BOOK REVIEW TIME! I missed the book birthday of this fiery little gem of a book last week but the good news for YOU is that means CAMP DAMASCUS by @chucktingle is already out in the world for you to get your grubby little hands on!! Thank you to the author, @netgalley, and the publisher @tornightfire for the e-ARC.

This tale of extreme social horror starts out as Rose Darling navigates being a young adult in the small town of Neverton - cliff-jumping, relationships with friends, keeping her parents happy and doing it all in the name of God as a devout member of the Kingdom of the Pine. Soon she realizes her parents are trying to force an arranged relationship between her and her friend Isaiah which she has no interest in. Her autistic brain might process things differently but she is highly intelligent, has amassed a wealth of knowledge and has a sense of curiosity that she is warned by her therapist bleeds into the realm of hubris against God.

Rose wants to be a good soldier of her faith but can't stop seeing flashes of memory she can't understand involving a dark haired woman. Then she coughs up a sludge of mayflies at dinner one night and her parents clean it up like it is totally normal. When she starts seeing a pale, stringy-haired creature wearing khakis and a red polo with the name Pachid on their employee style name tag, her curiosity starts to rip into dangerous territory indeed...

🔥🔥🔥

I went into this one not knowing anything about it and that proved to be the right move. I will only tell you that I was horrified not only by the extreme measures this cult-like town takes to make their members walk the "straight and narrow" but by how much this story echoed real life when it comes to the fight for equality for LGBTQIA+ folks' basic right to live and love in the world as they are. Definitely check the content warnings for this before reading!

I flew through this story as there were so many good hint drops that just gave you a scrap of a puzzle piece that you really wanted to see come to fruition!! The subject matter is heavy but there is still some subtle humor. Check it out!

#booknerd #chucktingle #campdamascus #tornightfire #netgalley

Unexpected, so uniquely unsettling and a beautiful commentary on finding the ones who will love you as your whole self. I loved Mara Wilson's narration of the book.

The slow realization, the play of demons, the unstoppable raw emotions and so much more. The story pulled me in right away and drew me a dire picture of how forcing someone's belief under religion can look like (that itself is a terrifying tragedy). I thoroughly felt the palpable cult-ness of these 'brainwashing camps' and haunting reality that main protagonist was left to deal with. Highly recommend!

I didn’t know what to expect when I dove into this story, but boy did it surprise me numerous times! I thought the beginning was going in one direction and then it completely took another narrative and I loved every single minute of this wild ride. The terrifying moments were creepy AF and I absolutely loved the protagonist Rose, who stepped up and became the most badass final girl. Although the demons were incredibly scary, the scariest aspect for me was the Christian cult mentality from the beginning and the lengths this cult went to obliterate any queerness in someone. This is a very timely book seeing the climate surrounding queer people, and I love that this exists to show how wrong it is to try to “convert” queerness into straightness – no matter what.

I wasn’t aware of Chuck Tingle before this novel (maybe I’ve lived under a rock!) but I’m very happy to say that I’m a full-fledged buckaroo now and will look forward to anything else he puts out (no matter how far out it is!).

Check this book out if you love coming of age, creepy demons and insects, and a badass protagonist.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I can see why people do not want to go to camp. I never wanted to go to camp as a child, and even as a homosexual adult, I decided Camp Damascus, solidified this “undesire” for the rest of my life. Mind you, I will Air B&B, have a BBQ, but if anyone in a red polo or a counselor shows up, I am going to start knocking out some teeth. Chuck Tingle scorns your senses with true life horror in ways some may not understand until you read this book, or have a familiarity like, Rose, the MFC of Camp Damascus. The book contains horror, supernatural, ancient demons, LGBTQIA+, organized religion, what else can you ask for in a debut horror novel?
Chuck Tingle is imaginatively creative. If I could combine Willy Wonka and Stephen King into a writer after reading this book, you’d have this book. Each chapter led you to a new scene, theme, feeling, emotion, some of which the neurodivergent client did not understand herself. I found her representation impressive as it was overstated, but focused on stemming, and emotional understanding. She is Rose. She is a whole woman who is more than just representative adjectives. I found her character compelling and highly intelligent; she never doubted herself or fully relied on faith or science. Though of the way she was in Montana, encapsulated in one of the most religiously sought out conversion therapy camps in the world.
The elements of horror churned in your stomach like clotted cream. The imagery Chuck designed of the horrors was easily visionable and enough to make you hear more than crickets at night. Overall, Chuck Tingle is a great writer. One of the most impressive elements in this book alone is character development. Rose, her father, Willow, Dr. Smith, and even her mother. You felt their tonality, expressions, and mood. I am absolutely impressed and look forward to more reads by Chuck Tingle.
Love is real.
Thank you Tor Publishing (my fav. Group) for this wonderful book & Caroline for sending me this ARC. It was greatly appreciated and a wonderful read.

Now this is Queer horror! NBC tried to tackle the conversion camp horror last year with their middling 'They/Them', but never really rose to the occasion or successfully infused the film with any real teeth in its snipes at Evangelical Christian culture. 'Camp Damascus' manages to rise to the occasion and provide a specific and biting insight into the systems that allow for such horrors. It does have some pacing issues but it offers a surprising amount of nuance and decent scares.

I really liked the idea for this story and I thought it was an original and fun read. The pacing/structure of the novel was different than what I was expecting based off of the vague synopsis, but I still enjoyed the story it told. Personally, I prefer some more subtly and nuance in my stories, and that was not what this book was (or set out to be). If you're looking for an over-the-top horror story of religious deconstruction and a queer coming-of-age tale, I think you'll have a good time!

