Michael Crichton and Ryan Murphy Present: *Prey the Gay Away*
4 stars
At places, this novel can feel like a novella or novellette stretched to full length. Elements of Tingle's shorter fare have been pulled out and expanded to craft a horror plot, rather than a romance one.
Despite those shortcomings, he does make certain observations and brings up discussion so sharp I had to clap. I'm glad it ultimately falls on the side of genuine expression and artistry rather than the thin, gruelish emotional extremes presented.
Wow. This book, rather audiobook completely blew my mind. The narration was great btw. I know its only Feb but it is by far my favorite read of the year and as I can tell, 5 star in a while. The characters are well developed and realistic. Plot and story is original while having many references to other media, companies, and people. There are many parallels to be found, several layers of social commentary, and metaphors used are spot on. Campy in some spots and overall just super fun. I loved how he addressed some of my concerns at the end too about the true villains of the story.
Spoilers
I read a lot of horror and can understand why when presented as this genre, a lot of other readers were not impressed. However, I went into this audiobook blind and came out loving this book so much. The meta commentary in this story was amazing about the entertainment industry, late to end stage capitalism, the nuances of queer representation and treatment over the years+now, etc. It really is the board that controls everything, CEOs are just the face, the industry is still very abusive and controlling, and capitalism is evil. I am so happy that there has been so much more queer representation but as this novel points out, there are still tropes commonly used and capitalism still is ruining our country. Just look at the reversion of America and where most people are in the world now because of capitalism. I also loved that there was an additional cautionary tale about privacy.
The way Chuck Tingle also connected Misha's past and present was also very great and I loved his comments on the purpose of horror and story telling. I just have so many thoughts on the book.
It overall was a fun but deep story, wondefully written about very complex topics. The ending was a bit more optimistic than I expected but I appreciated it all the same. I felt like Tingle is correct though that we need to continue to tell stories, connect and support one another. Lastly, that we should continue to love one another and acknowledge that we are all humans.
Misha finds himself haunted by what appear to be characters from his successful horror-sci-fi series (think "The X-Files" but with two female leads), as the studio requires that he kill off the leads before they come out as gay and - as the studio sees it - derail the mostly straight audience (recall "Xena" which had clearly lesbian protags but maybe was more of a niche hit). What follows as he and his best friend (who is female and asexual) is a tense chase through the weirdness of Hollywood pursued by literal monsters. Of course there is a politico-social message, there would be, and pinkwashing also comes in for a swipe or three. Main character is maybe what would happen if a Brett Easton Ellis protagonist had a personality, instead of psychopathy or vapidity. What is going on? Not spoilering, but surprising not to pick it up, because while it …
Misha finds himself haunted by what appear to be characters from his successful horror-sci-fi series (think "The X-Files" but with two female leads), as the studio requires that he kill off the leads before they come out as gay and - as the studio sees it - derail the mostly straight audience (recall "Xena" which had clearly lesbian protags but maybe was more of a niche hit). What follows as he and his best friend (who is female and asexual) is a tense chase through the weirdness of Hollywood pursued by literal monsters. Of course there is a politico-social message, there would be, and pinkwashing also comes in for a swipe or three. Main character is maybe what would happen if a Brett Easton Ellis protagonist had a personality, instead of psychopathy or vapidity. What is going on? Not spoilering, but surprising not to pick it up, because while it isn't something you see done much, it was key to a work of mine way back in the 1990s. So sitting there on the train thinking "How did I not get that?" More satisfying than "Camp Damascus" (which gets a name-check as a movie version in here). Recommended.
I had high hopes for this one. After Camp Damascus, I was ready for a unique perspective, but Bury Your Gays was ultimately hindered by its modernity. AI was first mentioned in chapter one, and immediately I knew it would play a great part in the horrors that followed. Instead of providing a gory and fun romp through Hollywood, this novel offered tired commentary on gay representation, intellectual property, and computers.
While it wasn't my bag, I'd recommend it to anyone seeking a timely horror about algorithms and the "gay character dies first" trope.
