Chuck Tingle knows how to create good art. Art requires feeling and is something that can only be created by a human being. It should make you feel something. Sometimes that is a good feeling, and sometimes it isn't. Both are equally important in art.
Chuck Tingle writes an excellent story, but more importantly he knows how to write and invoke emotion.
Bury Your Gays is a story about art, representation, authenticity, lifting up your community, and overcoming trauma. I think most members of the queer community and artists of all kinds will find something to love in this book.

I’m fully convinced Chuck Tingle is a genius, y’all. And for me to say that about a MAN is… rare.

I really wanted to savor this book and I did. While completely blowing my ARC deadline. But wow, was it worth it. To fully immerse myself into BURY YOUR GAYS was a sublime experience that I’ll never forget.

First and foremost, I am completely enamored with Tingle’s writing. It’s so layered, nuanced, intentional, and highly profound. It’s also funny as all hell, devastatingly heartbreaking, and beyond intelligent. The way Tingle crafts a story, the way he tells it, his characters, all of it. A beautiful amalgamation of Tingle’s beautiful brain.

Tingle posted on Instagram, “yes, there are layers of metaphor and changes of name, but if you want to know MY personal story then read BURY YOUR GAYS. i feel it is most revealing thing i have written because it is about my life as chuck…” And that completely comes through in his writing. BURY YOUR GAYS feels incredibly personal and I believe that it will feel incredibly personal to any queer person who decides to pick it up.

I’m still in awe of all of the events that happened. Knowing how personal it is to Tingle’s own story, it adds to the intensity of everything that goes down. And trust me, a lot goes down. My mind is reeling with how on the pulse Tingle is about so many things in today’s society. (Sorry, I know this is incredibly vague but I don’t want to spoil anything). Just know that Chuck Tingle has something to say! And you’re going to want to listen.

The entire cast of characters is fantastic. Misha is an incredibly layered and fully realized MC. I genuinely feel like I know Tingle a little better, through Misha. Through all of the characters, really. Again, you can feel Tingle in every single word. I loooved Tara and adored Zeke. Thank you queer joy!

BURY YOUR GAYS is just absolute phenomenal work. Tingle is incredible. I’m so happy I read this book.

After the surprise success of last Summer’s Camp Damascus, author Chuck Tingle returns with the Hollywood-set horror Bury Your Gays, and with it solidifies himself as a major force in the genre. Mixing scenes of highly imaginative terror with commentary on the risks of runaway technology, runaway capitalism, and the value of representation in media, he has crafted a tale that will resonate strongly with those who need it most.

Screenwriter Misha has been working in Hollywood for years, toiling away writing low budget fright flicks that earned him a small following but weren’t known for making massive amounts at the box office. Now though, he has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film and is the showrunner for a hit TV series in the vein of The X-Files. While he is out of the closet in Los Angeles, his friends and family back home don’t know that he’s gay and he struggles with the idea of telling them, having dealt with some fairly serious prejudice growing up.

Wishing that he had seen more characters like him in movies and TV when he was a teenager, he has been working towards having the 2 female leads of his show fall in love, but the studio informs him that they are only okay with that if they then die tragically. He refuses, only to find himself suddenly being haunted by some of the characters he brought to the screen over the years, all of whom seem intent on killing him and anyone else who gets in their way, including his best friend Tara and doting boyfriend Zeke. Unable to let them suffer, he races to figure out what is going on and how he can stop it.

While it does tackle several serious issues, and does so surprisingly well, this is a fun read and a love letter to horror. During a visit to his class reunion, Misha gives a speech to his friends about the ways that the genre is in fact “a celebration of life” that in it itself could be used to convince detractors of the value in being scared. That being said, the monsters in the book, while highly imaginative, could have been a bit scarier themselves, with much of the book’s most tense moments occurring in the flashbacks to Misha’s youth as he struggles with intolerance among his friends and family. Very few will have dealt with some of the more extreme situations he finds himself in, but most who have struggled to come to terms with their sexuality will find the core ideas very relatable and nerve-wracking.

