Thanks to NetGalley and Unbound for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 8/22/2024. So you're going to hand me a book that combines mythology and folklore and LGBTQIA+ social history and think I won't expect the moon? Silly NetGalley. Luckily, this book delivers. Segmented into chapters so the reader can better focus, it covers magical creatures (yes, of course, unicorns), cursed beings and shapeshifters (yes, we're looking at you, Lestat), the occult and supernatural, the expanded universe (we all feel like aliens sometimes, right?), and then a nice wrap-up. Overall, it is a very in-depth and creative way to look at both the parallels between folklore and queer-ness and the historical reasoning behind why the LGBTQIA+ community has embraced certain images and stories. I mean, we've all heard "fairy" but I never really paused to consider the in-between nature of mermaids or the potentiality of shapeshifters as self-identification help. While at times the book was a big heart-breaking due to the simple fact that othering is such a strong reason behind the links, the book also reveled in humor and the moments of strength.

Coward also took great care in setting down the rules of his work as well as the fact that, quite frankly, certain things in queer history can only be guessed at since there was decided bias in the historical records. He was very respectful and careful to refer to individuals as who they were and point out that they MIGHT be considered through such a lens or carry such a title today but, as we don't have their input on it, this is speculation. Very solid and wise scholarly ethics, there. Coward also made sure to look at the entirety of history - from Gilgamesh to Victorians to comic books as well as covering a wide variety of locations. Sometimes we don't make the written history books but damn if we don't pop up elsewhere. :)

By the by, I'm so confused because NetGalley has the pub date as 8/22 but GoodReads has it 11/5 so spin the wheel if you want to read it!

3.5 stars
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This was such a fun, well researched exploration of queer culture and how it relates to common folklore and present pop culture.

The connections in this book were genuinely fascinating and I appreciated the authors delicacy with topics like gender assumptions. I found the connections between queerness and unicorns/mermaids to be particularly fascination, but not all the connections were convincing. Some of the connections in sci-fi were really grasping at straws, using perceived queerness as inherent support. There was also a definitely lack of diversity within the focus and I wish the author had spent more time researching and incorporating other cultures more, rather than relying so heavily on Western folklore and pop culture. Several parts of the book use the authors personal experiences where I wanted more factual research. Not every queer experience is the same and I wanted to see that explored more. While accessible by all, I wish the book had been written less academically. It felt like a dry research paper more than it did a book. I wasn’t quite expecting that.

This was definitely a fun read that I would still recommend, but I would be selective of the audience I recommended it to.

It is written with such care and attention to detail. It gives a sense of calm and belonging. The novel is addressed to both queer and non-queer folk in an understanding and accepting voice. It is full of captivating information and I found myself googling and saving the references.
I have looked into Sacha Coward's previous work and am very happy with having found this new (to me) author.
All in all it was an enriching experience.

This review is based on the first two sections, and the fifth sections, as I was not enjoying the book as much as hoped and skipped over some of the middle.

Let me start off by saying this is incredibly well researched. It covers so many topics with so many references that that alone is astounding. But, reading this reminded me of my high school English teachers telling me that my thesis was too broad and to narrow it down. Because so much was covered in this book, each story/folk tale was only talked about for a few pages at most and then it was onto the next thing. It was great as a primer or a jumping off point for readers to go learn more about a topic, but it was just so much to digest that I don't even remember most of what I read.

I think the other big thing I didn't like was the tone, which was very academic as this read like a long essay. It's not written in a super approachable manner so I found it difficult to get through much of it.

This is not to say this isn't a good book - it's packed full of information and collects so much important queer history and references, specifically in the folklore area which I haven't seen explored as much. It would be an interesting read to people interested in history or queer culture and enjoy non fiction literature!

Thank you to Netgalley and Unbound for the eARC!

This was an amazing read to discover queer history in a way that I have never seen it explored before.

