Camp Damascus

"I didn't know what to expect going into this. My experiences with seeing Tingle before this had been entirely satirical, I'd seen the crazy titles he had to books he'd published and assumed he wrote books not for the purpose of seriousness. This book had great reviews however and so I dived in. What I found was incredible... This book hit on some themes that are very close to home for me. It was all the more powerful because of that. The best kinds of books are the ones that teach you about the way you interact with the world. This one helped me realize exactly who is out there to support me and how much it means to me. It was a more sentimental reading experience because of that. Rose's struggles with autism were professed with such clarity. I found myself relating to her in so many different ways, reading an MC that reminded me a lot of myself was exhilarating. I loved the way this book tackled everything, with the edge of horror that I also love. Then there's the religious side of things, with the emphasis on the church's priority of suppressing being gay. Rose's battle with religion was one I found myself living through years ago. Thankfully it was nowhere near as drastic, but the way she thinks about it coming out of the other side was very similar to how I felt. It was also fascinating to see her dynamic with Saul because I felt like it was perfectly copying me and my brother's conversations (who was grappling with a whole lot more trying to be both Christin and trans) I was astounded, to say the least. This reading experience was kind of surreal. With all of the personal things I gained from this book, I didn't forget to enjoy the fantastic writing that supported everything. We had a thrilling plot with just enough horror to top everything off. Tingle has a new fan, I was INCREDIBLY` impressed with this novel. I'll be spreading this one among the people close to me for a long time."

"A wonderful romantic horror, beautifully written by the infamous Chuck Tingle. "

"An extremely fun read, the horror was very well written, and the characters felt so fleshed out and enjoyably real with all their quirks! It turned out to be a real page turner for me, the flow of the writing was perfect and kept me totally captivated from chapter to chapter. Highly recommend!"

"Chuck Tingle Takes the typical slasher tropes: Summer Camp + Body Horror + Sexual Desires + Strong Female Protagonist PUTS THEM through a blender adding religious Horror and LGBTQIA+ Horror to create a Christian Conversion Camp you actually want to read about this summer!!"

"My consumption of horror and witchy media has proved to be a godsend bc I think Chuck tingle along with creating the most iconic Erotic book series, is one of the best horror writers of our generation! Full stop!"

"I liked this book was a fun spooky book and relatable "

"My first thought is I agree with the reviews this should've been YA. I also found the pacing off--at times it was really slow and boring then I would have to reread paragraphs trying to figure out what was all happening. The ending was also ho-hum, but at that point I just wanted to be done. <br/><br/>More thoughts behind spoiler tags: <spoiler>I was expecting the main plot to take place during the actual conversion camp, but we learn Rose has actually already been to the conversion camp. I figured that out about 20 pages in, but it's not confirmed until about 100 pages in, so I found it rather tedious, waiting for her to figure this out. Then the second half of the book is her meeting up with her former girlfriend and friend to take down the conversion camp.<br/><br/>Overall it wasn't what I expected. There is some body horror, mostly bugs coming out of her mouth, but I was expecting more horror in the sense of what humans are doing to other humans, but instead got literal demons which seemed less scary to me. </spoiler>"

""There's your answer. It's all about control," I continue. "It always has been." <br/><br/>3.5"

"Disclaimer: I received the arc of this book for free. I am giving my honest opinion voluntarily.<br/><br/>I was so excited when I saw this book was coming out. Since watching the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix I've been craving more queer horror. Specifically queer horror written by and for queer people. <br/><br/>I loved this book. Despite it being about my worst nightmare as a queer person, conversion camps and capitalists. <br/><br/>My favorite quote from this book is "And then the morning came she pushed onward, because the wicked and vile bore down from every side, and onward was the only direction she had left" (pg. 135). I feel like this quote is so important to the queer community. We have always been here and we always will be, and this quote encapsulates this truth. <br/><br/>Chuck Tingle through "Camp Damascus" has created a truly terrifying but deeply healing story. There's a religious cult, demons, and truly terrible people in these pages. If you grew up in christian society you will relive your religious trauma. You will cringe as see you self in the characters. It will hurt but it's worth it. Because along side all the negative there's overwhelming positivity. Positivity in the forms of chosen/ found family, self love, and powerful queer resilience. <br/><br/>There's so much I want to say but all of it would spoil the book a bit and I don't want to do that. So, I'll leave it here. If you love queer horror you should read this book. (It is heavily religious in the beginning, via christianity and the specific sect/cult of the small town, but you'll understand why as you read the book. )"