Misha is a very likable character who Tingle does a good job of making feel real. Most of those in his periphery don’t get filled in as well, though they are all quirky or interesting enough to be memorable regardless. The central premise may wind up being one of the year’s more out-there ideas, but it does a good job of making the recent stand that Hollywood creatives took against AI feel tangible and real. Likewise, Tingle makes a very convincing argument for the value that comes with allowing LGBTQIA+ people to see themselves represented in media. Dealing with those feelings as a young person in an often-cruel world can be a very isolating experience, and to know that you are not alone in your struggle, and that one day things will get better can be lifesaving.

This isn’t a perfect book, but it is fun, thoughtful, and unexpectedly moving. Tingle has included enough thrills to keep the pages flying by and enough poignant moments to keep the book on readers’ minds after they’ve finished reading. His usual messaging about the importance of love and kindness rings true throughout, making the morbidly titled Bury Your Gays one of the year’s most optimistic and hopeful reads. Who knew horror could be so sweet?

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC for early review.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

3.5/5 stars. This is my first horror novel from Tingle, though I am a big fan of his romance and fantasy works. While I can definitely attest that this is a great novel and well-written, I unfortunately didn't have as much fun with it as I was hoping.

First thing's first, this is definitely one for the Supernatural girlies who lived through Destiel Is Canon But Only In Spanish and The Car Went to Heaven but Castiel Went to Super Hell for Being Gay. The main character's name is even Misha, how's that for coincidence. This is very clearly a critique of the common trope of "bury your gays," wherein a studio, a publisher, or any kind of media company puts out a canonically queer bombshell, only to immediately turn around and kill those queer characters. It is a "having your cake and eating it too" situation, where companies get to claim they are diverse and supportive while also not having to deal with the fallout of featuring or continuing to feature queer characters in a positive light. And as a former fan of Supernatural, I'm very familiar with the Bury Your Gays trope, as well as queerbaiting to attract or keep an audience.

Other than being a critique of the industries who utilize queerness to suit their own goals, this is a somewhat goofy, somewhat lighthearted horror novel where shit gets serious really fast at certain points. There's a strong level of gore, some triggering scenes, and an endless feeling of sliminess that comes from the execs and higher ups of the company. I think everyone who is queer knows what it's like to be utilized to serve some kind of message or goal by others.

The characters themselves aren't super appealing to me, but Misha, Zeke, and Tara work fine as horror protagonists, especially Tara, who has been preparing for the technology apocalypse since birth. The antagonists are a bit flimsy, in my opinion, but they're serving one big overarching goal, so it works out in the end.

I think my main issue and where I fell off on this one is that the heart of the conflict and the big reveal came at basically halfway through the story, and I was a bit bored for the second half because of that. The concept itself is very sci-fi or anti-sci-fi, however you'd like to look at it.

A really well done book, that just didn't quite hit the spot for me, but I appreciate this as a mainstream work of fiction and the big "fuck you" and middle finger towards commodifying queerness and queer tragedy.

This was wonderful! A fantastic Hollywood horror novel and a quality follow-up to Camp Damascus. A writer is being haunted by the creations he has written into his projects because he won't toe the line and kill his gay characters as demanded by the studio.

What a wild ride!

Having only heard about Chuck Tingle's books, I wasn't sure what to expect going into Bury Your Gays. Let me just say, I am SO glad I had no idea what I had in store for me. Bury Your Gays is a fun and thrilling story about Misha, a screenwriter who is asked to kill two lesbian characters off, and when he refuses, is haunted by the monsters he's created. Tingle has created such a rich story with a wonderful cast of characters, a delightful plot, and some of the best representation I've ever read.

If you love horror, monsters, and queer commentary, this is the book for you!

I remember people raving about Camp Damascus when it came out. The plot sounded interesting and I even managed to add it to my TBR list, but I never actually got around to purchasing or reading it. Boy howdy do I regret that mistake now! Bury Your Gays was phenomenal! The plot, the narration, the dialogue, the cast of characters, and even the message it spells out are absolutely on point. Yes, I will be raving about this book for some time. I will also be adding Chuck Tingle to my list of auto-buy authors. And, of course, rectifying my Camp Damascus mistake as soon as physically possible.