As someone who enjoys folklore and who loves queer history I knew I really wanted to check this book out as soon as I saw it. If you, like me, already know some part of the overlap of queer history and folklore there will certainly be some stories here that are familiar to you. But even then, there were many that were new to me and even the ones that were familiar were told in an engaging and interesting way. The book is separated into multiple chapters and deals with a variety of folklorical beings, from the ones known from fairytales such as mermaids, unicorns and fairies to the ones known from horror such as werewolves, vampires, witches, demons and ghosts, and finally to more modern folklore featuring aliens, pirates, AI, robots and superheroes. The chapter on ghosts also includes an exploration of the queerly departed, some archeological queer discoveries and gothic ideas and spiritualism. The chapter on AI and robots also explores video games as a form of modern folklore. And as you can see in this short overview the aspects explored in this book are many. The chapters always explore the historical facets of these beings, important queer personalities connected to them as well as modern queer connections to them, which makes them feel very relateable to our modern day and age.
The author writes very accessible despite this being an academic book, allowing his own voice to shine through the book, while providing the reader with plenty of information, and often points out were something might just be queer imagining instead of queer factfinding, while still allowing for a queer imagining. I especially enjoyed the last chapter where the author connects five important qualities combining folklore and queerness and think it could have served a bit better as a introductory text to get the reader excited about what was to come than as a big finale, but I still enjoyed it either way.
At points the stories were somewhat skimmed over and a bit more exploration of modern queer folklore and the way queer people connect to it nowadays separated from outfits at pride and memes online could have made this story even more interesting to me. Particularly in regard to gender and the way many trans people connect to creatures from folklore, while present a little bit, seemed a bit understated to me. Finally the chapter on witches didn't really need to mention She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, as the only queer connection she has is through queer people engaging in fandom (and tbh if that is enough to make folklore queer then this book would need to double in size!) and there is a multitude of actually queer literature exploring witches out there instead, where queer people can find a real connection. While I appreciate the author making her transphobia explicit in the text and calling it out, as a trans reader it was a reminder I didn't need and one that I am not sure I needed from a cis author.
All in all however this was a quite interesting (and accessible) exploration of the connection of folklore and queerness and despite the parts I did not enjoy as much I still had a good time reading it.

This was such a fun read! I love how the folklore and history the author looked at was so wide reaching and from so many different periods. It opened my eyes a lot, teaching me about queer history I didn’t know. The writing style was educational but still light enough to be fun.

Incredible collection on myths from around the world, discussing how they play on queer stories and identities. If that weren’t enough, the illustrations are magnificent, would recommend this to anyone interested in seeing a new side to mythology or wanting to write queer fantasy stories.

This book was a fun and fascinating adventure through many folkloric entities, the chapters never felt too long or meandering and the use of artworks was a great addition. I was able to learn about both real and fictional connections to queer identities throughout time and different cultures.

However, I did want to note that I felt there was a more heavy focus on gay and bisexual men compared to other identities, obviously in male dominated patriarchal societies men's stories are the one that get persevered and recorded most regularly, but I felt a slight lack of analysis in regards to both trans and lesbian identities in talking about these areas of folklore. I was also disappointed that JK Rowling was mentioned, especially in a book about queerness in folklore, with no comment on her TERF ideologies specially targeting and harassing trans people.

-Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an eARC

thank you to netgalley and publishers for an arc of this book. this was so fun and interesting and somehow healed my mythology-loving inner child!

Thanks to Unbound and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy.

3.5 stars

This book is fun. It's a book that explores queerness in folklore, classic myths and today's pop culture. Sacha Coward takes us on a journey of exploration, from magical creatures and faeries, to werewolves and ghosts; to greek myths and legends, to Lord Byron and Aleister Crowley; to today's superhero like the x-men, and robots and aliens. Coward's writing style is so fun and approachable. It's clear that this work is precious for him, so every theme is handled with care, but with so much humour too. I really had a blast learning about queer characters, authors, and symbols, and how the in-between spaces and hybrid creatures are beloved and relatable to so many LGBTQ+ people.

