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A review by jessalynneal
Bound in Flesh: An Anthology of Trans Body Horror by Lor Gislason
4.0
I read Bound in Flesh during the Trans Rights Readathon (March 20-27)! I've always been a fan of horror and I loved reading this anthology with so many different perspectives and approaches to body horror. Below are my reviews, synopsis, and any standout quotes for each short story/novella, and due to the length of each story, there will be spoilers.
Wormspace
LC von Hessen
Our main character goes to a hard to find Physician. I found this story quite intriguing (I almost thought that it was going to be a mystery of sorts) and especially entertaining given Heidi Klum's Halloween 2022 costume.
"He didn't want to wear a costume, adopt a persona. He wanted to quite simply, to be."
The Haunting of Aiden Finch
Theo Hendrie
A hiker in a national park comes across a dead trans teen boy's phone and watches the videos on the dead boy's phone to find out what happened.
"He had imagined coming across a scene like this many times. Perhaps he had a morbid min, or perhaps spending so much time alone in the depths of the National Parks simply had that kind of effect."
I thought that this was a fun and enthralling story that felt like the intersection of true crime fanaticism and main character energy.
"He was only here to bear witness. He wanted to know how it ends."
Coming Out
Derek Des Anges
I really loved this one. The author had me from the beginning and really cemented my investment in this story with this quote: “I will die of poop."
Bren McCool is attacked by El Carnicero in prison, suffered a puncture wound to his colon, and has to use a colostomy bag. In his isolation cell, there are mushroom that grow in one corner, and in the machine shop, he gets access to the lathe and metal.
Mama is a Butcher
Winter Holmes
I mostly guessed where this story was going, but it was still heartbreaking all the same.
"It wasn't a perfect body. It was chafed and scarred and bloody. But it was them. God, it was them."
Fall Apart
gaast
This one surprised me a cool, chaotic way.
A man who makes automatas (automatons imbued with a human soul after they die) creates one for himself, but it doesn’t look like his body (it’s supposed to resemble the person as precisely as possible in order to guarantee the seance/transference of the soul) because he wants to keep living and working but living as more/not old.
"I'm not old enough to fall apart, but I'm old enough to rot."
Lady Davelina’s Last Pet
Charles-Elizabeth Boyles
This was one of my favorite stories
Davelina kidnaps a trans man and he is her pet as she transforms his body into different animals, gelatinous blobs, and human forms.
"When you woke up, you were not yourself. You never would be again."
In the Garden of Horn, the Naked Magic Thrives
Hailey Piper
This one was wild and fun and featured a phallic magical artifact, a red robed cult, an orgy with a phallus mass, and a god incarnate.
Reza buys a magic artifact that sort of resembles a dick at a yard sale, and after some research, it’s an idol of love.
A Scream Lights Up the Sky
Joe Koch
This was not one of my favorites, but that's because I'm not really a fan of dystopian sci fi.
Long Fingers
Layne Van Rensburg
This one surprised me in a good way, and I really feel like like this one embodies supporting women's rights and wrongs.
ER doctor Jennifer finds a finger in her coffee (and eventually the hand attached to it) and took it out of the coffee and performed first aid on it. She takes a sample of the finger to check out the structure of it in the lab at work.
"I fight everyone all the time anyway," I tell him. "The only difference is that I now have a chance."
A Brief History of the Santa Carcossa Archipelago
Bitter Karella
This one starts with the black eggs, the origin of which is the mystery, which allegedly make you beautiful if you eat them.
Show Me
Amanda M. Blake
This story was like the Stepford wives getting flipped and reversed on its head.
A doctor husband is obsessed with making her the perfect wife.
He took me down from the pedestal and placed me in this box, because he had no more use for a vase that couldn't hold flowers.
Man of the House
Lillian Boyd
This was hilarious and by far one of my favorite reads.
Ronald Ray buys a house that's haunted by a queer/trans kid (Alex) who was killed by their father. Ronald is homophobic and also abused his wife, and now the house aka Alex is haunting him (including playing the song Dude (Looks like a Lady) on repeat).
