Reviews

Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror by Sofia Ajram

castoffcreature's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

blackmetalblackheart's review

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3.0

Based on the theme and the authors involved, I had high hopes for Bury Your Gays, and though it certainly was not bad, it left a lot to be desired. I was hoping for a collection of stories that brought something fresh and subversive to queer tragedy, but mostly it felt familiar and well-trodden. As with any collection, there were some stories that stood out, some that flopped, and all the rest that fell somewhere in-between. I would definitely look up more works by a few of the authors involved, but overall, I found this to be more forgettable than not.

isaiahh's review

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dark emotional inspiring sad tense

4.5

"I'm pissed we tried to live our way and ended up dying theirs and for that I gotta give up my life. [...] I don't regret any of the choices I made [...] So the least I can do is dance about it."

Short stories collections/Anthologies are not what I usually navigate toward in literature, but as I've been exploring (and loving) queer horror, I had to read this. And my God what a great decision that was.

Bury Your Gays a hundred percent delivers on its promise of tragic queer horror. Out of the sixteen stories, some resonated with me more than the rest, and some were not to my personal taste, but I can honestly say I found them all to be very well written, and so interesting! This anthology is definitely not the faint of heart, with its lovely mix of body horror, murder, undead, and a lot (a lot) more. It is horriying and disgusting and heartbreaking, but it is also incredibly loving and hopeful at times.

I terribly enjoyed reading Bury Your Gays, and some of these stories will stay with me for a while (both as beloved tales and as sources of inspiration for my own writing); but none more so than the opening one, by M. V. Pine. It packs a punch and left me reeling from it. A bold way to kick off the anthology, but the perfect choice in my opinion. 

My personal five favourites:
  • Worth the Dying Shame by Matteo L. Cerilli
  • This Body is Not Your Home by Son M.
  • All of Our Boys Are Missing by Joe Koch
  • Lost and Found by Charlene Adhiambo
  • American Gothic by LC von Hessen
+ Special mentions to Sardines by Gretchen Felker-Martin and Cleodora by August Clarke.

kesselm's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Bury Your Gays” edited by Sofia Ajram is an anthology of 16 queer horror stories. I was excited to read this book. Anthologies can be hit-or-miss, and this one hit. I thought every story was well done. The stories could be graphic, visceral, gritty, and/or haunting. The stories displayed the horrors of the LGBTQIA+ community – the stories felt personal. Some of my favorite stories were “Your Honor, I’d Like to Put You in the Shoes of One of Dr. Morehouse’s Thirty Proven Clients,” “American Gothic,” “Cleodora,” and “Filthy Animals.” If you like short horror, I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Sofia Ajram and Ghoulish Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

shrikebait's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Man...tragic is right.

This anthology is not for the faint of heart. It managed to make me squirm one moment and break my heart the next. There is plenty of grotesque, otherworldly horror, but the core of this collection is the real-world horror queer folks face.

In my opinion, all of the stories are well-written and fit the theme of this anthology. That being said, some just did not capture my attention as well as others. I would still recommend this as a solid anthology for fans of queer horror. 

Thank you to the authors and to BookSirens for the opportunity to read this book for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord. 
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vanmeers's review

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4.75

this collection absolutely delivers on its promise of tragic queer horror with a variety of different well-written and compelling stories. the list of authors for this anthology are both familiar names within horror but also new (to me), providing a perfect opportunity to familiarise myself with more queer horror authors! 

what i love about this anthology is that it’s a perfect mix of wlw, mlm and trans horror, so there’s something for everybody. this also goes for the horror genres represented, giving you everything from dark romance, to body horror, to fungal horror and so much more. 

anthologies are often a mix of good and bad, but imo this is mostly all above average in storytelling and there weren’t any stories i didn’t like at all, only a few that didn’t hit as hard as i would’ve liked. but it’s all in all a solid anthology full of tragic and sad queer horror stories. 

some of my fave stories were:

  •  this body is not your home by son m. 
  • black hole by november rush. 
  • love like ours by c.m. violet. 
  • worth the dying shame by matteo l. cerilli. 

but also the story by m.v. pine that kicks this whole anthology off, feels like a literal gut punch and a spit in your face, leaving you in the dirt, making you feel all kinds of horrible. in the best possible way. it’s the perfect beginning to a tragic queer horror anthology. 

// ARC courtesy of BookSirens and the publisher! 

brc's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

This is a beautiful collection of stories that are diverse, queer, and emotionally harrowing. The authors collected here did a wonderful job of writing stories that covered the spectrum of what "tragic queer horror" could be. So many times, I had to set the book aside to catch my breath, or shake off the emotions these stories brought up in me. I'd whole heartedly recommend this volume to anyone looking to read an amazing collection of stories that is truly horrifying, but with a warning to proceed with caution. These tales are indeed tragic.

aiden_e_messer's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was gritty, weird, and deeply touching. The stories were all very different from eachother, some more realistic, other many leaning more in the paranormal or science fiction domain.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

angethology's review

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3.25

"We peel the memories away so there is only a nebulous grief to drink into broken-hearted ruin, only an emptiness where your name once sat, a haunting you've convinced yourself is preferable to loss."

"Bury Your Gays" comprises a diverse, gritty, and titular set of stories encompassing the foundation of what draws aspects of marginalization to horror — and all are devastating, but touch different parts of you that might hit close to home, or contemplate about other people's experiences. Some of them are a hit or miss plot-wise (as is often the case with anthologies for me), but I'm a fan of the writers' style, particularly ones that incorporate body horror. My favorite stories are 'Your Honor, I'd Like To Put You in the Shoes of One of Dr. Morehouse's Thirty Proven Clients" by M.V. Pine, "Cleodora" by August Clarke, and "American Gothic" by L.C. von Hessen. Whether it's pallid corpses veering toward the smallest bit of life or a mermaid stuck in a toxic relationship, there's something for everyone in here who loves this subgenre. 

Thank you BookSirens and Ghoulish Books for the advance copy, I'm leaving this review voluntarily. 

drakaina16's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Thank you to the editor for providing a review copy. 
This anthology sounded right up my alley. Tragic Queer horror? Yes! I'd also only read two of the authors included the anthology and I love the opportunity discover new authors. As always, this collection is a mixed bag, but there are some extremely good pieces of Queer fiction here. 4 stars

Your Honor, I'd Like to Put You in the Shoes of One of Dr. Morehouse’s Thirty Proven Clients by M.V. Pine ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This Body is Not Your Home by Son M. ⭐⭐⭐
Curdled Song of the Broken Earth by Jonathan Louis Duckworth ⭐⭐
Fortune Favors Grief by Cassandra Khaw ⭐⭐⭐.25
Cleodora by August Clarke ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Summer Night by Robbie Banfitch ⭐⭐⭐.25
Bad Axe by Ed Kurtz ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sardines by Gretchen Felker-Martin ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Zero Tolerance by M.F. Rose ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Black Hole by November Rush ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lost and Found by Charlene Adhiambo ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Love Like Ours by C.M. Violet ⭐⭐⭐.75
Filthy Animals by Thomas Kearnes ⭐⭐⭐.25
Worth the Dying Shame by Matteo L. Cerilli ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
All of Our Boys are Missing by Joe Koch ⭐⭐⭐⭐