This is the story of a closeted writer being pressured to kill off his gay characters, and his reluctance unleashes a horrifying series of events. Uncontrollable AI mixed with Hollywood special effects, nefarious big-wigs focused on maximum profit, and marginalization of certain groups and voices, this book is horror and sci-fi and speculative fiction in one. My description doesn't do it justice and Chuck Tingle deserves all the accolades for putting together this thought-provoking read.

André Santana was the perfect narrator for this story and it was supplemented by the voices of several amazing authors, I highly recommend this and our library already bought it in print and I am ordering the ebook and eaudio as well. Can't wait for Tingle's next book!

This book scratched a horror itch that I didn't know I had. I really really loved the messaging around how so much of what is portrayed in the media is queer trauma, not queer joy. I think that is incredibly important for more genres to start including, that there is more than just the pain the LGBT+ community goes through. I loved the evil corporation theme too, though it felt a little too on the nose. Overall, this book is pretty great and I'd recommend it as a summer read.

This just might make my top 2024 fave’s! Wowza!

Full disclosure; I started with the eArc and switched to the audioArc about half way through and enjoyed the listening experience way more! Reading it was fun, don’t get me wrong, but this “cast” of narrators was phenomenal. Loved it!

This was not what I expected as it took a weird, sci-fi twist that was still fun to read. I love the authors and this was an easy listen. I might need to re-read to fully comprehend it, but its themes of gay representation and coming out were clear and I like how they were handled.

I was a huge fan of Chuck Tingle's previous novel Camp Damascus, so I had high hopes going into this one. This was a blast.

The scope is much bigger here than in his previous novel, perhaps too wide as more nightmares emerged and side plots were introduced without apparent resolution. So not all of it landed with me, but what did land was a candid discussion on the many ways we can "bury" underrepresented groups in a soulless capitalist machine that's indifferent to anything that's not profit. The real trick here was finding hope in it all. The characters found real joy, even against an exciting rogue's gallery of horrors (including some gnarly body horror that had me squirming).

I enjoyed this one, looking forward to what he does next!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook recording!

This book was amazing and scary and graphic and I loved it all. It was so meta and unique and the perfect summer horror book.

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

In this story, Misha, an actor on the verge of success with an Oscar nomination, faces a moral dilemma when studio executives pressure him to kill off gay characters for better ratings. Refusing to comply, Misha finds himself targeted and haunted by real-life monsters from his horror movie past, forcing him to confront these threats and risk his future to protect himself and his friends.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narration is fantastic. It’s such a good performance, with Andre Santana (a narrator I had never heard of before) doing 85% of the narration and short scenes narrated sort of radio drama style by some well known names in the literary world. For all my criticisms about this book, the narration is fantastic. Really couldn’t ask more.

As for the book. I guess I’ll start by saying that this book is super creative. After it got to exactly where I thought it was going, all my expectations quickly unraveled and it went places I didn’t see coming. The trope that this plot is based around is one of my favorites, it will convince me to forgive my “no horror” rule and is the entire reason I picked up this book. And it’s done reasonably well in this book.

However. This book is one of those where it pretty loudly says what it wants to say, and then you’re like, “yup, okay, got it.” and then it doesn’t stop saying it. I don’t have a problem with a book being loud about what it wants to say in theory. My problem it quickly gets repetitive when it just keeps saying the same thing over and over.

I also have a problem with a plot development of a side character, who does this thing for the forces of good that only works because she’s never been represented in TV. Which is perplexing to me, when the rest of the book is so loud and nonstop about telling us how important representation is in media. (It also kind of implies that queer stereotypes are …. idk, good? accurate?) Idk, I’m truly lost as to what the author was going for with that scene. So yeah, in short, fantastic audio performance, just don’t think too hard about the book itself.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for a copy of this audiobook.

Wow! This was an amazing production of an audiobook!! I am not a horror reader and this one I wouldn't really categorize as horror ..more sci-fi. The story centers on Misha, a screenwriter who is being haunted by his characters. The story is entertaining and feels almost like a movie production and really looks at the threat of AI and use of logarithms. It speaks about greed, marginalized voices. The full cast of characters and sound effects kept me so entertained and engrossed with the story.

Title: Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Publication Date- 07/09/24
Publisher- MacMillan
Overall Rating- 5 out of 5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Audio Review: The audio is hands down the way to go for this one. It has the following narrators as a full cast: André Santana; Charlie Jane Anders; CJ Leede; Georgia Bird; Liz Kerin; Mara Wilson; Mark Oshiro; Sarah Gailey; Stephen Graham Jones; T. Kingfisher; TJ Klune. They put on such a phenomenal show and really brought the story to life. I would highly recommend you listen to the audiobook for this story.

