A Quick Note On This Review: This article includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org as a way of supporting both local bookshops and my own ability to write.
2012, Montana: Etsy Beaucarne is an academic who has dedicated her life to the study and teaching of communications, and is struggling to find a path to a tenure-track position. One day, a journal from 1912 is found in the walls of a construction site bearing the name of one Arthur Beaucarne, a Lutheran pastor and presumed relative of Etsy’s, giving her exclusive access to the manuscript’s contents. What began as an effort to make tenure soon becomes a tale of violence, murder, and deception that could rewrite Etsy’s understanding of her place in the world as the journal details the confessions of a Blackfoot man called Good Stab and the unlikely ties he shares with Etsy’s family.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephan Graham Jones is a vampire story that brings in a fresh perspective with the inclusion of Blackfeet lore on the subject. Most mainstream vampire lore that’s popularized focuses on European perspectives of the creatures, which turns them into a metaphor for sexual repression in accordance with outdated ideas of virtue and purity, but with Good Stab’s transformation and the unique perspective on what a vampire is according to the Blackfeet tradition, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter it opens the door to something altogether different and far more terrifying.
The vampire as a symbol isn’t something that’s drawn to sexualized encounters in this novel, but a force of rage, violence, and vengeance that inherently erodes the humanity of the person who became the vampire. Good Stab learns over time that he takes on the traits of the creatures he feeds off of, making it necessary to commit violence against his own people if he wishes to remain in a form familiar to him, but despite Good Stab’s best efforts to maintain his humanity and protect his people, he is forced onto situations where he behaves more like a parasite in order to live than a true individual.
However, Graham Jones doesn’t allow the reader to fully demonize Good Stab, especially in his juxtaposition with the vampire that made Good Stab into one. The original is completely heartless and uncaring of the violence that it wreaks on those around him and even calls Good Stab an “accident” rather than an intentional act of malice against him, which puts into stark relief the contradiction in the colonization or Blackfeet lands. While the original vampire behaves as an embodiment of a chaotic, uncaring universe, Good Stab does everything he can to own the punishment he feels the universe has given him for disrespecting nature and to rise above it so that his pu ishment is visited on those who deserve it rather than the innocent.
For casual readers, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a great read for those who enjoy historical horror novels that follow an epistolary-like format. Similar to Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” The Buffalo Hunter Hunter creates a unique sense of unease and fear through its fragmentary storytelling with multiple narrators and formats. It also takes the violence of a vampire story and details it in the pages in a way that’s fairly unique without being overwhelming, so it could offer a fresh perspective for those who love vampire stories and want to expand their understanding of the possibilities associated with the genre. Additionally, the novel deals with themes of genocide, colonialism, racism, and organized violence in a way that may appeal to those who enjoy reading stories that are critical of those institutions.
For writers, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is worth reading for anyone who wants to write scary stories. While it isn’t billed as a true scary novel, the horror elements and expansion of vampiric lore could offer additional inspiration for anyone who wants to introduce something to the canon, but it can also serve as an opportunity to rethink how vampirism can be a stand-in for versions of oppression. Finally, the novel could serve as a useful touchstone when writing stories that deal with similar themes, so it’s worth a read for anyone looking to write stories that are critical of American colonialism, genocide, racism, and others as it could offer a useful frame of reference on those subjects.
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What’s Next?
I am an avid reader and have quite a few thoughts on how some books could benefit both people that want to be entertained and those looking to sharpen their literary skills.
If you’re interested in finding out more about what I’ve been reading – and how it could benefit you – I will be publishing those thoughts on Fridays on a weekly basis. Check back next week for a discussion of Olive Blake’s The Atlas Complex!
The Writerly Review 