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A review by toggle_fow
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Awful in every way. 4.5 stars.
I'm not sure what to say about this.
It's a vampire story of the old west, where a Blackfoot Indian man-turned-vampire preys on buffalo hunters and other enemies of his people. But it's also not nearly that simple.
It's a triple-nested epistolary-format story. In the near-present, a scholar works to preserve the newly-discovered journal of her many-times great-grandfather. In the early 1900s, that grandfather, an elderly Lutheran preacher in an isolated Montana town, records his own diary entries alongside the story of a mysterious Blackfoot man who visits his church weekly. Finally, after the diary's mysterious end, we return to the near-present day for the final denouement.
The vampire lore is highly interesting. I'm not usually a vampire story person, but I'm familiar with 2 styles of vampire: Dracula, and the 2010s pop vampires. This book's version is unlike either style, and introduces complications to the vampire condition with fascinating, horrible consequences. There are no loopholes in this universe available for a vampire who wishes to be "good."
By 5% in, I was hooked. By 50%, I was slightly freaked out because things had escalated SO much, but there was still half the book left! By 75%, I had intended to take a break to get necessary daily tasks done, but was unable to do so. I had to read the whole thing straight through to the end, because there was no way I could set it down at that point.
This book is painful in almost every possible way. The evil of American westward expansion and the slow-motion Indian genocide. Good Stab's own personal pain as he grapples with the monster he's become. The all-pervasive gore, blood, guts, decaying corpses, body horror, mutilation, and viscera as he deals out violence everywhere he goes. The loathsome dread and shame of the old preacher as he hides from his past.
It's deeply grim, but absolutely gripping and impossible to look away from. I loved it and was repulsed all at the same time.
The only moment of fun came from the OG vampire. His vibe was evil, of course, but in a way so dissonant to the rest of the story's tone that he was almost a breath of fresh air while he was around. (Honorable mention to the time Good Stab went undercover as a statue. That wasn't funny, really, but it was almost funny.)
The ending when we find ourselves back in the near-present was another strong tonal shift, but continued to be entirely insane and horrifying. Overall, this book had me in a chokehold from the very first chapter, and I definitely recommend it if you're a person who enjoys horror.
I'm not sure what to say about this.
It's a vampire story of the old west, where a Blackfoot Indian man-turned-vampire preys on buffalo hunters and other enemies of his people. But it's also not nearly that simple.
It's a triple-nested epistolary-format story. In the near-present, a scholar works to preserve the newly-discovered journal of her many-times great-grandfather. In the early 1900s, that grandfather, an elderly Lutheran preacher in an isolated Montana town, records his own diary entries alongside the story of a mysterious Blackfoot man who visits his church weekly. Finally, after the diary's mysterious end, we return to the near-present day for the final denouement.
The vampire lore is highly interesting. I'm not usually a vampire story person, but I'm familiar with 2 styles of vampire: Dracula, and the 2010s pop vampires. This book's version is unlike either style, and introduces complications to the vampire condition with fascinating, horrible consequences. There are no loopholes in this universe available for a vampire who wishes to be "good."
By 5% in, I was hooked. By 50%, I was slightly freaked out because things had escalated SO much, but there was still half the book left! By 75%, I had intended to take a break to get necessary daily tasks done, but was unable to do so. I had to read the whole thing straight through to the end, because there was no way I could set it down at that point.
This book is painful in almost every possible way. The evil of American westward expansion and the slow-motion Indian genocide. Good Stab's own personal pain as he grapples with the monster he's become. The all-pervasive gore, blood, guts, decaying corpses, body horror, mutilation, and viscera as he deals out violence everywhere he goes. The loathsome dread and shame of the old preacher as he hides from his past.
It's deeply grim, but absolutely gripping and impossible to look away from. I loved it and was repulsed all at the same time.
The only moment of fun came from the OG vampire. His vibe was evil, of course, but in a way so dissonant to the rest of the story's tone that he was almost a breath of fresh air while he was around. (Honorable mention to the time Good Stab went undercover as a statue. That wasn't funny, really, but it was almost funny.)
The ending when we find ourselves back in the near-present was another strong tonal shift, but continued to be entirely insane and horrifying. Overall, this book had me in a chokehold from the very first chapter, and I definitely recommend it if you're a person who enjoys horror.