I really wanted this to be good, but instead it's pretty superficial, goes off-track a lot (a lot!) and is even kind of boring. I can't recommend it.

From unicorns and mermaids to pirates and superheroe... and even aliens! This book covers a wide range of folklore or adjacent histories through a queens lens in a delightful manner. Even though the subject can get dark and a bit sad at times I found the book to be overall enjoyable. It's an informative and sometimes funny book that I connected with.
The author's writing style is something I found entertaining and I liked the voice in it. The sections within chapters flowed well together and overall I liked how wide ranging the topics were. There's not much I can gripe about, maybe a couple spots I thought could've had a bit more information. But far and few between.
I would recommend this to any queer person interested in queer history or queer stories. I'm definitely purchasing a copy upon release.

From the ruins of Ancient Greece to the main stage of Rupauls Drag Race; queer as folklore is a magnificent new look at queer history and legend.

Throughout history, queer folk have been forced to live in secrecy and shadows, telling stories about magic and fantasy to keep their dreams and hopes alive and giving way to lasting myths and tales of wonder that have prevailed through the years. Queer as Folk journeys into the tales of our history exposing the beautiful queerness that has always been there.

We look at real lives, and magical stories from the past and see how for countless years, queerness has existed even if we didn’t have the words and why magical mythical creatures are such a prominent part of queer culture . Coward tells the stories well, stopping to think, showing excellent research and keeping an excellent pace - creating a narrative voice like your favourite teacher, informative, clear but with some fun and personality. At times I found the interjections and notes a little distracting and made it a little difficult to read but overall it was easy to find my place again.

A masterful piece of scholarship, told with great skill and huge amounts of warmth, this explores the connection between myth and queerness in great detail, combining history with folklore and exploring community and humanity with beautiful creativity. A must read for those interested in myth or folklore, who are queer or know queer people, or simply wish to be moved and entertained by a brilliant piece of work

As a collector of fairy and folk tales, folklore, I assumed this was going to be more stories, or stories as seen from a different POV. It was an interesting look at gay culture, and will have it's audience. I'm not exactly the demographic for it, but would recommend the book to anyone interested in the LGBTQ+ community. Well written and informative.

Queer as Folklore takes readers across centuries and continents which reveals the unsung heroes and villains of storytelling, magic and fantasy. Featuring images from archives, galleries and museums around the world, each chapter investigates the queer history of different mythic and folkloric characters, both old and new.

I always like to make sure I read LGBTQ books during pride month in various genres. My first is Queer as Folklore, a book of historical references to muth, magic, and legend and how it is a part of our queer history.
Every myth or tale of fantasy seems to be handled here. The writing is smooth without turning into a college text. It's easy to read as well as informative.

Recommended. Published 11/5/2024 from Unbound

Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I've never took the time to learn about how queer people lived in history beyond what we already know and learn from history class, so this was a breath of fresh air. I absolutely adored reading about these deep dives into folklore, and how much of it was edited over time. Sacha Coward does an excellent job of presenting information to the reader by drawing parallels to our contemporary world. They've compiled a lovely collection of stories curated from across the world. It felt well-researched, and I'd love to buy a copy when it comes out!

This is such an interesting collection of deep dives into characters that we’re all familiar with from various folklores. I loved learning about the inherent queerness of so many classic characters!

I love the title of this, the perfect play on words that sets you up for the rest of the book. Giving a peek behind the curtain of many folklores and popular culture, Coward in this book explores the queer identities within folklore and the ripple effects of it within modern culture. A rainbow filled journey with running parallels of past and present, to understand stories passed onto us much better than the mainstream context.

Sassy and academic in equal measure, the book goes through a number of mythical creatures and folklores and their equal counterparts around the world. Exploring the queer identities of many of its subjects, the book explores on how queer the backstories of many of the folklores are. Many links were also made to the non gender conforming subjects that showcased how non binary many of the stories are and how they have been erased and colonized over years to present a sanitized version of an echo of themselves.

Well researched, the book can though come across as very euro centric in its approach towards its audience. Furthermore as well researched as it is, in some sections it did feel like a listicle of every counterpart that existed across the board.

The parallels running along the historical world vs the present one really helps in the connecting threads of how stories have shaped our modern understanding of queer culture and stories. A worthwhile read for those delving into folklore subcultures that are far from mainstream.

Thank you NetGalley and Unbound publishers for the eARC

Queer as Folklore explores all the different aspects of LGBT representation in folklore, myths and other stories that have been told through the ages. It mentions direct representation, but also queer and trans allegories and discusses the authors, the reasons why one could suspect them to be queer and how it affected their works.

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to write speculative fiction, especially if it will have queer or trans representation. This book touches on many sensitive subjects and highlights how LGBT people have been negatively represented over time, sometimes in ways one might not even realise. By being aware of them, one can make sure they write a story that doesn't shed a negative light on queer people. Additionally, the folklore discussed can serve as a great source of inspiration.

I love finding out new and interesting folklore, but learning more info into my queer folklore was perfect for me. We know how historians erase queer people from stories and history so this book will help others learn where original stories actually came from. I enjoyed how far and wide Sacha went with the stories, from folklore to true life, from one side of the globe to the other. This is definitely one I would love to pick up for my “coffee table” collection.

