Boys, Beasts & Men by Sam J. Miller

I love a single-author short story collection. I find it a fantastic way to get to know a new-to-me author. I enjoy sampling their writing in bite-sized chunks and experiencing the breadth of their styles and depth of their skill. And Boys, Beasts & Men by Sam J. Miller is the quintessential example of why I feel this way.

I had heard of Sam J. Miller when his Blackfish City was nominated for a Nebula but I hadn’t gotten around to reading it, so I was very happy that NetGalley and his publisher were able to grant me an eARC of his new short story collection (which I hope is the first of many) in exchange for an honest review.

The stories in this collection run the gamut from scary to angry to sad to kind but they all have a raw humanity that I loved. I recommend this book highly and hope to read more from Mr. Miller in the future.

This collection served as a delightful introduction to Miller's work and I particularly enjoyed the stories with more concretely interconnected settings near the end (The Heat of Us and Angel, Monster, Man). The frame narrative was unique and intriguing as well and I loved the author note about it at the end. A few notes on individual stories below!
57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides - loved this format of 57 sentences comprising the narrative. Compelling picture of teenage solidarity in a small town and hurting those we care about because we're too wrapped up in our own shit.
Conspicuous Plumage was beautiful, a depiction of grief against a fantastical tantalizing multicolored backdrop drained of all life when one is lost.
Shucked - there's always that one where you'd die for more. Gorgeous imagery, internal voice so strong as it grappled with identity and autonomy.

Boys, Beasts & Men by Sam J. Miller was the first work of his that I’ve read, but I have a suspicion it won’t be my last. Short story anthologies can be hit or miss, but for me, this one was a solid hit; full of weird, dark, queer stories that incorporate elements of several genres, I found a lot to admire within the pages.

Most of these stories center the experiences of gay boys and men, and there is more heartbreak and howling rage than hope to be found within them. Among my favourites were “Angel, Monster, Man”, a story about a group of queer artists who create a fictional persona that takes on a life of its own, “We Are the Cloud”, a Black Mirror-esque take on a future where people sell their brains for data processing capability, and “Ghosts of Home”, a story about a woman employed by a bank to keep the spirits of foreclosed and other homes content.

Some stories didn’t work as well for me, which is to be expected out of any anthology, and some were a little heavy-handed on their themes or overarching messages. Some also reference the author’s other work, so you may get a bit more value out of those than I did if you’ve read it. What I did love though was the notes at the end of the collection where the author talks a bit more about each story from a craft/meta perspective; I wish more books did or had something like this, because I found it fascinating.

Overall I would recommend checking Boys, Beasts & Men out if you’re up for a heavy, messy, visceral collection of queer short fiction; fans of darker fantasy and horror would get the most out of this. Just be sure to mind the content warnings.

Thank you to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for an advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I've been pushing through this collection with valiant hopes that I will come to love the stories as so many reviewers have, but at the end of the day I just don't think I'm meshing well with this writing style. I've found the stories to have some very highlightable lines, but mixed in with other lines that I find sub-par. I keep wishing the stories were longer, or structured differently, because I feel like some details aren't as important as others, and I would love for the stories to be either more developed or focused on a different aspect of the story. I really tried to get into this as I was so excited by the other reviews, but unfortunately I just don't think I can finish this book and give it a good rating, so I will instead DNF it and not publicly rate it.

I was intrigued by the deceptive straightforwardness of the title of Boys, Beasts & Men—after all, mainstream sci-fi has historically been dominated by men writing about men—and was rewarded by the weirdness and queerness that Sam J. Miller brought to the table in this volume of short stories. Many of them have previously appeared in magazines over the years, but when brought together in this volume, the stories definitely gain something from proximity to each other. I honestly liked all of them, though there were a few weaker installments (which still had merit in either concept or execution, depending on what was lacking).

My favorites were “Things With Beards” (riffing on “The Thing,” a man comes back from a job in Antarctica unwittingly host to an alien, bringing it into the midst of a New York in the grips of the AIDS epidemic and rising police brutality), “Ghosts of Home” (in the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis, a woman is employed by a bank to leave offerings to placate the household spirits in foreclosed homes), and “Angel, Monster, Man” (three gay friends invent the fictional persona of Tom Minniq as a pen name for publishing the works of their friends who have died of AIDS, but it soon becomes apparent that their fictional creation has taken on a sinister life of its own).

I think I was hoping for something more Angela Carter-esque from this collection, but on the whole it’s more modern-urban-fantasy in style; I’d say in sensibility it often felt similar to N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became and Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone’s This is How You Lose the Time War (El-Mohtar actually wrote the introduction to this collection). A lot of urban sci-fi/fantasy, a lot of NYC stories, but also a lot of other material that really contributes to a diverse yet cohesive collection. The pacing was really good; the stories that deserved a little more length got it, and the others were kept short and sweet.

Thank you to Tachyon Publications for the NetGalley ARC.

This was both entertaining and strange.

