The Spirit Bares Its Teeth (Andrew Joseph White) – In an alternate 1883, The Veil between the living and the dead thinned and purple-eyed mediums speak with the dead under the auspices of the Royal Speaker Society. That is, male purple-eyed mediums; women born with those spiritual eyes are barred from spirit work and are treated as nothing more than breeding stock for the Speakers regardless of their age.

Enter 16yo Silas, to be married off by the end of the year. Despite having those valuable purple eyes, Silas isn't a perfect daughter, or even a daughter. A lifetime of being bullied into masking his autism, his transness and his proficiency in surgery has left him desperate to escape. But when his attempt to flee is uncovered, he is thrown into a brutal asylum for women suffering from a vague "Veil sickness". There, the spirits of women murdered within its walls beg for help, and for Silas to run before it is too late.

Despite the fantastical elements, all of this tracks very closely to the brutal Victorian practices on surgery and mental health. Despite a lot of horror around beatings and vivisection, I felt most chilled by the constant thread of helplessness. The helplessness that comes from never being believed simply for who you are, of having everyone you could turn to being complicit in your horror, and being constantly weighed down by a lifetime of abuse for who you are.
I felt deeply for Silas and the women imprisoned there and the book expertly conveys Silas' internal doubts and fears. I felt trapped alongside him which perhaps also shows how deeply personal some of these themes can be.

Otherworldly (F.T. Lukens) – A small region is stuck in a perpetual winter. Offerings from locals to the goddess to bring spring have gone unanswered. Ellery, no longer believing in the gods, leaves his family’s frozen farm to work in a city diner to help support his family trying to scrape by with greenhouses to grow crops.

When Ellery meets Knox, a runaway familiar from the Other World, his understanding of the world and the perpetual winter is thrown upside down. Ellery helps protects Knox from the shades who seek to drag him back in exchange for finding out the truth about the winter. But as Ellery helps Knox experience more of human life, they both begin to feel more than they bargained for.

This is a very cute YA romance with an enby protagonist, an adorably OTT sapphic couple and contemporary magic with goddesses and underworlds to boot. The characters are lovely even if Ellery has that teenage insufferability sometimes (just stop antagonising demigods for once, please).

I’ve been reading a bit more #horror of late in the run-up to #Halloween and I thought I’d share a list of some of the #QueerBooks & #TransBooks I’ve covered that are variously horror, witchy or adjacent in some way that might be a good read over Halloween.

I wasn’t quite sure where to draw the line on what magic is Halloweenish and what isn’t (genres are hard sometimes) but here we go:

- A Botanical Daughter - mycelial Frankenstein love https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/113266706995451563
- Brainwyrms - TERF island & mind controlling brain parasites https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/113244134356650271
- Cemetary Boys - transmasc latinx teen guards spirits in a cemetery https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111948153628086071
- Cuckoo - gay conversion camp run by literal monsters https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/113305523148645999
- Dead Collections - transmasc vampire archivist with added fandoms https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/113283731776821298
- Gideon the Ninth - “lesbian necromancers in space” https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/112263838135898609
- Hell Followed With Us - trans boy runs from religious apocalyptic cult https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/113085668460031415
- Her Majesty’s Royal Coven - trans-inclusive witch story https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/110672387005252841
- Manhunt - trans people running from zombies and TERFs https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111121132084300194
- Silver Under Nightfall - polyamorous vampire fun https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/113192662226563421
- Tell Me I'm Worthless - haunted house and toxic relationships https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/111818147713154134
- The Gilda Stories - black lesbian vampire throughout American history https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/112672273942637590
- The Ones We Burn - fantasy witch vs human conflict https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/112247367907247663
- Unreal Sex - queer erotic anthology of horror, sci-fi and fantasy https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/113199245337510089
- What Moves The Dead - fungal puppetry of the dead https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/113221158517016473
- Wild and Wicked Things - witchy Great Gatsby https://lgbtqia.space/@jaelisp/112321218240375752

While I’m here, is there anything y’all would like more or less of when it comes to my little book summaries? How can these be more helpful?

Also, got a good queer horror you want to recommend?

