The Buffalo Hunter Hunter: Synopsis, review, characters & more
Some horror stories are scary. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is that, sure. Vampires. Blood. Viscera, gore. For me though, it's the real history of what this fiction is based on. The real-life atrocities of the Marias Massacre.
So, what was the Marias Massacre?
It was one of the most tragic and senseless acts of violence in American history. The slaughter of nearly 200 Piegan (Blackfeet) people in what is now known as Montana, Bear Creek.
U.S. troops, under Major Eugene Baker’s command, attacked a sleeping camp, killing mostly women, children, the elderly, and the sick. Lieutenant Gus Doane, one of the company commanders, later described it as “the greatest slaughter of Indians ever made by U.S. troops.”
And that’s what makes The Buffalo Hunter Hunter so powerful. Stephen Graham Jones isn’t just telling a horror story, he’s reviving history that has been sanitized, softened, buried. And somehow, he’s created one of my favorite gut-wrenching revenge historical horrors ever.
I hope this book gets the recognition it deserves because events like these have been swept under the rug for far too long. Remembering them matters. Confronting them matters. Ensuring history doesn’t repeat itself is paramount.
Anyway, let’s get into it. In this The Buffalo Hunter Hunter book review, I’ll break down what makes this such a gut-punch of a read from its themes, its impact, and why SGJ’s storytelling needs patience, immersion, and a strong stomach. I’ll also go over The Buffalo Hunter Hunter trigger warnings because you’ll want to know what you’re getting into. It’s not an easy read, but’s a brilliant one.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter synopsis/summary:
A chilling historical horror novel set in the American west in 1912 following a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice.
A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. This is an American Indian revenge story written by one of the new masters of horror, Stephen Graham Jones.
Get The Buffalo Hunter Hunter here.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter main characters.
Stephen Graham Jones’ The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is narrated in an epistolary style, with three different perspectives, and perspectives within perspectives.
Etsy Beaucarne.
Firstly, there’s Etsy Beaucarne, a Communication and Journalism professor who is looking for a pathway into tenure, who reads a handwritten document from 1912 authored by her great-great-great-grandfather, Lutheran preacher Arthur Beaucarne.
Arthur Beaucarne, aka, Three-Persons.
Arthur Beaucarne is a Pastor in the newly appointed state of Montana. With a secret past, he hopes to have redeemed his soul by preaching to others and listening “with a good heart.’ Or so he hopes.
Good Stab.
Good Stab is a Blackfeet who had a bit of a skirmish with a ‘Cat Man’, resulting in himself becoming an unkillable vampire. He seeks out Arthur Beaucarne to confess his sins, but as we know, history has a way of refusing to stay buried.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter book review.
My rating: ★★★★★
5 stars.
Horror hits differently when it’s built on the bones of real, genocidal history. The blood, viscera, and supernatural vampire horror is plentiful in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter but it pales in comparison to the real horror story: the brutality of colonisation, the events of the Marias Massacre, and the hunting of the buffalo to near extinction.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter dredges up the historical truth of the massacre, reminding us of the ways history is often written by the victors/colonisers, and consequently sanitised, whitewashed or buried. We get the story through three different perspectives: the eyes of a Blackfeet named Good Stab, a Lutheran pastor and a professor seeking tenure at the University of Wyoming.
The book is a reckoning, an excavation of memory and trauma wrapped in the intimacy of Good Stab’s confessional-style recordings. The epistolary format makes it feel almost voyeuristic, like I’ve stumbled onto something not meant for outside eyes.
Initially, the language of Good Stab took time for me to settle into, because it wasn’t diluted for convenience. There’s no glossary, no hand-holding, no neat little footnotes.
Instead, I had to work for my understanding. It’s a deliberate artistic choice by SGJ, and one I respect and revere. My interpretation is that the language is something to be felt, experienced, understood through context and immersion. The effort you put in to adapt to the flow makes the emotional payoff all the richer.
Additionally, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is not an easy read, nor should it be. Some books exist to comfort, to provide escape. This one exists to confront the carnage that history books so often obscure. The sheer amount of blood, brutality, both against people and animals, is staggering, so be mindful of the content warnings. This book doesn’t just shock, it opens up a wound that never really healed. And that's a history we can’t afford to forget, no matter how ugly it gets.
I’m going to have to add SGJ officially to my favourite list of horror writers. Obviously I recommend this one highly. But that recommendation comes with a warning for a gut-wrenching, painful, but necessary read for understanding the true weight of history.
Thank you so much to NetGalley & Titan Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This one is going to stick with me for a long time.
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FAQs.
🚨 Please be mindful that continuing reading may mildly spoil some of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter book for you. Continue at your own risk! 🚨
What are the trigger warnings for The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones?
Extreme gore
Blood
Murder
Multiple animal deaths (different species)
Suicide ideation/contemplation
Graphic violence
Child death
Rape
Ableism
Racism
Colonialism
Drug use
Genocide
Hate crime
Physical abuse
Racial slurs
Self harm
Suicidal thoughts
Suicide
Torture
Vomit
Kidnapping
Grief
Religious bigotry
Stalking
Suicide attempt
Death of parent
Fire/Fire injury
Alcohol
War
Injury details
Classism
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