I'm not a great fan of short stories because I prefer a well-connected narrative that spans the entire book, but I truly enjoyed this one. My main reason for deducting stars is that short stories aren't my thing, but I think I would have enjoyed several of these a lot more if they had been full novellas or even novels. I especially enjoyed the second to last one.



Naturally, some of the stories are far superior to others, but that's to be expected, and I'd love to see some author miraculously produce a collection of perfect short stories (it will never happen).

This is also GAY. Every narrative is completely out there and unmistakably gay. I think the fact that this collection of stories is a little messed up adds to it. It's incredibly irritating when the only LGBT representation is soft cinnamon roll (barf) figures who never do anything wrong. I'd like to witness some insane people or people that simply make poor decisions because that's who they are.

Anyway, if you're a fan of short tale compilations, you should check this out. It's strange and disorganized.

. I don’t tend to go for short story collections, but this one grabbed my attention with its cover, and the description for it brought me the rest of the way in. I haven’t read anything by this author before, and I also haven’t had the chance to read specifically queer horror in a while, so this was a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

I was a little lukewarm towards most of the stories in the first half of the book, but the author’s writing style kept me reading anyway. While I didn’t particularly like ‘57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides’ in a story sense, telling it through a numbered list was an interesting method I haven’t seen used before and that stood out to me.

Towards the end of the book is when I really started clicking with the stories themselves instead of just the writing style. In particular, the ones I liked the most are the last four: ‘Ghosts of Home’, ‘The Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History’, ‘Angel, Monster, Man’, and ‘Sun in an Empty Room’.

I also really appreciate the Story Notes section at the end. I like the inclusion of the author’s insight into the origins of the short stories, as well as what he was feeling while writing or conceiving them.

Felt similarly about this book as I did about Miller's previous novel, Blackfish City, in the sense that it was moments of brilliance punctuated by confusing narrative choices. Overall enjoyed this selection of queer short stories and the breadth of characters contained within, but some stories definitely stood out more than others.

Favorite stories: Conspicuous Plumage, Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart, When Your Child Strays From God

3.75/4 stars

Content Warnings: Depictions of homophobia, murder, violence, hate crime, exploitation through pornography, exploitation by the government, racism... honestly CW for most things

I am often not a fan of short stories but Sam J Miller's prose in this what breathe taking in so many ways. The way he weaved his real life experiences, emotions and thoughts into these fiction tales and high fantasy worlds was captivating.

I would never suggest this as a book you just pick up and read right through. I think this is something you pick up, read, and then ruminate on the truths and the messiness of human experiences, queer experiences and then revisit after you have unpacked it. Some of the stories were very hard to grasp onto truthfully, but that is not to say it is not relevant or relatable to someone else.

If I had to choose one that stuck out to be it would be "We are the Cloud" the overarching social commentary and "Black Mirror" like description of Angel and Case's love affair was heartbreaking and soul crushing, but so poignant.

Some of the stories were gruesome, fantastical, and down right brutal much like the human experience and you layer on the experiences of being black, POC, and queer and it all is elevated good or bad, and I truly believe Sam captured that in Boys, Beasts, and Men.

Just a delectable short story collection touching on gayness, masculinity, the AIDS crisis, the supernatural and so much more. Miller's work is so rich, with an incredible diversity of characters and settings and an intense humanity to each piece. The creativity made reading each story a delight - from the perspective of an oft-recycled sofa to a group of gay men who conjure their political dreams into human form with unintended results that rewrite the history of the AIDS epidemic. Will definitely be checking out his other work. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

this is by far the worst case of "it's not you, it’s me". i have absolutely nothing bad to say about this collection - it's got great rep, the stories had an interesting plot, and yet i simply didn't enjoy it. it took me so long to read because as soon as i finally got pulled into a story, it ended. it's put me in a slump twice and i think its because i am not a short story enjoyer. i'm writing this review a week after finishing the book and i barely remember a few stories. i recall really enjoying the writing and how imaginative the stories were - some of them had really unique plots with twists i didn't quite see coming. a couple of them i found really boring, which was unfortunate as they made me lose interest in reading.

so, i can see this being a collection other people will enjoy, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

3 stars for this short story collection. I read this a while back but forgot to submit a review! I found this a weird blend of hope, pain and grief. This is one of those books that you'll need to be in the right mood to enjoy. Many of the characters had alot of potential but I struggled to connect to anyone. While the stories were very well written and gripping. I believe that perhaps I must have missed something since none of the stories stood out in particular and this just wasn't for me. I'd still like to read more of Miller's works and give his other books a go.

Boys, Beasts & Men is a fitting title for this collection that explores heavy themes in different shades of spec fiction, and I loved every bit of it. Each story is tied to the theme in its own way, and whether dark, magical, or haunting, every tale is steeped in emotion, exploring things like queerness, greed, otherness, and AIDs.

