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Boys, Beasts & Men
2023 LOCUS AWARD WINNER, BEST COLLECTION
In Nebula Award-winning author Sam J. Miller’s devastating debut short-fiction collection, featuring an introduction by Amal El-Mohtar, queer infatuation, inevitable heartbreak, and brutal revenge seamlessly intertwine. Whether innocent, guilty, or not even human, the boys, beasts, and men roaming through Miller’s gorgeously crafted worlds can destroy readers, yet leave them wanting more.
“Miller’s sheer talent shines through in abundance . . . Boys, Beasts & Men is an outrageous journey which skillfully blends genres and will haunt you with its original, poetic voices as much as its victims, villains, and treasure trove of leading actors.”
—Grimdark Magazine
Despite his ability to control the ambient digital cloud, a foster teen falls for a clever con-man. Luring bullies to a quarry, a boy takes clearly enumerated revenge through unnatural powers of suggestion. In the aftermath of a shapeshifting alien invasion, a survivor fears that he brought something out of the Arctic to infect the rest of the world. A rebellious group of queer artists create a new identity that transcends even the anonymity of death.
Sam J. Miller (Blackfish City, The Art of Starving) shows his savage wit, unrelenting candor, and lush imagery in this essential career retrospective collection, taking his place alongside legends of the short-fiction form such as Carmen Maria Machado, Carson McCullers, and Jeff VanderMeer.
In Nebula Award-winning author Sam J. Miller’s devastating debut short-fiction collection, featuring an introduction by Amal El-Mohtar, queer infatuation, inevitable heartbreak, and brutal revenge seamlessly intertwine. Whether innocent, guilty, or not even human, the boys, beasts, and men roaming through Miller’s gorgeously crafted worlds can destroy readers, yet leave them wanting more.
“Miller’s sheer talent shines through in abundance . . . Boys, Beasts & Men is an outrageous journey which skillfully blends genres and will haunt you with its original, poetic voices as much as its victims, villains, and treasure trove of leading actors.”
—Grimdark Magazine
Despite his ability to control the ambient digital cloud, a foster teen falls for a clever con-man. Luring bullies to a quarry, a boy takes clearly enumerated revenge through unnatural powers of suggestion. In the aftermath of a shapeshifting alien invasion, a survivor fears that he brought something out of the Arctic to infect the rest of the world. A rebellious group of queer artists create a new identity that transcends even the anonymity of death.
Sam J. Miller (Blackfish City, The Art of Starving) shows his savage wit, unrelenting candor, and lush imagery in this essential career retrospective collection, taking his place alongside legends of the short-fiction form such as Carmen Maria Machado, Carson McCullers, and Jeff VanderMeer.
311 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 14, 2022
117 people are currently reading
6481 people want to read
About the author
Sam J. Miller
94 books850 followersSam J. Miller is the last in a long line of butchers, and the Nebula-Award-winning author of THE ART OF STARVING, one of NPR's Best Books of the Year. His second novel, BLACKFISH CITY was a "Must Read" according to Entertainment Weekly and O: The Oprah Magazine, and one of the best books of 2018 according to the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and more. He got gay-married in a guerrilla wedding in the shadow of a tyrannosaurus skeleton. He lives in New York City, and at samjmiller.com.
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June 13, 2023A terrific short story collection full of strangeness, magic, SF, and hurt. It's immensely queer and achingly sad and angry and brave and defiant, with characters who have the courage to reach for joy in a world that tells them they have no right to exist. Really excellent writing and immense imagination, but it's the purity of its anger, pain and joy that stays with you.
Currently part of the Pride Storybundle (June 2023) and worth the price of admission on its own.
Currently part of the Pride Storybundle (June 2023) and worth the price of admission on its own.
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February 13, 2022Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: none
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
Urgh, there needs to be a word for, like, that sinking feeling you get when you’re not the right person to review a book but you kind of have to try because them are the rules. So let me start off by saying: I am not the right person to be talking about this book. First off, I admire short stories more than I enjoy them—and I really shouldn’t be reading them, except I know they’re a, y’know, a thing and I do kind of think it’s important to keep pushing against the boundaries of what limits your own interactions with art. Secondly, this was my first experience with this author, which is entirely my own ignorance I hasten to add and not a weird dig (the first 10% of his book is literally page after page after page of how brilliant he is, followed by an introduction from Amal El-Mohtar), and I don’t think Boys, Beasts and Men is necessarily the best introduction to his work: some of the stories actively reference his other work and I guess there’s part of me that always feels a short story is, like, a quickie in the fire escape with an author. Whereas with a novel they take you home, make you breakfast in the morning and sometimes promise to call.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is that I wanted to love these stories and I didn’t love them. I admired them, I appreciated what they were doing, I recognised the talent of the author: didn’t quite get what I was looking for emotionally-speaking. Which, y’know, is my own damn fault for going for a quickie in the fire escape.
What these stories are, though, is incredibly queer. Although, to me, it felt a very US-centric understanding of queerness, both in terms of the cultural reference points, and the aspects of identity it took as foundational. I hasten to add that this is an observation, not a criticism, but I found it genuinely interesting the degree to which I felt simultaneously spoken to and alienated. The alienation, I think, sprang not from the differences (I think the degree to which queerness not just internally but externally is something we don’t talk about enough in our rush to crowd-sourced homogenisation) but for what I came across to me as the unquestioned assumption that these experiences and touches were universal.
Anyway, these stories are all queer, set in a SFnal aligned version of the world as we might just about be able to recognise it, and united by themes that, err, when I wrote them out just looked like a list of abstract concepts. But, like, love, prejudice, masculinity, beauty, tenderness, violence, exploitation examined through this explicitly queer lens. While the stories are not connected, or even set in same time or within the same vision of the future, they build on each other and reflect each other like a good concept album. There’s a framing device, too, in which a young man in bar picks up or is picked up a hot but faintly sinister stranger who … uh … forgive the slightly inelegant word choice … infects him with the power of stories. It works but it also feels a bit blunt.
