A very disturbing concept that also happened to be a super fun read. Tingle does a great job of threading the needle of gore and humor while simultaneously giving us searing satire. The main character is complex and heartbreaking and I immediately felt myself rooting for him which made the situations he has to navigate even more nail biting. This was my first Chuck Tingle novel and I’m excited to go back and explore the rest of his catalog.

Weird, wild, bizarre, and absolutely terrifying in that almost plausible maybe someday kind of way. Chick Tingle reminds us again that she really can write and creepy, close in horror is right where she belongs. Cannot get enough and definitely hoping for another next summer.

“That’s why horror is a celebration of life.”

THIS BOOK 🙌🔥

Bury Your Gays needs to be on your summer #tbr especially if you’re looking for summerween vibes. The behind the scenes Hollywood aspect gave it a New Nightmare feel (which is perfect because that’s my favorite horror movie). On top of that, the heart and social commentary were impeccable.

I want to order extra copies of this to hand out to anyone who says AI isn’t a problem, especially in the arts. The lengths Tingle takes it make you wonder how long it will be before certain already-used practices are taken to an even scarier level.

There’s a lot of push and pull between putting out your art for you and those you hope to connect with and doing it for the money. It reminded me a bit of the posts I’ve seen recently talking about how bookstagram used to be a few years ago. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before hobbies are set aside in favor of ones that are monetizable. Watching how Mischa navigates this will make you feel for him and cheer him on the entire way.

I loved the various horror elements Tingle dreamt up. From The Smoker, aka the perfect urban legend, to other horror icons like The Bride (can we please get a follow up on her? 👀) it felt like watching your favorite horror movies coming together for one very strange event.

Chuck Tingle put his whole heart in this one, honestly. It made me laugh, cringe, and tear up at a certain part. Bravo 👏 I cannot wait to see what you dream up next.

Absolutely loved. Couldn’t get enough. This is an exploration of queer stories and how they’re represented in film, tv–Hollywood. It’s a really creative premise that drew me in immediately. Our MC, Misha, is a screenwriter recently nominated for his first Oscar. He’s currently working on the series finale of his TV show when the new bigwigs at his studio tell him he must kill off the two main characters who are gay because that’s what will make it most successful according to their data. That or he can make them straight. Either gay and dead, or straight and alive. Misha refuses to play into this Hollywood stereotype that queer love stories have to be tragic and pure chaos ensues when characters he created in horror movies start to come to life and haunt him. I mean, haunted by his own creations? Terrifying. And so, so good.

Screenwriter Misha has finally gotten his Oscar nomination. What should be a career highlight comes with one big caveat: The executives at his studio want him to kill off his gay main characters rather than giving them the ending they deserve. Sick of the tired trope, and willing to go against “the algorithm,” Misha refuses. But when he finds himself haunted by stalkers dressed as his own horror story creations, Misha has to wonder if it’s only his career that is at stake.

This book is a queer journey of self-discovery, wrapped in horror and packaged with razor-sharp satire. Issues such as acceptance, asexual erasure, and rainbow capitalism, are treated with a weight that you don’t often see in fiction, fitting seamlessly into the plot rather than coming across as the author standing on a soapbox. The characters are well-rounded, realistic, and deeply enjoyable, and the writing is a masterclass in the uncanny.

For spoiler reasons, it’s difficult for me to fully articulate just how much I loved this book, as my favorite aspects are related to a big reveal and the climax of the story. Trust that this story is a nuanced, poignant look at modern day artistic expression that is hopeful at its core while still managing to tell an incredibly creepy and compelling story. Highly recommended for fans of body horror. Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for this ARC. This is my honest review.

5/5 A thoroughly modern, deeply campy horror masterpiece.

