This is my first Chuck Tingle and looking at the books he has published, this was not at all what I was expecting! Tingle follows the life of Misha who is a writer of television shows. After being given the option to either kill off his gay characters or quit, Misha goes on a long path to finding himself. This path involves characters he created for various horror shows. Some of these characters were frightening, while others were creepy. Misha ends up taking on upper administration, AI, data mining, censorship, and most importantly he brings queerness to the forefront. I thoroughly enjoyed Bury Your Gays.

This was a good novel that explored the role of queer representation in horror media. I found the discussions surrounding this topic to nauced and well thought out.

As a horror novel, I did not find it conventionally scary but instead more of an important piece of social commentary.

If you are still looking for a queer horror book to pick up in Pride Month, this would be a good one to read.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Who knows what to expect with Chuck Tingle? Trick question. Readers can expect engrossing plots where the gays win.
Camp Damascus was straight-up horror. Bury Your Gays is Hollywood fandom horror with a sci-fi twist, and trenchant commentary on AI.
The writing is strong, the twists are twisty, the supporting characters are truly supportive. Bury Your Gays is enjoyable and affirming. Particularly good for those who consume TV and movie media, but good for anyone, really. Tingle's sophomore novel proves love.

Chuck Tingle crafts an excellent novel documenting Queer relationships in media/Hollywood, the scum sucking filth of capitalism, the dangers of AI, and just an overall smart, meta horror story! Two of the characters legit terrified me: The Smoker and Mrs Why (the latter who will absolutely be haunting my nightmares and gave me It Follows vibes in the creepiest way). We've got horror horror, psychological horror, body horror, and more! Tingle gives us everything!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Chuck Tingle continues his foray into the world of horror with Bury Your Gays. While Camp Damascus explored more serious territory with commentary on evangelical Christianity and conversion therapy, this book takes a more campy and self-aware turn, diving into the world of Hollywood and its complex history with LGBTQ+ representation, including the common trope of killing off queer characters. I love the way the story sometimes used the screenplay format for scene-setting, tying in perfectly with the protagonist, Misha, and his work as a screenwriter. This, and the additional references to both film and gay culture were a lot of fun, and felt very Tingle-esque without being too on-the-nose.
Misha is an easy character to empathize with, as he grapples with the decision to appease his bosses for the sake of surviving in a capitalist hellscape, and it’s hard not to empathize, especially as we’ve now seen what how little power and respect writers in Hollywood have due to the recent writers’ strike. This present narrative is further juxtaposed with well-placed flashbacks highlighting his self-discovery about himself and his sexuality, which makes his choices in the face of adversity feel all the more affirming.
Narratively, the story was fast-paced and hard to put down. Tingle balances the horror, the personal, and the meta in a beautiful way.
Chuck Tingle has once again delivered a solid full-length horror novel, and I’d recommend it to readers of the genre interested in a book with queer representation, meta film references, and social commentary.

I was a big fan of Tingle's first horror novel, Camp Damascus - in fact, I thought it was the best novel of 2023, out of the 55 books I read in 2023. This new one, Bury Your Gays, is a very different type of novel but it's every bit as brilliant. It's so compulsively readable that I read it in one long evening. This is a horror novel about a closeted gay horror screenwriter who is suddenly confronted with the characters he has created, but they have somehow manifested in real life. Flashbacks to the writer's youth show how his monstrous characters were based on people and events from his past. Horror tropes are subverted here, including the famous "bury your gays" dictum that we saw in so many movies in the past, where the gay characters had to die in the end. Things get gory at times, and they definitely get meta as Tingle explores those tropes and other queer stereotypes. Very well written, with a strong "found family" theme.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Tingle as I am aware of his previous body of work, but this novel about the evils of unchecked capitalist greed really hooked me. I will be purchasing a copy for work and one for my personal collection.

The second 'mainstream' book from Chuck Tingle continues to be excellent entertainment with some pointed and timely social commentary.
Set in the Hollywood entertainment industry, Misha is a successful horror screenwriter who's still subject to the whims of his studio - and now they're pressuring him to 'kill off' two of his characters - a popular lesbian couple.
Misha is reluctant to bow to this pressure - but when creepy stalkers dressed as his fictional characters start threatening him, he realizes this has escalated past normal office politics. And soon, we've moved right across the border into actual horror territory.
The book is a true page-turner, but also is effectively thought-provoking and a great jumping-off point to seriously consider the role of popular media in our society and how the stories we're told function to reinforce social norms.