And, honestly, I think working but feeling a bit blunt is where I’m at with most of these stories? The least successful of them, while beautifully written, ended up feel either one step too obscure (Sun in an Empty Room, for example, is told from the perspective of a couch, which, and forgive the failure of empathy here, didn’t end up doing much for me personally) or one step too obvious (Shucked is a privilege-metaphor body-stealing story). And the ones that really drew me in tended to leave me wanting more in the unsatisfied rather than tantalised sense. We Are The Cloud, for example, posits a Black Mirror-esque future NYC where the impoverished essentially sell their brain processing power to companies. Between that, and the bare sketch of a relationship between the narrator and another, I felt I was kind of licking the bones of this story. Similarly, The Beast We Want To Be is set in Russia during the Communist revolution: there’s this truly horrific toxic masculinity allegory backstory type thing where young men are conditioned via devices called Pavlov’s Boxes to embody the ideals of the State and, maybe, develop super powers. Part of the plot here involves the relationship between the narrator and his immediate superior, a kind of Pavlov’s Boxes wunderkind. Unfortunately, much like We Are The Cloud, the relationship so very lightly sketched that its impact on the narrator felt muted and insufficient to drive the action of the story beyond its themes of resistance, surrender, and loss.
And I do kind of realise that I’m sitting here probably sounding like I have a terminal case of romance reader being like “but I needed more from the relationships”. But relationships—or if not relationships then connections—are, like, a theme, dammit. Like, a major deal is the way empathy can act as form of resistance, even rebellion, against the various forces that seek to control marginalised people, whether that’s social or government, or even just personal hate or prejudice.
For me, the story I liked best—and I sincerely fell in love with this one—was also the one that, on the surface, seems least calculated to appeal to me. Conspicuous Plumage is set in the aftermath of a murderous gay-bashing. The heroine (the victim’s sister) goes on a sort of road trip to the place where her brother died in order to come to terms both with the way he died and with his loss. It’s sort of anti-revenge story (in contrast to one of the earlier stories, 57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides, which is also kind of anti-revenge story but told as a revenge story and, again, to me ran aground on its own brevity) and (with the exception of When Your Child Strays From God which I liked but found one-step too blunt) I think the most explicitly hopeful of all of the stories in the collection. Again, this probably says more about me than about the stories.
I’m aware it’s probably odd to describe a story about some girl’s murdered gay brother “hopeful” but it doesn’t, you know, dwell, and the magical elements (everyone just kind of has powers maybe) functioned well in metaphor-space without feeling like they needed more detail. This is very directly a story about empathy, not so much empathy for people who commit terrible acts, but about being open to the beauty and the vulnerability of those around you even in the wake of grief. Of all the relationships in these stories, I found the ostensibly straight one between a dead gay boy’s bereaved sister and the damaged boy she convinces to take her to the site of her brother’s murder the most affecting. It’s unexpectedly tender and—unlike many of the other relationships portrayed in these stories—allows both characters to recognise each other’s pain in ways that allow for meaningful connection, not just exploitation:
In any case, the more I think about these stories, and the connections between them, the more I find things to appreciate and ponder over. It’s more than enough to make me want to seek out the author’s full-length novels, but not quite enough to help this collection cross the line from something I can recognise the value of into something I unabashedly love for myself. They are, however, impressive in their scope and exquisitely written. And I do think it will be love for many readers.
Do check trigger warnings before embarking. Some of these are very dark.
Relevant disclaimers: none
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
Urgh, there needs to be a word for, like, that sinking feeling you get when you’re not the right person to review a book but you kind of have to try because them are the rules. So let me start off by saying: I am not the right person to be talking about this book. First off, I admire short stories more than I enjoy them—and I really shouldn’t be reading them, except I know they’re a, y’know, a thing and I do kind of think it’s important to keep pushing against the boundaries of what limits your own interactions with art. Secondly, this was my first experience with this author, which is entirely my own ignorance I hasten to add and not a weird dig (the first 10% of his book is literally page after page after page of how brilliant he is, followed by an introduction from Amal El-Mohtar), and I don’t think Boys, Beasts and Men is necessarily the best introduction to his work: some of the stories actively reference his other work and I guess there’s part of me that always feels a short story is, like, a quickie in the fire escape with an author. Whereas with a novel they take you home, make you breakfast in the morning and sometimes promise to call.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is that I wanted to love these stories and I didn’t love them. I admired them, I appreciated what they were doing, I recognised the talent of the author: didn’t quite get what I was looking for emotionally-speaking. Which, y’know, is my own damn fault for going for a quickie in the fire escape.
What these stories are, though, is incredibly queer. Although, to me, it felt a very US-centric understanding of queerness, both in terms of the cultural reference points, and the aspects of identity it took as foundational. I hasten to add that this is an observation, not a criticism, but I found it genuinely interesting the degree to which I felt simultaneously spoken to and alienated. The alienation, I think, sprang not from the differences (I think the degree to which queerness not just internally but externally is something we don’t talk about enough in our rush to crowd-sourced homogenisation) but for what I came across to me as the unquestioned assumption that these experiences and touches were universal.
Anyway, these stories are all queer, set in a SFnal aligned version of the world as we might just about be able to recognise it, and united by themes that, err, when I wrote them out just looked like a list of abstract concepts. But, like, love, prejudice, masculinity, beauty, tenderness, violence, exploitation examined through this explicitly queer lens. While the stories are not connected, or even set in same time or within the same vision of the future, they build on each other and reflect each other like a good concept album. There’s a framing device, too, in which a young man in bar picks up or is picked up a hot but faintly sinister stranger who … uh … forgive the slightly inelegant word choice … infects him with the power of stories. It works but it also feels a bit blunt.
And, honestly, I think working but feeling a bit blunt is where I’m at with most of these stories? The least successful of them, while beautifully written, ended up feel either one step too obscure (Sun in an Empty Room, for example, is told from the perspective of a couch, which, and forgive the failure of empathy here, didn’t end up doing much for me personally) or one step too obvious (Shucked is a privilege-metaphor body-stealing story). And the ones that really drew me in tended to leave me wanting more in the unsatisfied rather than tantalised sense. We Are The Cloud, for example, posits a Black Mirror-esque future NYC where the impoverished essentially sell their brain processing power to companies. Between that, and the bare sketch of a relationship between the narrator and another, I felt I was kind of licking the bones of this story. Similarly, The Beast We Want To Be is set in Russia during the Communist revolution: there’s this truly horrific toxic masculinity allegory backstory type thing where young men are conditioned via devices called Pavlov’s Boxes to embody the ideals of the State and, maybe, develop super powers. Part of the plot here involves the relationship between the narrator and his immediate superior, a kind of Pavlov’s Boxes wunderkind. Unfortunately, much like We Are The Cloud, the relationship so very lightly sketched that its impact on the narrator felt muted and insufficient to drive the action of the story beyond its themes of resistance, surrender, and loss.
