I've been a fan of Chuck Tingle for a long time, and BURY YOUR GAYS just deepens that love. A knockout queer horror about the horror of telling stories. I loved it.

This is the second book I've read by Chuck Tingle, and I will say so far both books have been great.

I was really excited to see that he had a new book coming out and much like his first I had no idea where this was going to go. I'm not really good at reviews but I have been telling everyone I know about this book

Another home-run from Chuck Tingle. Bury Your Gays is a delightfully off kilter horror extravaganza that kisses the fourth wall rather than breaking it. The characters are well rounded and fresh, but I wish I got to learn a little more about Zeke and that his background was used more in the plot. Misha is a lovable anti-hero who really encapsulates one of my favorite tropes "the disaster gay."

Overall, this was a killer read. It has reminiscence of 80's horror while being grounded in today's contemporary social issues. I'm honored to have been able to review this ARC. You don't wanna miss this one.

Screenwriter Misha Byrne is give the ultimatum to either de-queer his two lead characters or bury his gays after a meeting with the executive from his studio. What follows is a thrill ride through the darker, profit driven side of art in general and Hollywood in particular. Much like Tingle's Camp Damascus, Bury Your Gays has an intimate knowledge of how queer people are at the mercy of systems larger than them, but is also gives the audience hopeful glimpses of how to fight back through the main characters. Definitely recommending it to all my queer horror reader friends.

Friends, this book was awesome. Big thanks to @netgalley and @torbooks for giving me this ARC copy.
Bury Your Gays is a tale of a queer writer, Misha, trying to keep his characters alive in Hollywood where the execs only care about numbers and profits and say the only queer stories worth telling are the ones that end tragically. When he's given an ultimatum to kill off his queer characters in their season finale he puts his foot down and refuses. Soon after weird creepy things start happening to him. Characters from his horror stories start appearing in real life. How far will "The Board" go to force him to step back in line?
Like Camp Damascus before this, Chuck Tingle has written a fantastic horror tale. I love the way he has of taking a story you think you know and upending it to give it a new twist. You really feel for Misha, who is sort of out, but sort of not, especially not to folks back home in Montana. His boyfriend Zeke doesn't get a lot of development, but is a great supporting character anyway. His best friend Tara, the aro ace techie friend from work is AWESOME. I love her fashion and her attitude and things that I won't tell you because spoilers, but dang, she's one of the best things about this story, I'd read more of her story any day.
Favorite Parts: any scene with Tara - also her tech data privacy paranoia is awesome, all the little homages to TV tropes and shows that are worked through the story, the genuine creepy factors in the monsters we get to see.
Read this if you: Are 9,000% done with the "Bury Your Gays trope", Love horror movies, Liked Chuck Tingle's last book "Camp Damascus", don't mind some gore.
TW: horror movie style gore, mention of childhood abuse/neglect, homophobia

"Bury Your Gays" by Chuck Tingle is a gripping horror novel that not only delivers spine-chilling moments but also serves as a poignant commentary on LGBTQIA+ representation in media. Tingle expertly balances various forms of horror, from existential to psychological, all while weaving a narrative that explores the complexities of queer storytelling.

Tbh I have not read Camp Damacus yet, people care me more than any monster ever could. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I am terrified of the concept of that book. I’ve heard such good things about Tingle’s writing, I was so excited to get this ARC and be able to read their work.

In the book, we have our protagonist, Misha, who resonates deeply, making readers invested in his personal and professional struggles. Alongside Misha, characters like Tara add depth and relatability to the story, enriching the reading experience.

While the book excels in many aspects, there are a couple of drawbacks, including occasional shifts in perspective and pacing issues. However, these do not overshadow the overall impact of the narrative.

One of the book's greatest strengths lies in its exploration of real-world issues, such as the pressure to conform to market trends and the consequences of sacrificing narrative integrity for profit. Through Misha's journey, Tingle sheds light on the importance of authentic storytelling and the dangers of perpetuating harmful tropes.

