Autofiction the way it should be done. Maybe the only example I've ever seen of autofiction the way it should be done (take note, Bret Easton Ellis!). Haunting, gripping, chilling, and full of pain, but full also of tenderness and love and mutual care.

I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review (though it took me over 2 years past the book's publication to get to it! Sorry!).

This was an odd book - hard to pin down. The whole premise of the book is that something is kidnapping or killing gay men in Toronto, and the problem with that is that you get attached to a character only to have them disappear and then have to get to know a new character. There was some excellent, creepy imagery in this, but it didn't come together for me.

Demchuk is a hell of a writer—some very visceral and creepy scenes here! The point of view shifts a lot for a book under 300 pages, however. As soon as I connected with one character, we would shift to another. It felt like forward momentum stalled when this happened, exacerbated by time shifts and meta chapters from the author's perspective. Will definitely check out his earlier work, though, as I’m intrigued by the way he handles the subject matter.

Disturbing and sexy, haunting and stylish—RED X is a haunting story which blurs the boundaries between reality and horror. I enjoyed the audiobook, too.

I read this book in preparation for an interview with the author.

It took me a little bit to get into this book, but once I did, I was definitely rewarded. Red X tells the tale of several LGBTQ characters over a wide span of time. It's set in Toronto and has been fleshed out with real-world descriptions of Church Street. Each of the men who have been written about has their own meeting with a monster. But instead of it being a straight monster that kills them for being gay, it's a gay monster that takes in those who are depressed/suicidal.

One thing that really sets this book apart from many others is that the author wrote himself into the story and also takes the occasional break to tell us his real perspective on things. I received a Kindle copy of this book, which made it confusing at first to tell when it was the story vs. when it was real. From what I understand, the print copy of this book is better because it makes the difference abundantly clear.

One thing I didn't like was how long the chapters were. I understand that each chapter contained a year, but it would have been helpful if they'd been broken down a bit more. Aside from this quibble, though, Red X was an eye-opening book. Even as a lesbian, I found some of the details from within the LGBTQ community to be absolutely fascinating.

This is a must-read for horror-loving LGBTQ people, as well as anyone else who is willing to be open-minded.

"Toronto queer horror" is an easy sell for me, but I also wasn't sure exactly how you could pull off an entertaining horror novel directly revolving around real life horrifying stories that are ongoing and close to home. But I underestimated how moving and thoughtful the writing would be; Red X is devastating, and wouldn't be the right fit for someone looking for a fun, splashy paranormal slasher. The pacing occasionally went slow for me at first, but I love the structure of the book and was hooked by the second half.

Fiction based on true crime that reads like a memoir,

I read this weeks ago and still haven't come up with he proper words to review this book. It's horrifying and heartbreaking because even though it's supernatural fiction it's so damn real and written with such raw emotion.
Very hard to put into words, but deserving of more readers and a bigger audience than it's getting by being put into the box of just "queer horror"

David Demchuk always manages to somehow transcend the page. The queer horror story is heartbreaking and scary all at once.

Red X is a hard book to summarize, but it is equal parts heartbreaking and horrifying. Demchuk deftly blends fiction and nonfiction, using various anecdotes to flesh out a city of people so isolated that disappearances frequently go unsolved and even uninspected. Overall a wonderful meditation on loss, connection, that which haunts us, and the hungers that often draw us to destruction.

I was so confused. I was really expecting it to be more of a true crime/unsolved mystery book but there was splashes of supernatural which took me right out of the book. A lot of the book felt like unsolved mysteries so it felt like a betrayal when things went askew.
On the plus side, there were real raw emotions in here with some beautiful relationships. You could feel how much everyone worried and looked out for each other.

Wonderful read combining history, magical and the macabre. Especially appreciated David's essays on his personal history and the 'relationship between queerness and horror, what it means for gay men to disappear, and how the isolation of the LGBTQ+ community has left them profoundly exposed to monsters that move easily among them.' We also had the wonderful opportunity of speaking to the author David Demchuk on our new podcast Bookstorm. We discussed the importance of music, film and community in the book, the focus on fairytales and the distance between fiction and reality. Would easily recommend this book for horror fans and is perfect for Halloween/October.