And I do kind of realise that I’m sitting here probably sounding like I have a terminal case of romance reader being like “but I needed more from the relationships”. But relationships—or if not relationships then connections—are, like, a theme, dammit. Like, a major deal is the way empathy can act as form of resistance, even rebellion, against the various forces that seek to control marginalised people, whether that’s social or government, or even just personal hate or prejudice.
For me, the story I liked best—and I sincerely fell in love with this one—was also the one that, on the surface, seems least calculated to appeal to me. Conspicuous Plumage is set in the aftermath of a murderous gay-bashing. The heroine (the victim’s sister) goes on a sort of road trip to the place where her brother died in order to come to terms both with the way he died and with his loss. It’s sort of anti-revenge story (in contrast to one of the earlier stories, 57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides, which is also kind of anti-revenge story but told as a revenge story and, again, to me ran aground on its own brevity) and (with the exception of When Your Child Strays From God which I liked but found one-step too blunt) I think the most explicitly hopeful of all of the stories in the collection. Again, this probably says more about me than about the stories.
I’m aware it’s probably odd to describe a story about some girl’s murdered gay brother “hopeful” but it doesn’t, you know, dwell, and the magical elements (everyone just kind of has powers maybe) functioned well in metaphor-space without feeling like they needed more detail. This is very directly a story about empathy, not so much empathy for people who commit terrible acts, but about being open to the beauty and the vulnerability of those around you even in the wake of grief. Of all the relationships in these stories, I found the ostensibly straight one between a dead gay boy’s bereaved sister and the damaged boy she convinces to take her to the site of her brother’s murder the most affecting. It’s unexpectedly tender and—unlike many of the other relationships portrayed in these stories—allows both characters to recognise each other’s pain in ways that allow for meaningful connection, not just exploitation:
There was no safe answer. Nothing that wouldn’t hurt him. Nothing that wouldn’t crack that lovely face down the middle. I’d been about to say I don’t know, it’s just something I overheard someone saying, but I saw now that this would hurt him even more. Even if it was the truth. To be reminded that he was gossiped about, to hear again how stories were passed from stranger to stranger, would be too devastating for fragile, private, little Hiram Raff.
In any case, the more I think about these stories, and the connections between them, the more I find things to appreciate and ponder over. It’s more than enough to make me want to seek out the author’s full-length novels, but not quite enough to help this collection cross the line from something I can recognise the value of into something I unabashedly love for myself. They are, however, impressive in their scope and exquisitely written. And I do think it will be love for many readers.
Do check trigger warnings before embarking. Some of these are very dark.
April 22, 2022
Boys, Beasts & Men is an excellent short story collection. Weird, brutal, and very human, it blends hope and pain, nostalgia, fear, and grief, but with a speculative twist.
The stories all contain some kind of speculative element- be it dinosaurs, house spirits, aliens, or a future with a climate apocalypse - they most often center queer men and boys, unflinchingly engaging with homophobia, race, poverty, addiction, death, and the pain of heartbreak. Several of the stories touch on the AIDS crisis with all of the fear and grief that went with it. One of my favorites was about a Christian mom trying to reach her teen son and come to terms with the fact that he's gay, except she does it through this weird drug that causes shared hallucinations. Miller does an excellent job of showing the nuance and humanity of characters, even those who are broken and deeply flawed.
This collection has a lot of variety but feels thematically and tonally pretty cohesive, which can be hard to achieve. The creativity and searing insight create a through line throughout. Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy for review, all opinions are my own.
There are a lot of content warnings because these can get quite dark. They include things like child abuse, homophobia, death, violence, etc.
The stories all contain some kind of speculative element- be it dinosaurs, house spirits, aliens, or a future with a climate apocalypse - they most often center queer men and boys, unflinchingly engaging with homophobia, race, poverty, addiction, death, and the pain of heartbreak. Several of the stories touch on the AIDS crisis with all of the fear and grief that went with it. One of my favorites was about a Christian mom trying to reach her teen son and come to terms with the fact that he's gay, except she does it through this weird drug that causes shared hallucinations. Miller does an excellent job of showing the nuance and humanity of characters, even those who are broken and deeply flawed.
This collection has a lot of variety but feels thematically and tonally pretty cohesive, which can be hard to achieve. The creativity and searing insight create a through line throughout. Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy for review, all opinions are my own.
There are a lot of content warnings because these can get quite dark. They include things like child abuse, homophobia, death, violence, etc.
June 13, 2024
Almost every story has gay character(s). All of these stories have a spooky theme. I liked the consistency of this single-author collection. All were ~20 pages, and got right to the point, the way short-stories tend to do.
4.25*
I really liked having these individual stories to read in-between my other books and chapters. When I had the mood for some eerie writing that would yield a moral point I would reach for this book. Very thought provoking. I can almost elevate this book to 5* just for how it made me THINK!
1 Allosaurus Burgers
Boys: Max
Beasts (Sci Fi): Allosaurus
Men: Dad
Idea: A live Allosaurus is caught. 9-year-old Max has parents split, with seemingly strong Mom, and a sister in college that is becoming pro-Dad. (I read this story last since a couple different reviewers thought this story didn't really belong in this collection. I agree. Story OK, but definitely doesn't match with the others)
2.5*
2 57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides
Boys: Jared+Anchel (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): The Gift
Men: Bullies from school
Idea: Don't you just wish your thoughts could control bullies?
4.5*
3 We Are The Cloud
Boys: Sauro+Chase (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): The Cloud
Men: Porn filmers
Idea: What if our brains became internet hub/storage?
4.5*
4 Conspicuous Plumage
Boys: Taylor+Hiram (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): To see things
Men: Bullies at College
Idea: Isn't college where we can really be our true selves?
4.5*
5 Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart
Boys: Solomon(gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): King Kong
Men: Nazi's/Antisemitism
Idea: Doesn't everyone feel bad for King Kong?
4*
6 Shucked
Boys: Teek(bi)+Adney
Beasts (Sci Fi): Shucked
Men: The tourist
Idea: How about 'shucking' your body for a short while to be someone else?
