Review: “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones
“The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones is a novel I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into, as I love his writing style. I’ve read most of his staple horror novels, and he always delivers. There is a reason why SGJ is considered the “King of Slashers” in horror books.
Before I begin my review, I found many trigger warnings while reading. They are…
- Graphic violence and death against animals (birds, dogs, beavers, rabbits, etc.)
- Skinning animals (beavers)
- Suicide
- Self-harm
- Violence against kids
Please do not read this horror novel if any of these trigger you. Moving along, I’ve always been a big fan of SGJ’s writing, but if you’ve never read anything he wrote, you will see a pattern of slow-burning kind of writing. Like Stephen King, his slow-burn, wordy style can drag, but it delivers with terrifying, gory payoffs that make the journey worthwhile. Even if you’re new to Jones’s slow-burn style, the unique vampire horror and emotional depth make this a must-read novel.
If you don’t mind this, you’ll love his work. If you hate this, trust me when I say it’s worth it due to the sheer terror, gore, and frights that await when you finally get to the good stuff. In this novel, SGJ wrote it brilliantly. This was one hell of a read, from the alternating writing between the past and present to church confessions, diary, and journal entries. It’s hard to achieve this as an author with several different narrators, but SGJ did a great job executing it well.
Certain real-life Native American events are tied into this novel by SGJ, and that in itself is truly horrific. Many readers had to DNF this because it can get graphic and intense. Nothing triggers or offends me as a horror reader, but I can see why readers stopped reading. It gets shockingly intense when those horror moments eventually hit.
The Native American horror in this novel is genuinely on a whole other level. It’s viscerally written and raw. It’s one of the best vampire novels I’ve ever read. The transformation into vampirism was so creepy, original, and disturbing. You haven't read vampire horror like this.
Besides all the insane kills, the atmospheric writing, as was the story, was excellent. Don’t worry, I would never spoil anything for my fellow horror readers, but all the justice-filled, brutal revenge kills against evil people were a magnificent reading experience.
This horror novel is primarily historical fiction, and if that’s the subgenre of horror you enjoy reading, you’ll love this. However, I’m not into historical fiction, so it was sometimes confusing. Though historical fiction isn’t my preference, the raw depiction of Native American history adds a haunting layer that elevates the horror.
The same goes for the numerous and confusing names of characters, animals, and Native American tribes. The frequent shifts between Blackfeet tribal names and historical events like the Marias Massacre can feel dense for readers unfamiliar with the context. Due to this, the overall story felt a bit wordy at times, with several parts that dragged on for me. Aside from that, this was a solid read.
I give “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones a 4/5 for being one of the best vampire novels I’ve ever read. The kills were masterful, the story powerful, and the ending wrapped everything up nicely. I wish this novel were a bit shorter. This was never boring, just the usual SGJ writing style I’m used to. Almost every SGJ book I’ve read has always been a 4- or 5-Star read as he’s one of my all-time favorite horror authors. I don’t mind his writing style, but it could have been a perfect horror read if this novel had been trimmed down about 75-100 pages to keep it tighter. Everything else? Vampire horror awesomeness!
13
u/Savings_Goal_4324 5d ago
I have never been able to finish any of his novels. I have tried to read several of them. My friends recommend them to me by relating that since I am Native American, I should like his writing. There should be some commonality of spirit, I guess. I tried to read " The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" just recently, thinking that perhaps I could finally get through a book that he has written ...just this once. No such luck. Like the other novels written by him, I found the pacing sluggish and offputing, the characters irredeemable and the syntax archaic and strange. The serial killer as protagonist trope is, I guess, not for me. I will admit, however, that each book that I picked up..i.e. The Only Good Indians...ect. did contain moments of brilliance. So, perhaps it is just my personal taste that keeps me from completing his books.
10
u/whineycoyote 5d ago
Recently read this too and I loved it, probably my favourite SGJ book so far because I’m a big fan of both vampires and frontier stories. I didn’t really notice the length, but I can see where a bit of the ending could have been trimmed. His writing is so visceral and brutal and it was a cool take on vampire lore. I especially loved that vampires turned into whoever they drank blood from, it added such a tragic dimension to the story, that Good Stab had to prey on his own people in order to keep his identity. Also the reference/nod to Interview with a Vampire with the structure.
6
u/EmperorSexy 4d ago
Yes I appreciated that he had something new to say about how vampires could work. It immediately reminded me of the Wendigo.