I absolutely loved this. At first, I thought it might not be for me because I don’t typically enjoy reading about Hollywood and the movie industry. But after a
The very beginning, I started to love this. Chuck tingle has such a unique style and he really shined in this story. There are some truly horrific scenes with body horror, psychological horror, sci-fi horror and more. But it’s also full queer love, friendship and self-acceptance. I loved the commentary on the need to control stories and the money-making machine that the movie industry is. It’s so beautiful to see that fight to tell all kinds of queer stories, not just queer trauma or the overly-positive pride portrayal. Most of all, I loved that every single part of this book felt like a movie in my head. I would love an adaptation of this! 4.5 stars!

Thanks NetGalley, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio for the DRC/ALC!

Now this is my kind of Pride month reading - this was such a fun queer horror story! This was my first book by the author, but I definitely plan to pick up Camp Damascus next! I loved how creative the plot was and Misha was well developed and easy to root for. The book does cover a lot of ground and there were some pacing issues, especially in the flashback scenes. And while I enjoyed the multi-cast portions on audio, I’m not totally sure I understand how some of them fit the story. While it’s never scary, there is some gore and creepy characters. A great combo of social commentary, humor and horror that’s entertaining and fun!

The narration is really well done on the audio, though I did get confused at times with it and had to switch to the ebook. I loved the full cast portions which also included sound effects! 90% of the narration though is done by André Santana, who does a great job bringing Misha to life. I split time between ebook and audio and would recommend either format.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the eGalley to review!

This is (shamefully) the first story I've read from the legendary Chuck Tingle, but I was certainly not disappointed! Bury Your Gays is a running social commentary on Hollywood pinkwashing, queer trauma, artificial intelligence, and society's need for horror stories. It's the very definition of meta storytelling! I need to give you a warning for heavy and sometimes violent homophobia, child abuse, and lots and lots of gore.

The format of the story changes every so often, going from first person narrative in our main character's perspective to literal scripts when we're needing outsider scenes to piece things together. It also goes back and forth from present day to the "inspiration" scenes, which are flashbacks to Misha's traumatizing childhood where he was repeatedly outed, bullied, and straight up abused for his sexuality--even when he's simply questioning it, like during his ninth birthday party. His present day work is his outlet for that trauma and a way to get back at the Hollywood of his youth that refused to put people like him on the screen in direct context. Yet, he has still not come out of the closet himself, that trauma holding him inside steadfastly (much to the chagrin of his boyfriend; it's a double closet situation). Even worse, the executives want him to bury the gays (i.e. have them die in the finale) in the show he's currently working on with them, kicking off this literal horror story.

And this story is Misha battling his inner demons and these inner demons becoming horrifyingly real when the characters he creates from them for his scripts seemingly come to life and stalk him. Is it a group of fans going too far? Is it the paparazzi going too far? Is it the production company going to great lengths for a complicated marketing ploy? Or is Misha hallucinating it all? We're not given any immediate answers as what we think we know is suddenly challenged by revelation after revelation, creating such a high-pace, bizarre thriller that I couldn't stop thinking about when I took breaks from reading. You'll also find a lot of cheeky allusions peppered throughout, including the book's cover (I gasped in delight; see if you can recognize it!) and a mention of Tingle's previous book, Camp Damascus--I mean it when I say it's a very meta story! It's also one I can see getting its own horror movie adaptation, funnily enough.

I had a lot of fun reading this and I definitely need to get on to reading more of Tingle's work (especially Camp Damascus). If you love his work or simply want a great, scathing queer horror read, absolutely pick this one up. I can also promise you there won't be burying any of these gays, so rest assured about a happy ending.

Please clap. I have read two books outside my comfort zone this week.

I am a gigantic coward, which is why I generally steer clear of horror as a genre. (I’m still scarred from a prank my college roommates played on me related to the book “IT.”) But when I saw a few friends raving about this book, I figured I’d give it a chance. The fact is, this was more creepy and disturbing than all-out frightening, so I may be ok.

Misha has been a horror screenwriter for years, always hoping he’ll hit it big. And he finally does, in the form of an Oscar nomination, even though he jokes that it’s in a category they don’t televise. But despite this success, the studio bosses want him to kill the gay characters in his long-time streaming series—or don’t make them fall in love. This should get them even bigger ratings.