5* (my 2nd fav)
7 The Beasts We Want To Be
Boys: Nilolai (gay)+Apolek
Beasts (Sci Fi): A Pavlov Box
Men: Red Army
Idea: Obey or 'the box'
4.5*
8 Calved
Boys: Thede+Han (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): Flooded coasts
Men: Dad
Idea: Dad has seemingly good intentions, but he has lost touch.
5* - My Favorite
9 When You Child Strays From God
Boys: Tim+Brent (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): Webbing
Men: Dad/Jerome (Preacher)
Idea: Mom's love wants what is best for her son, but is this just the parents' idea?
4*
10 Things With Beards
Boys: MacReady+Hugh+Childs (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): Something Inside
Men: The police
Idea: Something has taken over from the inside.
3*
11 Ghosts of Home
Boys: Micah
Beasts (Sci Fi): House Spirits
Men: Trask
Idea: Evicting and demolishing houses when people are in need is not a nice thing to do.
4*
12 The Heat of Us: Nots Toward an Oral History
Boys: Ben (gay), Quentin, Craig(gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): Togetherness Heat
Men: Chief Asher/Police
Idea: Stonewall, with a heat-twist.
3.5*
13 Angel, Monster, Man
Boys: Jakob; Pablo; Derrick
Beasts (Sci Fi): AIDS
Men: Tom
Idea: Fictitious 'Tom' can represent the men that AIDS has taken.
4*
14 Sun in an Empty Room
Boys: Tim
Beasts (Sci Fi): Couch (that loves)
Men: x
Idea: The couch has feelings for Tim
4*
4.25*
I really liked having these individual stories to read in-between my other books and chapters. When I had the mood for some eerie writing that would yield a moral point I would reach for this book. Very thought provoking. I can almost elevate this book to 5* just for how it made me THINK!
1 Allosaurus Burgers
Boys: Max
Beasts (Sci Fi): Allosaurus
Men: Dad
Idea: A live Allosaurus is caught. 9-year-old Max has parents split, with seemingly strong Mom, and a sister in college that is becoming pro-Dad. (I read this story last since a couple different reviewers thought this story didn't really belong in this collection. I agree. Story OK, but definitely doesn't match with the others)
2.5*
2 57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides
Boys: Jared+Anchel (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): The Gift
Men: Bullies from school
Idea: Don't you just wish your thoughts could control bullies?
4.5*
3 We Are The Cloud
Boys: Sauro+Chase (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): The Cloud
Men: Porn filmers
Idea: What if our brains became internet hub/storage?
4.5*
4 Conspicuous Plumage
Boys: Taylor+Hiram (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): To see things
Men: Bullies at College
Idea: Isn't college where we can really be our true selves?
4.5*
5 Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart
Boys: Solomon(gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): King Kong
Men: Nazi's/Antisemitism
Idea: Doesn't everyone feel bad for King Kong?
4*
6 Shucked
Boys: Teek(bi)+Adney
Beasts (Sci Fi): Shucked
Men: The tourist
Idea: How about 'shucking' your body for a short while to be someone else?
5* (my 2nd fav)
7 The Beasts We Want To Be
Boys: Nilolai (gay)+Apolek
Beasts (Sci Fi): A Pavlov Box
Men: Red Army
Idea: Obey or 'the box'
4.5*
8 Calved
Boys: Thede+Han (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): Flooded coasts
Men: Dad
Idea: Dad has seemingly good intentions, but he has lost touch.
5* - My Favorite
9 When You Child Strays From God
Boys: Tim+Brent (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): Webbing
Men: Dad/Jerome (Preacher)
Idea: Mom's love wants what is best for her son, but is this just the parents' idea?
4*
10 Things With Beards
Boys: MacReady+Hugh+Childs (gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): Something Inside
Men: The police
Idea: Something has taken over from the inside.
3*
11 Ghosts of Home
Boys: Micah
Beasts (Sci Fi): House Spirits
Men: Trask
Idea: Evicting and demolishing houses when people are in need is not a nice thing to do.
4*
12 The Heat of Us: Nots Toward an Oral History
Boys: Ben (gay), Quentin, Craig(gay)
Beasts (Sci Fi): Togetherness Heat
Men: Chief Asher/Police
Idea: Stonewall, with a heat-twist.
3.5*
13 Angel, Monster, Man
Boys: Jakob; Pablo; Derrick
Beasts (Sci Fi): AIDS
Men: Tom
Idea: Fictitious 'Tom' can represent the men that AIDS has taken.
4*
14 Sun in an Empty Room
Boys: Tim
Beasts (Sci Fi): Couch (that loves)
Men: x
Idea: The couch has feelings for Tim
4*
June 14, 2022
3.5 stars.
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.
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.
January 27, 2022
3.75 (?) stars ish
this was really fun and weird
im not a big short-story-person because i much more enjoy a tied-together narrative that follows throughout the whole book but i actually really enjoyed this. my main reason for taking off stars is really just that short stories aren’t my thing, but i think if some of these had been full novellas or even novels i would have liked them a LOT. the second to last one in particular was so good.
some of the stories are, naturally, much better than some others, but that’s obviously to be expected and i’d like to see any author miraculously write nothing but perfect short stories in a collection (it will never happen).
also, this is GAY. like fully out there unequivocally gay throughout every story. and i think the fact that this story collection is a little fucked up kind of adds to it. it’s honestly really annoying when the only LGBT rep is soft cinnamon roll (barf) characters who can do no wrong. i want to see some crazy idiots or people who just make bad choices because they’re people and that’s what they do.
anyway, if you’re someone who’s really into short story collections you should read this. it’s weird and messy.
thanks to the publicist for providing an advanced readers copy :)
this was really fun and weird
im not a big short-story-person because i much more enjoy a tied-together narrative that follows throughout the whole book but i actually really enjoyed this. my main reason for taking off stars is really just that short stories aren’t my thing, but i think if some of these had been full novellas or even novels i would have liked them a LOT. the second to last one in particular was so good.
some of the stories are, naturally, much better than some others, but that’s obviously to be expected and i’d like to see any author miraculously write nothing but perfect short stories in a collection (it will never happen).
also, this is GAY. like fully out there unequivocally gay throughout every story. and i think the fact that this story collection is a little fucked up kind of adds to it. it’s honestly really annoying when the only LGBT rep is soft cinnamon roll (barf) characters who can do no wrong. i want to see some crazy idiots or people who just make bad choices because they’re people and that’s what they do.
