it and refused to acknowledge it till the end. I thought that was a powerful statement to make, and it really added to this story.

The horror is excellent. The imagery is disturbing and the violence felt adequate. This time period is horrific without adding anything so Stephen Graham Jones did an amazing job adding to that without making it over the top. I loved the narration on this audio book as well, if you’re going to read this I highly recommend trying the audio.

Overall a best book of the year for me I think. All of the stars, this is magnificent.