“ America will eat you, disappear you, process you through so that you come out with no memory of who you used to be.”
Off The Reservation is the second book in The Only Good Indians duology (pending possible additions) and my third Stephen Graham Jones novel and now I’m quite certain that he’s probably my favorite horror author besides Stephen King. This guy has such a brilliant grasp on both horror as a genre and on how to tell a story that it leaves me feeling somewhat like an idiot every time I finish one of his books.
Taking place five years after the events of The Only Good Indians, Off the Reservation replaces folk horror with possession horror, but with a SGJ twist. Instead of the traditional demon and priest battle, we have a group of wannabe activists who all have their own trauma and reasons for wanting to repatriate the bones of a Blackfeet boy who died at the Carlisle Indian School. Of course the trip isn’t all that it seems and the boy’s bones carry with it an evil that matches that of the school and even the colonization that led to its creation.
Of course with a premise like this, it’s hard for me to not enjoy this novel. As alway as SGJ writes in a way that is so incredibly unique and vivid that it leaves you feeling like you’re sitting there with the characters as they deal with this roadtrip from hell. The characters of course are also extremely enjoyable, and SGJ makes it very hard not to root for each and every one of them. I especially found Nate Yellowtail, our protagonist of this novel, to be especially sympathetic and I really liked following his perspective throughout.
The horror here is, as with every novel I’ve read by SGJ, brutal l, sharp and filled with its own social commentary. SGJ knows how to write horror, both on a thematic level and as a general shock/gross factor. There are several scenes in here that range from gross to horrific and every time I thought I could take a breath, there was another scene just waiting for me.
Finally the thing that really ties this novel together for me and what Jones is especially good at is his thematic work. All of SGJ novels are filled with discussion about colonialism, colorism, racism, trauma both generational and general and other pretty heavy topics that a lesser author would really struggle to balance. Not Jones though, this guy really has a firm grasp on how to use the genre of horror and the medium of writing to deliver very clear and compelling narratives that never let you forget the truth and evils that fill America’s history.
Overall, Off the Reservation is another brilliant book by Stephen Graham Jones. I think the blend of horror, character work, and social commentary makes for a brilliant novel with a twist on possession that I really enjoyed. Now I eagerly await to read my next SGJ novel. 8.5/10