The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

I review with a good heart.

As an indigenous reader, I’ve come to accept that Stephen Graham Jones’ books will always hit me the hardest.
The uncles are my uncles, the aunts are my aunts. I can name at least two cousins whose stories always end like Tall Dogs’. 

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter takes you on a journey across generations and recounts horrors too awful to speak about but too recent to ask us to forget. This novel is both a love letter to the Pikuni and a detailed retelling of their history.

Detailed and brutal, almost as much as the recounted atrocities themselves. 

Contrasting with the horrors of history are the love among the Pikuni towards their families, their animals, and the land to which they belong; and the wry humor of an Indian telling a story. 

One of Jones’ greatest talents is the extent to which he can embody a voice. There’s no mistaking Jade for Tolly, Good Stab for Arthur. Each is clearly defined and allows you to sink into the story and the setting…while daring you to look away. 

This book will lead you through humor and triumph, melancholy and loss (so much loss), terror and horror, and ultimately make you wonder — what makes a monster and where might they be hiding?

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, out March 18, 2025!

So many thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press Books for allowing me to read early and review!