I loved this book so much I am tempted to make up new words to describe exactly how much I enjoyed it. It's Horrorific. Terrinating. Grueorous. Lovtastic. If I could give this book FIFTY STARS, I would.

Seriously horror has never before been so *uplifting*, so *laugh out loud funny*, so *adorable*. The tension snuck up on me and the twists made me cackle. Like out loud.

Also, love is love, y'all.

I read Camp Damascus when it was first released last year and was head over heels for its unique premise - I jumped on the opportunity to grab a copy of Tingle’s new book, Bury Your Gays.

Like Camp Damascus, Bury Your Gays has a relatively straight forward jump off point. Misha is a writer for a TV show, and is asked to kill off his gay characters, essentially burying the gays, instead of allowing them a happily ever after. Misha is sick of the oversold gay tragedy and plans to fight the system on this one. But then shit gets weird.

The vibe of this book is fantastic - it’s disorienting and confusing (in the good way). The relationships are beautiful, the topics of discussion are incredibly relevant, involving the controversial subject of AI and art into the mix. For a quick read, this book has both depth and heart. Tingle truly has a special talent for weaving fear, love, tragedy, triumph and more into his stories. Check this one out if you’re looking for a horror book with a bit more.

Thank you NetGalley, Chuck Tingle and Tor Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for this ARC. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. The author brought together elements of humor, gore, tension and made it all work with a TON of heart. It was an honor to read this story early. It publishes July 08, 2024 <3

This is book is so much fun, LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.

Content warnings first: Homophobia, bullying, child abuse, violence, gore, body horror.

This story focuses on Misha Byrne, a Hollywood writer who came up writing horror movies and is currently wrapping up a season of a TV show where he's ready for his two main female leads to profess their love for each other. However, The Studio wants him to kill them off in the name of Ratings. Thus kicks off a weird, meta-filled, horrifying, gory odyssey as Misha grapples with his own identity in the face of absolute, all-encompassing, all-powerful capitalism. Oh, and it tackles the struggle of AI "art" as well. No big deal.

As a book that is full of meta-textual references to gay culture, there are references galore that are fun to pick out if you get them. There were also a few things I didn't totally get, and some sections of the story itself that I think were a little too meta for me and lost me for short periods of time. I feel like my husband, who loves horror films and writes screenplays, will probably get a lot more out of some parts of the meta horror & screenwriter elements when he finally reads this.

The character work of Misha was pretty great. We get flashbacks to some big parts of his past that inform the decisions he makes in the present, and he has two important relationships - a best friend and his boyfriend - that also ground him. I could have used a little bit more development of Tara and Zeke, though; I didn't feel deeply for them despite Misha's relationships and how those drive some of his actions later on.

I wish I could talk about more elements, but anything else I say would fall into the spoiler zone - or, at least, ruining some fun surprises zone. Misha is a compelling character to follow, and the journey he takes is fun and funny and horrifying all at once. The book satirizes so much about Hollywood while also exposing just how insanely awful it is at the same time.

Chuck Tingle has always had a lot to say about society through his work (YES, that includes his erotica). Camp Damascus explored one aspect of queer life in our world, and Bury Your Gays explores another. It feels like he's doing a lot of self-reflecting and expunging of his thoughts and feelings onto the page, and honestly I'm all here for it.

LOVE IS REAL, FRIENDS! HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

As someone who has spent a great deal of time on the back lots of several film studios, I was delighted reading Chuck Tingle’s latest. The introduction where all levels of studio personnel, from PA to Producer, must wait in the line to check in with security, cracked me up. So. Damn. True.

Beyond that? I thought this was a very interesting and timely story centering around a deceased A-list actor who has been nominated for an Oscar. The catch? His performance was created with AI. This was a quick, fun story with lots of twists and turns and characters that I loved right away. Of course, the Hollywood storyline was very appealing to me, and he captured the current culture perfectly.

What a wild book, full of heart and love for human creativity! Misha is on his way to an executive meeting about his popular show’s series finale, when he’s told the board’s AI algorithm shows greater profit for the mega-studio if Misha kills off the two leads of his show after they confess their love for one another. Misha is angry — these characters mean a lot to him and many others in the LGBTQIA+ community, they are both women and the series has been leading up to them getting together. Things get wild from there, and Misha discovers the full extent of what the studio is willing to do to make him conform to their ideas of success. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t go far into detail, but I will say the book absolutely scared me, and also was a meaningful story exploring growing up queer, past traumas, and using horror as a way to explore and heal from those traumas. I’ll be recommending this one at our library, for sure.

This title will be featured/reviewed in a print publication. Please contact this reviewer directly for more details.