Miller’s prose has a way of showing the ugliness of humanity with the warmth of a comforting embrace. It’s the hand to hold you as you journey into darkness. A few of these stories I had already read in various magazines, but the majority of them were new to me. Sam Miller also adds a narrative journey between each story that ties them together and ends on a wonderful note. Most stories are subtle in tone but resonated with me well after reading.

It’s hard to say exactly why I connected so much with this collection because I can also see that it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. To me, the best fiction centers around emotion and the human condition, only using supernatural or fantastical elements as a lens to help show it through. Sam Miller does just that. Either way, I would recommend this to anyone who likes their short stories dark and with a heart.

Hair-raising and sly, drawing you in and scaring you away as you desperately try to find out if you are the hunter...or prey.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I enjoyed many of the stories in this novel. I had previously read "57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides", and I liked it, but I remember thinking that it wouldn't stick with me. There was something missing either in the heart of the story or the execution of it, for me. I'm not sure exactly what, but a lot of the stories in here gave me the same feeling.

However, I did enjoy reading them and I would recommend this book. I especially liked the speculative element present in many, starting with the dinosaur in Allosaurus Burgers to the vague speculative element in Shucked.

I'm not sure what to call it, but there was a story written in small interludes between the main stories, and I liked reading that. It got to the heart of a lot of the recurring themes of sexuality and violence.

Overall, though not my favorite, a solid collection I'd recommend to anyone looking for LGBT fiction, especially speculative LGBT fiction.

In this anthology, Sam J. Miller gives us queer stories unafraid to explore themselves, unafraid to be about things other than queerness, and unafraid to be beasts. Filled with multiple narratives and viewpoints, Boys Beasts, and Men is a collection filled with daunting intrigue and the finding out the unknown.

I do struggle with short story collections. They've always been something I've been turned off by or from, but seeing as The Art of Starving is one of those weird books I just absolutely love, I wanted to try Boy, Beasts, & Men. Like most collections it was a little bit of a mixed bag. I found some of the language Miller used unappealing and thought some stories were better than others, but found the whole book interesting and tackling a lot of interesting ideas.

For any collection of stories, people will prefer some to others. Everyone has an opinion on which Star Wars movie is the best and worst. While I love short stories, I usually expect some story to let me down, and that's fine because that story will be someone else's favorite. For this collection, I'm impressed that I liked all of them.
The stories vary wildly, but all revolve around gay and race relations (except for the story with the couch narrator, that was weird). 13 stories from 2013-2019 plus one original to this book.
Something I didn't know I wanted was the story-within-a-story, each story began with a few lines or paragraph form a central story. A Boy meets a Man, and as you work your way through the book you learn more about their encounter, a few breaths at a time. The very last story ties everything together into an adorable metaphor for the rest of your life, you're welcome for that.
One of my favorite themes in a couple of stories is "How would the world look if this was real?"... How would New York be different in King Kong really did fall to his death off the Empire State building? How would real estate be different if house spirits were a real thing?
You read about how a father losing his son learns why vigilante justice is frowned upon, and three gay men create a god from their despair. A son learns adult are fallible while feeding a real dinosaur, and how art has more power than futuristic torture.
While you may not enjoy all the stories, I loved the consistency of the writing. Story notes at the very end weren't necessary and I didn't like part of that, so I suggest skip them. Read the stories as they are and fall in love with what you want to.
**I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The range and variety in this book absolutely fascinates me - there were stories that I found captivating and fresh, ones that unsettled me, and some that didn't hit for me. There was occasionally a sort of whiplash moving from wildly different stories, and I didn't always connect with what was happening stylistically, but the sheer extent to which it kept me on my toes is something I really respect. I really enjoyed the story notes at the end, as well, and I've been convinced to read Miller's other work as soon as I have the time.

I received an early copy of this book from Net Galley, this has not influenced my review.

This book was the best possible version of a short story collection and really shows off the strengths of the genre. If a six star option existed, I would give this book all of them without a moment’s hesitation.
Like a really great box of chocolates, each story in this collection was fantastic, distinct, and memorable, no coconut clusters or teeth-shattering slabs of caramel in here! (Sorry if those are your favorites). I could have easily read whole books based on each individual tale.

The stories were enormously diverse and each affected me a different way, but each left their mark and each was a joy to read. This author blends horror, fantasy, mystery, and magic seemingly effortlessly, the way professional athletes or dancers are able to do incredible things that just seem like showing off until you remember the years of work that went into reaching that level.
The author’s range is astounding. From a story where King Kong really walked the earth and died at the foot of the Empire State Building to a retelling of the night of the Stonewall Riot, where oppressed, queer, New Yorkers discover a potent and deadly form of group pyrokenesis, I found myself completely immersed in each new tale from the beginning.

This author is one I’ve heard about for a while but have never read until now. After this truly stunning book I plan on reading his other works and keeping a careful eye on his upcoming projects.

I couldn’t get into this book at all. I lost interest in it straight away and it didn’t get better for me. I think it’s an issue with me rather than the author because it was well written, but I couldn’t connect.