In these three novellas and novel Peters explores both an imagined future where everyone must use hormones to 'choose' a gender as well as an imagined historical setting where isolated lumberjacks don a crude burlap triangle to signify their willingness to be courted as a woman. For readers who want to peek into the intimate thoughts and lives of others Peter's writing almost makes one feel like a voyeur. The details are so vivid and real to life, even in two such removed settings, that at times I wanted to look away, to spare the characters from my intrusion into their minds and situations.

For readers who don't mind being uncomfortable, angry, sad and completely invested for the time it takes to read each story. Readers who think a lot about gender, identity, bodies, and how society makes those things dangerous to express. Fans of Gretchen Felker-Martin would especially like the novella "Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones," which was my favorite among these stories. The titular novel, Stag Dance, had quite a few horror elements that I found creepy in a good way as well, and perfect within the setting, like a tall tale told around a fire with horses softly exhaling just visible in the dancing fire light, and other noises raising the hair on your neck just outside the circle in the all encompassing darkness of the winter night.

Beautiful cover for a weirdly beautiful book. Comprised of 3 novellas and one longer novel, each showcases Peters wonderful writing of one of the most unique authors out there. I unfortunately didn’t like it as much as Detransition, Baby but still incredible.

This is a stellar piece of work. Peters is a beautiful writer. This is a novel with 3 other novellas jam-packed in. I don't know much about the trans world and their culture. What an interesting look at these themes through such unique lenses. I couldn't put this one down. It honestly read like an HBO mini-series, which is the most entertaining and rewarding reads imo. Will definitely be adding "Detransition, Baby" and all future Peters works to my TBR!

Thank you to Torrey Peters, Random House and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this highly anticipated book! All opinions are my own!

This is a delightful collection of three short stories and a novella. While there are thematic elements tying these stories together, the collection is very diverse with each story exploring a different genre, time period, and setting with contrasting characters. I loved Detransition, Baby, but I think this collection really display Peters' talent and range as an author.

The titular story took me by surprise and it took me a few chapters to get fully immersed in the parlance, although I did end up thoroughly enjoying the folk storytelling style. I loved the speculative fiction short story, "Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones" and I am ready for the 1,500+ page version.

Everyone, read this when it comes out in March!!! Thank you Penguin Random House for the ARC.

I want to be sure to address my ignorance right off the bat. I am not trans and do not have anyone close to me who is. I am still learning, and so appreciative of authors like Torrey who can educate while also entertaining. That being said, I'm not confident my review is very useful, but NG's feedback ratio kinda had me pigeonholed.
Admittedly a fair amount of the terms and phrases specific to transitioning went right over my head. I tried to google what I could, but eventually put that on hold to read Detransition, Baby. That helped! The downside though is I'd read it so recently I was constantly comparing it to Stag Dance... Detransition, Baby is best by a landslide. But again, I'm not even sure how much of that could be due to my lack of knowledge.
I guess I'm trying to say that there are pros and cons to this collection. I'm torn between thinking it should be a little more accessible, and arguing that it's OUR problem, as the readers, and we need to take it upon ourselves to learn before reading this. I want to be clear - I am not at all saying we don't need to collectively learn and change our idea of the default human is. We do, globally even.
But for the sake of the stories content, it made it less enjoyable. I hate admitting that and know it's shitty of me. I am and will continue to educate myself, but in the meantime this is my totally honest, embarrassing truth.

Side note: Dylan Mulvaney's memoir Paper Doll, releasing next year is another great resource and helped me better comprehend Stag Dance. I highly highly recommend it.
{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Torrey Peters and Random House for the DRC in exchange for my honest review!}

Not quite as accessible as DETRANSITION, BABY but still a fascinating read from one of the most exciting writers of our time. Comprised of 3 novellas and one longer novel, this book showcases Peters' unique style and way of telling stories. It's bound to be another hit.

I loved Detransition Baby and love this book too. A treat to read shorter fiction by this author. An important addition to the canon of trans literature produced by some of our most exciting authors now.

Loved this little collection of novellas! As a cis person, these stories capture so many nuances of the trans experience that I’ve never read or heard trans people talk about. They were complex and blunt in a way that doesn’t tell the reader what they should feel which I appreciate. The characters were deeply nuanced and developed and the stories’ plots compelling. I found this whole collection very hard to put down!

Maybe I missed this in reading about this book but I didn’t expect it to be horror/horror adjacent and I think those aspects were perfectly executed. It is quite different tonally than Detransition Baby in that regard. And if you’re a Gretchen Felker Martin fan you’ll love this!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC!