Cuckoo (Gretchen Felker-Martin) – this is a heavy horror focused around a group of queer teens in the 1990s sent by their parents (kidnapped) to a conversion camp in the desert. The religious zealots (and also creepy literal monsters) torture the kids through hard labour and abuse but they soon come to realise that they are being replaced; they are never intended to leave the camp alive.

It’s intense and a difficult read for the topics it covers. That’s intended of course given how horrific conversion camps are to us; the trauma is visceral, as is the gore and sex. It’s a combination of real child abuse and queerphobia with concepts from The Thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers; then it draws a line between them.

But I also found it a challenge as the way it jumps around, coupled with psychedelic moments and a lot of different characters to follow means it demands a fair bit more focus than I had on hand on this occasion. It got a little easier towards the end (as the cast is *ehem* whittled down slightly) and a time jump to their future selves trying to save the next generation from going through the same shit.

Dead Collections (Isaac Fellman) – Sol is a vampire trans guy working (and secretly living) in a basement archive with a colleague who hates him. Sol’s vampirism is very much presented as a disability and how it hampers his life, his work and his transition permeates the story (the average life expectancy of a vampire here is 3 years). In particular the total lack of consideration or accommodation from his employer which puts his life in danger. Can he find any community or human connection to help?

Enter Elsie, the widow of a famed writer who is donating her dead wife’s records to the archive. They immediately strike up a bond (partly over internet fandoms & fanfic) and begin a romance that neither thought was possible as Elsie tries to help Sol survive as his work colleague tries to get him fired for strange things happening in the collection.

It’s a cosy romance despite some heavy topics around transphobia and ableism. My main note would be it felt like there could have been more going on. In particular, it didn’t feel truly concluded in the third act. Most areas could have done with more development and direction. Some threads didn’t seem to go somewhere satisfying. But as a short light romance around archives and fandoms, I think it does okay.

Brainwyrms (Alison Rumfitt) – After Frankie survives a TERF terrorist attack on the GIC she works in, her life starts to deteriorate. Frequenting the kink scene a lot, she is desperate to fulfil an impregnation fetish which drives away her partner at the time. She eventually meets Vanya, an enby who is obsessed with hosting parasites and who is beholden to a rich dom landlord. As their relationship gets rough, Frankie slowly uncovers a conspiracy of brain-controlling worms including prominent TERFs (such as an unsubtle stand-in for JKR - not that unsubtle is bad). A lot of the plot shadows the mainstreaming of TERF ideology in the UK and its impact on queer people.

Between the constant body horror, transphobia, switching between third, second and first person and the non-linear storytelling it isn’t a particularly easy read and there are more content warnings needed here than I can remotely remember. I could certainly connect with Frankie’s spiralling helplessness and depression in the face of overwhelming problems. If you’re up for things you would gleefully call disgusting then this will likely tick a lot of boxes for you.

Sistersong (Lucy Holland) – Set in ancient Briton as the Saxons advanced across the island, the kingdom of Dumnonia has begun to abandon the old gods and their magic to favour a Christian missionary and the promise of alliances and trade deals which would follow. As the king’s ties to the land’s magic fade, so do the kingdom’s prospects and defences.

The king’s three daughters possess some latent magic still, as forbidden as it is to acknowledge it. But enter Myrdhin, a magician/witch who works to restore the kingdom’s connection to it’s magic through the children before the Saxon’s overrun them. As well as reconnecting the children to the land, they help the eldest daughter, Keyne, be see as he truly is: as the king’s son and heir.

The story twists between the perspectives of the king’s three children as the kingdom teeters on the edge of invasion, and the rifts that emerge between them over a stranger and their pasts. I really enjoyed all their stories but obviously Keyne is who grabbed my attention in a really thoughtful portrayal of their struggles to be taken seriously by their family and the men in power. Their bonding with Myrdhin, who’s pretty genderbending themself, was a great conduit to explore our ancient ties to the earth vs a faith that demands we look away from it to the heavens.

Unreal Sex – an anthology of erotic queer stories covering horror, sci-fi and fantasy with ghosts, slime aliens, vampires, time travel and overcoming body issues via talking to aliens on dating apps.

These were some really enjoyable short stories spanning loads of queer lives and sexual experiences. It’s especially interesting how often they serve to be both directly queer and also use their fantastical setting to explore deeper experiences. But perhaps my favourite was Jem Nash’s story of time travel selfcest because the character is meeting himself early in his transition and the whole thing seems to double up as that “if you could go back and give advice to your younger self” exercise that I think every trans person has thought about a lot.