A horror novel slash memoir is an ambitious undertaking - one that succeeds in Red X. This powerful novel/memoir is spooky and powerful. The memoir was a bit hard to read due to formatting issues with the ebook, especially reading on a phone app. The story pulls you in and absolutely won't let go until the finish.

Thank you to NetGalley and Strange Light Books, and to David himself for lending me a physical copy.

Pushing the boundaries between truth and fiction, Red X is a deeply personal exploration of an insidious entity stealing gay men from The Village in Toronto. This book is more than just queer horror, it's memoir and tribute, history and folklore. A collection of memorials for the men who have disappeared, and the fear that remains as one who has been left behind.

David himself is a character in his novel, with diary entries about his own experience with horror and queerness, as well as the real life murders that have occurred in The Village. This is truly genre-bending stuff.

Told across decades and generations, bouncing between timelines, it does take a second to get into the rhythm of the story. It is absolutely worth pushing through as the puzzle pieces start to fall into place in the second half.

This is a book that I've been ruminating on for weeks, really unsure how to capture exactly how it affected me. A must-read.

I’m officially a fan of authors breaking the fourth wall within their novels in order to communicate directly to their readers in their own voice. I’m here for it. Red X is the second book I’ve read this year to use this literary device.

This book wouldn’t have been the same experience without Demchuk’s personal and vulnerable account of his own struggles as they relate to the story.

Both Red X and Demchuk’s first novel, The Bone Mother, tell essential stories from marginalized people threatened by suppression and persecution.

Demchuk shines a bright, focused light on Toronto’s gay district, The Village. A growing number of men are going missing while authorities turn a blind eye to the outcry of fear and concern from friends and family.
The author’s personal account underscores what fuels this apathetic response by explaining how his generation viewed queer people as living a dangerous, alternative lifestyle. Gay men going missing was seen as a consequence. The HIV/AIDS pandemic — a consequence. Getting fired from your job, church exclusion, family exclusion — all consequences.

Demchuk paints a grim picture as the reality of this situation comes to a boiling point. A whole group of people living in fear and isolation are totally ignored, leaving them vulnerable to whatever (or whoever) desires to prey on them.

It is truly horrifying and frankly, difficult to experience. My reading journey was that of immense concern, a heavy feeling of dread and anxiety, as well as this growing sense of urgency to check on my queer friends and family to make sure they’re not suffering from the neglect communicated in this book. It was easy to forget that some of this book is fictionalized, supernatural horror as the pace quickened and the pages flew by; and then David would step in with an interlude with that identifying font and I would remember that, ah yes…I can put my feet back on the ground. *big sigh*

It requires so much inner strength and bravery for marginalized creatives to share their work with society. The onus on society is to make sure it is well received, engaged with, honored, valued, and celebrated.

This is an important work for the horror community. A representation of an entire group of people with a voice not to be heard, but listened to; not just acknowledged, but seen. I personally want to thank David Demchuk. By telling your story, you told a bigger story and that will live on in this book for generations of readers to come.

This is an unusual read that blends fact and fiction almost seamlessly to explore the mysterious disappearances of gay men in Toronto over a span of many years. Demchuk has infused the facts with paranormal horror and also included some of his own history. I was struck by how personal this was but also how important. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommend.

For decades, gay men have gone missing from Toronto, vanishing without a trace. Their friends and family left with nothing to go on. As patterns emerge over time, our characters learn there's something truly sinister preying on these men. And it's happening again...

This book is so many things; part horror novel, part memoir, part tribute (in a way), and all heart. The story takes place over a long stretch of time and interspersed between these time jumps are the author's memories of what it was like to grow up gay in Toronto, dealing with all that comes with that, and his love of horror. It's a unique way to format a book and I truly enjoyed it.