I just finished Bury Your Gays" and wow, it was wild!
This horror story about a screenwriter fighting Hollywood's "bury the gays" trope is equal parts funny and scary. It's got great LGBTQ+ rep and skewers the whole movie industry.The writing style is a little jumpy, but overall it's a fast and entertaining read. Definitely check it out if you're looking for something different!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for my Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Chuck Tingle knocked this book out of the park.

As a queer person with a background in scriptwriting, this booked hit me at the very core of my being. Poignant, funny, frightening... Tingle deeply understands the complexity of Hollywood, of art, and of queerness.

A perfect book for fans of horror, satire, and queer voices.

Bury Your Gays is a thought-provoking examination of the consequences that may arise, and have already manifested when capitalists wield technology beyond their capacity to regulate. The narrative is imbued with subtle intricacies, conveyed through accessible language. It also offers a poignant commentary on the treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly those who identify as asexual. Furthermore, Tingle's signature spine-tingling horror style infuses the entire work. An unmissable piece.

This book has it all -- terrifying screen characters come to life, a rebuke of the coming (and already present) capitalist hellscape, insightful reflection on media's treatment of queer characters, and a surprisingly tender heart that beats throughout the entire, spine-tingling story. The prose is clean, accessible, and propulsive, allowing the characters to shine and emotional moments to pack a punch.

You know, I’ve read a number of Chuck’s Tinglers, and they are certainly entertaining in a very specific way. But Chuck Tingle’s horror is just SO GOOD. Camp Damascus didn’t quite work for me, but Straight and now Bury Your Gays have been fantastic.

I love how he turns homophobia into the horror. And in Bury Your Gays the horror is in the romanticization and commodification of queer trauma. The idea that only stories of queer trauma sell, which was the way in a lot of media until fairly recently (it’s still there, but it’s gotten so much better).

In this story Misha Byrne is a scriptwriter in Hollywood and in the season finale of his popular TV show it will be revealed that his two female leads are in love with each other. But ‘The Board’ have decided that that can’t happen; Misha either has to reveal their love and kill them off, or make them straight and keep them alive. What follows is a wild and horrific story about what can happen when late stage capitalism meets high tech.

I absolutely love what Tingle did with this story; not only is it a critique of ‘bury your gays’, but also of capitalism and the role of technology in the film industry. He references the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes several times, specifically referencing the gains that have been made in streaming and AI with regard to pay for actors and writers. My little labour heart was all aflutter! I also really appreciated his critique of how shallow and trend-chasing Hollywood is. And he did all of this while still telling a fairly horrific and gory story. I am impressed.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am eagerly awaiting his next.

Thank you Tor Publishing and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. First Chuck Tingle read! Misha’s, a successful screenwriter, recent show has just had its two queer stars express their love for one another. When the executives tell him to kill them off, he won’t do it. Afterwards strange things start happening to him and his friends. They’re being chased by monsters, not just any monsters, monsters from Misha’s own movies. Can he survive? Can he figure out what’s going on? Such a tense book that will have you on the edge, unputdownable! Hilarious, horrific, and will put you in the feels! Touches on difficult issues that are plaguing media currently that’s very relatable! It all works together to make a wonderful book that I recommend!

There is no amount of stars that can appropriately describe how much fun I had reading this book.

Every now and then a novel or film comes along that is an obvious love letter to the horror genre, and this is clearly one of those novels. Chuck Tingle not only crafts a heart-pounding thriller, but cleverly builds a tale that challenges the status quo without feeling preachy or heavy handed. Through the story we follow Misha, a semi-openly gay screenwriter living in Los Angelese (he's California out, Montana closeted). When the executives of the film studio he works for demand he kill of the lesbian couple in his popular TV show, he denies the order; Next thing he knows, he's being chased by monsters-and not just any monsters, but monsters he himself wrote for his own movies and shows. Now he's on a race against the clock to get to the bottom of the attacks, while protecting not only himself, but his boyfriend and his best friend.

What really got to me about this book was how it felt like an open love letter to queer people who grew up in the nineties. I related so deeply to Misha's fears, his experiences, and really rooted for him throughout the story (to the point of staying up FAR too late to read). Tingle really seems to relate to the queer community, and obviously cares very deeply about giving them stories where they can be the hero. I would suggest this book to just about anyone, I think so many different types of readers will be able to connect to the message.

2024's best queer beach read? This has everything I want in a fun mystery: a strong/relatable/funny protagonist in a fancy setting filled with suspects,, a constantly surprising plot with a little bit of social commentary, and a kick-ass ending. Will recommend.

Misha is a semi-closeted, mostly out, gay man who works in the television business. He’s been working on his show for years which is about 2 women FBI agents who solve supernatural cases and find love, with each other. But here’s the thing, big time TV doesn’t want Misha’s characters to get the queer joy he’s written for them. They want tragedy. They want him to “bury the gays”. Now Misha of course isn’t having this, he refuses. And his refusal gets him, his boyfriend and his best friend in some supernatural danger.