Despite its flaws, "Bury Your Gays" is a must-read for fans of Tingle's work and anyone interested in queer horror. It's a thought-provoking and entertaining novel that stays with you long after the final page.

Thanks Tor, Chuck Tingle, and NetGalley for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.

Rating 4.75

“It’s horrifically ghoulish and probably the end of the world.”

Misha Byrne has been writing horror with queer undertones for years and is finally starting to see some recognition for his talent. Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of his hit TV series main characters’ lives. Unwilling to compromise when the executives at his entertainment studio tell Misha to bury his gays, he learns that they will do anything for the algorithm. Haunted by the ghost of projects past, Misha and his friends are caught between reality and AI hell. Misha’s group is hunted down by his own creations: iconic horror villains who have seemingly come alive. Time is running short and if he doesn’t hurry, he’ll end up burying himself.

This story was right up my alley! The LGBTQIA+ community is all around us and Tingle’s natural representation of the queer community is unmatched. His dialogue is familiar and comfortable, so much so that it’s like chatting with friends. The character development paired with the horror elements makes Bury Your Gays a memorable story. The true villains are fresh and give readers an uneasy feeling that is difficult to shake. There is a specific scene towards the end of the novel that reads as if ChatGPT was asked to write a corporate gay fever dream. This is not a criticism of Tingle’s writing, in fact, I truly adored this moment. It comes off as purely intentional and was executed perfectly! I’m looking forward to more horror from Tingle, Bury Your Gays was a ton of fun!

Whoa the pages of this book jumped out and came to life, I loved Camp Damascus and so I was expecting Chuck Tingle's new horror book to hit it out of the part again and Chuck didn't disappoint.

The horror in this is palpable, the descriptions of the monsters was so clear that I felt the dread myself as I was reading this book. The way that Chuck Tingle builds tension should be studied because I have at the edge of my seat waiting for what happened next. The characters were lovable and you wanted to root for them. The gore in this was surprising, I'm normally not a squeamish person but there was a certain scene in a bathroom that made me yell out load because of how intense it was, something that no book has done in the last two years.

This book deals with homophobia, both internalized and from outside and it does it so well. The trauma of queer people is described in such a real and heart wrenching way that I very quickly understood character's choices and motivations. I do see Chuck Tingle as a master of Queer Horror as Misha is in Bury Your Gays.

Misha is a not quite out of the closet Hollywood screenwriter who finds himself up against more than your average corporate monsters when he refuses to adhere to the "bury your gays" trope for the season finale of his TV show.

This is my first Chuck Tingle book, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I think that's why it kind of took me a bit to get into it. But once I did, I really enjoyed it. I loved the increasing weirdness and creepiness as the book went along mixed with the painful memories that were the origins of Misha's monsters. The book didn't flinch when it came to brutality, physically or figuratively. The commentary on how the queer community is used, abused, portrayed, and erased, the use of AI, and capitalism is brilliantly woven throughout an engaging, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes gross story.

It's a really great read.

I enjoyed this book. Misha, the main character, his boyfriend, and friend has some terrifying things happen to them. Misha is a successful, but still rising screenwriter in the film industry who is told to turn his gay characters straight or else. He refuses and let’s say the monsters come out.

Great pacing with the storytelling, plot, and the creepiness over time. It takes a good look into the film industry and you know these are real issues that are going on, even though the characters and story is functional, with the AI, forced changes with screenwriting, people off the rails or human monsters, and more. Great twists, turns, and character development. I will indeed recommend this book, especially to someone who enjoys reading about the film industry.

Thank You, Tor Publishing Group, for my copy of Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle. I am happy I received an early copy of this novel because Chuck Tingle is one of my favorite authors. I enjoy his other books, and I know for sure that I will enjoy this one, too. Thank you again.

