A review by jackelz
Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers

“I can see now how that might have been appealing, to be the prettiest, smartest anything without some kind of ethnic label. Like Jim Thorpe — he was a great athlete, but people always have to stick Indian in front of it, like an asterisk. Don’t even mention that he’s Sad and Fox Nation, just Indian, like we’re all alike.”

Man Made Monsters is a collection of horror short stories. They are organized chronologically from the 1830's to the future as they follow an extended Cherokee family through time. There are beautiful illustrations at the beginning of each story. Some stories include your typical horror tropes but often the true horrors are rooted in human violence, racism, misogyny, homophobia, and systemic oppression. 

As it happens with all short story collections, there are some stories that stand out more than others. My favorite story was probably LENS. I loved it so much that I reread it in my physical copy, after finishing the book on audio. The MC is blind in one eye and undergoes an experimental surgery. I would love a full story about this and the evil she sees. 

Rep: Indigenous author and characters, queer characters