anyway, if you’re someone who’s really into short story collections you should read this. it’s weird and messy.
thanks to the publicist for providing an advanced readers copy :)
January 15, 2025
4.25. excellent capitalist critique fiction first, (cis) gay liberation fic (more queer joy as radical tbh, which is ofc worthy in its own right) second. it doesn't really do anything outside of those spheres any justice. tries to tackle racial & colonial injustices and succeeds in some places and fails furrow-inducingly in others. doesn't really say anything too radical about gender, which is probably the most disappointing thing abt this book. splendid prose and magical realist worldbuilding, coming in especially towards the end of the book. the second to the last story added a whole 1.25 stars to this rating, that's how good it is
February 6, 2022
An excellent collection of stories. I read a lot of short stories-- on their own, as part of magazines, anthologies, or collections like this one. This book actually took me quite some time to finish because I kind of hated the first story and dropped it because of that. Having finished it, it feels kind of out of place.
I liked the majority of stories in this (which is a rarity for short story collections), but it took me until about 1/3rd into it before I started really loving it. These stories are exactly what's on the tin- exploring boys loving boys, literal beasts and monsters but also the monsters inside of us. It's unabashedly queer, alwas hard-hitting, and although they felt a bit one-note at the beginning it became a varied bunch of stories by the end. Would definitely recommend.
Just drop the burger story.
INDIVIDUAL REVIEWS FOR EACH STORY:
Allosaurus burgers was a funny story, but not really my kind of thing. Feels like a Scalzi short. [2/5]
57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides was an excellent Stephen King-esque story in terms of content but more experimental (told through a list). Really enjoyed this one. [4/5]
We Are the Cloud was DARK, but not the whole way through. Loved the world. [3.5/5]
Conspicuous Plumage
A story of grief. A small story told well. Mostly enjoyed the characters in this. [4/5]
Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart [4.5]
Loved this one. A cab driver gets an inconspicuous guest in his cab... King Kong's girl.
Shucked
For $10,000, would you give someone control of your body for an hour? Or... Longer? [4/5]
The Beasts We Want to Be
Exploring superhero-esque experimentation on people during times of war, from the perspective of one who has been experimented on. [3.5/5]
Calved [5/5]
A tragic story of a father desperately trying to get his son to love him again.
When Your Child Strays from God [4/5]
This is a great pairing with the previous story! It's about a mother trying to understand her son, and "save" him from the path he's currently on. Paired with some interesting drug concept, it makes for a nice story.
Things With Beards [3/5]
The Thing story about the monsters inside us. Not bad.
Ghosts of Home [4.5]
This story feels like a spiritual sequel to Open House on Haunted Hill. It's a similar tale told differently. Houses have spirits, and abandoned houses get lonely. What happens when the 2008 banking crisis hits, and many people lose their home?
The Heat of Us: Notes Towards an Oral History [4/5]
An alternative history account of Stonewall, where the queer people at Stonewall who fought back were also supernatural. A celebration of celebrations.
Angel, Monster, Man [4/5]
Another chilling piece, this time about the AIDS epidemic and how the government handled it (read: didn't handle it). An imaginary person, some fictional figurehead for the revolution, seems to become real.
Sun in an Empty Room [3/5]
A very musical story!
DISCLAIMER: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the majority of stories in this (which is a rarity for short story collections), but it took me until about 1/3rd into it before I started really loving it. These stories are exactly what's on the tin- exploring boys loving boys, literal beasts and monsters but also the monsters inside of us. It's unabashedly queer, alwas hard-hitting, and although they felt a bit one-note at the beginning it became a varied bunch of stories by the end. Would definitely recommend.
Just drop the burger story.
INDIVIDUAL REVIEWS FOR EACH STORY:
Allosaurus burgers was a funny story, but not really my kind of thing. Feels like a Scalzi short. [2/5]
57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides was an excellent Stephen King-esque story in terms of content but more experimental (told through a list). Really enjoyed this one. [4/5]
We Are the Cloud was DARK, but not the whole way through. Loved the world. [3.5/5]
Conspicuous Plumage
A story of grief. A small story told well. Mostly enjoyed the characters in this. [4/5]
Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart [4.5]
Loved this one. A cab driver gets an inconspicuous guest in his cab... King Kong's girl.
Shucked
For $10,000, would you give someone control of your body for an hour? Or... Longer? [4/5]
The Beasts We Want to Be
Exploring superhero-esque experimentation on people during times of war, from the perspective of one who has been experimented on. [3.5/5]
Calved [5/5]
A tragic story of a father desperately trying to get his son to love him again.
When Your Child Strays from God [4/5]
This is a great pairing with the previous story! It's about a mother trying to understand her son, and "save" him from the path he's currently on. Paired with some interesting drug concept, it makes for a nice story.
Things With Beards [3/5]
The Thing story about the monsters inside us. Not bad.
Ghosts of Home [4.5]
This story feels like a spiritual sequel to Open House on Haunted Hill. It's a similar tale told differently. Houses have spirits, and abandoned houses get lonely. What happens when the 2008 banking crisis hits, and many people lose their home?
The Heat of Us: Notes Towards an Oral History [4/5]
An alternative history account of Stonewall, where the queer people at Stonewall who fought back were also supernatural. A celebration of celebrations.
Angel, Monster, Man [4/5]
Another chilling piece, this time about the AIDS epidemic and how the government handled it (read: didn't handle it). An imaginary person, some fictional figurehead for the revolution, seems to become real.
Sun in an Empty Room [3/5]
A very musical story!
DISCLAIMER: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 18, 2022
I was intrigued by the deceptive straightforwardness of the title of Boys, Beasts & Men—after all, mainstream sci-fi has historically been dominated by men writing about men—and was rewarded by the weirdness and queerness that Sam J. Miller brought to the table in this volume of short stories. Many of them have previously appeared in magazines over the years, but when brought together in this volume, the stories definitely gain something from proximity to each other. I honestly liked all of them, though there were a few weaker installments (which still had merit in either concept or execution, depending on what was lacking).