Looking for the Big Death
Taliesin Neith
Another story that surprised me and I'd believe is ultimately a love story. It sort of reminded me of Romeo & Juliet but in reverse (start with a tragedy and end with a love story).
The main characters wants to die until his boyfriend accidentally kills him in a car wreck and he thinks it’s a lame way to die.
Instead of exchanging vows and rings, I would put my life in someone's hands, and they would unravel it, sweetly or cruelly.
Wormspace
LC von Hessen
Our main character goes to a hard to find Physician
Spoiler
to be made into a worm"He didn't want to wear a costume, adopt a persona. He wanted to quite simply, to be."
The Haunting of Aiden Finch
Theo Hendrie
A hiker in a national park comes across a dead trans teen boy's phone and watches the videos on the dead boy's phone to find out what happened.
"He had imagined coming across a scene like this many times. Perhaps he had a morbid min, or perhaps spending so much time alone in the depths of the National Parks simply had that kind of effect."
I thought that this was a fun and enthralling story that felt like the intersection of true crime fanaticism and main character energy.
"He was only here to bear witness. He wanted to know how it ends."
Coming Out
Derek Des Anges
I really loved this one. The author had me from the beginning and really cemented my investment in this story with this quote: “I will die of poop."
Bren McCool is attacked by El Carnicero in prison, suffered a puncture wound to his colon, and has to use a colostomy bag. In his isolation cell, there are mushroom that grow in one corner, and in the machine shop, he gets access to the lathe and metal.
Spoiler
Eventually, he eats the mystery mushrooms and we/they begin to change. Then, they announce that "We're coming out" and they spill out of the cell as a mix of mushroom and machine (like spores and spider legs).Mama is a Butcher
Winter Holmes
I mostly guessed where this story was going, but it was still heartbreaking all the same.
Spoiler
Mother sews skin (what she says is pig skin) onto her “monster” child to make them human. Then, the child, Riley, makes a new friend, Samantha. Mother doesn't like the new friend, kills Samantha, and tries to sew her skin onto Riley's, but Riley recognized a birthmark and realizes that mother was using human skin the whole time. Riley was human the whole time but their skin was "damaged" according to mother."It wasn't a perfect body. It was chafed and scarred and bloody. But it was them. God, it was them."
Fall Apart
gaast
This one surprised me a cool, chaotic way.
A man who makes automatas (automatons imbued with a human soul after they die) creates one for himself, but it doesn’t look like his body (it’s supposed to resemble the person as precisely as possible in order to guarantee the seance/transference of the soul) because he wants to keep living and working but living as more/not old.
Spoiler
His automata (fashioned in the image of the man he’s jealous of) twists and warps all night into a metal being something new with horns and more. He then eats the other man (the likeness of the automate) and they are merged in the automata together (this was the plan the whole time)."I'm not old enough to fall apart, but I'm old enough to rot."
Lady Davelina’s Last Pet
Charles-Elizabeth Boyles
This was one of my favorite stories
Spoiler
(What can I say? I'm a sucker for the friendship and a hopeful ending.).Davelina kidnaps a trans man and he is her pet as she transforms his body into different animals, gelatinous blobs, and human forms.
Spoiler
Eventually, he gets the ring (source of Davelina's power) and then a giant mouth forms on his torso and swallows and eats Davelina during his escape. He and Ray the red hart escape together."When you woke up, you were not yourself. You never would be again."
In the Garden of Horn, the Naked Magic Thrives
Hailey Piper
This one was wild and fun and featured a phallic magical artifact, a red robed cult, an orgy with a phallus mass, and a god incarnate.
Reza buys a magic artifact that sort of resembles a dick at a yard sale, and after some research, it’s an idol of love.