Bury Your Gays takes place in Hollywood. Misha is a screenwriter for Harold Brothers making shows such as Devil's Due which is about a demonic librarian (as a librarian this made me laugh). He's been nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. Misha visits the lot to meet with his boss Jack Hays who tells him that he needs to rewrite the ending because - according to the algorithm - people don't want to see queer characters have a happy ending. Misha tells Jack he's homophobic and Jack claims it's out of his hands. According to him "the money" says they need a conservative character added to the story and he can let the gay characters come out, but then they have to die. Bury Your Gays. Misha refuses to make the changes, so Jack gives him an ultimatum. He's got four weeks to rewrite the script or they'll be taking him to court for breach of contract. Misha is then stalked by some of the Eldritch monsters he's created for horror movies:
* The Smoker: he asks you for a light if you say no then you have five days and he'll cut your bones out, grind them into powder and smoke them.
* Mrs. Why: an unearthly being who looks human and is obsessed with order. By touching you she opens your mind to see the end of everything but it's overwhelming and you'll go into a trance and eventually starve to death.
* The Black Lamb: it looks cute, but don't get too close or its body will split open right down the middle and tendrils emerge sucking you in.
› The story is mainly told in first-person from Misha's perspective, however, we also get flashbacks to his abusive childhood and scenes that are written like a screenplay. He turns to his best friend Tara and his boyfriend Zeke for help to figure out why these characters from his movies are following him. Zeke is openly bisexual, Tara is asexual and aromantic, and Misha is out to a few people (not his family).

› Zeke is the kind of person you want on your side. Misha says, "There's some uncanny spark that always pushes them to make the right choice, because they're not even aware a choice exists. It's just what they do." He is the mascot for Love Is Real. I want to be Zeke when I grow up.

› I loved the commentary about horror stories and how they help us "explore dark places in a safe way". Horror stories get a bad rap - they are about much more than the violence and the gore.

› The characters are so interesting and unique! Especially the monsters that Misha created. They truly come to life on the page. Tingle's world-building is next level. I loved the atmosphere and the writing style is top-notch. I highlighted many lines because they were so well-written. I read and re-read them aloud so I could hear the cadence. Bury Your Gays has some of the best dialogue I've ever read. There is no fluff. The plot is moving in every scene and we have real conflict. I didn't want to put it down! I laughed, I cried. I had such a good time reading this and can't wait to read more from Tingle.

APPEAL FACTORS
Storyline: action-packed, character-driven, issue-oriented, plot-driven
Pace: fast, engrossing
Tone: angsty, heartwrenching, high-drama, romantic, suspenseful, thought-provoking, dark, mysterious
humour - dark humour
sinister - bleak, creepy, disturbing, gruesome, haunting, menacing
Writing Style: well-crafted dialogue, compelling, descriptive, engaging, gritty, witty
Character: authentic, awkward, flawed, likeable, relatable, well-developed, diverse
LGBTQIA+: asexual, aromantic, bisexual, gay
› Final Thoughts
• Bury Your Gays is an engrossing horror about the price of success, the complicated relationship between capitalism and trauma, the struggle to be authentic, and the power of love. I highly recommend this to fans of The X-Files and Fringe.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

After 'Camp Damascus', I was hugely interested in what Chuck Tingle would come up with next. Turns out he'd been brewing this gem, with easter eggs for each tale in each book! Little gestures like that really enforce what a skilled writer he is, and I am 100% here for all of it.

I went in mostly blind, having preferred to stay away from any blurbs or details - and from the first, the subtle weirdness of the story grabbed me and did not let go. There's no way anyone could predict what happens in this book. The fantastically scary and original villains who stepped straight out of fiction, the dilemma of what to do in an impossible situation, the razor-sharp satire on the Hollywood machine and the idea of what audiences want clashing horribly with reality... it's all genius.

A brilliant book. And for the record, I LOVED that the most unexpected character saved the day.

Thankyou so much to Chuck for another absolute gem.

Ahh a superb look into the social horrors and experiences many queer folks face. Bury Your Gays is a wonderfully written commentary with such grace and nuance pinpointing relevant topics such as Queer erasure, art as experiential expression, AI in art, intellectual property, piercing the veil of corporate greed, and the Hollywood fantasy backdropped with gore and horror. Poingnient and thought-provoking, Tingle gave an age-old trope a fresh and engaging twist with an exceptionally endearing MC!

Thank you to Tor NIghtfire & NetGalley for providing a complimentary ARC

(4.5 stars)

Well, this was a hell of a ride.

I’m not sure what I expected out of my first reading experience with one of Chuck Tingle’s books. Looking at their backlog left me both amused and curious. I ended up really liking this story and what it had to say.