I oughtn't be surprised given how good Camp Damascus was but I'll be honest: I'm still shocked at the caliber of Chuck Tingle's horror writing! Creepy and Very Real in turns, this is a must read for fans of queer horror. Don't be like me and do not underestimate Tingle's prose skills!

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle was a fantastic tale, genuinely creepy, and fun to read. I'm ready to gush about it, but no spoilers! Just read the book and thank Chuck later.

Thanks to NetGalley and the book publisher for the advanced reading copy.

This book is GREAT! I love the premise, and although I have grown weary of the newest trend of cursed cinema horror the setting of Hollywood did not ruin this book for me.
This is my first time with Chuck, and I have to admit I didn't know what to expect. He has a reputation, at least as I understood it, for racy LGBT exotica with zany/ political premises. This does sound intriguing, but I'm not into romance as a genre really at all so I just never got around to him. After "Bury Your Gays," I feel like I should read more of his work.
Is this is first non-exotica book? Like first time trying to occupy a space not shocking conservatives and titillating more open-minded folks? Either way he hits it out of the park. The creepy is creepy, the heartfelt is heartfelt, and the funny is funny. What more do you want, read it already!

This was such an entertaining read. The LGBTQIA rep was spectacular. The story was unpredictable and enthralling. I couldn’t put it down. I loved the main character Misha. This is a must read for lovers of queer horror

The tl;dr: Tingle is back with another queer horror novel, this time exploring the lack of queer representation in media. Through the lens of main character Misha, a gay screenwriter, Tingle confronts the dangers of stockholders and algorithms that force all media to conform to the mass majority. While at times the satire is a bit too on the nose, Bury Your Gays nevertheless is the perfect summer horror read as Misha gets haunted by monsters from his previous works. Whip out the beach chair and pour yourself a glass of something cold and binge through this compulsively readable, fast-paced, and twisty horror book. You won't regret it!

I think of horror books of being of two types - autumn horror and summer horror. Autumn horror is moody and creepy; it is the kind of horror you like to read on a cold, dark night while snuggled in a blanket. Summer horror is pure fun - they are the horror you like to read out on the beach with a drink in your hand. Bury Your Gays is pure, nearly unadulterated summer fun. It is a quick, straight-forward read with some fun developments, endearing characters, and witty satire. Is it the best or scariest horror book I've ever read - no. But did I have a whole heck of a lot of fun with it? Heck yes.

Bury Your Gays tells the story of Misha, a gay horror screenwriter currently showrunning a modern take on The X-Files. He has building up the season finale when the two female leads finally realize their romantic love for one another....when the studio head tells him he has to kill off his lesbian leads because the "numbers" just aren't there. Misha refuses, and then is haunted by all of the different horror villains from his show and past films.

While Bury Your Gays is quite a political book (and more on that in a moment), go into it expecting to have a lot of fun. The monsters are cool with just genuinely creepy scenes, the pacing of the book never leaves a dull moment, and the twists and turns are genuinely exciting. There may be no better book to put on your summer reading list because this book just screams breezy, though never mindless, fun.

Amidst the horrors and twists, Bury Your Gays is actually a deeply emotional book that looks at the traumas of growing up queer. Through flashbacks and alternative in-universe television scripts, Tingle gets at the heart of what makes Misha "tick". Tingle efficiently and effectively peels back all of these layers, and quite beautifully connects everything that is happening in the present day with the past. Any queer person who grew up in the 1990s/early 2000s will so readily relate to Misha's backstory and really "get" what Tingle is trying to say here.

In addition to just being a fun adventure, Bury Your Gays is a condemnation of the current state of Hollywood media companies. In our current state of the financial failings of movie theaters and streaming services, mergers and consolidations, and the impending doom of "traditional" media companies in favor of tech giants, media companies are making a lot of mistakes. They are decreasing the amount of diversity in our media to appeal to wider audiences, relying on AI to cut costs, and disappearing movies and shows to save on taxes and residuals. We are in the darkest of media timelines for those of us who care about diverse stories and media preservation.