The book is divided in five sections. Coward is respectful and never tries to speculate on real people's identities. He is also always clear in reminding the reader that current views on gender and identity are different and sometimes not even comparable to earlier times.
He moves from topic to topic with great pacing, with neat organization and structure, and there are a lot of themes he explores. And because of the quantity of this work, it's both commendable and also, very, very broad.
Some sections are very shallow, some are almost written as anecdotes. There's not much depth in some parts, because well, the length of the book and the enormous magnitude of it doesn't allow such profoundness. So, if you are an expert on some topics here, if you have a love for folklore or ancient Greece for example, you might find some of these stories very basic, very condensed. Me, personally, I understand the reasons of such a brief scope, so I would just look up for myself some of the stories or people referenced. I guess on the positive side, Sacha's examples are so interesting you want to keep reading about them, and that means he did a great job selecting them and introducing them to his public.

I have a few critiques. First, I think that in the middle of this book, Sacha tried to focus a little too much on current people loving some piece of media or some specific 'symbol' and it seemed like he was really trying to stretch to find connections to the original topic. For example, the little mention of the woman who loved The Exorcist. I think some of these sections were too casual, too shallow, too anecdotal.
Second, I think the fifth section, which acts as a kind of summary/conclusion, was so good, it should have been the introduction of the book.
The five qualities were so well written, it would have presented the book even better to the reader.
Lastly, this book is very eurocentric. Very western focused. And though Coward mentioned a few examples from different mythologies around the world, he does warn the reader of the lack of representation in these pages and how he decided to write only of what he grew up with. So, it's understandable, but also very frustrating too. Me, as a Chilean reader, I don't recall any little mention of South American folklore even in passing. So, if you are looking for a book that collects mythology and folklore from around the world, this one might not be what you are looking for.

Though sometimes I think Coward was trying very hard to look for connections, I think this work was done with such passion and respect I really enjoyed reading about every topic. Some, of course, more than others.
Still, I love how Coward tried so hard to find the threads that run from past to present, how he tried to rescue lost identities of gender non-conforming people. How he explored it all with a sassy, yet academic way.
The intention of this book is wonderful, and though it is not perfect, I think it is a remarkable work.

I was immediately drawn to the concept, and the content lived up to my expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and can warmly recommend it!

My primary critique is that the book has a strong Eurocentric focus, which left me hoping for greater diversity. I wasn't as engaged with the sections on modern folklore, such as X-Men, aliens, and robots. Typically, when exploring folklore, I prefer a focus on historical or traditional narratives rather than contemporary ones. It felt as though the author was trying hard to bridge the past with the present, and instead, I would have appreciated more exploration of folklore from other regions, such as South America, Africa, or Asia.

However, this entire book was written with such passion and care, still with educational undertones, which I truly respect.

For mythology enthusiasts in the LGBTQ+ community (and their allies), this non-fiction work might be a perfect fit for you!

Thank you to Unbound for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sacha Coward for providing me with an ARC of this book, it was the perfect pride month read. You may have observed that whenever queer people gather in large groups, a preponderance of mythological imagery often follows - be it fairy wings, unicorn horns or mermaid tails. But why is this? What draws the LGBTQ+ community to folkloric imagery? Coward posits that this is not a modern phenomenon but rather that the origins of these stories are themselves inherently queer, in that they deal largely with outsiders, those who exist between two worlds or who have to conceal a part of their identity, but are ultimately imbued with magical or divine auras. Coward takes the reader on a fascinating jaunt through world folklore, from ancient Greece to the modern Marvel blockbuster, and demonstrates the queer origins of so many symbols of magic and power that we know today. Any LGBTQ+ person looking to remind themselves of how inherently magical they are just for being here as well as any fellow mythology nerds should absolutely pick up this book.

This book was well researched, interesting and most of all respectful. It's the queer mythological encyclopedia that was missing in my life.

Queer as Folklore is a beautiful book that explores a huge range of folklore through a queer lens. I loved reading all of the queer history, much of which has, unfortunately, been watered down and removed from our folklore and fairy tales. This book went MUCH more in-depth than I expected, and dived deeply into connections between queer history, folklore, and modern media.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sacha Coward, and Unbound for the chance to read and review! My opinions are my own.