Okay I am now officially a fan of Chuck Tingle’s horror. I enjoyed CAMP DAMASCUS last year, but I feel like there’s something about BURY YOUR GAYS that’s just that much better. It’s so immersed in this love for horror movies and is honestly one of the creepier horror books I’ve read because of it. There are little unsettling details that I keep thinking of, and the subtle and not-so-subtle threads of commentary that Tingle includes are so interesting and honestly something that I’m glad is being talked about (re: queer representation in media being profitable, bury your gays trope, what kind of representation is deemed appropriate). The book did take a little bit for me to fully get into it, and it definitely gets more interesting in the second half, but I still enjoyed reading the entire thing, and I definitely recommend picking it up!

The premise of this book is basically that a Hollywood writer is told to kill off his characters after confirming they’re gay, and he refuses. Not long after, the monsters from his horror movies start coming after him and those around him. The whole thing is commentary on gay characters in the media and love to horror movies (something I’ve been appreciating even more myself), while also being unsettling as Misha, his boyfriend, and best friend work on trying to solve their horror movie problem. I still have questions after reading but it was interesting to watch this piece of the narrative. And now I’m even more excited to see what Chuck Tingle will come up with next!

Thank you to Chuck Tingle and Tor via NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It’s decided. I love Chuck Tingle. His first book, Camp Damascus, was amazing. Bury Your Gays is even better. In this story, Tingle and his main character Misha tackle the Bury Your Gays trope in a new and much more dangerous way. I loved the characters in this book, especially the main three, Misha, Zelle, and Tara. The monsters are both amazing and eclectic, making every scary scene different from the last.

This book juggles the two concepts of closeting characters and then going overboard with positive representation for the greediest reasons. It reminds me of the rainbowfying of brands during June. I think Tingle handled these ideas skillfully. I can’t wait to see what he’ll tackle next!

BURY YOUR GAYS is a story about Misha Bryne, a closeted gay screenwriter who is told to kill off the queer lead characters in the season finale of his TV show, Travelers. Misha refuses and soon finds himself (and the people he cares about) being stalked by living versions of characters from his own filmography.

This story spoke to my soul. The “bury your gays” trope was so prevelant in tv shows during my teen years (hello Lexa from The 100) and I loved that this book challenged that. It examined the “Hollywood Machine” and brought into question why studios feel the need to pander to audiences, while also blindly following the algorithm to increase profits.

I felt like Misha’s struggle with giving The Studio what they want and staying true to himself and his core beliefs was the driving force of this story, and was something I really related to. As someone working in a creative field, the pull between “the work” and “the art” is exhausting, especially when what you’re creating isn’t totally yours.

The story also touched on capitalism, the MeToo movement, and AI in the film industry. All of which are HUGE topics that are constantly up for debate and more prevalent than ever today, and was something that I was very excited to read in this book! For sure recommend this to anyone who likes queer horror, commentary on the current state of media, and the subversion of tropes.

Chuck Tingle. The author that you are. I am in awe of your brain!!!
BURY YOUR GAYS is a fast-paced sci-fi satirical horror about all-consuming corporate greed, and the nuanced topic of queer representation in media—and it’s brilliant. I absolutely devoured this book, despite never reading the genre (or author) before. Everything about it was larger than life while simultaneously extremely plausible and familiar. Certainly a stand-out novel, and I can’t wait to recommend it to others.

I will be honest, I had never read a Chuck Tingle book up until now. And truthfully, when I requested this on NetGalley, the premise and the title were what drew me in before I even noticed it was a Chuck Tingle book. This was fabulous. What a fun, weird, creepy read. Absolutely solid writing and some very well thought out character and plot development. I loved this.

While Oscar-nominated Hollywood screenwriter Misha Byrne is not loudly “out,” he’s not closeted either. He just isn’t ready to bring his loving boyfriend Zeke to his conservative hometown in Montana. But at work, there’s even more stress. Misha is asked to kill off his two queer characters in his hit show Travellers, which he really doesn’t want to do. The studio has a nefarious way of persuading him to do what they want.

Author Chuck Tingle is SO good at cranking up the tension and knowing the perfect moment to reveal blood, guts and scary AI. But as a romance writer at heart, Tingle makes certain that queer love prevails, including the love of friendship through seldom-seen asexual representation. The book straddles the line between a Black Mirror episode and incredibly sincere queer drama. Highly recommend to all horror fans who love camp, especially fans of the recent queer horror "I Saw the TV Glow" and sci-fi lovers. 4.5 stars, rounded up.