I didn't know much about the murders this story is based on before I read it and after educating myself on them afterwards, this novel became even more chilling. While the entity in the book and reality are different, the fear and isolation are not. A monster is a monster. I won't say more than that about the one in the novel so that you can discover it yourself.

It's hard for me to imagine what writing this novel took. Authors include their experiences in books all the time, but we as readers rarely get to see behind the curtain. It's all here though and it just made any emotion I felt while reading hit that much harder. No matter what type of horror you're into, or even if you're not really into horror, you should check this out. You're going to feel things.

Huge thank you to David Demchuk, Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this.
A few years back I read a book that was haunting and unsettling.'The Bone Mother' by David Demchuk was getting accolades and awards and so I dove in and never realized just what I was in for.
I used that same nervous energy going into 'Red X.' Knowing that this was very much a personal journey, I had no idea just what was about to greet me and how harrowing an experience was waiting for me.
What I liked: The story flips between fiction and non-fiction, between the horror of men disappearing over many decades in Toronto's gay village and Demchuk's own personal experiences. I honestly don't know which affected me more. Knowing that each of these men that Demchuk focused on and understanding that they were targets and would soon be gone was just awful, but when the chapter would draw to a close and the non-fiction biographical section would arrive...
This is an incredibly hard book to review because typically I can suspend disbelief and say to myself "it's fiction, bad things can happen in fiction, it's ok." But this isn't fiction. It's fictionalized non-fiction with non-fiction segments and it just rips your soul apart knowing that these things were happening and that the agency's in place that we get taught as kids that will help you, turned a blind eye or were involved, is just horrifying.
We get an interwoven narrative that connects specific characters together through a journal/diary. Odd events happen, things seen that don't make sense or can't be comprehended, but people don't want to accept that these people, the ones they loved are actually gone. Some live transient lifestyles, so maybe they've packed up and moved on. Strange they didn't say goodbye, but that's how some people are. 
Demchuk does what few authors can do - make you scared, sad, angered and repulsed all within a single sentence. I want to say the writing was beautiful, but with this subject matter and the real life scars, I feel like that word would come off as offensive.
'Sometimes, people vanish in other ways before they disappear completely.'
That was a line written early on that stuck with me through the entire book and I don't know if I'll ever forget it.
When this news story broke across Canada, of the man who'd been killing gay men in Toronto and how he'd been disposing of them for so long, I was so angry and hurt and shocked. But I'm also a straight white male on the other side of the country. Those who live within that community and knew full well something was going on and nobody would listen or take them seriously. I have no words. Demchuk's written a book that I hope people read, as both a 'horror' story, but also as a snapshot of an unforgivable moment in Canadian history.
What I didn't like: This book was pitch perfect for me. Some people may find that the layout of the story is repetitive, what with each decade bringing us a new person to focus on, but that is the point of the story and the reality of the real-life events behind it. I hope if readers do feel that way, they can push past it and continue you.
Why you should buy this: This will be one of the toughest reads you'll ever come across. It actually reminded me of the emotional impact 'A Monster Calls' had on me when I read it. Knowing that as the reader we're hopeless and helpless and are simply there for this dark and disturbing ride.
David Demchuk has crafted a book that will make you ache when reading it and for this specific reader, I'm glad he held nothing back.

** This review will feature on Kendall Reviews**

This is an important and informative horror story that is just as terrifyingly based in reality as it is in fiction. My full review will appear everywhere online upon the book's release .

David Demchuk combines the very real fear felt in LGBTQ+ communities with a centuries old terror causing men to disappear to tell a very effective horror story in Red X. Demchuk breaks the fourth wall multiple times to speak of his own history, and while this can normally seem jarring in any story, it works here due to the deeply personal nature of the narrative. Red X will undoubtedly and deservedly find its way onto multiple year-end lists as an important entry into the LGBTQ+ horror canon.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Penguin Random House Canada, Strange Light**

This book ore me apart from the beginning, and kept pulling me into a terrifying dark and twisted place that I wasn’t expecting. Everyone ahould read this book whether your gay or not. This book has opened my eyes to the horrors of the lgbtq community.

My thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you netgalley and the publisher.