Review: There are so many good things to say about this story. I have also read Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle and there is one small connection between the books but you don’t need to read one to read the other by any means. It’s basically just an easter egg if you have read them both.

Some things I loved about this story: first and foremost it’s refreshing and creative. Chuck Tingle is able to think and write about queerness in such a dynamic and personal way adding engaging and realistic commentary.

I really loved the idea of an author being haunted by their own stories. We get to meet many of the characters that our MC has created for film as they come back to haunt and stalk him. The horror elements are unsettling and actually scary at times. I found myself so lost in this story and excited/ worried about where it was going to go next.

There is a lot of commentary on queerness and media, I will let the book speak for itself on that one. There is also some commentary on AI and writing in the film and TV industry. It’s not just about killing off gay characters in stories but killing them before you get a happily ever after. Media is really struggling to show happily ever afters for lots of groups of people. This books also discusses how important it is that we feel represented in media and validated/ empowered by others stories. Those stories much be shown.

Please read this book. It’s both serious and fun, creepy and haunting. I loved it.

Creepy and fun!

Bury Your Gays follows Misha, a screenwriter, who has just been nominated for his first Oscar. However, the studio producer is pressuring him to make changes to the season finale of his current project in order to fit what the algorithm feels will attract more views. Misha has to deal with his past as it comes back to haunt him and the decisions he makes to protect the ones he loves...now that sounds cheesy as hell but there is so much more to that, I promise.

The story reads like a movie, which makes sense since there are literally script-like moments. This is a fast-paced, constant thrill. There were several moments when I felt like someone was watching me and had to turn around to make sure no one was there. This book was also funny. I think being able to mesh the horror and comedy can be a difficult thing to accomplish and it was accomplished here.

I really love the narrative on queer representation in media and the need for it to constantly be tragic. I do think, in recent years, that this has been on a downward trend and LGBTQ+ media is able to have happy endings but this still felt needed. Chuck Tingle knows how to write and entertain. I also enjoyed Camp Damascus (there was a nod to that in this story) and will continue to seek out more books by him.

This was that rare book that immediately sucked me in, with its acerbic wit and clever criticism of Hollywood. Tingle is a master of tone, balancing humor and satire to great effect. He is similarly brilliant at making keen observations, pointing out the absurdity and hypocrisy of the filmmaking industry, as well as of society at large. But I also have to say this was one of the more disappointing reads for me, as I completely lost interest when the fantasy/horror elements were introduced, as monsters from Misha's own stories begin to haunt him. In a meta sense, I love that premise, but the fantastical elements just didn't work for me... But I'm not a fantasy fan. Nor am I a horror fan. I do wonder if I'd have been able to suspend my disbelief more if I'd been reading rather than listening, though. Despite that, I'm still giving it 4 stars because I think Tingle is a fantastic writer and readers who gravitate towards this kind of material will love it.

**4.5-stars**

Bury Your Gays is a novel that's perfectly-aligned with a new trend in my reading for 2024, and that is reading books set in, or revolving around, the television and movie industry. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first picked this up. I've heard great things about this author's 2023-release, Camp Damascus, but I've never actually read their work before. My final judgement = I need more Tingle!!!

In this story we are following Misha, a long-time Hollywood script writer who has just been nominated for his first Oscar. It's as he is on the precipice of this great event that he gets called into a meeting with a studio executive and told that he needs to kill off two popular gay characters from his Travelers series. Misha is alarmed. He doesn't want to do that; not at all, but he's told if he doesn't he may be let go.
Thus, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows hit our MC pretty much simultaneously. His back is to the wall and he is struggling to make a decision. What is he going to do?

The synopsis doesn't really go into too much of the action here, therefore, I don't want to either. All I will say is that I was pleasantly surprised to discover this involves one of my favorite Horror tropes, and that's dark fictional characters coming to life and interacting with their creators.

I loved how Tingle decided to tell Misha's story. In the current timeline, we get to know a bit about his work and personal life, but we also get glimpses into Misha's past through sections aptly referred to as, Inspiration. These sections were among my favorites. It's there we learn the pivotal moments and people from Misha's life that helped to shape his writing. These sections felt intimate and had a lovely Coming of Age quality to them that I found incredibly captivating.

In additional to the fantastic character work and strong writing, I thoroughly enjoyed the social commentary and reflective exploration of issues within this novel. In particular, I found it to be thought-provoking in the area of intellectual property rights, the power of creators and their rights to their work. I also enjoyed how Tingle touched upon the greed within the system, and the development and use of AI in writing and the arts.

You'll never think of the algorithm the same again...

I did listen to the audiobook and cannot recommend that format highly enough. It's a full cast audio with sound effects that truly help bring this crazy story to life. I would recommend this to every Horror Reader, but particularly to Social Horror lovers, or those looking for strong Queer stories. Also, if you were a fan of The X-Files, something about this one just brought that to mind for me; maybe the light SF concepts, or the villains...

