absolutely incredible work. the characters are nuanced, the story is complex, and the structure served the narrative so well. with visceral horror and tender moments alike, i almost didn't want the story to end!

Chuck Tingle has delivered a horror novel that’s weird and surprisingly heartfelt. Bury Your Gays is a wild ride through Hollywood, queer trauma, and the horror of being told your story isn’t marketable unless it ends in tragedy. This book is part surreal nightmare, part heartfelt unpacking of queer trauma, and part roast of an industry that loves queer suffering as long as it’s profitable. It’s weird, raw, and a little chaotic—but it knows it’s chaotic, which makes it work.

The story follows Misha Byrne, a queer screenwriter finally getting his big break, nominated for an Oscar. But just as things are looking up, the studio demands he kill off his queer characters “for the algorithm.” Misha refuses—and suddenly, reality starts to bend. Literal monsters show up, old traumas resurface, and Hollywood’s shiny surface reveals some very real rot underneath.

Misha is a fully fleshed-out protagonist: vulnerable, angry, exhausted, and desperately clinging to his sense of self while the industry chews him up. Misha’s emotional journey, especially flashbacks to his rough childhood and complicated present, is heavy, honest, and really well done. His relationship with boyfriend Zeke is sweet, offering warmth and grounding that somehow doesn’t come off cheesy (okay, maybe a little cheesy, but we’re rooting for them anyway).

Tingle throws every flavor of horror into the mix as Misha's own scripts come to life—cosmic dread, slasher gore, eldritch horrors, and some wild body horror—and somehow it all holds together. Is it weird? Absolutely. Is it fun? Most definitely. The result is chaotic, but deliberately so. It’s a mess with meaning. Underneath all the madness is some genuinely powerful insights about identity and how queer people are treated by the media machine.

Another great book by chuck tingle. With one part Hollywood, on part exestential dread and one part gay, and a dash of humor.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Bury Your Gays is social commentary thinly veiled, at times not veiled at all, as a sci-tech horror book and it works so well. Misha Byrne is a screenwriter who's studio wants him to kill off his gay leaning characters or make them go straight. He fights this directive ans and strange things start happening. Creatures from his past works start appearing and attacking him, his loved ones, and complete strangers. Where are they coming from? Is the studio's new tech involved?
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Thanks to Tor Nightfire and Chuck Tingle for the chance to read ‘Bury Your Gays’! I absolutely loved this. I felt like I really knew the main character by the end of the book and understood him. The other characters were less fleshed out (especially the boyfriend, who was basically just a handsome, helpful mannequin) but that didn't take away from the enjoyment. I immediately downloaded another of Chuck Tingle's books and look forward to reading it!

Bury Your Gays is a gripping, fast-paced thriller that blends horror and suspense in a fresh way. Misha, a writer, is faced with an impossible choice—kill off his beloved gay characters in his show to save his career, or risk everything by refusing. When he stands his ground, the evil characters from his past horror films literally come to life and start hunting him down. As if that weren’t enough, they’re not just targeting him—they’re going after his friends too.

With time running out, Misha must unravel the mystery behind these vengeful characters and figure out who’s orchestrating this terrifying situation before it’s too late. This book is a rollercoaster of tension and thrills, with memorable characters, particularly Tara, who stands out as a fan favorite.

It’s a fun and exciting read that keeps you hooked until the very end. If you’re into horror with a twist, this is definitely a must-read, and it leaves you eager for more from Tingle.

LOVE IS REAL!

I was a big fan of Camp Damascus and I feel like Chuck's longform writing has improved with this latest read :) The twists felt more alluded too and the pacing was much better. I think this is the perfect combo of camp, cometary, and vulnerability for fans and lovers of B horror movies.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕...𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚."

As per my usual, I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to get to this book. I'm hoping my very tardy review will inspire others to pick it up, even if it means abandoning the shiny new ARC you just got. I can honestly say I've never read anything so innovative; this book opened my eyes without being preachy, it was fun, it was tragic, and the message is one of utmost importance, especially in today's uncertain, politically charged environment.

The story centers around Misha, who has been a storyteller all of his life. While he may be out in Hollywood, he's still closeted back in his hometown. His screenplays are full of gay characters and themes, and he's just been nominated for his first Oscar. But when he meets with one of the top executives, he's been told "the board" has notes, and those notes include killing off a gay character in the upcoming season finale. Misha is understandably angry as the episodes all season have been alluding to a budding relationship between the two main characters. The main reason, for the 'algorithm', is incredibly weak, and Misha leaves the meeting uncertain of his future.