Tingle attacks all of these issues head on, and the real horror of Bury Your Gays is how Tingle gets at the heart of some real truths among all of the silliness. A lot of this book is Misha just being confounded by the absurdity of what is going on around him...and that absurdity is not overly fictionalized if you look at our current media landscape.

The one aspect of Bury Your Gays that didn't quite work for me was how utterly DIRECT Tingle was in his satire and critique. There are a lot of discussions in Bury Your Gays about how horror works best when it has an underlying social message, but those messages are not so underlying in this book. Characters will literally narrate their messages as it is thrown in your face. I absolutely agree with everything Tingle has to say about queer representation in media....but the directness makes for some very awkward dialogue and character interactions. This has the effect of making NOTHING in the book feel real or genuine, especially the core three characters who are supposed to be the "straight" (not sexually, but you know what I mean) people while the scary craziness goes on around them. This took me out of the horror elements of the book a bit, and the book could have worked perfectly well if the presentation of the book's themes were just slightly toned down.

If the overly-direct social critiques don't scare you away, Bury Your Gays is a truly exciting and fun summer horror read. I promise you will burn this book and demand even more Chuck Tingle horror (and if you haven't yet, check out his previous book Camp Damascus!). Summer-style horror doesn't get much better than this one, so pick up a copy as you plan your next hot, lazy summer day!

Camp Damascus was one of my favorite reads of 2023, so I was very excited to receive an ARC for this one (thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley)!

Bury Your Gays did not disappoint. I loved the narrative as a whole, and loved the queer representation (especially Tara, the ace character). Tingle does a great job of pulling you in. I did not want to put this book down.

I would say the characters felt a bit underdeveloped. I really enjoyed Zeke and Tara and wanted so much more of them!

Overall, this was a great read that I would recommend to a friend.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC! Chuck Tingle is fast becoming one of my favorite authors, and his ability to write horror novels that combine anxiety-inducing terrors and bizarre humor is what keeps me coming back.

In Bury Your Gays, Misha is a screenwriter who is figuring out his place in Hollywood as a queer writer who is still not very open about his sexuality, especially to his public and hometown community. Misha has reached a level of success with some indie horror films, a writing gig for a longstanding sci fi/monster of the week type show and has recently been nominated for an Oscar for a short film. But when the studio execs tell him that he needs to kill off his two queer lead characters in the series he's written for years and he refuses, suddenly characters from his past begin to haunt him, and they won't stop at scaring him either. They are out for blood!

This novel touches on so many issues: how an artist's work is used and often mistreated in a capitalist Hollywood machine, the homophobia of Hollywood, the way that AI exploits the intellectual property of artists and actors, past traumas, fears of intimacy and much more, but at no point did this slow down the story. There were some truly terrifying and claustrophobic moments (without spoilers, I'm thinking of the airplane scene) and there were also some moments that reflected on what it really means to be an artist and put yourself, your feelings, your experiences and identities as a creator on the page that I appreciated as a writer. What I love most about Chuck Tingle's work is that his work is completely unpredictable; it never goes where you expect it to and that is half the fun!

I can't wait for the next book in the Tingleverse!

I was so thrilled to receive an ARC from NetGalley for Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle because I had enjoyed his novel Camp Damascus. Bury Your Gays did not disappoint! It was so many things; fast-paced, scary, heart-warming, unputdownable.

Misha is a horror writer from Montana who has found success with a studio in Los Angeles. Soon after he protests changes the studio wants to make to his popular gay characters, it seems as though his previous scary characters have come off the page to haunt him. Following Misha, his boyfriend, and his best friend while they race the clock to figure out what is happening was a thrill-ride.

Chuck Tingle writes an interesting story with Bury Your Gays but at the same time tries to juggle different genres, themes and even the story as he writes one masterful look at LGBTQIA+ and the Entertainment industry and a very normal thriller story.