Thank you to NetGalley, Unbound and Sacha Coward for an ARC of this title!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sacha Coward for an ARC of this title!

Wow, this was such a fun and really informative read. I was so intrigued by the concept alone, and the material covered here did not disappoint! I think the exploration of queer identity in folklore was approached really well here in particular - in addition to thorough review of whatever historical records could reasonable be explored, I really like that the author tied in their own insights/personal experiences in the beginning/ends of chapters, and that they also interviewed other figures regarding the topics of each chapter. I also really liked how detailed they were in how they approached the exploration of queer folklore and their definition of "folklore" in context of the book. This was helpful in reframing the idea of TV shows, superheroes, etc. in "folklore" and really added some very good discussions to what could have been a shorter book.

I also think that "Queer as Folklore" does a tremendous job of exploring the queer history behind well-known characters in folklore (and, more interestingly, the people behind their development in some cases) without getting too into the nitty-gritty of specific legends (which would probably be an interesting second book with enough research), and without falling into the habit - as the author points out many times in the book - of "assigning" certain gender identities to specific characters, real or imagined. I think this really helps keep the discussion throughout the book in the realm of "academia" but also feels inclusive for people who may have differing thoughts/feelings on where a certain subject "belongs".

Overall, this was a very thoughtful and engaging look into the mythos of mythical creatures, that was both detailed enough for those who want to get into the background of certain figures, but is also approachable enough for the lay reader. It also includes an index of topics for those who may want to read about specific creatures, real-life persons, etc., so I think it would be a great reference work for those who are looking to learn more about specific topics. Fantastic job, and I will be buying this when it comes out!

I think the premise of the book is certainly interesting, and it did deliver on its promise to open my eyes as a reader to how Queer history and contemporary life is deeply intertwined with folklore. It was easy to digest and brought interesting perspective to today's Queer culture (at least how I experience it in the US).

I just think it was also difficult to enjoy for a few different reasons:

- The book aimed to focus on (mostly) European myth and folklore given the author's background as a European man (totally fair!). In parts where he did mention other region's similar myths to (rightly) acknowledge that Europeans weren't the only ones with a given type of myth, however, at times, the book felt read like a listicle of all the different countries that have X-type of creature. This led to some parts feeling overly long, and it didn't feel like these myths were engaged with at the same level.

- The book also felt unorganized in some sub-sections, with them just ending abruptly with no connection to the larger narrative in the chapter. This led to some of the connections between Queer people and folklore/myth feeling unbalanced in how flushed out they were.

- There was also a lot done to show 'both sides' of a person, even if they were truly terrible. One baffling sentence was as follows: "While there are very fair readings of him as a pure narcissist who led the way for future dangerous cults, as an anti-Semite, misogynistic abuser and instigator of conspiracy theories and pseudoscience, there are others that wish to celebrate him as a free-thinker and a sexual liberationist (pg. 121)."

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the eARC!

I have to admit that I thought that this was going to be a book about Queer Fairytales. I was presently mistaken.
I very much enjoyed the history of the fairytale creatures and their stories and how they represent the queer community,
I will definitely be grabbing a hard copy of this once it comes out as it will be a fun addition to my library .

A triumphant examination of folklore and how queer our backstories are. It is easy to read with witty writing that feels like an old friend telling stories.

First of all, I love the title. This book dives into the ways in which queer people identify with and may feel represented by creatures from folklores and myth - folklore being stories of the common people. It’s broken down in sections by creature: mermaids, unicorns, werewolves/shapeshifters, vampires, etc. The book does a good job of talking about the history of these creatures in various parts of the world and how the creatures morphed into what we think of them as today. The argument that there is queer representation in these creatures is usually based on the idea of the creatures being “other.” Connections were also made in the gender bending or duality of some creatures and how nonbinary or trans people may resonate with these mythical creatures. I enjoyed reading about the origins and history of the creatures across time and place, but I did think some of the connections to queer people and queer identity could’ve been flushed out a bit more. Some sections were stronger than others. I enjoyed the images and artwork shown, especially in relation to historical “records” of the creatures. Overall, 4.25, would recommend to someone interested in queer representation or folklore in general.

"Queer as Folklore" is a nonfiction examination of the role of fairy tales, mythological legends, and other folklore mainstays has on queer subculture; it's alternately snappy and academic, with as many dense explanations as references to modern queer pop culture like RuPaul's Drag Race. I very much enjoyed this book; it absolutely was well-researched without being dull. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in oral history, forgotten history, and deliberately-surpressed history.

This was an immensely enjoyable work! The language is both inviting and accessible. Coward presents frames these myths in interesting ways, drawing parallels with modern culture. I couldn't put this down and it really tickled the queer child in my heart.

Throughly enjoyed the history alongside the parallels to modern culture presented in this book. I especially enjoyed the variety of folklore that was included. Well done!

An interesting premise and a very wide ranging read. From Ancient Greeks, mythology to David Bowie and Roald Dahl. The premise and links didn’t quite grab my attention. Not quite my cup of tea. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.