Then things get really strange. Misha starts having odd encounters with horrific creations that look all too familiar. He should know: he wrote them. I had no idea what I was in for, but I enjoyed every minute of this wild ride. The scenes with Misha's creations had an early Dean Koontz vibe that I thoroughly enjoyed, and it was also reminiscent of Victor Frankenstein and his creation that he instantly abandoned because he was horrified by it. English teacher reading too much into this, or is this subtext for Misha struggling to be proud of his identity?

I think what I loved most was the astute observation on being queer in a mainstream industry that claims to be inclusive and accepting but only when the optics are right and if it fits a narrative. Thank you so much to Tor for providing me a copy. This book is available now!

This book is an absolute gem! I loved the Hollywood vibes, and Misha was such a well-written character. The pop-culture references and easter eggs were fantastic. I appreciated how the author was able to portray and discuss parallels to current issues. If you're looking for an entertaining LQBTQIA+ read, definitely give this one a go.

'I answer, holding the device to my ear. "Hello?"
The Smoker's croaking voice comes rattling through my speaker. "In three days-"
"Fuck off," I interrupt. I hang up and head inside, pushing any thoughts of menacing stalkers from my mind.'

'Bury Your Gays' is a fun, sometimes gross, satire of Hollywood and their odd relationship with all things gay. The story focuses on semi closeted writer Misha who is being backed into a corner to kill off two of his queer characters.

We watch Misha deal with his own reluctance to be proudly out while he tries to push back on the forced fate of his characters. As his resolve to not kill them off gets stronger, he suddenly becomes haunted by monstrous characters from his previous horror stories. Both Misha's boyfriend, Zeke, and best friend, Tara, are there for the ride to try and help him figure out just what the heck is happening.

I enjoyed the horror monsters and would love a book just about them. I also liked the mystery reveal and how it was dealt with. I will say that both Zeke and Tara were very one note. Zeke was just a little too understanding and Tara was always either calling everyone 'baby' or crying. I did appreciate how much they meant to Misha though.

Overall, I'm eagerly awaiting the next Tingle horror novel. (PS, I saw another reviewer say this would make an awesome A24 movie and I 1000% agree.)

'On a long enough timeline, endings are inevitable.
Tragedy is inevitable.
Fortunately, so is joy.'

Thank you to Tor Nightfire & NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 60%. there were elements that were interesting and unique, I enjoyed the horror scenes, I love the queer representation, but there was just a big disconnect for me and I realized I didn't care at all.

Brilliant, subversive horror that flips harmful tropes on their heads while delivering a deeply emotional and thrilling story. Tingle's terrific!

Dude. Chuck. I just love you. Your other titles make me smile, and this one is absolutley different than those, but still made me happy.
Enjoyable, well done, and definitely worth experiencing. Highly recommend! I can't

Fantastic ride with great horror movie esque moments. As a horror and scifi fan, there are a ton of references and allusions to old favorites and their inclusion makes rooting for Misha all the easier.

Here is a book that gave me more than I expected. I was on board for a queer horror but what I was gifted was a deeper, more meaningful message to anyone who lived under the thumb of a system or shoved what made them unique and powerful into a deep little hole inside of themselves. This is a beautiful and tragic blend of entertainment and commentary on life.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle!

A sophomore horror outing that feels much more like Tingle coming into his own as a genre writer. With its commentary on the usage of AI and the ethics of studios owning a person's likeness, it couldn't be emerging into the world at a more relevant time, and it packs genuine scares to boot.

Chuck Tingle is becoming the (masked) face of modern horror lit and I'm so glad. His knack of character development unfolding through tragedy is absolutely remarkable to read- it feels like you're conversing with a friend instead of reading a book.

Chuck Tingle is a pure genius. This was hands down, one of the best books I have read this year. I absolutely love the way he can weave a story together and make all the pieces connect. Absolutely brilliant book!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

It's a longstanding Hollywood trope that LGBTQ characters don't get happy endings. So when the suits at the studio behind Misha's long-running TV show tell him to either cut the queer storyline or kill off the characters, Misha's disappointed, but not particularly surprised. However, Misha also has an Oscar nomination, which gives him a bit more leverage (just a bit though, as it's for live action short, not one of the big categories). Or so he thinks. But before long, the monsters from Misha's horror movies are coming to life and stalking him, and Misha's trying to save not just his beloved show but also himself and his friends. There is definitely something strange afoot...

Somehow this horror novel manages to have complex relatable characters, skewer the entertainment industry, and comment on the threats of emerging technology while being truly scary and also funny? I don't know how Tingle managed to swing it, but this is quite the feat, and I absolutely loved it.