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ddillon154's review
4.0
Fantastically and delightfully queer. Particular favorites include "57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides," "We are the Cloud," "When Your Child Strays from God," and "Ghosts of Home."
tjpearce's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Ableism
aryelee's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is an absolutely stunning collection of short stories. They mix between science fiction and historical, contemporary and urban fantasy, all focused on queer characters surviving (and sometimes not surviving) in a world full of cruelty and love. Many stories focus on AIDS during the 1980s, and there are some with parents struggling to connect with their child who is growing up and growing into their queer identities.
Sam J. Miller's works are heartfelt and clever, full of beautiful language, complicated characters who are full of life, and worlds that are more fantastical than our own while also reflecting the struggles queer people have had for decades in the United States.
Favorite stories from this collection are: 57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides, Conspicuous Plumage, Ghosts of Home, and Angel, Monster, Man.
Sam J. Miller's works are heartfelt and clever, full of beautiful language, complicated characters who are full of life, and worlds that are more fantastical than our own while also reflecting the struggles queer people have had for decades in the United States.
Favorite stories from this collection are: 57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides, Conspicuous Plumage, Ghosts of Home, and Angel, Monster, Man.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, and War
jacksonwyatt's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
2.0
Great ideas, iffy execution. I don't think the political statements of some stories are as nuanced as the author thinks they are.
lukes_getting_old's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
saraherkert's review
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
11corvus11's review
4.0
I was actually introduced to Sam J. Miller via an excellent short story of his that I read in an anthology long ago. Thus, I was excited to learn that his new short story collection, "Boys, Beasts, & Men," was due out this year. Like most collections of stories, I found this to be a bit of a mixed bag. This makes it hard to rate. Overall, though, there are some great stories in here.
As usual, Miller exhibits a ton of creativity. There are elements of horror and fantasy woven throughout the book in different ways. There are multiple stories where he takes real and major historical events (often from gay history such as the stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS plague) and adds supernatural elements to them. There are multiple stories where life is given to nonliving, inanimate objects in bizarre ways. As I hoped, there was regular exploration of gay mens lives and psyches in a variety of ways from the throes of love to the despair of self hatred and fear. There is a story set in the King Kong universe, told from a different perspective than I have ever seen. There is a soviet era story I enjoyed and wondered, as a USAmerican, what Russian readers would think of it. I thought "Calved" was probably the best story, though I have mixed feelings about the ending. "Angel Monster Man," is a very creative way of exploring gay culture, art, and propaganda with a horror element I have never seen before.
Between each story is a snippet of a larger story tying things together. This was my first experience with this narrative tool. This spooky gay cruising journey was an interesting connecting thread with unexpected turns. I also loved the graphic design of this book. The fantastic illustrations that move beyond the front cover and throughout the pages really added to my reading experience. The end of the book tells us more about how old some of the stories are and even includes notes from Miller on each story, why and how he came up with the ideas, and so on. He also confirmed my nagging suspicion that some of the characters were familiar to me- there were a couple of Easter Egg cameos with characters from Blackfish City and The Blade Between.
The places that I think Miller could have done better were the way he wrote Black characters and his use of the r-slur. He needs to work on the whole show-don't-tell thing regarding Black characters. Any time we met one, it was as if his writing skill went downhill, relying on telling you someone was Black for you to know, but still never making me believe it. I did not have this experience with other characters of his. I also object to his use of the r-slur in multiple stories. I understand that sometimes, ugly words are written to show someone's character or what a disabled character has gone through. But, I found the prevalence of it to be unnecessary and felt that there were other ways he could have gone about it.
I did enjoy this collection overall. Even when I hit a spot in Miller's writing where I didn't exactly love the story, there was always a depth of creative risk-taking that makes me happy that he went for it. It's this sort of thing that brings new and visionary fiction into being.
This was also posted to my blog.
As usual, Miller exhibits a ton of creativity. There are elements of horror and fantasy woven throughout the book in different ways. There are multiple stories where he takes real and major historical events (often from gay history such as the stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS plague) and adds supernatural elements to them. There are multiple stories where life is given to nonliving, inanimate objects in bizarre ways. As I hoped, there was regular exploration of gay mens lives and psyches in a variety of ways from the throes of love to the despair of self hatred and fear. There is a story set in the King Kong universe, told from a different perspective than I have ever seen. There is a soviet era story I enjoyed and wondered, as a USAmerican, what Russian readers would think of it. I thought "Calved" was probably the best story, though I have mixed feelings about the ending. "Angel Monster Man," is a very creative way of exploring gay culture, art, and propaganda with a horror element I have never seen before.
