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**I received an ARC for an honest review**
Description
Misha knows that chasing success in Hollywood can be hell.
But finally, after years of trying to make it, his big moment is here: an Oscar nomination. And the executives at the studio for his long-running streaming series know just the thing to kick his career to the next level: kill off the gay characters, “for the algorithm,” in the upcoming season finale.
Misha refuses, but he soon realizes that he’s just put a target on his back. And what’s worse, monsters from his horror movie days are stalking him and his friends through the hills above Los Angeles.
Haunted by his past, Misha must risk his entire future—before the horrors from the silver screen find a way to bury him for good.
Summary
I recently read Bury Your Gays by US horror author Chuck Tingle.
Review
Bury Your Gays is genre-blending and skilfully subverts the “bury your gays” trope—where queer characters are disproportionately killed in a lot of fiction to ‘highlight’ their struggles in society. But a trope that has been dangerously used to remove queer characters from storylines. Tingle uses a surreal and satirical style that is both a meta-commentary and genuine examination of queer representation, and resilience that is meaningful and entertaining.
The tradition of queer characters meeting tragic ends as the embodiment of love, Tingle rights the narrative imbalance. Bury Your Gays features a queer protagonist struggling with loss, anger, and existential fatigue drawn into a bizarre slightly comic journey. Satire is used strongly to challenge genre conventions in horror where dramatic plot twists collide to engage readers to reconsider what it means to write (and live) queer stories beyond the mere trope and imbue real heartbreak, love and life.
Tingle deftly balances humor with emotion, surrealism with prose that is quirky and playful, characteristic of Tingle’s style but beneath the unconventional structure is a critique of how queer characters are portrayed in horror fiction.
The surrealism and comic horror may challenge some readers but Tingle’s use of surrealism and the absurd will find it illuminates deeper truths and for a rare occasion an asexual protagonist which Tingle directly draws attention to the absence of these queer characters from both queer fiction and genre fiction in general. This is a refreshing, amusing but important work.
Conclusion
Bury Your Gays is a smart, sharp, and moving addition to comic horror while bringing into focus queer characters, the threat of AI in fiction, life and the conglomerates of media industry and the influence on our lives. Perfect for fans of Tingle’s other works, those looking for a refreshing satire and sincere queer fiction. Highly recommended!
** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **
Leanbh Pearson 