My favorites were “Things With Beards” (riffing on “The Thing,” a man comes back from a job in Antarctica unwittingly host to an alien, bringing it into the midst of a New York in the grips of the AIDS epidemic and rising police brutality), “Ghosts of Home” (in the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis, a woman is employed by a bank to leave offerings to placate the household spirits in foreclosed homes), and “Angel, Monster, Man” (three gay friends invent the fictional persona of Tom Minniq as a pen name for publishing the works of their friends who have died of AIDS, but it soon becomes apparent that their fictional creation has taken on a sinister life of its own).
I think I was hoping for something more Angela Carter-esque from this collection, but on the whole it’s more modern-urban-fantasy in style; I’d say in sensibility it often felt similar to N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became and Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone’s This is How You Lose the Time War (El-Mohtar actually wrote the introduction to this collection). A lot of urban sci-fi/fantasy, a lot of NYC stories, but also a lot of other material that really contributes to a diverse yet cohesive collection. The pacing was really good; the stories that deserved a little more length got it, and the others were kept short and sweet.
Thank you to Tachyon Publications for the NetGalley ARC.
My favorites were “Things With Beards” (riffing on “The Thing,” a man comes back from a job in Antarctica unwittingly host to an alien, bringing it into the midst of a New York in the grips of the AIDS epidemic and rising police brutality), “Ghosts of Home” (in the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis, a woman is employed by a bank to leave offerings to placate the household spirits in foreclosed homes), and “Angel, Monster, Man” (three gay friends invent the fictional persona of Tom Minniq as a pen name for publishing the works of their friends who have died of AIDS, but it soon becomes apparent that their fictional creation has taken on a sinister life of its own).
I think I was hoping for something more Angela Carter-esque from this collection, but on the whole it’s more modern-urban-fantasy in style; I’d say in sensibility it often felt similar to N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became and Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone’s This is How You Lose the Time War (El-Mohtar actually wrote the introduction to this collection). A lot of urban sci-fi/fantasy, a lot of NYC stories, but also a lot of other material that really contributes to a diverse yet cohesive collection. The pacing was really good; the stories that deserved a little more length got it, and the others were kept short and sweet.
Thank you to Tachyon Publications for the NetGalley ARC.
January 7, 2022
Boys, Beasts & Men is a collection of short stories, loosely tied together through brief interludes between two strangers. It blends genres, but I would largely class the stories as queer spec-fic, focused mostly on the uncanny, with a vaguely disturbing feel. The stories are well-written and thought-provoking, and my star rating reflects my level of enjoyment of the stories as opposed to the quality of the work.
Some content warnings I believe should be included in the published version: exploitation through porn; child abuse; homophobia; use of a homophobic slur. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but certainly regarding the plotlines in We Are The Cloud and The Beasts We Want to Be, I did not expect to read this content, and was not prepared for it in any way, which impacted my enjoyment of the book. Content warnings help readers decide whether the book is an appropriate read for them, and help them prepare beforehand for what they will read, and for the difficult memories that may resurface.
Many of the characters included in the stories of Boys, Beasts & Men had a lot of potential, so I felt it was somewhat disappointing to see them in a short story setting. Especially with Nikolai in The Beasts We Want to Be, I wanted so badly to read a novel about him. Due to the length of the stories, I felt there was limited opportunity to engage with the characters, which meant the more disturbing aspects of the stories came across as somewhat gratuitous in my eyes. The length of the stories, and the disparate characters and their lives, meant I struggled to connect to anyone, which for me is a key part of enjoying fiction, and explains my relatively low rating. I thought the stories themselves were well-written, and I would especially recommend them to readers who enjoy speculative fiction.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free eARC of Boys, Beasts & Men. These opinions are my own.
Some content warnings I believe should be included in the published version: exploitation through porn; child abuse; homophobia; use of a homophobic slur. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but certainly regarding the plotlines in We Are The Cloud and The Beasts We Want to Be, I did not expect to read this content, and was not prepared for it in any way, which impacted my enjoyment of the book. Content warnings help readers decide whether the book is an appropriate read for them, and help them prepare beforehand for what they will read, and for the difficult memories that may resurface.
Many of the characters included in the stories of Boys, Beasts & Men had a lot of potential, so I felt it was somewhat disappointing to see them in a short story setting. Especially with Nikolai in The Beasts We Want to Be, I wanted so badly to read a novel about him. Due to the length of the stories, I felt there was limited opportunity to engage with the characters, which meant the more disturbing aspects of the stories came across as somewhat gratuitous in my eyes. The length of the stories, and the disparate characters and their lives, meant I struggled to connect to anyone, which for me is a key part of enjoying fiction, and explains my relatively low rating. I thought the stories themselves were well-written, and I would especially recommend them to readers who enjoy speculative fiction.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free eARC of Boys, Beasts & Men. These opinions are my own.
May 21, 2025
"You survived by emptying out your heart."
Мені здається, я давно не почувалась настільки розгубленою і демотивованою книгою. Цей досвід був схожий чимось на читання Її тіло та інші сторони або трохи на The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, хоч в порівнянні від кожного оповідання тут повільніше, непомітніше тягнуло на дно, тому починати нову оповідь зухвало задерши носа, а закінчувати туплячись у стіну в екзистенційній кризі - знову і знову, і знову мене вибило. А ще закінчивши добірку, перше, що мені захотілось, вибачитись за те, що світ такий лайняний. Перед ким - неясно, бо переді мною ніхто не вибачався за стан суспільства на момент моєї появи в ньому. Але оце відчуття постійних втрачених можливостей людства, поворотів не туди, не тих виборів, що привело нас туди, де ми є, і всі тепер зі мною включно продовжують рухатись по спіралі вниз.
Різні теми, по-різному зачіпають емоції та провокують роздуми, дуже не дякую за вивертання мене болісним назовні.
Мені здається, я давно не почувалась настільки розгубленою і демотивованою книгою. Цей досвід був схожий чимось на читання Її тіло та інші сторони або трохи на The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, хоч в порівнянні від кожного оповідання тут повільніше, непомітніше тягнуло на дно, тому починати нову оповідь зухвало задерши носа, а закінчувати туплячись у стіну в екзистенційній кризі - знову і знову, і знову мене вибило. А ще закінчивши добірку, перше, що мені захотілось, вибачитись за те, що світ такий лайняний. Перед ким - неясно, бо переді мною ніхто не вибачався за стан суспільства на момент моєї появи в ньому. Але оце відчуття постійних втрачених можливостей людства, поворотів не туди, не тих виборів, що привело нас туди, де ми є, і всі тепер зі мною включно продовжують рухатись по спіралі вниз.