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. The audio production was chef's kiss! This book is smart, original, engaging and eerie. I walk away with a full heart, looking forward to more from Tingle!

I am new to reading horror, and, this is the first time I have read anything by Chuck Tingle. To be honest, I requested this book because my teen daughter started telling me about him and when his name appeared I thought, "I know something about him, let's give this book a try." Well I was not disappointed. This story is equal parts creepy and humorous. I read the audio book edition and found it to be very well done. I would guess you could call this satirical horror. There is an underlying campy-ness to the writing and all the characters. I would go further with a story summary but would hate to slip with a spoiler. 4.25 ⭐️ for me. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read Bury Your Guys by Chuck Tingle (excellent title BTW).

I really liked this book.
I think I benefited going into this book blind.
Queer horror/sci fi book.
Queer screenwriter starts seeing the horror characters he’s written in real life. Meanwhile, his TV executives want him to kill off his two leading ladies after he suggests they fall in love.
See my tiktok for more thoughts!

Fun and engaging from the beginning, upbeat and action-packed, intimate yet with mass appeal.

I love the biting commentary and the way the tension is maintained throughout. Chuck Tingle is definitely here to prove that he's a heavy-hitter and more than the goofy titles that made him famous.

The flashbacks to Misha's childhood and the foundational moments that built him as a person (and later became the building blocks for his career) made the character feel real and help to build investment in his unfolding horror and stubborn adherence to his principles.

This is pure summer fun and would make an excellent TV series and/or movie, I think all the nods and winks to Hollywood culture would do particularly well in that medium.

Definitely pick this up. 4.5/5

Audiobook Notes:
There are soooooo many famous authors credited on this audiobook and I have no idea who all they played, but the production quality was superb. The primary voice actor did an excellent job with inflections and presenting different characters and was instantly so engaging. Well done.

Bury Your Gays
Chuck Tingle

Misha is a semi-closeted (“Out in LA, not in Montana”) gay Hollywood screenwriter, pressured by his boss to kill off the lesbian leads in his latest show. He refuses, and soon thereafter, he starts to be haunted by monsters from his previous productions.

As with Camp Damascus, Chuck Tingle once again puts a refreshing spin on horror tropes in his latest novel, Bury Your Gays. The novel deals with prominent issues including media corporate mindset, LGBTQ acceptance in Hollywood, and the use of AI in movies. Creepy (okay, light horror) and humorous, engaging and fast-paced, Bury Your Gays is an enjoyable read. The full cast audiobook production, including horror celebrities, is a treat.

My appreciation to NetGalley, to the author, and to MacMillan Audio for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of the Audiobook for review, in exchange for an original, unbiased, independent review.

This is my first Chuck Tingle & I can confidently say I’m a fan! This had a lot elements I love in a story: horror, mystery, suspense, twists, paranormal. It was awesome!

The writing was phenomenal, I only docked one star because there were certain parts that felt repetitive or dragging on a bit.
I really loved the haunting descriptions of the monsters and loved the reveal near the end about them.
I enjoyed the diversity of the characters as well as the representation of various groups of people in the queer community. And I loved how the main character progressed through the story to face their own internal conflict in regard to their sexuality.

It was a good read that I recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC!

This book started out slow with a typical premise of spooky ghost story. I thought it was going to be a quick, eye rolling adventure, but it turned all of that on it's head. Tackling multiple issues at once, including queer representation, Bury Your Gays also manages to still have a story that is innately human without sounding preachy. While there are a few moments that lean into cliche tropes, they actually work in the book's favor as part of the discussion of tropes and overuse. Stunning read and a fun ride all the way through.

The narration was also on point. Enough distinction to make the character's easily recognizable. A couple times the female voices would get too high pitched but that's the only complaint.

I was excited to receive an audio copy via NetGalley as I enjoyed Camp Damascus and Scared Straight, yet this one still absolutely blew me away. Bury Your Gays is the perfect example of why I love the horror genre. Tingle writes excellent antagonists both in the supernatural and straight-from-real life realms. Using these horrifying situations to get to know Misha, explore his relationships, and face his inner traumas, Chuck Tingle packs a punch in this one. There were a few Meta moments that felt like loving nods toward the reader. I can’t recommend this one enough!

🌈 Bury Your Gays 🌈
Pub date: July 9, 2024
This one was ✨amazing✨. The Hollywood setting of this one was so dang fun! All the “insider” views, while horrifying, hit me in the feels. It probably hits way too close to home for many people. I had no idea where the book was gonna take us but when we got there 🤯 Another amazing and perfect summer horror