I received an early copy of this book from Net Galley, this has not influenced my review.

This book was the best possible version of a short story collection and really shows off the strengths of the genre. If a six star option existed, I would give this book all of them without a moment’s hesitation.
Like a really great box of chocolates, each story in this collection was fantastic, distinct, and memorable, no coconut clusters or teeth-shattering slabs of caramel in here! (Sorry if those are your favorites). I could have easily read whole books based on each individual tale.

The stories were enormously diverse and each affected me a different way, but each left their mark and each was a joy to read. This author blends horror, fantasy, mystery, and magic seemingly effortlessly, the way professional athletes or dancers are able to do incredible things that just seem like showing off until you remember the years of work that went into reaching that level.
The author’s range is astounding. From a story where King Kong really walked the earth and died at the foot of the Empire State Building to a retelling of the night of the Stonewall Riot, where oppressed, queer, New Yorkers discover a potent and deadly form of group pyrokenesis, I found myself completely immersed in each new tale from the beginning.

This author is one I’ve heard about for a while but have never read until now. After this truly stunning book I plan on reading his other works and keeping a careful eye on his upcoming projects. ( )

"Boys, Beasts & Men" caught me by surprise, turning out to be a set of more literary and satisfying stories than I'd expected from the descriptions. While there are homosexual characters and themes in most of the stories and it's certainly fair to call this collection 'Queer Fiction,' it would be totally facile and reductionist to leave it at that; Miller has a very aware and painterly voice, crafting captivating tales of alienation, loneliness, and hidden natures, of being the voice of That Which Is Other, those Outside-Looking-In. Really, his stories -- while more masculine in tone and gay at heart -- hit like classic Joni Mitchell songs in terms of the images and impulses voiced. In the acknowledgements, Miller cites Ray Bradbury as a major, early influence on his writing and that is evident; the light and dark creatures of human nature breathe within everyone and the stories are the fora in which they play out their parts, with swaths of the fantastical woven through the mundane and everyday. He also threads a unifying, interstitial story through "B,B&M" very reminiscent of that around Bradbury's own certain man of many tattoos.....

All of these stories affected me on an emotional level, if not all the same flavor of emotion, but that alone alerts me that this was not just an ordinary read. "Conspicuous Plumage" and "Ghosts of Home" had the strongest immediate impact, partly wistful and partly grief, but the two-sided coin that is the pair "Calved" and "When Your Child Strays From God" lit up my empathy boards; as a dad, it's tough to read those two. I not only recommend this collection to anyone with an interest in urban-SFF, light horror, or human psychology itself, but think that any of these stories would work brilliantly as discussion fodder for bringing xenophobes around to empathetic awareness of others.

And Miller is right about one other thing: you can make just about any story better by adding a dinosaur. ( )

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
Multiple stories in this anthology include themes of homophobia and heterosexism. As a result some stories include violence towards the LGBTQIA community. Two separate stories talk directly about the 1969 Stonewall riots and the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis. There are elements of violence and horror in a few other stories as well. Other themes present in this book include alcoholism, drugs, prostitution, climate change, animal abuse, animal death, poverty and homelessness.

I was unfamiliar with Sam J. Miller’s work when I first delved into Boys, Beasts & Men, and that was ok with me. I like reading anthologies to get to know new authors, and Boys, Beasts & Men is a beautiful showcase of Miller’s work over the years. In the acknowledgments at the end he gives insights into what inspired each story, and he also explains how many of them link to his other works. A character from one short story links to a novel, or pops up in another one. As a reader who loves interconnectivity between stories this made them even more special. He also did something I’ve never seen in an anthology; he tells a story between the stories. A random hook-up between two men turns into something more, told between one-page interludes between the short-stories. It’s magical and mesmerising.

To be honest, the entire anthology is mesmerising. Miller’s writing is witty and hard-hitting, drawing out stories from angles that most people don’t tend to see. Many of these are often about queer identity, but many are recognisable to people of any identity, community or circumstance. These are the people who fall through the cracks, who aren’t seen by society. Even in the stories with horror and supernatural elements as someone with mental health conditions I felt seen by Miller. His writing is full of lush descriptions and vivid emotions, yet also has a way of stripping things down to the bare bones.

In his acknowledgments he discusses how two of his stories came about from trying to understand people on the other side, the people who hate and do not understand the queer community. The result of this are two stunningly emotive stories (“Calved” and “When your Child Strays from God”) about parents realising that their child had not only grown up, but had, as Miller puts it become “something they can’t understand or find terrifying”. The concepts and themes of boys becoming men, and men being/becoming beasts or monsters run throughout all of Miller’s stories, and it was interesting to see how he interpreted these themes from his own perspective, as well as an outside perspective. There’s even a story from the perspective of a monster becoming aware that it might be a monster.

A story that really stuck out to me was “Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart” which considers the idea that the events of King Kong were real. What would happen in a world where a giant ape existed and lost its life because humans acted monstrously? Miller’s story is hauntingly beautiful and will stick with you after you’ve read it. It won’t be the only one, and I could go on and on. Instead, I’m just going to mention one last story; “The Heat of Us”. A retelling of the 1969 Stonewall riots, this short story is told from multiple perspectives as a former reporter puts together an article to tell the “real story” of what happened. In this retelling three people at the riot band together and something extraordinary happens. It is a powerful story, giving voice to a historical moment in LGBT history.

Boys, Beasts & Men is an evocative collection of stories that showcases the scope of Miller’s talent as a writer. In one story he expertly explores that moment as a child when you realise a parent isn’t perfect, perfectly manifesting real life with the existence of dinosaurs. Elsewhere, he tackles the hubris of 21st century America in a dystopian story about a parent trying to reconnect with their teenage son. A supernatural story about house spirits takes on capitalism and homelessness. Every story has multiple layers, and at the heart of them is the story of a real person. Pick Boys, Beasts and Men up for the incredible writing, and stay with it how it makes you feel.

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