Spoiler
If you cut yourself with the idol (magic artifact), you will grow a penis, which Reza finds out the hard way. Then, Reza's partner Carver (trans man) does as well. Eventually, Charlotte (a nurse hunting Reza) attacks Reza and Carver at their home, Reza stabs her with the idol, and the phalluses sprout and devour Scarlett. The robed cult members all descend on the phallic mass of Charlotte to fuck the phalluses, and then when they’re done with the orgy, the phallus mass starts forming into the god incarnate and Reza returns the horn idol (which is really a penis) to the god.A Scream Lights Up the Sky
Joe Koch
This was not one of my favorites, but that's because I'm not really a fan of dystopian sci fi.
Spoiler
A swarm of breeders (cockroach spider things) are birthed and attack Charlie and Kaiden (it was Kaiden’s idea to come to the beach area out of the city). Kaiden fights off the swarm attacking them and then they fight off the swarm attacking Charlie, but one of them got to Charlie and now Kaiden has to perform an abortion on Charlie, but then the two of them end up having sex (like an endorphin-fueled haze due to the breeders). Kaiden takes the sack of the thing from Charlies (who knows if he survived) up to the top of the lighthouse."Long Fingers
Layne Van Rensburg
This one surprised me in a good way, and I really feel like like this one embodies supporting women's rights and wrongs.
ER doctor Jennifer finds a finger in her coffee (and eventually the hand attached to it) and took it out of the coffee and performed first aid on it. She takes a sample of the finger to check out the structure of it in the lab at work.
Spoiler
Jennifer starts learning more about it and finding more growths of it, including teeth in her sink and a teratoma (type of tumor) at work. Her boyfriend Will is curious and supportive. Jennifer realizes that she is the flesh/new cells and spreads them around the city. Her house is her and sentient and kills a cop. In the end, Jennifer and Will go to Heathrow to keep spreading her across the world."I fight everyone all the time anyway," I tell him. "The only difference is that I now have a chance."
A Brief History of the Santa Carcossa Archipelago
Bitter Karella
This one starts with the black eggs, the origin of which is the mystery, which allegedly make you beautiful if you eat them.
Spoiler
Main character Echidna seeks out the black eggs and wants to know where they come from (the animal that lays them). Echidna meets Stephanie, the black egg deal, who tells Echidna that she will tell her about the origin of the eggs. Stephanie tells Echidna where they get the black eggs as Echidna goes down on her because Stephanie has sex with and then absorbs Echidna (trans woman) like a a male fish fertilizing the larger female fish as Stephanie has done with at least two other people.Show Me
Amanda M. Blake
This story was like the Stepford wives getting flipped and reversed on its head.
A doctor husband is obsessed with making her the perfect wife.
Spoiler
This trope is flipped on its head as we watch the husband become the perfect wife thanks to their wife.He took me down from the pedestal and placed me in this box, because he had no more use for a vase that couldn't hold flowers.
Man of the House
Lillian Boyd
This was hilarious and by far one of my favorite reads.
Ronald Ray buys a house that's haunted by a queer/trans kid (Alex) who was killed by their father. Ronald is homophobic and also abused his wife, and now the house aka Alex is haunting him (including playing the song Dude (Looks like a Lady) on repeat).
Spoiler
The exorcism is hilarious and so is Darryl’s death by a thousand (internal) paper cuts. Ghost Alex splits Ronnie in half and emerges and reclaims her house.Spoiler
"Foul," Darryl says, face purpling, "foul queer, be not here."Looking for the Big Death
Taliesin Neith
Another story that surprised me and I'd believe is ultimately a love story. It sort of reminded me of Romeo & Juliet but in reverse (start with a tragedy and end with a love story).
The main characters wants to die until his boyfriend accidentally kills him in a car wreck and he thinks it’s a lame way to die.
Spoiler
Then, he wakes up in a morgue. Eventually he finds Arthur who wants to kill someone and Arthur kills him (this was always the plan). The main character once again wakes up after dying. That's when he proposes to Arthur to keep trying new ways to kill him because then Arthur won't become a serial killer.Instead of exchanging vows and rings, I would put my life in someone's hands, and they would unravel it, sweetly or cruelly.