Sometimes you just don't connect with a book and it's neither the reader's fault nor the author's fault. Reading this kind of felt like hanging out with a group of your friends who start referencing an inside joke you're not a part of and you just have to patiently wait for that part of the conversation to end.
I'm not big on movies or television (I read books, that's why I'm here), but I'm aware of the titular trope even if I can't point to any specific examples. I likely would've gotten a lot more out of this if I was a big horror movie buff and/or had a good understanding of Los Angeles, but I'm not and I don't. The writing is fine and some passages of prose were actually impressive, but it's the pacing that got to me. For a story that's meant to stress the importance and …
Sometimes you just don't connect with a book and it's neither the reader's fault nor the author's fault. Reading this kind of felt like hanging out with a group of your friends who start referencing an inside joke you're not a part of and you just have to patiently wait for that part of the conversation to end.
I'm not big on movies or television (I read books, that's why I'm here), but I'm aware of the titular trope even if I can't point to any specific examples. I likely would've gotten a lot more out of this if I was a big horror movie buff and/or had a good understanding of Los Angeles, but I'm not and I don't. The writing is fine and some passages of prose were actually impressive, but it's the pacing that got to me. For a story that's meant to stress the importance and value of the people you care about, we don't spend a lot of time with the protagonist's inner circle before they're threatened with danger. For once I'm wondering if the inciting incident happened too early rather than too late.
Despite the protagonist's flashbacks to a younger, closeted gay version of himself that were absolutely relatable, I don't feel I ever connected with Misha on a meaningful level. A disappointing climax rounded out an otherwise initially promising premise. Also there's a bit of a bait-and-switch going on genre-wise that I was ultimately okay with, but would've preferred if it hadn't happened. Not a bad read viewed in a vacuum, but a bit of a let down for me personally considering how much I loved Camp Damascus.
I’ve written heroes into plenty of corners, and given a long enough timeline I always manage to find them a way out. Unfortunately, time is currently a limited resource. I also don’t have the luxury of going back to make story edits, placing a weapon under the trash bin in act one so I can find it here later.
I’ve heard a lot about Chuck Tingle, admittedly mostly not in the context of horror novels, but this is the first time I’ve picked up a book by him. I’m not sure what I expected. Probably something… idk, wilder? Out there? I guess I have trouble putting a finger on it. But anyway, what I got was a fairly good satirical queer horror book that kept me engrossed throughout. Or at least definitely from the moment the horror part came fully into view. Because a script writer getting haunted by his …
I’ve written heroes into plenty of corners, and given a long enough timeline I always manage to find them a way out. Unfortunately, time is currently a limited resource. I also don’t have the luxury of going back to make story edits, placing a weapon under the trash bin in act one so I can find it here later.
I’ve heard a lot about Chuck Tingle, admittedly mostly *not* in the context of horror novels, but this is the first time I’ve picked up a book by him. I’m not sure what I expected. Probably something… idk, wilder? Out there? I guess I have trouble putting a finger on it. But anyway, what I got was a fairly good satirical queer horror book that kept me engrossed throughout. Or at least definitely from the moment the horror part came fully into view. Because a script writer getting haunted by his own creations? Yeah, I’m very much here for that.
I liked how the themes were handled here: the intersections of making art and complying to the rules of the corporate machines who are in charge of getting that art to the consumers; the questions of identity; how all of that can intersect. The nonlinear narrative lent itself really well to this story, I feel, especially the parts that delved into the parts of Misha’s childhood and adolescence that inspired the horrors that are after him. Honestly, the more I look back at the book, the more I like the structure and the more layers I find in the intersection of structure and theme. So that’s really cool.
At the same time, I feel like the book suffered when it came to characters. The protagonist is the only one who felt to me like a fully realized person with all the hopes, fears, conflicts, and complexities that come with it. Everybody else kind of felt like just, you know, functions in his story. I guess given the subject matter it could be interpreted as very meta and intentional, but I’m not convinced.
Also, not to give anything away, but the explanation for all those horror characters showing up in the real world? Very chilly, very interesting, and very in line with the modern fears that probably most creators world-wide have to grapple with.