The title alone is how I knew I had to read this. “Bury your Gays” is ALL over media. I’ve read more than one book that killed off a queer character (I dnf’d a long ongoing series because the only time queer characters were brought in they were also killed off by the end) I’ve seen so movies and shows (SUPERNATURAL YOU MAY BE MY FAVORITE SHOW BUT I’M LOOKING AT YOU) where queer characters are killed off, hinted at but never fully realized or just absent.

This was both a good commentary on how much queer tragedy is used and a creepy af story. Tingle’s writing had me picturing the Smoker, Mrs. Why, the Bride, Black Lamb and Tara (she’s the BFF and amazing) in living color. The flashbacks were used well and added to the story (can’t always say that) and I really just liked Misha’s POV.

I don’t know how I feel about the explanation of the horror but I think in the end it works extremely well for what the story is commenting on. (I want to keep it vague because I feel like horror is best enjoyed without knowing too much beforehand.)

Okay so here’s my biggest, most strongly felt feeling about how this book did a great job talking about this topic: Even though this was a story about how queer tragedy is used as a plot device and to make money all the time, meaning you know the ending will turn out good for the main character because it’s trying to subvert that trope, I still was scared Misha and Zeke were going to get their happily ever after. I was scared one of them was going to end up being a bad person and cheating or Zeke would betray Misha or Zeke wasn’t real. I’m sorry but that just goes to show how often I’ve consumed media where I see myself represented as a member of the alphabet mafia and have been let down. Misha’s whole reason for writing his show is because he was let down that way as a kid and he wanted to write something where queer people got to see themselves. So props to Mr. Tingle for still giving me that suspense.

But yeah, spoiler alert, Misha gets his happily ever after, his characters get their happily ever after and Tara just continues to be awesome. (Also the ace rep from Tara is so refreshing, she’s right, they get forgotten all the damn time.)

🖤 Bury Your Gays ARC Review 🖤

Thank you so much to Chuck Tingle and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Bury Your Gays is a standalone Hollywood horror novel. Misha is an Oscar-nominated writer in Hollywood with a successful career and an amazing boyfriend. But when the studio executives demand that he kills off his queer characters, Misha’s refusal soon puts a target on his back. Can he survive without losing himself and everything he loves?

This book was an amazing read! I adored Misha - he was strong but also had a lot of character growth in this book. The plot was unique and suspenseful, while also paralleling real world concerns about politics, art and queer representation. The amount of Easter Eggs and references to Hollywood society was absolutely amazing!

This book was a fantastic five star read for me! Absolutely loved it! The story was compelling, the characters were well developed and there was enough realism to make it scary. This book does have some darker elements, so please check triggers if you’re sensitive. While this book did have a relationship between two characters, this book did not have a romance subplot, so no rating will be given for spice

If you’re a fan of classic Hollywood, unique horror and strong queer characters, then absolutely pick this one up!

Please Note: review will be posted on Amazon upon publication

Tingle's follow-up to Camp Damascus is another love letter to the queer community written large and bloody. Lots of good scares and touching moments as our protagonist Misha fights against monsters, Hollywood homophobia, and the closet. It was a pleasure to read about vibrant queer characters with identities that are less represented in popular media, like bisexual men and ace spectrum folks. I was also pleasantly surprised by the commentary on AI and art. If you are someone who loves campy horror and longed to see queer characters on the screen growing up, this is worth picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for access to the digital arc in exchange for an honest review!

It blends fun and horror together very well. The ending twist was phenomenal! This book borders on potential reality that makes you question everything about the future

Bury Your Gays is an adult horror book by Chuck Tingle that follows protagonist Misha, a screenwriter who is finally being recognized when he is nominated for his first Academy Award but when strange thing start happening in his life, he is forced to face his past to figure out his future.

The synopsis of this book is super vague so I will leave my review vague as well as I think this book is best gone into blind. This book does have a lot to do with the film and television industry so if you are not interested in those things, you may find part of this boring.

I really enjoyed this book. I think Chuck Tingle is a fantastic author. He is very self aware of his writing and I think that creates a certain “meta” quality to his books. I think this book as well as Camp Damascus are super unique horror books. I think this book had a bit more humor but it also had a lot more critiques about Hollywood and the way queer characters are portrayed.

This wasn’t a perfect book for me. Some of the side characters didn’t feel fully fleshed out and some of the pacing was a little weird. The first quarter and the last quarter of this book were super strong to me and then the middle had its ups and downs. That being said, I will still read anything this author writes. I know eventually he is going to write a book that becomes a favorite of all time for me.

I see the importance in this novel and I know that, for the right audience, this is going to be a huge hit. I still plan on buying a physical copy when it releases because I know this is a book I will want to go back and revisit and still recommend.