Різні теми, по-різному зачіпають емоції та провокують роздуми, дуже не дякую за вивертання мене болісним назовні.
April 7, 2025
As it is with pretty much all Short Story Collections some Stories worked for me and Stories that didn't hold my interest. They were all decent but only like 2 or 3 really held my attention past reading. My favorite would have to be 'We Are the Cloud'. Most of the stories were also fairly similar in their overall theme.
May 25, 2022
Boys, Beasts & Men by Sam J. Miller was the first work of his that I’ve read, but I have a suspicion it won’t be my last. Short story anthologies can be hit or miss, but for me, this one was a solid hit; full of weird, dark, queer stories that incorporate elements of several genres, I found a lot to admire within the pages.
Most of these stories center the experiences of gay boys and men, and there is more heartbreak and howling rage than hope to be found within them. Among my favourites were “Angel, Monster, Man”, a story about a group of queer artists who create a fictional persona that takes on a life of its own, “We Are the Cloud”, a Black Mirror-esque take on a future where people sell their brains for data processing capability, and “Ghosts of Home”, a story about a woman employed by a bank to keep the spirits of foreclosed and other homes content.
Some stories didn’t work as well for me, which is to be expected out of any anthology, and some were a little heavy-handed on their themes or overarching messages. Some also reference the author’s other work, so you may get a bit more value out of those than I did if you’ve read it. What I did love though was the notes at the end of the collection where the author talks a bit more about each story from a craft/meta perspective; I wish more books did or had something like this, because I found it fascinating.
Overall I would recommend checking Boys, Beasts & Men out if you’re up for a heavy, messy, visceral collection of queer short fiction; fans of darker fantasy and horror would get the most out of this. Just be sure to mind the content warnings.
Thank you to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for an advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Most of these stories center the experiences of gay boys and men, and there is more heartbreak and howling rage than hope to be found within them. Among my favourites were “Angel, Monster, Man”, a story about a group of queer artists who create a fictional persona that takes on a life of its own, “We Are the Cloud”, a Black Mirror-esque take on a future where people sell their brains for data processing capability, and “Ghosts of Home”, a story about a woman employed by a bank to keep the spirits of foreclosed and other homes content.
Some stories didn’t work as well for me, which is to be expected out of any anthology, and some were a little heavy-handed on their themes or overarching messages. Some also reference the author’s other work, so you may get a bit more value out of those than I did if you’ve read it. What I did love though was the notes at the end of the collection where the author talks a bit more about each story from a craft/meta perspective; I wish more books did or had something like this, because I found it fascinating.
Overall I would recommend checking Boys, Beasts & Men out if you’re up for a heavy, messy, visceral collection of queer short fiction; fans of darker fantasy and horror would get the most out of this. Just be sure to mind the content warnings.
Thank you to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for an advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
September 5, 2022
I have been seeking out Sam J. Miller’s short stories for years, so it’s wonderful to have a collection that binds some of their intersected themes together. A teen boy begins to understand his mother’s fallible humanity as their small town hosts a captured allosaurus; in the near future of an abusive New York foster system, a Black queer teen searches for human comfort and systemic empowerment; a Jewish gay New York cabbie mourns the fall of King Kong as a scouring of American humanity with Ann Darrow. A post-Revolution Russian youth pieces together the corruption of his generation as bestial soldiers; a sentient couch evolves as their sympathies towards the couple that own it diverge and deepen; the oral history of a Stonewall Uprising that ends with queer pyrokinetics blazing a new world that is still impacted by the same echoes of hate, then segues into queer writers and artists at the ending first decade of the AIDS pandemic galvanize action by creating a fictional artist spirit who inspires empathy that bleeds into more intricate and dangerous emotions and desires.
Miller writes vastly hopeful, queer centered speculative stories where the characters crave tender hornyness for relationships both sexual and heartfelt, and aspire to live and fight against racism, queerphobia, xenopobia, classism, and the binding weariness of authoritarianism. Miller viscerally evokes compassionate justice for everyone, whether individual family members or entire cities, no matter how delicate and momentary.
Miller writes vastly hopeful, queer centered speculative stories where the characters crave tender hornyness for relationships both sexual and heartfelt, and aspire to live and fight against racism, queerphobia, xenopobia, classism, and the binding weariness of authoritarianism. Miller viscerally evokes compassionate justice for everyone, whether individual family members or entire cities, no matter how delicate and momentary.
June 30, 2022
I cannot recommend this book. DNF at page 134. The stories were pretty obvious and on the nose, and the writing was not very technically skillful--in fact, the first few stories maybe needed another go with the editor.
There was a lot about infatuation and infatuation WITH infatuation, pining after "pretty" or "beautiful" or "gorgeous" boys and contemplating those always-awful jocks or jock-ish types. The interludes were a little groan-inducing. I know there are scenarios in which one sexual partner takes to using the word "boy" as part of the play, but it was hard for me to take it seriously after the fifth or sixth.
These problems often took the focus away from what was actually interesting in the stories, at least to me. There is one particular story I found infuriatingly guilty of this, in which the character, after being jilted by one of these charming love interests...well, I won't get too spoiler-y, but he unleashes something that made me stop and say, "I mean, THAT was a big part of your story." Instead it was a bit of a throwaway B-plot.
I also found the stories boring, to boot, which is the sort of cardinal sin that made me finally put it down.
There was a lot about infatuation and infatuation WITH infatuation, pining after "pretty" or "beautiful" or "gorgeous" boys and contemplating those always-awful jocks or jock-ish types. The interludes were a little groan-inducing. I know there are scenarios in which one sexual partner takes to using the word "boy" as part of the play, but it was hard for me to take it seriously after the fifth or sixth.
These problems often took the focus away from what was actually interesting in the stories, at least to me. There is one particular story I found infuriatingly guilty of this, in which the character, after being jilted by one of these charming love interests...well, I won't get too spoiler-y, but he unleashes something that made me stop and say, "I mean, THAT was a big part of your story." Instead it was a bit of a throwaway B-plot.
I also found the stories boring, to boot, which is the sort of cardinal sin that made me finally put it down.