This is the second queer horror novel I've read by Chuck Tingle (the first being Camp Damascus and I fully plan on picking up Straight soon as well) and I am so happy to say I was not disappointed in the slightest. Misha is a likeable and believable protagonist, and I genuinely cared about his well being as well as the well being of the characters he cared about. He felt real and grounded, and the way he processed his trauma through his screenplays was an incredible way to make what was happening on the horror side of the plot feel personal in a very natural way. Aside from him, the characters around him were also all dynamic and incredibly enjoyable to read about (Tara being my personal favorite, I was overjoyed when I realized we were getting aroace rep) even the less likeable ones never felt boring or two dimensional when they were on page. Along with incredible characters, the plot itself was wonderful- it was unique and layered in a way that was always clear but never too "in your face". Bury Your Gays was not only a very honest depiction of how the entertainment industry treats queer stories as well as their creators, but also a very hopeful depiction of the support and love the queer community can offer one another. I really hope Chuck Tingle puts out another queer horror novel next year- we could always use more queer stories with happy endings in the world.

Chuck Tingle is back with another horror novel! And while it's a tonal shift from Camp Damascus, it definitely did not disappoint. Bury Your Gays is incredibly entertaining and campy. But it also has something to say about relevant issues in Hollywood, including (but not limited to) the treatment of gay character in film and television, and the controversial rise of AI.

I feel like it's best to go into this without knowing too much, but it follows a semi-closeted screen writer who has seen some success with queer horror and other films. But now, the studio wants him to change a script and kill off queer characters. Then things start to get weird...

I did not expect where this book ended up going, but I thought it was both smart and entertaining. And a good place to dip your toes into the genre if horror makes you nervous, because most of it isn't TOO scary. Except maybe in an existential sort of way. I definitely didn't find it as emotionally intense as Camp Damascus. It is quite a ride though and I enjoyed the genre blending. Give it a try! The audio narration is really great, produced with some sound effects and fun cameos from queer authors. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle is an electrifying LGBTQ+ sci-fi horror novel that had me hooked from the very first page. This was my first Chuck Tingle book, and I was absolutely captivated by his unique writing style. The book seamlessly blends elements of horror and sci-fi, delivering a queer story that is both thrilling and thought-provoking. Misha, the protagonist, is incredibly relatable, and his journey through the cutthroat world of Hollywood had me rooting for him from beginning to end.

The synopsis sets the stage perfectly: Misha finally gets his big break with an Oscar nomination, but the studio executives want to kill off the gay characters in his show to cater to the algorithm. Misha's refusal to comply puts him in grave danger, as he becomes hunted by the monsters from his horror movie past. This premise alone is enough to send chills down your spine, and the book does not disappoint in delivering a suspenseful, heart-pounding experience.

What I loved most about Bury Your Gays is how it tackles the struggles of being a queer artist in an industry that often exploits talent while erasing true artistic vision. The discussions on algorithms and AI art are incredibly timely and relevant, adding depth to the narrative. Misha's journey is a powerful conduit for exploring these themes, and his resilience in the face of adversity is truly inspiring. The message of allowing queer artists to create art that is true to themselves, whether it depicts tragedy or joy, is profoundly moving and resonated with me on a deep level.

The book excels in creating a mysterious and eerie atmosphere that kept me guessing at every turn. The big reveal was unexpected and intriguing, adding another layer of complexity to the plot. Despite the dark and chilling moments that made my skin crawl, the story maintains an optimistic essence, offering glimpses of hope throughout. Bury Your Gays is a masterful blend of horror and sci-fi with a powerful queer narrative that will stay with me for a long time. I can't wait to dive into more of Chuck Tingle's work.

Phenomenal read. Chuck Tingle does an excellent job of weaving in reflections about LGBTQIA+ identity with horror.

Big fan of Chuck’s new work including this and Camp Damascus.
Hoping this one opens him up to a whole new fanbase beyond the Tinglers.

Freaky deaky, suspenseful , gory! I’m impressed with how well Tingle has packed all of that into one novel. The way the story starts, you think it is going in one direction, then the author takes you on a journey. A journey that comments on today’s negative elements of society (homophobia, capitalism, AI). I could’ve done without most of the flashbacks of the protagonist’s childhood. I think this would translate into a great full length film or limited series. I find this novel, overall, thrilling and creative.