The demand is clear: kill them or be in breach of his contract. Misha cares more about the characters, so he’s willing to sacrifice his career. But suddenly he realizes he and his friends are being stalked—by monsters he created onscreen. Can he survive this onslaught? He’s going to need to face up to some secrets first.

This was really compelling, both as a story and a commentary on queer representation in the media. It’s a great way to convey this message.

Many thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for the advance copy! The book publishes 7/9.

This is my first Chuck Tingle and looking at the books he has published, this was not at all what I was expecting! Tingle follows the life of Misha who is a writer of television shows. After being given the option to either kill off his gay characters or quit, Misha goes on a long path to finding himself. This path involves characters he created for various horror shows. Some of these characters were frightening, while others were creepy. Misha ends up taking on upper administration, AI, data mining, censorship, and most importantly he brings queerness to the forefront. I thoroughly enjoyed Bury Your Gays.

This was a good novel that explored the role of queer representation in horror media. I found the discussions surrounding this topic to nauced and well thought out.

As a horror novel, I did not find it conventionally scary but instead more of an important piece of social commentary.

If you are still looking for a queer horror book to pick up in Pride Month, this would be a good one to read.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Who knows what to expect with Chuck Tingle? Trick question. Readers can expect engrossing plots where the gays win.
Camp Damascus was straight-up horror. Bury Your Gays is Hollywood fandom horror with a sci-fi twist, and trenchant commentary on AI.
The writing is strong, the twists are twisty, the supporting characters are truly supportive. Bury Your Gays is enjoyable and affirming. Particularly good for those who consume TV and movie media, but good for anyone, really. Tingle's sophomore novel proves love.

Chuck Tingle crafts an excellent novel documenting Queer relationships in media/Hollywood, the scum sucking filth of capitalism, the dangers of AI, and just an overall smart, meta horror story! Two of the characters legit terrified me: The Smoker and Mrs Why (the latter who will absolutely be haunting my nightmares and gave me It Follows vibes in the creepiest way). We've got horror horror, psychological horror, body horror, and more! Tingle gives us everything!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Chuck Tingle continues his foray into the world of horror with Bury Your Gays. While Camp Damascus explored more serious territory with commentary on evangelical Christianity and conversion therapy, this book takes a more campy and self-aware turn, diving into the world of Hollywood and its complex history with LGBTQ+ representation, including the common trope of killing off queer characters. I love the way the story sometimes used the screenplay format for scene-setting, tying in perfectly with the protagonist, Misha, and his work as a screenwriter. This, and the additional references to both film and gay culture were a lot of fun, and felt very Tingle-esque without being too on-the-nose.
Misha is an easy character to empathize with, as he grapples with the decision to appease his bosses for the sake of surviving in a capitalist hellscape, and it’s hard not to empathize, especially as we’ve now seen what how little power and respect writers in Hollywood have due to the recent writers’ strike. This present narrative is further juxtaposed with well-placed flashbacks highlighting his self-discovery about himself and his sexuality, which makes his choices in the face of adversity feel all the more affirming.
Narratively, the story was fast-paced and hard to put down. Tingle balances the horror, the personal, and the meta in a beautiful way.
Chuck Tingle has once again delivered a solid full-length horror novel, and I’d recommend it to readers of the genre interested in a book with queer representation, meta film references, and social commentary.

I was a big fan of Tingle's first horror novel, Camp Damascus - in fact, I thought it was the best novel of 2023, out of the 55 books I read in 2023. This new one, Bury Your Gays, is a very different type of novel but it's every bit as brilliant. It's so compulsively readable that I read it in one long evening. This is a horror novel about a closeted gay horror screenwriter who is suddenly confronted with the characters he has created, but they have somehow manifested in real life. Flashbacks to the writer's youth show how his monstrous characters were based on people and events from his past. Horror tropes are subverted here, including the famous "bury your gays" dictum that we saw in so many movies in the past, where the gay characters had to die in the end. Things get gory at times, and they definitely get meta as Tingle explores those tropes and other queer stereotypes. Very well written, with a strong "found family" theme.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Tingle as I am aware of his previous body of work, but this novel about the evils of unchecked capitalist greed really hooked me. I will be purchasing a copy for work and one for my personal collection.