This was very, very good. I did find some moments of violence squicked me out a little, but that’s really not a writing issue. I appreciate publishing a sort of nontraditional collection, both because I like it for keeping Torrey in the conversation and the way the stories were in conversation with each other (the use of pigs throughout especially). I do prefer Detransition, Baby for the time it had to develop characters, which is hard to do in the shorter format and especially when you have to build your alternate worlds a little more if they’re not contemporary set as D,B was. But overall recommended—only not five stars for me because of what I felt was abruptness of some of the stories (especially The Masker) and the visceral nature (which is my own fault, not Torrey).

I am so grateful for STAG DANCE, which compiles some previous published novellas (plus some new writing?) by Torrey Peters that have gone out of print. These are more eclectic than Detransition, Baby, and even more hilarious.

Can't wait for whatever Peters does next.

Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley!

This is a great exploration of queer identities with a heavy focus on transness. I really enjoyed all of the stories as they all contained different aspects of being trans. My favorite has to be "Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones." 'Stag Dance' would make a phenomenal choice for a book club or literature class. Torrey Peters has a captivating voice, and I cannot wait for the next release.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Torrey Peters is easily one of my favorite writers now. Absolutely wild and so much fun. Peters does not shy away from the nitty gritty aspects of gender and doesn't hesitate to shock her audience. Absolutely fantastic work, and I'm already impatient for her next books!

As I was reading this, I couldn't help but think "the Trump administration is not going to be happy about this!" It's basically every conservative person's nightmare: a complete and shocking dilution of gender told over the course of 3 novellas. Torrey Peters relies on fantasy and absurdism to tell her stories inbued with a bit of magic, which is a departure from what we saw in Detransition Baby. The switch in genres is surprising, but it works, and allows them to use some shock and awe to make their point.

I absolutely loved this short story collection. My favorite of the stories was the first one, “Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones.” I also really loved the titular novella, “Stag Dance.” The only one I didn’t love was the second story, “The Chaser.” Honestly though, any story with a graphic animal death rubs me the wrong way, so that could be why I wasn’t a fan of it. Overall, incredible work.

Stag Dance was a wild and engaging ride—definitely not your typical collection of short stories. As someone who isn’t usually drawn to short story collections, I was pleasantly surprised by how well this one worked. Each story is unique and stands alone, but they all share a bold exploration of gender and identity. In fact, I ended up enjoying the shorter novellas more than the main, title story.

The standout for me was the first novella, Infect Your Friends. I loved it so much that I genuinely wish it were expanded into a full-length novel. It’s a dystopian story with a sharp, original take on gender identity and social structures, and I found it utterly compelling.

This was my first time reading Torrey Peters, and I’m definitely eager to explore more of her work. Her writing is fresh and thought-provoking, blending queer and trans themes with intriguing speculative elements. If you're looking for a genre-bending collection with time shifts, layered characters, and a bold exploration of gender, this is the book for you—especially if you’re drawn to visually striking covers (which, by the way, is absolutely gorgeous).

Now, for a little breakdown of the novellas, ranked from my favorite to least favorite:

Infect Your Friends – A dystopian, speculative narrative where everyone must "pick" their gender. It was sharp, inventive, and the kind of story I could easily see expanded into a full 300+ page novel. It left me wanting more.
The Chaser – Set in a Quaker boarding school with an air of forbidden love, this one was haunting and mysterious. The time period was a bit ambiguous (though I got strong 1960s vibes), and I enjoyed its mood and subtle tension.
The Masker – This story had a fascinating protagonist reminiscent of Kat from Euphoria—but trans. The main character acts out fantasies in real life, and the whole exploration of identity and self-expression was both bold and gritty.
Stag Dance – The title story, while entertaining, didn’t quite grab me the way the others did. I found the time period (perhaps the 1880s?) and plot a little unclear, and while there was a lot of intrigue, I felt the novella could have benefited from being a bit shorter. It felt a bit more drawn out compared to the others.
A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing an advanced e-copy of this book. I can’t wait to see what Torrey Peters does next!

4.5

Thank you to Netgalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

True to the title, this story is actually four stories in one, wrapped up into its own novel. Out of the stories in this book, from my understanding two of which have been previously published, those being Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones and The Masker. With those being the first and last stories respectively. The other two stories presented are The Chaser and Stag Dance.

