Boys Beasts & Men is a collection of queer sci-fi and fantasy short stories by Sam J. Miller. While the stories are set in a variety of speculative settings, Miller never loses track of what makes each story feel grounded in human experiences. He uses the fantastic and strange to explore masculinity, identity, sexuality, and coming of age.
The biggest strength of Boys Beasts & Men is the way Miller handles his characters and themes. He does not shy away from heavy topics, but leans into them until he finds honesty and insight. The way Miller writes, every character earns your compassion, even (perhaps especially) the wretched ones.
What does it mean to be a man? Is it the capacity for hurt? Is it the way other men see us? Can we shape it ourselves, or is it something we inherit and pass on like a disease? Or is it a prism through which each man shines their unique light? I ask myself these things all the time, and I’d been yearning for a book like this that uses speculative fiction to explore these questions.
The stories of Boys Beasts & Men are powerful, cathartic, and haunting. Miller’s prose never gets too purple; he’s concise—he knows how to let his characters do the talking whether through dialogue or first-person narration. If you like science fiction and fantasy that features a unique, grounded voice, this collection is a must-read.