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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just so fresh.
Love the unique vampire lore here, the historical lens, the nested epistolary format. The cats. The way each POV was so uniquely in their own voices.
Was it scary? Maybe not. Gruesome and dread-inducing? Yeah. I’d say so. Effective in its own right. Especially considering the historical context.
The end of the book…I was both expecting the ending - both Good Stab and her grandfather being alive - and taken by surprise - I could not have foreseen a giant prairie dog. Smoking himself into a coma. I laughed out loud, despite the body horror of it all. Incredible.
Bizarre and kind of delightful.
Love the unique vampire lore here, the historical lens, the nested epistolary format. The cats. The way each POV was so uniquely in their own voices.
Was it scary? Maybe not. Gruesome and dread-inducing? Yeah. I’d say so. Effective in its own right. Especially considering the historical context.
The end of the book…
Bizarre and kind of delightful.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
“What I am is the Indian who can’t die.
I’m the worst dream America ever had.”
This was going to be four stars until THAT chapter (you’ll know when you read it) hit me like a sledgehammer. I had to bump the rating after that. It’s the most emotional I’ve gotten from a fiction book all year. What I thought was going to be a fairly straightforward revenge fantasy turned out to be much more: The tragic story of a man trying to claw his way back to a time place and people that don’t exist anymore. About the pain of assimilation that indigenous people have had to go through and the pestilence that the Europeans brought to their shores.
The archaic diary entry style might put people off but I was fine with it, it hearkens back to Lovecraft, even though Stephen Graham Jones doesn’t list him as one of his inspirations in the acknowledgement. the red color of the paper edges serves as an archaic reference and a foreboding of the blood about to be spilt in the narrative at the same time.
If you’ve ever seen that image of an American soldier standing next to hundreds of bison skulls (meant to starve the natives by killing off their primary food source), then you should read this book. Easily my favorite work from Jones so far. His darkest and saddest.
“You put your reminders of pain on the wall and pray to them. We still hurt, so we don’t need that reminder.”
I’m the worst dream America ever had.”
This was going to be four stars until THAT chapter (you’ll know when you read it) hit me like a sledgehammer. I had to bump the rating after that. It’s the most emotional I’ve gotten from a fiction book all year. What I thought was going to be a fairly straightforward revenge fantasy turned out to be much more: The tragic story of a man trying to claw his way back to a time place and people that don’t exist anymore. About the pain of assimilation that indigenous people have had to go through and the pestilence that the Europeans brought to their shores.
The archaic diary entry style might put people off but I was fine with it, it hearkens back to Lovecraft, even though Stephen Graham Jones doesn’t list him as one of his inspirations in the acknowledgement. the red color of the paper edges serves as an archaic reference and a foreboding of the blood about to be spilt in the narrative at the same time.
If you’ve ever seen that image of an American soldier standing next to hundreds of bison skulls (meant to starve the natives by killing off their primary food source), then you should read this book. Easily my favorite work from Jones so far. His darkest and saddest.
“You put your reminders of pain on the wall and pray to them. We still hurt, so we don’t need that reminder.”
An absolute excellent horror read. The ending was perfect, it felt like it wrapped the book up well. I loved the historical part of it. The creativity of the vampire was unlike anything I’ve read before!! The audio book of this is amazing, especially at the end of the book!!
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wish I could give this 10 stars. It's one of the most emotional, upsetting, epic horror stories I have ever read. It has a permanent place in my soul. SGJ is a true artist. I listened to the audiobook, and even the acknowledgements at the end are unique and melt the heart.
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
The first few chapters can be a bit of a slog but well worth it for the story that follows. What a great story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes