This book is fantastic, engaging, informative and fun. If you think you know everything about mythology think again because no matter how much you’ve queered stuff in your mind learning this context and history is everything.

This book was a commentary on modern queer culture, an insightful read into queer mythology, and I kept thinking this would be a really great reference for authors or artists to incorporate queer symbolism in their work.

While this book is academic in nature, it does not have an overly academic tone and is definitely intended for a wide, public audience (this makes it very readable!). The book is divided into 5 main parts and while plethora of myths are discussed, it allows for the perfect amount of discussion before moving on to the next piece. It isn't bogged down with unnecessary details and doesn't provide significant background for each myth, but is a really great jumping off point for future research.

Thank you NetGalley and Unbound for the ARC, definitely recommend this one!

I really enjoyed this book! I find Sacha Coward to have an engaging voice and felt that I got to know him a little through the reading of this book.

I enjoyed the deep dive into the folklore creatures and how they can and do fit into the queer experience and frequently have a queer background in its creation. The writing was extremely accessible so if you have no baseline for the folklore or origins of different creatures, you are never left behind. On the other side of that, this may read as a bit introductory to someone who may have a background or education of these stories already, though I would argue that Coward's point of view makes it unique and very readable.

I only had a little struggle with the superhero chapter since I have extreme superhero fatigue, but, that is a personal to me problem, the stories very much fit into the thesis of the book itself.

The end of the book was also really charming and I enjoyed getting to see Coward's breakdown of the why's of using folklore and the supernatural as a way to tell queer stories.

I love this book so much. It is definitely more dense and academic than I had expected, but that isn’t a bad thing. It’s a fascinating read and one that I think I will come back to frequently.

Not what I thought and more academic than expected. If it had the subtitle 'From mythology to the movies' I may not have tried it

Do you like folklore? Find yourself dreaming about faeries, werewolves, and epic hero(ines)? Do you also like gay shit? Queer as Folklore might just be your next non-fiction read if you said yes to any of the above. Coward takes the reader through the history of folklore and myth, relating each of his chosen topics to the typically implicit, sometimes explicit, and/or often unintended connection to queer lives and ways of being. The book is divided into five main parts: first are the magical creatures (mermaids, unicorns, faeries), then the cursed and shapeshifters (werewolves, vampires), third are the occult and supernatural (witches, demons, and the deceased), fourth are the contemporary additions to folklore (aliens, pirates, robots, and superheroes), and finally he ends with a quick discussion on five archetypes that can emerge from folklore and queer intersections.

I'm no stranger to myth and folklore - in my undergraduate, prior to shifting to healthcare, I got degrees in classical studies and religious studies. I have to say, Coward's explanations of various stories, monsters, and mythologies are quite well translated for a non-academic audience. He's clearly ensured the book is well researched without making it inaccessible to the general public - something that is a lot harder for academic-minded folks than many would think it would be! Another thing really I appreciated about the book was how conscientious Coward was in his use of language. From the very beginning of the prologue and introduction he's careful with terms, ensures there are explanatory notes, and provides justification for how he interprets the historical information.

On a critical side, I will admit I was hoping for a more globally focused book. While there are many instances of non-Westernized folklores, these are usually super quick. I found the majority of the focus was on European, European-adjacent, or Classical (Greece, Rome, Egypt) creatures and myths. This isn't a bad thing if that's what you go in expecting, but I unfortunately had the impression of more so it affected my experience. Another comment I'd like to leave in this section is regarding section four - namely, that the modern folklores of aliens and robots seemed like a stretch. While Coward did manage at points to connect these to what an average person would more typically consider "folklore", I feel like these are largely different considerations requiring different analyses and tools. Perhaps a different framing would have been better - for example, instead of focusing on sci-fi-style robots and supplementing with ancient constructs, a better focus may have been to focus on those folkloric constructs and then supplement with the connection to sci-fi content.

Five stars for the premise alone. As a bisexual person who loves fantasy and grew up identifying with mermaids, vampires, etc., this was the book I never knew I needed. Coward provides deep, thoughtful analysis of each of the myths he explores, as well as how the meanings of those myths can differ between segments of the LGBTQ+ community. Despite this complicated task, the author's writing was rarely muddled and confusing, and I was easily able to understand the point Coward was trying to make. I never knew about a lot of the information the author presents, and reading it was affirming and empowering as a queer person.

In addition to the subject matter, I appreciated the way Coward didn't speculate about the sexualities or gender identities of the real-life people he discussed. He stuck to the facts about their lives and didn't deviate from those facts in order to make a point. He acknowledged the different ways these people could have identified, but he didn't cross the line by saying "this person was probably..." etc. He also acknowledged the limitations of his own argument. Rather than strictly providing European examples and saying his argument was the complete literary history of queerness in folklore, as so many authors before him got in trouble for doing, he told readers upfront that his understanding of certain myths/cultures was limited, and he didn't want to risk portraying something wrong and contribute to the erasure many marginalized cultures experience on a regular basis. He did explore certain myths from non-European cultures, but he always did so with imput from those communities.


The first critique I have of this book was that section on werewolves and other shapeshifters got a little convoluted. While the majority of Coward's book was excellently organized, this section wasn't broken up as well as the others, and the various myths he was trying to discuss blended together.

The second critique I had is that Coward didn't explore modern examples when he very easily could have. The most current examples of how folklore positively impacts the queer community, and how the queer community uses folklore to validate their identities, were from the 1980s to the early 2000s. It was very obvious that Coward was writing for a Millennial audience, thus ignoring a lot of potential material. I would have liked to see more about how these myths exist in the present day and how their meaning has changed over time.

I really wanted this to be good, but instead it's pretty superficial, goes off-track a lot (a lot!) and is even kind of boring. I can't recommend it.

From unicorns and mermaids to pirates and superheroe... and even aliens! This book covers a wide range of folklore or adjacent histories through a queens lens in a delightful manner. Even though the subject can get dark and a bit sad at times I found the book to be overall enjoyable. It's an informative and sometimes funny book that I connected with.
The author's writing style is something I found entertaining and I liked the voice in it. The sections within chapters flowed well together and overall I liked how wide ranging the topics were. There's not much I can gripe about, maybe a couple spots I thought could've had a bit more information. But far and few between.
I would recommend this to any queer person interested in queer history or queer stories. I'm definitely purchasing a copy upon release.

From the ruins of Ancient Greece to the main stage of Rupauls Drag Race; queer as folklore is a magnificent new look at queer history and legend.

Throughout history, queer folk have been forced to live in secrecy and shadows, telling stories about magic and fantasy to keep their dreams and hopes alive and giving way to lasting myths and tales of wonder that have prevailed through the years. Queer as Folk journeys into the tales of our history exposing the beautiful queerness that has always been there.

We look at real lives, and magical stories from the past and see how for countless years, queerness has existed even if we didn’t have the words and why magical mythical creatures are such a prominent part of queer culture . Coward tells the stories well, stopping to think, showing excellent research and keeping an excellent pace - creating a narrative voice like your favourite teacher, informative, clear but with some fun and personality. At times I found the interjections and notes a little distracting and made it a little difficult to read but overall it was easy to find my place again.

A masterful piece of scholarship, told with great skill and huge amounts of warmth, this explores the connection between myth and queerness in great detail, combining history with folklore and exploring community and humanity with beautiful creativity. A must read for those interested in myth or folklore, who are queer or know queer people, or simply wish to be moved and entertained by a brilliant piece of work

As a collector of fairy and folk tales, folklore, I assumed this was going to be more stories, or stories as seen from a different POV. It was an interesting look at gay culture, and will have it's audience. I'm not exactly the demographic for it, but would recommend the book to anyone interested in the LGBTQ+ community. Well written and informative.

Queer as Folklore takes readers across centuries and continents which reveals the unsung heroes and villains of storytelling, magic and fantasy. Featuring images from archives, galleries and museums around the world, each chapter investigates the queer history of different mythic and folkloric characters, both old and new.

I always like to make sure I read LGBTQ books during pride month in various genres. My first is Queer as Folklore, a book of historical references to muth, magic, and legend and how it is a part of our queer history.
Every myth or tale of fantasy seems to be handled here. The writing is smooth without turning into a college text. It's easy to read as well as informative.

Recommended. Published 11/5/2024 from Unbound

Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I've never took the time to learn about how queer people lived in history beyond what we already know and learn from history class, so this was a breath of fresh air. I absolutely adored reading about these deep dives into folklore, and how much of it was edited over time. Sacha Coward does an excellent job of presenting information to the reader by drawing parallels to our contemporary world. They've compiled a lovely collection of stories curated from across the world. It felt well-researched, and I'd love to buy a copy when it comes out!

This is such an interesting collection of deep dives into characters that we’re all familiar with from various folklores. I loved learning about the inherent queerness of so many classic characters!

I love the title of this, the perfect play on words that sets you up for the rest of the book. Giving a peek behind the curtain of many folklores and popular culture, Coward in this book explores the queer identities within folklore and the ripple effects of it within modern culture. A rainbow filled journey with running parallels of past and present, to understand stories passed onto us much better than the mainstream context.

Sassy and academic in equal measure, the book goes through a number of mythical creatures and folklores and their equal counterparts around the world. Exploring the queer identities of many of its subjects, the book explores on how queer the backstories of many of the folklores are. Many links were also made to the non gender conforming subjects that showcased how non binary many of the stories are and how they have been erased and colonized over years to present a sanitized version of an echo of themselves.

Well researched, the book can though come across as very euro centric in its approach towards its audience. Furthermore as well researched as it is, in some sections it did feel like a listicle of every counterpart that existed across the board.

The parallels running along the historical world vs the present one really helps in the connecting threads of how stories have shaped our modern understanding of queer culture and stories. A worthwhile read for those delving into folklore subcultures that are far from mainstream.

Thank you NetGalley and Unbound publishers for the eARC

Queer as Folklore explores all the different aspects of LGBT representation in folklore, myths and other stories that have been told through the ages. It mentions direct representation, but also queer and trans allegories and discusses the authors, the reasons why one could suspect them to be queer and how it affected their works.

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to write speculative fiction, especially if it will have queer or trans representation. This book touches on many sensitive subjects and highlights how LGBT people have been negatively represented over time, sometimes in ways one might not even realise. By being aware of them, one can make sure they write a story that doesn't shed a negative light on queer people. Additionally, the folklore discussed can serve as a great source of inspiration.

I love finding out new and interesting folklore, but learning more info into my queer folklore was perfect for me. We know how historians erase queer people from stories and history so this book will help others learn where original stories actually came from. I enjoyed how far and wide Sacha went with the stories, from folklore to true life, from one side of the globe to the other. This is definitely one I would love to pick up for my “coffee table” collection.

Thank you to NetGalley, Unbound and Sacha Coward for an ARC of this title!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sacha Coward for an ARC of this title!

Wow, this was such a fun and really informative read. I was so intrigued by the concept alone, and the material covered here did not disappoint! I think the exploration of queer identity in folklore was approached really well here in particular - in addition to thorough review of whatever historical records could reasonable be explored, I really like that the author tied in their own insights/personal experiences in the beginning/ends of chapters, and that they also interviewed other figures regarding the topics of each chapter. I also really liked how detailed they were in how they approached the exploration of queer folklore and their definition of "folklore" in context of the book. This was helpful in reframing the idea of TV shows, superheroes, etc. in "folklore" and really added some very good discussions to what could have been a shorter book.

I also think that "Queer as Folklore" does a tremendous job of exploring the queer history behind well-known characters in folklore (and, more interestingly, the people behind their development in some cases) without getting too into the nitty-gritty of specific legends (which would probably be an interesting second book with enough research), and without falling into the habit - as the author points out many times in the book - of "assigning" certain gender identities to specific characters, real or imagined. I think this really helps keep the discussion throughout the book in the realm of "academia" but also feels inclusive for people who may have differing thoughts/feelings on where a certain subject "belongs".

Overall, this was a very thoughtful and engaging look into the mythos of mythical creatures, that was both detailed enough for those who want to get into the background of certain figures, but is also approachable enough for the lay reader. It also includes an index of topics for those who may want to read about specific creatures, real-life persons, etc., so I think it would be a great reference work for those who are looking to learn more about specific topics. Fantastic job, and I will be buying this when it comes out!

I think the premise of the book is certainly interesting, and it did deliver on its promise to open my eyes as a reader to how Queer history and contemporary life is deeply intertwined with folklore. It was easy to digest and brought interesting perspective to today's Queer culture (at least how I experience it in the US).

I just think it was also difficult to enjoy for a few different reasons:

- The book aimed to focus on (mostly) European myth and folklore given the author's background as a European man (totally fair!). In parts where he did mention other region's similar myths to (rightly) acknowledge that Europeans weren't the only ones with a given type of myth, however, at times, the book felt read like a listicle of all the different countries that have X-type of creature. This led to some parts feeling overly long, and it didn't feel like these myths were engaged with at the same level.

- The book also felt unorganized in some sub-sections, with them just ending abruptly with no connection to the larger narrative in the chapter. This led to some of the connections between Queer people and folklore/myth feeling unbalanced in how flushed out they were.

- There was also a lot done to show 'both sides' of a person, even if they were truly terrible. One baffling sentence was as follows: "While there are very fair readings of him as a pure narcissist who led the way for future dangerous cults, as an anti-Semite, misogynistic abuser and instigator of conspiracy theories and pseudoscience, there are others that wish to celebrate him as a free-thinker and a sexual liberationist (pg. 121)."

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the eARC!