To start off with, I want to have a little bit of a discussion surrounding Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones, because after reading through other reviews from the 2016 publication of this story, I feel like some perspective is needed.
First, a common complaint with this story that I noticed a lot was that there was only one trans man in this story, and that he wasn't exactly a good person. To other reviewers, they had described this as being "internalized transphobia" but lets be real here - trans men have a tendency to see trans women as Enemy #1. It's really no secret. And, if you are as involved in trans spaces as I am, you witness so frequently all the subtle ways in which transmasculine folks tend to paint transfemmes as over-reactive, talk down to them, and project their own insecurities onto them. In recent years, with trans issues coming into mainstream media more and more, I have witnessed first hand the way that trans men will turn on trans women at the drop of a hat whenever a bill is passed that restricts trans rights. More than ever, I have had to help in protecting trans women from the absolute vitriol that transmascs will send their way about how its "all their fault" that we're all losing rights. It's disheartening, but that's how it is. Especially now that the term "trans-misandry" has caught on, it's very grating to have to share spaces with people who posture themselves the same way that cis males might, and harping on about how men have it just as bad as women if not worse, but specifically directing this behaviour towards trans women in order to shame them into feeling bad about... what, being women? So, no, I really do not think that Ms Peters' portrayal of the singular trans man in the story as being dismissive of her emotions is "internalized transphobia."

The second point that I saw mentioned, although not as frequently, was the fact that the only other male character that actually has a role in the story is a violent swol-bro Alpha male, and how this depiction must mean she is demonizing testosterone and saying that it makes people violent, but I really don't have much to say about this one. I mean, come on, he is a cis man who has decided after the outbreak of a disease which stops hormone production - in a dystopian society where hormones are incredibly hard to get anyway, mind you - that this is his chance to take crazy amounts of steroids that surpass the average testosterone production rate in order to position himself as a machismo type who can boss around women or people who he deems are on the same level as women. I don't think I need to spell it out for you what the real criticism is here.

Now, moving on to The Chaser, I feel like out of all the stories on this list, this is the one that turned out to be the most emotionally draining. There is one scene in particular where I had to put the book down several times while reading because the descriptions were just so vivid and I had not prepared myself for anything like it so it totally blindsided me when I read it. For anyone thinking about reading, know that there is a MAJOR trigger warning for this one involving animal death; for those that want to know what to expect specifically, (view spoiler) You have been warned.

The longest story on this list, Stag Dance, which the book is named after, was not my favourite of the bunch but was a solid story. I should mention, all the stories in this lineup have a different overall writing style to them, but this one is by far the most difficult to read due to the fact that it uses a lot of uncommon language that would not enter the average English speaker's lexicon. There are whole pages worth where it feels like I am reading another language all-together, and I only know through context clues a very faint idea of what doodads and contraptions and doohickeys and techniques are being used to chop this lumber. Though, I imagine somebody who is more familiar with this sort of job would have a better idea of the more specific tree-chopping language is being used, but the rest of it can be chalked up to a regional dialect. If you can go this whole story without looking anything up, I applaud you, because I could not. I was a total fish out of water with this one.

The last story, The Masker was the other one that had been published previously, and is a story which I can only describe as a horror on gender. It leans more on the sad side, and there's this feeling of inescapable gloom above it all, and all you can do is watch powerlessly as these three characters lives crash into each others in such a destructive way. I think, above all, the story is tragic in the way that it presents three different perspectives which all clash so dramatically - with one character being optimistic in her fight for the future, another who is more self-serving and does what (s)he must to get by, and finally the antagonist, who wants to have his cake and eat it too. Really depressing stuff, and very vivid, too. That's definitely one constant throughout all the stories, is that even when the style itself changes, the descriptions always shine through.

A very, very solid read. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for some trans fiction, and especially for people who enjoyed Nevada by Imogen Binnie, specifically.

Stag Dance is fabulous. I have no words. My heart broke and burst all within these four stories. The writing and storytelling is phenomenal. I will be selling this title to my peers and customers alike.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This collection includes 3 short stories with a novella sandwiched into the middle. Each of stories collected within vary greatly from each other in genre, tone, and content. They really speak to Peters broad ability as a writer and storyteller, as each was incredibly unique. I really enjoy the genre shift in each story as the author writes about different nuanced experiences that fall under the trans umbrella. Motif-wise, I thought it was funny how 3/4 of the stories included a pig theme (some in more violent ways then others). I almost wish a pig was shoe-horned into the final short somehow.

What didn't quite work for me was the formatting. I don't think 2 short stories, novella, and a final short story was conducive to a reading experience that flowed together. Ending on a short story made it seem like an extra-short afterthought?
I'm not going to rate each story individually but overall this felt like a solid 3.5 or 4 stars out of 5 for me!

Torrey Peters remains one of the most singular voices in contemporary literature. This collection of stories and a novella address the complexities of human relationships, the impact of long-internalized feelings, and the social phenomena of gender roles. “Infect your friends and loved ones” is an essential piece of transfuturism and can be a corner stone of a sci-fi unit.

Stag Dance is a big departure from Detransition Baby for me, with stories that felt more experimental. I found the final story, The Masker, to be the most interesting of the bunch.

Infect Your Friends and Loves Ones: 3/5
The Chaser: 3/5
Stag Dance: DNF (Couldn’t get into this one)
The Masker: 4/5