In the age of never-ending reinvention of the vampire trope (and frankly, of every other trope too), it is pretty damn hard to create something original, and more importantly, something meaningful out of this rusted, crusted, dusted motif. One way of achieving such originality is putting the vampire in all sorts of unconventional, unexpected, surprising, sometimes even silly or compromising situations, which, if we're being honest, isn't all that original anymore. Another way is to dive into the heart of what vampires are about, and use or maybe modify that foundation in order to suit your story and to make your point. Horror author Stephen Graham Jones makes exactly that in his latest novel, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, and to make a meaningful point, as is well known, is his strong suit.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is the nested narrative of present-day academic Etsy Beaucarne who wants to write a book about the 1912 diary of her great great great grandfather Arthur after it was recovered from the remains of a wall. In his journal, the Lutheran priest tells the story of an indigenous man turned vampire looking for justice for a massacre committed against his community, in which 217 Blackfeet died. So, the story works on three levels which throughout the course of the book gradually find to each other, and blends the historical into the horror, while the line between these two remains blurred, as it is usually the case when Jones writes about Blackfoot people, now or in the past.
This, I believe, is the story of America, told in a forgotten church, in the hinterlands, with a choir of the dead mutely listening.
The Blackfoot named Good Stab first shows up to pastor Arthur Beaucarne's Sunday speeches, and in time he makes it clear that it's actually a confessional that he wants. The pastor accepts, and that is the point where the real story, and the fun begins. This peculiar Indian who wears darkened spectacles in church has had a close encounter with what he calls "Cat Man" and it transformed his life in ways he never would have thought. Being an immortal, rather beastly, wild kind of vampire, and needing to drink blood to survive, he shifts his shape according to the being whose blood he drinks. Thus, he is in a constant state of dilemma of wanting to still belong to his community, but needing to consume them in order to stay one of them - and that's only one of his struggles.
As in each and every one of Jones' novels, the climax in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter too is a breathtaking one: there is a reason why Good Stab chose to confess to Beaucarne and the showdown is crushing. The path leading there meanders through constant clashes, debates, and conversations of two characters who couldn't be any more different, but still pull this confession through. What they have in common is that they are both unique characters and have a sense of humor. That humor keeps on resurfacing throughout the whole book, and even briefly takes grotesque dimensions when we move forward in time, from the 1910's to 2012, when we find out what genius strike Good Stab plays on Beaucarne.
Which brings me, again, to the interesting division of the story, something SGJ does a lot - the number three, the trinity seems to play an interesting role here. Both Good Stab's and Beaucarne's lives can be seen in three stages, their lives before the massacre, the massacre which transforms both their lives and the aftermath. While Beaucarne ends a man of faith, Good Stab is taken by dark forces, placing them on opposite sides of one scale. And yet, nothing is as it seems. While, from the very beginning of the book, Beaucarne shows a distinct weakness for worldly pleasures, is a glutton, and that gluttony is an attribute which can easily be extended to his "tribe", white US-American colonialists, Good Stab, in his heart, does the right thing, since revenge is arguably the noblest of causes. His story is one of pain, he is haunted, he is the Byronic, tormented main character we've been waiting for (and he wore sunglasses back in 1912!).
A fun addition to the "three" element: Arthur Beaucarne's Blackfoot name is "Three persons", deriving from Good Stab's interpretation of the father, the son and the holy ghost. He also has two more names for different stages of his life, and Good Stab himself has three names too. The naming rituals Good Stab introduces us cursorily are generally one of the most interesting aspects of the novel, as with any language, they give an insight to a different way of speaking, thus thinking. It is also the hardest part for the outside reader, I would argue, as it is not always explained what certain words are, and you have to resort to context to decipher what they mean, for example what a "Black Horn" is, or what the social importance of a name such as "Takes No Scalps" has. One of the characters, Napi, who appears towards the middle of Good Stab's adventures, is a powerful trickster spirit created by Natioosi to teach human beings how to live. You may want to research that if it interests you, as well as the Marias Massacre, on which the main events of this book are based, plus, SGJ explains on Talking Scared the vampire concept he created for this book.
Well, what else can I say? As a fan of SGJ now and always, even I am surprised how each new book he writes is better than the last one, so this one tops all that came before. If you see cover blurbs saying this is his masterpiece, believe it. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter isn't only (arguably) his best (I can't decide whether The Only Good Indian comes first or this) yet, I think it is also a good starting point if you don't know the author, but want to try reading him, as the historical aspects, the many massacres and the vampire story make for a speedy pace. I have read the ebook, but then went to the bookstore and bought myself a hardcover edition (which is absolutely beautiful) because I see this book as a classic.
You know, it is as they say, if you're going to read only one horror book this year, make it this one. I'm ending this review with the words of Good Stab, my pipe is empty now too, I have nothing more to say.
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