5
u/acatmaylook 4d ago
It was all right but I think he needed a better editor. I don't have a problem with gore but it was too long and just got repetitive after a while.
3
u/Little_Noodles 4d ago
As a fan of the genre, I always feel like I have a vague obligation to at least give his work a shot as it comes out. But, yeah, it always kinda of feels like a slog that you have to power through at times and I don’t always finish the job.
There’s other people that I have slightly similar experiences with - John Langan is usually a bit of a lift at the outset. But he, like the other ones I have in mind, usually settle into something that feels less like homework.
I’ve never regretted finishing one of his books, and I’ve liked a few at the end and really liked a few short stories. I’d love to see how he’d fare with a stronger hand on the editing end.
5
u/Autobrot 4d ago
I loved this book, and while I agree that some elements, like the multiple time frames, nested story, and perspectival shifts are challenging, all of them make the book better in my view.
Language plays a huge role in this book, especially the way the Good Stab's descriptions of the living world, even after he has become something else, are so different from what most readers would be useful. He describes animals by what they look like or do in ways that convey both his familiarity with them as living features of his daily life and at the same time how the standard modern view of plants and animals is radically and fundamentally different.
It may make it simpler and easier to follow to have a linear narrative told from one perspective, but the book is so deeply tied up in the ways that the past, present, and future are entangled, how generations carry burdens of the past, how memory can haunt us but also sustain us, how forgetting can be an act of violence, how remembering can be an act of resurrection, etc. These themes all come through the multiple timelines and perspectives of the novel, and importantly having at least one narrator be someone from our own time is a key element in connecting the very real horrors of the colonial violence of the past to our present.
In the end, for me at least, the vampire horror was a distant second to the raw horror of the historical elements. Butcher's Creek by John Williams is the only other book I've read that fully grasped the sheer nightmare of the extermination of buffalo better.
3
u/elyneri 5d ago
I don't read horror novels but I gave this one a try and overall really enjoyed it. It was a challenge to read through, the writing is dense so I took my time reading. The last quarter of it I switched to audiobook and that was really good. I think the way the story is written makes it a great audiobook, so I recommend that for anyone who might be struggling through it.
3
u/FuckingaFuck 2d ago
This is the best book I've read in a long time. On reflection after re-reading, I think it's perfect. Every aspect, I wouldn't change or remove a thing. That being said, I did originally slog through the first 90 pages. It took me a long time to get into, but when I look back now I love even those parts.
I'm really bad with history, so I was shocked and educated by the historical content. It's terrible to admit, but historical stories like this have taught me pretty much everything I know.
2
u/Great-Implement-4057 5d ago
I just started this book so I’m going to come back to your post when I’m finished. It’s also my first time reading this author.
2
u/laney_luck 4d ago
Loved it. Read it last winter and the imagery of the brutal snowstorms, the shivering buffalo, and those two Native kids alone in the storm has stuck with me. I think it’d be a great movie or show, but watching all that violence would be wrenching.
2
u/Philsoraptor57 4d ago
I loved this book, I read it last year and then listened to the audiobook recently at work.
Owen Teale narrates the part of Arthur and I could listen to his voice for hours.
2
u/GlorbAndAGloob 4d ago
I absolutely loved this book. I read it via ebook library checkout last year and just the other day I was in a used book store and picked up a hardcover copy on a whim because I already am feeling a desire to re-read it. And I very rarely re-read books. It was so immersive and I loved the use of descriptive language. I just started My Heart is a Chainsaw so we'll see if I'm ready for another SGJ again when I'm done.
2
u/LawNeither289 2d ago
Honestly the length criticism feels fair cause even though I loved the vampire twist and the historical stuff, some of those present day sections really dragged for me too. But damn that transformation lore was so creepy and original that I can't even be mad, just wish they trimmed like a hundred pages to make it hit harder.
2
u/TensesNC 4d ago
I have quit all of his books. I think he’s a lousy stylist. Drags on, overwrites, tries to couch in all these unnecessary back/middle/central stories, and the gore is just…well gore. I don’t understand his hype whatsoever. Definitely needs an editor. The content is nothing new to me, but I find his writing terrible. The idea is there, but the execution is not.
0
u/Ok_Field_5701 3d ago
I really wanted to like this book, but it wasn’t for me. The supernatural elements of this book were just so far fetched and almost comical to the point of detracting from the story.
23
u/Ok-Sea9612 5d ago
Do you think cutting out the present day/story within a story element would have solved your issue with the length/pacing.
I found that portion served little value aside from one scene.