This book covers the queer history behind many mythical creatures and folklore and their current prevalence within the LGBTQ+ community. Some myths had solid associations with queerness while others felt like more of a stretch, but this was very well-researched and organized and written in an engaging and accessible way for a historical analysis! A lot of the book was listing names and facts which is hard for me to absorb from one read-through, but this would be a fun one to have to go back and reference. My highlights were the artwork and the final section where the author theorizes why queer people may be drawn to folklore. I would recommend this to anyone interested in queer history and mythology.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

A fantastic history of the various queer characters and tropes through history, both real and fantastical, and what that says about our lives. I greatly appreciated the heart of this book, and the way it seeks to find meaning and community, whilst acknowledging the imperfections and complications in all of those stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely a must-have for my book shelf. It is not really a book you should attempt to read in one-go: which I did. I’m definitely planning to buy this book someday, so I could look back at it, and also to honor the queer people that went before us.

“The light that shines down into the oubliette of sad and half-forgotten stories is that LGBTQ+ people are not victims any more than they are heroes. They are just people, and people have an indomitable spirit to live, love, fornicate and express themselves.” (p281)

Here is a little talk about two of my favorite chapters:
The first chapter of mermaids had a lot of my interest. Since I was young I had a fascination with mermaids, especially the little mermaid. Reading all the ways it relates to queerness, my fascination has been partly explained and expanded even more. However I did have a hard time getting into this chapter. This might have been getting used to the writing style, since I normally read mostly fiction and was expecting a book more like ‘Mythos’ for example: following the stories of the myths, instead of also looking at the authors etcetera.

The chapter of unicorns surprised me. Whereas a lot of people like unicorns a lot, I’ve never felt much for it. I did like to learn more about the unicorns and their symbolism. It made me feel more connected to them. Especially the part of their unapologetic and proud femininity, which I still struggle with quite a bit.
A quote that stood out to me: “Maybe we are hoping that if people can love a unicorn, in its overdone splendour and tacky weirdness, they can learn to love us, too.” p39

I could attempt to write a paragraph of every chapter, but that’d be too much. The mermaids and unicorns were simply my favorite.
So, in general about the whole book: it was not what I expected. It mostly talked about the queerness from the authors, who came up with the folklore stories. However, the description of the book I read beforehand, gave the idea that it would talk more about the folklore itself, how mermaids etcetera were queer, and not that the person who wrote it was queer. This was a bit of a disappointment for me, since the descriptions of the book gave me a different expectation.

However - apart from that, it was so fascinating to learn that many folklore stories have a queer origin. We are here and have always been here. And I’m glad someone’s talking about it.

I also loved the artworks featured in the book, it helped providing an idea of what the creatures looked like. But I also loved finding out about the different artstyles, most of which from queer artists.

I enjoyed this book about myths and folklore and queer history - something I am not particularly knowledgeable about; the book was an engaging and accessible way to learn more about it. Overall this was well-written and clear, and although I think it was a bit of a stretch to include chapters about AI, aliens, robots and superheroes, I can understand why in a few centuries they will also be part of what we call folklore. Despite being less interested in these topics than the classical myths (from Europe and beyond), I enjoyed these chapters, particularly the ones about robots which raised interesting questions. The tone of the book was refreshingly respectful - Sacha Coward explains in the introduction how he went about gendering the people/characters he writes about, trying to conform to their identity as much as possible, and takes a lot of time to explain why this may still be inaccurate and how our current thinking about genders and sexuality does not necessarily translate into ancient times or cultures.

Bonus points for including pictures and illustrations, which saved me having to google every art work mentioned by Coward, and added to the depth of the book.

This book was a very interesting study of both queer Identities and foklore/ fantastical storytelling. As a fellow queer historian I truly appreciated the care the author takes with the subject matter, not to mention the use of not just euro-centric history, but Stories from around the world.

The research was well done as well as presented, despite the subject matter I would however still have liked a bit more "whimsy" or humour in the writing. However that is a prefance question and not a criticism.

I thank the author for writing queer non fiction for academic audience!

This review will also appear on storygraph (potentially edited)