The story doesn't really waste any time getting started. We're almost immediately thrown into a meeting in which the main character, Misha is told he has to kill off two lesbian characters. He refuses and strange things start happening to him.

The reader is taken along for the ride as Misha tries to survive the creatures coming after him while also fighting to keep his characters alive. The narrative goes from the present day to a younger Misha during his childhood and teenage years. So many of the flashback scenes were heartbreaking. I really felt for Misha. There are also some scenes that play out like a movie script.

Bury Your Gays slightly reminded me of Scream 3 (which I love). It was very meta (like Scream). It's clearly made for fans of horror.

The name of the book plus the name of the main character, Misha, brought to mind a specific show that ended it’s long running series by burying their gay character (I won’t mention the name of the show but I’m sure it won’t be difficult to figure it out). I believe the author did this intentionally. I appreciate that the premise of the book called out Hollywood's practice of burying their gays.

This book kept me guessing until the end. The reveal of the villain had me smiling because it made for an interesting story with so many possibilities. I don't want to reveal too much but I love how the author handled the villain/villains. There are so many quotes that I loved. The one below was one of my favorites.

“You know who the real villain is? Unchecked capitalism and the desire for capitalist systems to monetize other people’s trauma.”

Without spoilers, I'll just say that I love that the author also criticized another aspect of Hollywood. (Readers will know what I mean at the end). There's also fun little Easter eggs hidden for the readers.

Overall, I had a good time reading this book and I loved what it had to say.
I loved the ending. It was perfect, in my opinion. The audiobook had little guest spots from a handful of other horror authors, so that was fun too.

I'm currently enjoying my read of Camp Damascus. I'm looking forward to reading the next horror book from this author.

I'd recommend this to fans of meta horror like Scream and Cabin in the Woods.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and the author for providing me with an ARC copy for providing me with an ARC copy for review.

Chuck Tingle is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This was a terrific follow-up to Camp Damascus. I loved the Hollywood setting and exploration of gay representation in television. The horror elements also delivered with a surprising science fiction twist! The villains were like something right out of The X-Files! The novel is also a satire of the algorithm-crunching machine that is Hollywood. I recommend this to those looking for quality LQBTQIA+ representation. The story explores queer themes through horror/science fiction metaphors that will resonate with fans of shows like the X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Writers and anyone living or working in Hollywood might get a kick out of the satirical elements.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this ARC!

I really loved Bury Your Gays and I can say only wonderful things about it. This story is original, clever and downright creepy! Chuck writes characters that feel real and that you want to root for! I was familiar with the trope “bury your gays” and I think Tingle really encapsulated how prevalent it is in today’s media.

I can’t wait for Chuck’s next book!

This is the second book I’ve read by Tingle, the first being Camp Damascus (which gets a nod in this book but you don’t have to have read it at all). Both books are solid and I really need to check out some of his other books in other genres. I really enjoyed this book and I really liked the characters.
It’s a horror novel, but he does a great job of pointing out issues that people in the LGBTQIA+ community go through on a daily basis and their struggles. I loved the MC’s growth in this and watching him fully embrace who he is.
I also really appreciate the Bi and Ace rep in this novel as well.

TW/CW: Language, homophobia, gory scenes, blood, violence, guns, drinking, toxic family relationships, anxiety, depression

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Misha is a jaded scriptwriter who has been working in Hollywood for years, and has just been nominated for his first Oscar. But when he's pressured by his producers to kill off a gay character in the upcoming season finale―"for the algorithm"―Misha discovers that it's not that simple.As he is haunted by his past, and past mistakes, Misha must risk everything to find a way to do what's right―before it's too late.
Release Date: July 6th, 2024
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 304
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Cover is gorgeous ✔️✔✔✔
2. Writing is fantastic
3. Love Misha and Zeke
4. Queer rep
5. Asexual rep

What I Didn't Like:
1. Nothing

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

Misha being forced to drop his two gay characters to replace them with a straight white male that's conservative is absolutely disgusting. The fact that Jack can't understand why Misha would be upset at what's happening.

Love that Dark Encounters is like a fictional version of X-Files but instead of Mulder and Scully with their sexual attraction it's two queer characters.

All the monster characters are creepy. The fact that they are coming out to reveal themselves to Misha.

