Reviews

Great anthology! Especially loved Gretchen Felker Martin’s “Sardines” and “This Body Is Not Your Home” by Son M. “Lost and Found” by Charlene Adhiambo was another favorite. The last story was nuts.

Would recommend to fans of gay shit, scary shit, and stories where the characters don’t necessarily get a happy ending but they end up changed in some way. Also lots of explicit filth and gore in this one. Very juicy.

shieldat's review against another edition

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dark sad

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

slovenlymuse's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

4.5

This horror anthology of tragic stories (where a queer character dies) responds to the trope of "burying the gays" in some exquisite and savage ways, proving that even when a character is dead, that doesn't necessarily mean they're out of the story. Sometimes, that's when the story gets most interesting.

ellewhyoh's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The relationship between queerness and horror is a long and complicated one (check out “It Came from the Closet” if you’re interested in some nonfiction on the topic) and this collection proudly takes its place in that intersection. It was at times tragic, gruesome, heartfelt, and satisfying.

The ones that really hurt my heart are the ones that, if not based on true stories, are a story we’ve heard again and again—a transgender woman desperate to feel whole in her body undergoes a risky surgery, a young man flashes to all of the small moments of joy he wished he had taken when faced with death dealt by human monsters, a community is left wanting by the medical establishment, etc.

My favorite story in terms of sheer writing was "Cleodora." The author of that piece, August Clark, just has a way with language that leads me to hit the "highlight" button again and again.

Short story collections have a hard time getting 5 stars from me just because there are almost always highlights and lowlights, but overall this was a very solid, enjoyable collection.

Be aware that there is some fairly graphic violence and body horror-- I somewhat wish that this book did what another queer horror collection that I read recently did, which is provide some content warnings in the back of the book for anyone who knew they had specific triggers.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Content Warnings

blulibrarian's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Oh, I really enjoyed these! I picked this one up because I recognized a few names I knew I had enjoyed novels by previously. Often, short stories collections have some gems that really shine, and a few stories that don't really move me. Not this one! I loved every one of these tales and have a long list of authors to go find more works by! There is a really good breadth of horror here across many genres; I have a soft spot for sci-fi horror in particular, and there are an excellent few in among the rest of the stories here. Really recommend this to anyone even vaguely interested.

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