November 6, 2022
This book is a bombshell. I was thrilled by the ideas at play here and how they were executed. Sam J. Miller touches on Bradbury and Gibson but this work is utterly his own. His uses dinosaurs, King Kong, The Thing, cyberpunk among others to explore destitution, racism, immigration, HIV/AIDS, homophobia, and love.
Read
August 8, 2023i think this might have been a five star collection because i really did enjoy most of these stories, they were excellent and thought provoking, but I felt the glaring absence of trans people but especially centering cis queer people in the story reimagining stonewall made me ill at ease.
April 30, 2025
Raw, next question
July 4, 2022
4.5 stars. I pretty much hated these short stories, which is why I couldn't give this book 5 stars. But I couldn't give it fewer stars either - that would not do justice to how powerful, memorable, thought-provoking, creative, diverse, amazingly well-written these stories are, with characters that creep under your skin, and a gut punch and an education around inequality, lgbtq+ issues, school to prison+ pipeline and more. Makes vengeance seems like a rational response, but vengeance is hard, and dark, and very distressing. So, although I can't say I loved these stories, or even liked them (what an insipid word in the presence of this writing), I have uber respect for them. I'm glad I read the three I did, but I planned to stop there because they were so upsetting. Now, I find myself thinking of going back to read more because of the profound impact they are having on me.
I read the first three stories in order:
Allosaurus Burgers - relatively gentle start to this collection after you see what comes next. A sobering look at the parent/child relationship. The protagonist is also the protagonist of Miller's debut novel, The Art of Starving.
57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides - this one was the worst. Just harrowing.
We are the Cloud - an imprisoned black man, in the clutches of the prison/abuse system. I learned a lot from this one. Makes me rail against the corruption and horror in the treatment of those at the bottom of our society, through no fault of their own. It's all about the money. And the power. Is there a way out? This story will make you wonder.
I read the first three stories in order:
Allosaurus Burgers - relatively gentle start to this collection after you see what comes next. A sobering look at the parent/child relationship. The protagonist is also the protagonist of Miller's debut novel, The Art of Starving.
57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides - this one was the worst. Just harrowing.
We are the Cloud - an imprisoned black man, in the clutches of the prison/abuse system. I learned a lot from this one. Makes me rail against the corruption and horror in the treatment of those at the bottom of our society, through no fault of their own. It's all about the money. And the power. Is there a way out? This story will make you wonder.
April 10, 2025
Boys, Beasts, & Men is a magical realism short story collection about manhood, misery, and what it means to be queer. This book has some of the most gorgeous prose I’ve read in a long time, and many quotes stuck out to me for their profundity and ability to put such wordless emotions into such pretty words. I enjoyed the themes of each story, especially those about queerness, isolation, and the importance of art. Many of these stories explore themes of survival and connection in ways that feel unique and profound. The author excels at crafting voices for the different characters, and each story narrator felt distinct and relatable. Despite this, unfortunately most of the stories fell flat for me. Most of them meandered through the motions, never quite reaching a conclusion nor a satisfying place. I struggled to find meaning in them between their heavy-handed themes. There were a couple gems in there that I’ll remember fondly, but many of the others, though beautifully written, were forgettable and aimless, and they just didn’t work.
June 30, 2025
This is a fantastic collection of stories. Miller really channels a lot of life and pain into his stories, from individual moments like a son watching his mother fall off her metaphorical pedestal in "Allosaurus Burgers" to a trio of gay men making a decision to invoke a greater pain in response to the AIDS crisis in "Angel, Monster, Man." This is also one of those rare collections where nearly every story is a good one, and that kind of consistency is remarkable. I look forward to Miller's next collection.
March 9, 2024
Here is a collection with excellent high highs and kind of irksome, okay lows. The best stories in this book made worth reading the less compelling stories, but those were tired from hitting the same emotional and thematic beats over and over again, using stylistic prose that often didn’t amount to anything more than itself. However, in those few stunning stories among the okay ones, Miller commands emotion through provoking narrative where all the pieces fall into place perfectly.
Overall, Boys, Beasts & Men is a compelling collection where each story has a new and interesting world with something profound to say about queer identity, manhood, and sex (even the stories without a queer character, a man, or sex were still about queerness, manhood, and sex, which was either brilliant or annoying depending on the story). The best, in my opinion, were Calved, Things With Beards, Angel, Monster, Man, The Heat of Us, and Ghosts of Home.
Overall, Boys, Beasts & Men is a compelling collection where each story has a new and interesting world with something profound to say about queer identity, manhood, and sex (even the stories without a queer character, a man, or sex were still about queerness, manhood, and sex, which was either brilliant or annoying depending on the story). The best, in my opinion, were Calved, Things With Beards, Angel, Monster, Man, The Heat of Us, and Ghosts of Home.
October 19, 2024
No puedo darle menos que cinco estrellas. Casi todos los cuentos son perfectos, con una fuerte dosis de melancolía, o directamente tristeza. Un par tienen fuertes referencias cinematográficas, como el ambientado en el universo de King Kong de los años 30 o en el universo de The Thing de John Carpenter, ambos de mis favoritos de la colección.
ENGLISH:
I can't rate it less than five stars. Almost all of the stories are perfect, with a strong dose of melancholy, or plain sadness. A few have strong movie references, like the one set in the King Kong universe of the 30's or in the universe of John Carpenter's The Thing, both among my favorites of the collection.
ENGLISH:
I can't rate it less than five stars. Almost all of the stories are perfect, with a strong dose of melancholy, or plain sadness. A few have strong movie references, like the one set in the King Kong universe of the 30's or in the universe of John Carpenter's The Thing, both among my favorites of the collection.
December 29, 2022
Incandescent. Love the connections to his novels, the framing across the collection, the story notes at the end. And the stories: heart-rending, even the hopeful ones. Monstrous in exposing the harms of our economic regime.
October 3, 2023
I think this will be in my top 5 books of the year.
A short story collection of mostly speculative fiction, centered around queer men and boys. Excellent writing, wonderful stories and a coherent collection.
A short story collection of mostly speculative fiction, centered around queer men and boys. Excellent writing, wonderful stories and a coherent collection.
March 11, 2024
rtc.....if i remember
April 9, 2024
short story collections can be very hit or miss with me and this had some beautiful hits and severe misses!!! really cool ideas all around though
February 16, 2025
So insanely good
Read
February 20, 2025christ
August 19, 2025
Has its hits has its misses, liked the King Kong story the best
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