This was my buddy read for a bi-monthly read-a-thon I host on YouTube called the 24 Hour Horror-A-Thon. I read the book live here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKivZmQroZM&list=PLt0gOB-hkJ9fVZVW-h-GudYeiFdQnzyc2&index=1

Thank you to the publisher for providing me an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very different from what I thought, but no less amazing. I had assumed this was a horror story about a conversion camp, and it is, but none of it takes place at the camp. It goes in some very weird and unexpected directions, but it's such an impressive book.
The horror is immediate and intense, but in a way I could handle. The pacing was great, the character development and introduction of new characters was perfect. I could never have anticipated where the plot would go, but I loved it. I think this is a great (official) debut.
I read this in a single day, completely unable to tear myself away, thinking about it every other moment.

Camp Damascus is surprisingly tender and undeniably terrifying! Chuck Tingle knocked this one out of the park.

literally the best book i have read all year. i give a lot of books five stars bc writing is hard and authors deserve it but god if this story didn't mean the world to me. and it was perfectly plotted and so well-written and i just. yeah. yeah

full review:

this was the first book i've read by chuck tingle, and it did not disappoint me in a single way. rose, our (lesbian!) main character, is unapologetically autistic even as she does her best to repress her queerness in order to stay within the lines of her narrowly defined christian (culty) religion. this all changes, of course, when a demon shows up and starts killing people rose has repressed feelings for—leading her down a rabbit hole of character development that is so well done, the first thing i wanted to do when i finished this book was read it again.

the side characters (even the evil ones) are wonderfully characterized, every single loose thread wraps up in a perfect knot, and rose is a DELIGHTFUL narrator to go on this journey of self-actualization, self-discovery, and self-badassery on. she takes absolutely no prisoners, and the story shines as she realizes the truth about her parents, her religion, and her past.

BUY CAMP DAMASCUS, REQUEST IT AT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY, DO WHATEVER IT TAKES—just read it! truly a spectacular book and my favorite one of july.

Rose is not like other girls, and no, it isn’t because she is in love with a girl. It is because she has a curious and inquisitive mind. In the eyes of her church that is as unforgivable and dangerous for her soul as murder, lust, or disobedience.

It’s clear very early on that Rose is part of a problematic community. The Kingdom of the Pine sounds like a terrible cult that brainwashes and traps people, in this case quite literally as it turns out. Once Rose frees herself, she joins a couple other escapees to bring down this powerful organization.

Content warning: demonic possession; gaslighting; toxic parents; violence; gore; body horror

I received a digital ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The prose was a little underdeveloped, but overall, this book slapped. It was both nothing like and somehow exactly like what I would expect from Chuck Tingle's first traditionally published work. Gory and intense, but filled with love and hope.

Oh, I really like this. A little predictable in spots, but still a great, creepy read.
Thank you very much to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC!

Camp Damascus was a wonderful novel of horror, and truth. With the very real horror of conversion camps, it really allows you to connect with the book as you read it.

My favorite aspect of CAMP DAMASCUS was the way that Rose retained her faith; I would totally use the Gospel of Rose as a life choices touchstone.

I enjoyed every minute of this. Five stars, no notes. Extra props for neurodivergent protagonist. I'd have loved for it to be longer!

I was so excited to get an arc of this book!!

Unfortunately maybe Chuck should stick to adult books. This read like juvenile fiction and not YA. The story was somehow so boring until 70% thru where it all started going warp speed. I'm mad the cult stuff wasn't mentioned more.

Maybe my coworker expectations were too high because a lot of folks are loving this🤷🏻‍♀️

So happy to have gotten an egalley from NetGalley for this title. I'm a big fan of Chuck Tingle as an internet personality but have never read any of his other works. Camp Damascus is a wonderful debut as a more "serious" horror work. As a lesbian adult woman who has dealt with serious religious trauma, this book really resonated. All of Tingle's characters are wonderfully fleshed out with realistic reactions and motivations. I often get concerned about men writing women lead characters but this was lovely.
Sort of a combination coming of age and coming out novel, but leans more adult with graphic depictions of gore and violence. If you're sensitive to gore/violence or religious themes I would avoid but I would recommend it to all other audiences from young adult to adult.
Looking forward to more works in this vein from Chuck Tingle!

I'm not even surprised how much I enjoyed this book and I think a huge part of it was that in all of Chuck Tingle's work that I have read so far- no matter how wacky and ridiculous- there's a sense that he genuinely cares about the representation in his stories and the messages he sends with his characters, the stories just come across as really genuine and Camp Damascus is no exception. I loved Rose as a character and seeing her grow and develop and learn how to accept herself was really heartwarming and at times touching. The story is fast paced and despite the fact that the plot was fairly predictable, it was enjoyable to read and impossible to put down.

3.5 stars


This was such a fun outing from an author who is already an icon lol. I was really excited to finally read Chuck Tingle's first traditionally-published novel, and it did not disappoint. The book revolves around themes of queerness & religious trauma through a horror lens. And what a delight that the main character was also autistic!

I feel like the way the themes were expressed was a little heavy-handed at times, and the characters and relationships weren't as well-developed as I'd have liked, but I still had a great time reading this. The horror elements were compelling and original, and literally made me say "ew????" out loud. Def recommend for those looking for a novel dealing with the trauma of queerness in Christianity, horror lovers or otherwise. I'll definitely be picking up the author's future horror work.