BOYS, BEASTS & MEN by Sam J. Miller, introduction by Amal El-Mohtar
- Publisher: Tachyon Publications, June 14th 2022
- Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Short Stories
- Format: eARC
- Page Count: 330 pages
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
If light horror speculative fiction is your jam, Boys, Beasts & Men should be on your TBR.
There are 15 stories (not including the interstitials) in this collection. The majority of them shared themes of family tension with young gay boys where the parents go to great lengths to fix their relationships, anger and/or injustice manifested as physical forms, AIDS, etc.
My favorite story in this collection is “Ghosts of Home,” which, a little ironically, was probably the only story that wasn’t on-page queer. As the title suggests, there are ghosts of houses even if no one lives there anymore, and I love how they all have personalities, backstories, and rage. Also, who doesn’t love some good ghost friends?
Boys, Beasts & Men is a very angry book. It is essentially about the monster in everyone and the monsters in the society. Miller also did an exceptional job with the interstitials for this collection. Every short scene (a few sentences long) links the preceding and following stories, and by the end, the interstitials come together, too.
There were a few times where the author’s choices in writing certain characters gave me a pause, and it was a slight disappointment that all stories are very cis and very gender binary (in terms of language).
Overall, I enjoyed Miller’s stories, the way he builds up tension and ties everything to a central theme while introducing prominent speculative elements. I have not previously read any of his works, but upon finishing Boys, Beasts & Men, I will definitely be paying more attention to his stories across different SFF magazines.
content warnings: homophobia, racism, AIDS, drug abuse, abusive relationship, gore, sex, slurs (queer: f-slur, d-slur; racist: E*), murder, death, suicidal thoughts, mugging, corporate & government violence against homeless people, animal deaths
Buddy read with Gabriella!
I received an advanced digital copy from Tachyon Publications and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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