Between each story is a snippet of a larger story tying things together. This was my first experience with this narrative tool. This spooky gay cruising journey was an interesting connecting thread with unexpected turns. I also loved the graphic design of this book. The fantastic illustrations that move beyond the front cover and throughout the pages really added to my reading experience. The end of the book tells us more about how old some of the stories are and even includes notes from Miller on each story, why and how he came up with the ideas, and so on. He also confirmed my nagging suspicion that some of the characters were familiar to me- there were a couple of Easter Egg cameos with characters from Blackfish City and The Blade Between.
The places that I think Miller could have done better were the way he wrote Black characters and his use of the r-slur. He needs to work on the whole show-don't-tell thing regarding Black characters. Any time we met one, it was as if his writing skill went downhill, relying on telling you someone was Black for you to know, but still never making me believe it. I did not have this experience with other characters of his. I also object to his use of the r-slur in multiple stories. I understand that sometimes, ugly words are written to show someone's character or what a disabled character has gone through. But, I found the prevalence of it to be unnecessary and felt that there were other ways he could have gone about it.
I did enjoy this collection overall. Even when I hit a spot in Miller's writing where I didn't exactly love the story, there was always a depth of creative risk-taking that makes me happy that he went for it. It's this sort of thing that brings new and visionary fiction into being.
This was also posted to my blog.
rakoerose's review
4.0
An anthology on the right side of uncomfortable. Miller’s tone of writing has always struck me, with abnormal worlds and systems appearing average and typical, amid other infused elements that are exactly like our natural world.
It was only an animal. It obeyed laws it did not understand and had no hand in making, just like me.
— from “Allosaurus Burgers”
I really like how Miller tackles broad, encompassing themes like those surrounding sociopolitical situations but also distills down into intimate, personal conflicts of identity and expression. Of growth and developing empathy. If you look at the notes he includes at the back (which I love when authors do that for anthologies, giving a glimpse into inspiration) you can find out a lot of it is created with the aim to understand. And you can really feel it in the stories.
I will say, content warnings for homophobia, violence against minorities, racism, AIDS/HIV crisis impact, mentions of abuse, and probably some other things I’m forgetting. Miller does not shy away from showing his fictitious worlds as the mirrors of reality they are, gritty details and all. Several stories in particular focus on the difficulties of being gay men in the 80’s, the stigmas and fears they lived with.
My favorite stories were “Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart,” “The Beasts We Want to Be,” “Calved,” “Things With Beards,” and “Ghosts of Home.” But I still very much liked a majority of the stories here. The emotional undertones in Miller’s writings are very strong and it makes them captivating.
If you like Miller’s novels, I think you’d like his short stories too. If you like stories that make you sit in the harsh realities of existence, where differences are heightened under a SF/F lens, this could also be for you.
It was only an animal. It obeyed laws it did not understand and had no hand in making, just like me.
— from “Allosaurus Burgers”
I really like how Miller tackles broad, encompassing themes like those surrounding sociopolitical situations but also distills down into intimate, personal conflicts of identity and expression. Of growth and developing empathy. If you look at the notes he includes at the back (which I love when authors do that for anthologies, giving a glimpse into inspiration) you can find out a lot of it is created with the aim to understand. And you can really feel it in the stories.
I will say, content warnings for homophobia, violence against minorities, racism, AIDS/HIV crisis impact, mentions of abuse, and probably some other things I’m forgetting. Miller does not shy away from showing his fictitious worlds as the mirrors of reality they are, gritty details and all. Several stories in particular focus on the difficulties of being gay men in the 80’s, the stigmas and fears they lived with.
My favorite stories were “Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart,” “The Beasts We Want to Be,” “Calved,” “Things With Beards,” and “Ghosts of Home.” But I still very much liked a majority of the stories here. The emotional undertones in Miller’s writings are very strong and it makes them captivating.
If you like Miller’s novels, I think you’d like his short stories too. If you like stories that make you sit in the harsh realities of existence, where differences are heightened under a SF/F lens, this could also be for you.
not_coles's review
2.0
A collection of stories each with an interesting premise that almost always fell short of delivering. While reading this I couldn't help but imagine that Miller was either writing each story for 14 year old girls on Tumblr, or enlisting their help in the drafting process. It felt as though Miller would sacrifice nuance and allegory for a more simplified hit-you-over-the-head with the message of each story which made them a drag to read.
Each story is quick and easy to read with some charming moments, but I was ultimately left unsatisfied at the closing of each passage.
Each story is quick and easy to read with some charming moments, but I was ultimately left unsatisfied at the closing of each passage.
theangrystackrat's review
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0