The second 'mainstream' book from Chuck Tingle continues to be excellent entertainment with some pointed and timely social commentary.
Set in the Hollywood entertainment industry, Misha is a successful horror screenwriter who's still subject to the whims of his studio - and now they're pressuring him to 'kill off' two of his characters - a popular lesbian couple.
Misha is reluctant to bow to this pressure - but when creepy stalkers dressed as his fictional characters start threatening him, he realizes this has escalated past normal office politics. And soon, we've moved right across the border into actual horror territory.
The book is a true page-turner, but also is effectively thought-provoking and a great jumping-off point to seriously consider the role of popular media in our society and how the stories we're told function to reinforce social norms.

Okay I am now officially a fan of Chuck Tingle’s horror. I enjoyed CAMP DAMASCUS last year, but I feel like there’s something about BURY YOUR GAYS that’s just that much better. It’s so immersed in this love for horror movies and is honestly one of the creepier horror books I’ve read because of it. There are little unsettling details that I keep thinking of, and the subtle and not-so-subtle threads of commentary that Tingle includes are so interesting and honestly something that I’m glad is being talked about (re: queer representation in media being profitable, bury your gays trope, what kind of representation is deemed appropriate). The book did take a little bit for me to fully get into it, and it definitely gets more interesting in the second half, but I still enjoyed reading the entire thing, and I definitely recommend picking it up!

The premise of this book is basically that a Hollywood writer is told to kill off his characters after confirming they’re gay, and he refuses. Not long after, the monsters from his horror movies start coming after him and those around him. The whole thing is commentary on gay characters in the media and love to horror movies (something I’ve been appreciating even more myself), while also being unsettling as Misha, his boyfriend, and best friend work on trying to solve their horror movie problem. I still have questions after reading but it was interesting to watch this piece of the narrative. And now I’m even more excited to see what Chuck Tingle will come up with next!

Thank you to Chuck Tingle and Tor via NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It’s decided. I love Chuck Tingle. His first book, Camp Damascus, was amazing. Bury Your Gays is even better. In this story, Tingle and his main character Misha tackle the Bury Your Gays trope in a new and much more dangerous way. I loved the characters in this book, especially the main three, Misha, Zelle, and Tara. The monsters are both amazing and eclectic, making every scary scene different from the last.

This book juggles the two concepts of closeting characters and then going overboard with positive representation for the greediest reasons. It reminds me of the rainbowfying of brands during June. I think Tingle handled these ideas skillfully. I can’t wait to see what he’ll tackle next!

BURY YOUR GAYS is a story about Misha Bryne, a closeted gay screenwriter who is told to kill off the queer lead characters in the season finale of his TV show, Travelers. Misha refuses and soon finds himself (and the people he cares about) being stalked by living versions of characters from his own filmography.

This story spoke to my soul. The “bury your gays” trope was so prevelant in tv shows during my teen years (hello Lexa from The 100) and I loved that this book challenged that. It examined the “Hollywood Machine” and brought into question why studios feel the need to pander to audiences, while also blindly following the algorithm to increase profits.

I felt like Misha’s struggle with giving The Studio what they want and staying true to himself and his core beliefs was the driving force of this story, and was something I really related to. As someone working in a creative field, the pull between “the work” and “the art” is exhausting, especially when what you’re creating isn’t totally yours.

The story also touched on capitalism, the MeToo movement, and AI in the film industry. All of which are HUGE topics that are constantly up for debate and more prevalent than ever today, and was something that I was very excited to read in this book! For sure recommend this to anyone who likes queer horror, commentary on the current state of media, and the subversion of tropes.