I kind of had an idea that something had happened between Misha and Richie because Richie was trying to get Misha to come hang out with him alone at the reunion.

We then get a flashback to Misha sneaking over to the Richie's house and bringing valentine's box candy to his house, when Richie's brother, Justin comes downstairs to see the box. Pour mesha tries to cover their tracks by saying that the candy was on sale but Justin interrupts him asking Richie if he gay. Richie could have said something other than insulting Misha and making out like he was disgusted with Misha, but no he says that Misha is wanting him to do gay things. Then he punched him in the face at the insistence of of Justin. Not surprised that Misha in the future pretty much ignored Richie.

Misha's uncle is ridiculous when he finds out that Misha is gay rather than being supportive he goes out and gets his girlfriend brings her back and then forces Misha to sleep two days in his car so he can have fun with his girlfriend. What a piece of crap.

Ah this book just dropped a reference to Camp Damascus!

It's insane to me that Misha went to the Oscars despite his boyfriend and best friend being paralyzed in the house.

As soon as Misha comes out that he is gay suddenly the whole production company is embracing queerness. They even hire a person to replace Frank who is the typical stereotype flamboyant gay man. This made me really mad. First they shame him for even having gay characters and then wanting them to kiss to now it's totally okay to be gay. I understand that this is a play on how people work in Hollywood and in life when it's gaywashing.

Love the happy ending in this book.

Final Thoughts:
I thought this book was really good it had a lot of deep meaning within the horror and a story that was told about what it's like to be gay. It made me mad that Misha was forced to come out and admit to people that he was gay when he wasn't exactly 100% ready to. It speaks volumes about how people will force it out of you when what does it even matter. Your sexual orientation doesn't decide who you are as a person.

The writing was just fantastic in this book. I loved the characters.

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Thanks to Netgalley, Tor Nightfire, and, Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bury your gays is a splendid horror novel filled with cultural commentary, eldritch terrors, and a plot that never stops. How Chuck Tingle manages to terrify and unsettle, but leaves the reader with a tender feeling of contented hope, is astonishing. I loved this book whole heartedly. The style of writing was honed in and polished too.

Our main character Misha is a queer horror screenplay writer, freshly nominated for an Oscar. One day he walks into to work to meet with his boss about a current project, and is asked to kill of his main gay characters- who were written to have a romance and live all for the sake of “the algorithm”. Misha refuses, he can’t tolerate this ridiculous request and decides to terminate the contract with the studio. He soon realizes he might be facing retaliation and has to decide how to cope with his new reality.

This is for fans of well written horror, that has a fast pace cutting social commentary, and gorey goodness.

Campy, fun and sort of goofy? I didn’t dislike this book, it was a decent read and will definitely keep you entertained. However, it does read as a “fun time” and borders on the line of cheesy. Nothing wrong with that but that’s not really my sort of horror. I’ll give this a rating right down the middle. A for effort, love the LGBTQ representation, writing is good but the content misses the mark for me.

This book was absolutely perfection and also absolutely TERRIFYING!!!! There so many times that you don't know what is real and what is not and that just adds to the creepiness of this book, and then when you find out what all of it is.....your even more scared then you started out!!!! The underlining tale of persecution and erasure for the LGBTQIA+ community is just the icing on the cake that is shoves into your face. I think everyone should read this book not just horror fans.

5 Stars and my infinite thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Tingle, ya did it again. An almost perfect horror novel.
I loved Misha as a character and his support network of Zeke and Tara. I loved that there was a little tension between Zeke and Misha at the beginning, but they really do love each other. The monsters were spooky as hell and I still don't really understand how it all worked, but I was riveted. Finished it at the beach and immediately had to tell my friends about it.

Spoilerish:

The full 180 to over doing the queer acceptance at the end was almost as chilling as the ignoring and denial of queer films. Because it's all fake. There is no actual acceptance, it's a façade the studio is putting on to ride the current trend.

I enjoyed the creepy characters created in this book and there were moments that felt actually scary. I would say this book squarely falls into the self referential horror world akin to a scream movie. I liked that the horror had real world ties and enjoyed the tongue in cheek reference to movies that did already exist. As i sometimes feel with horror books like this one I wish the climax was better executed and plotted. That being said I enjoyed reading this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for someone who is not looking for something too heavy or as a fun palate cleanser.