05/29/2023
Erotica author Tingle (Space Raptor Butt Invasion) makes his full-length, traditionally published debut with an eerie but empowering queer horror story. Neverton, Mont., is home to the Kingdom of the Pines, a Christian sect whose claim to fame is their conversion therapy program, Camp Damascus. At the novel’s start, autistic narrator Rose Darling is a god-fearing 20-year-old high school senior (“Kingdom kids” take two years off school to study the Bible) who has fully bought into the sect’s ideology and is proud of Camp Damascus’s “100 percent success rate.” Then she vomits up bugs at family dinner and begins seeing demonic apparitions whenever she experiences desire toward women—especially her friend Martina, who winds up murdered by one of these demons. It becomes apparent that Rose’s parents and her so-called therapist are gaslighting her, a creeping sensation compounded by flashes of memory of a relationship with a woman. The first act is an exercise in slowly mounting dread; then, once the pieces of Rose’s past fall into place, she sets out on a righteous revenge mission. It’s a fresh take on the exorcism trope, made richer by biblical allusions and subtle engagement with Peter Pan. With plenty of crossover YA appeal, this chilling page-turner should win Tingle a slew of new fans. Agent: Dongwon Song, Howard Morhaim Literary. (July)
Fantastic. Camp Damascus is seriously good.” —Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Furiously Happy
“A genuinely terrifying nightmare – but it ain’t the monsters you gotta be afraid of. Chuck Tingle is absolutely the best guide through this level of Hell.” —N.K. Jemisin, New York Times bestselling author
“It’s a bighearted, chilling ride that proves the author’s mantra over and over: Love is, indeed, real.” —Vulture
“This book is highly entertaining, cinematic, and filled with monsters, both human and supernatural, all of which will lure horror fans to its pages, but what holds it all together is the immense love at the heart of the novel.” —Library Journal (STARRED review)
“A timely, authentically chilling story.” —Booklist (STARRED review)
“Chuck Tingle continues to surprise and thrill. Camp Damascus is terrifying, darkly funny, and engagingly humane.” —John Scalzi, New York Times bestselling author
“Camp Damascus is a queer horror novel that unpacks the cruelty of conversion camps and that particular brand of religious fervor that actively harms people who are different under the guise of godliness....It is genuinely horrifying.... It is also beautiful and affirming.” —Tor.com
“Camp Damascus feels like a fantastic debut, and a subtle reinvention, and a proper evolution, all at once....a genuinely great horror story.” —BoingBoing
“This chilling page-turner should win Tingle a slew of new fans.” —Publishers Weekly
“Camp Damascus is as joyous as it is upsetting. It’s a Queer horror novel that neither shies away from the pain of prejudice nor downplays the victory of self-acceptance."—Esquire
"Camp Damascus is a very entertaining narrative about burning demons, friendship, and the power of love. ...It makes a statement that’s hard to deny: Chuck Tingle can write, and he’s here to stay."—Gabino Iglesias, Locus
“A joyful, furious romp through dark places, Tingle proves he's as good at fear as he is at love.” —T. Kingfisher, bestselling author of What Moves the Dead
"Camp Damascus is a hell of a ride. Tingle is right at home in the horror genre - he delivers all the thrills of a slasher while exploring the deep wounds that can be inflicted by broken systems. This book is worth your time." —Sarah Gailey, author of Just Like Home
“Jaw-dropping...both frightening and utterly cathartic. A queer nightmare of demonic proportions!” —Mark Oshiro, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anger is a Gift
“This book is for anyone who thought they were going to hell for being themselves. Chuck Tingle takes that fear and weaves it into a seamless horror that will keep you up at night. Camp Damascus is a big hug to all of us who had to fight to find each other.” —J.R. Dawson, author of The First Bright Thing
“Intelligent, cleverly written, and subversive. A strong and brilliant story of identity, love, sincerity, and personal triumphs even when things get dark.” —R.R. Virdi, USA Today bestselling author of The First Binding
“Thrilling, engrossing, surprising, and ultimately uplifting. Tingle blends horror and sincerity and makes it look easy, producing a mystery of betrayal and righteous justice that you won't forget.” —Ryan North, New York Times bestselling & Eisner-winning author
“Clever, scary as hell, and deeply satisfying. Love is real, and it transcends genre.” —Jay Edidin, cohost of Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men podcast
"A well-crafted and surprisingly moving novel. And certainly quite different from Tingle’s previous work..."—CrimeReads
★ 06/01/2023
Rose, a senior in high school, is a member of a church that has deep ties to her local community and a national reputation for running Camp Damascus, an LGBTQIA+ conversion center with a 100 percent success rate. While hanging out with friends, Rose sees a woman at the edge of the woods who appears to be decaying, wearing a red polo and name tag, and she is staring straight at Rose. This encounter launches Rose on a dangerous path of discovery as she begins to question all she's been taught. Engaging, curious, kind, and proudly neurodivergent, Rose carries the story as Tingle meticulously unfolds a plot that introduces distrust and confusion, building a pervasive discomfort and laying more and more pressure on Rose until it literally bursts, threatening to destroy everything she holds dear. This book is highly entertaining, cinematic, and filled with monsters, both human and supernatural, all of which will lure horror fans to its pages, but what holds it all together is the immense love at the heart of the novel. VERDICT Two-time Hugo finalist Tingle (Straight) has a huge cult following, and his brilliant mainstream debut does not disappoint. Suggest to fans of authors such as V. Castro and Hailey Piper, who take well-worn tropes and explore them through marginalized perspectives, creating something breathtaking and wholly new.
Mara Wilson expertly narrates a queer horror novel about an evangelical religious community in Montana and the gay conversion therapy camp at its heart. Rose Darling is 20, and while she never went to Camp Damascus, she knows people who have--though they don't talk about it. The novel takes a sharp turn into the surreal in the first chapter when Rose vomits up mayflies at the dinner table and her parents pass it off as a fluke. Wilson narrates with emotional depth, conveying all of Rose's intelligence, inquisitiveness, and fear as she's hunted by otherworldly beings. Rose, who is autistic and, she comes to realize, queer, fights to discover the truth about the rot at the center of all she's been taught--and fights for her future. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Mara Wilson expertly narrates a queer horror novel about an evangelical religious community in Montana and the gay conversion therapy camp at its heart. Rose Darling is 20, and while she never went to Camp Damascus, she knows people who have--though they don't talk about it. The novel takes a sharp turn into the surreal in the first chapter when Rose vomits up mayflies at the dinner table and her parents pass it off as a fluke. Wilson narrates with emotional depth, conveying all of Rose's intelligence, inquisitiveness, and fear as she's hunted by otherworldly beings. Rose, who is autistic and, she comes to realize, queer, fights to discover the truth about the rot at the center of all she's been taught--and fights for her future. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