On the more casual front, I sent a few extracts to some thirsty friends and there definitely seems to be a fetish for everyone; from goopy tentacles to vampire cruising to maids’ outfits to ghost fucking. And it’s very well-curated smut at that which is refreshing with how much trouble I have connecting with intense sexuality.

The authors: Gracie Beswick, Swithun Cooper, Rachel Dawson, Rien Gray, Vivien Holmes, Jem Nash, Diriye Osman, Alison Rumfitt, Nicks Walker and Anna Walsh.

Hell Followed With Us (Andrew Joseph White) – A religious cult unleashed a pandemic known as The Flood on the world, killing nearly the entire population of the world. The cult continues to hunt down the few survivors in the name of god with flood-infected creatures called Graces.

Two years later: Benji, a 16-year-old trans boy, flees the cult after they murder his father and finds refuge in a group that is the remains of the local LGBTQ+ centre and begins to fall for Nick who leads the group. But Benji harbours a secret, he has been infected with a form of the flood that will slowly destroy him but give him the ability to control the Graces and turn them against the cult, or wipe out the few remnants of humanity.

This has been on my list for soooooo long! It is a dystopian YA novel with a lot of body horror, religious abuse, transphobia and violence but it still manages to feel hopeful and sweet in its romance. While triggering in parts its path of revenge against the cult feels cathartic (especially in the context of growing Christian nationalism). I enjoyed it a great deal but it is not an easy read.

Calling all trans and nonbinary writers writing trans and nonbinary characters, please add your books to this database so readers can find your stories more easily!

https://transenbybooks.carrd.co/

Stone Butch Blues (Leslie Feinberg) – This semi-autobiographical account follows Jess Goldburg during the 60s and 70s in America. Jess comes out as a butch lesbian in the old gay drag bars with that heavy butch/femme divide* facing regular attacks from bigots and police.

After an SA at school she drops out and goes into manual work and is involved in the unions but her gender nonconformity leads her to save up for testosterone and top surgery in the hopes that going stealth as a man in the workplace can lead to a more stable life. It also shows the racism, anti-semitism, sexual harassment and transphobia inside and outside of the community at that time as Jess navigates her own feelings and identity.

There are free PDF copies from the author available out there for you to read: https://lesliefeinberg.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Stone-Butch-Blues-by-Leslie-Feinberg.pdf

*= I knew that scene was intensely enforced, but this line struck me in particular: “The more I thought about the two of them being lovers, the more it upset me. I couldn’t stop thinking about them kissing each other. It was like two guys. Well, two gay guys would be alright. But two butches? How could they be attracted to each other? Who was the femme in bed?”

#Bookstodon #Books #QueerBooks #Queer #LGBTQ #TransBooks #Transgender #Trans

Transcendent 4 is on a big #PrideMonth Kindle sale!

This trans anthology came out with no promotion and no advance ebooks, so I think a lot of people missed that it existed. Don't worry if you were one too. Now you can pick it up for just $2.5!

https://amzn.to/4bMi09F (Associate link)

The Final Strife (Saara El-Arifi) – An isolated society stratified into three classes based on the colour of the blood. The red-blooded Ember elites, the blue-blooded Duster workers and the translucent-blooded Ghostling slaves who are maimed at birth to prevent any chance of their rebellion (or for them to speak their truth). Only Embers can control blood magic.

Years ago, Duster rebels swapped the babies of Embers with their own aiming to train them to compete and win the Ember-only challenges that determine the empire’s leadership. All were thought lost. Sylah is a stolen Ember who blames herself for the rebellion’s fall and has turned to drugs and fighting rings. Anoor, Duster-turned-daughter of one of the leaders, is reviled by her abusive mother for being a Duster changeling but she seeks to survive hidden in Ember society. And then there is Hassa, a trans ghostling who operates on the fringes of all levels of society, keeping secrets of the real origins of the empire’s cult-like history.

It’s a fascinating fantasy world entwined by secrets upon secrets which Sylah and Anoor slowly uncover as their tense and transactional relationship for the leadership trials turns into love and betrayal. It’s part of a trilogy with book 3 coming out this year.