Still, the casual racism the four main characters face-from nicknames like “chief”, to evil glares from the white men waiting to get into a bar while a Native American exits-shows that it is still an issue which needs to be rectified in this day and age. Nowadays it is (rightly, in our opinion) deemed appropriate for others to refer to the indigenous people of North America as Native American rather than Indian, as the former suggests a suitable level of respect, while the latter brings to mind outdated prejudices and terrible depictions in Hollywood “westerns”. One of the main characters even tackles the use of “Indian” head-on, explaining that it is a generational thing, he and his friends always referring to themselves as such before our current age of cultural sensitivity. The title itself comes from the infamous and terrible quote by former US president Theodore Roosevelt, but Jones manages to reappropriate it in an effective way, hinting at the terrible fates that await the four friends while also exploring the seemingly endless racism faced by Native Americans.

The idea of cultural identity is central to the story of Ricky, Gabe, Lewis and Cass explored in The Only Good Indians. It is no secret that we at This Is Horror are huge fans of Jones and his work and, as such, have been eagerly anticipating the newest release ever since we devoured Mongrels in 2016. He has appeared on six different episodes of the This Is Horror podcast, has won four This Is Horror awards, and is widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable and passionate writers working in genre fiction today. To list every book written by Stephen Graham Jones-or, indeed, every award win and nomination-would take far more space and time normally reserved for our book reviews, never mind the biographical section at the start.

“… Jones has delivered a masterpiece that will appeal to both die-hard horror fans and fans of exceptional dramatic writing.”

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