Queer Werewolves Destroy Capitalism (2024)

There are no reviews so I feel like it is my duty, just in case someone-unlike me- reads reviews before buying a book.
So: this is MALE EROTICA which I wish I had realized, but “Destroy Capitalism” pretty much had me hooked and there was no turning back. The title story is honestly pretty good, and definitely erotic. I’m not very into men and I’m definitely not into werewolves but like? It was good enough to make me not question either of those facts. Some of the stories were kinda hard to follow and/or dragged on, but honestly for a mistaken buy I’m impressed. The nice thing is this is SUPER QUEER and SUPER DIVERSE so it’s not just white man x white man which tbh is a huge compliment in this genre.

Edit: I have returned to this book twice and for that I have added more stars. Beautiful tales age like fine wine. And yes, I’m drunk on them.

respect the unhingedness

LOVED this, especially the first short story hehe

This is definitely unique and worth the price of admission for the title story alone. Unfortunately, the others are not so successful at blending sexy sex with a compelling setting, humor, and a foxy rebelliousness. But again, the title story is clever and cute and subversive, and we need more accessible smut featuring queer folks beyond the binary, so I'd fully recommend this one for your collections.

Now, that title of this book may seem a bit on the nose, but it is one the book wears with pride. The book is a collection of six short stories connected by theme but not plot. And of course there is a steamy and erotic romance at the core of each one.

The stories within the book span multiple genres. The title shows off the obvious supernatural, but there’s also sci-fi, fantasy, and even western in here too. Short as they may be, MJ Lyons does a brilliant job detailing each of these settings, spelling out just enough of the world to keep you wanting more. Each of these stories is fully realized, with plot lines running parallel to any sexy shenanigans. None of the writing ever feels out of place.

Similarly, each story’s protagonist is equally eclectic. We have tops, bottoms, and even trans-men getting the spotlight, letting us see the story and sex through a variety of different eyes. The same holds true for their partners, of which several times there are more than one, and it was really nice to read about such a diverse group of characters.

Some of these tales feature relationships that have already been established, old lovers enjoying a little afternoon delight. Others detail new romances, blossoming and developing against the backdrop of the plot and setting. All are treated with the same level of respect and given equal weight.

The sex scenes are very well written, and with the differing protagonists, no two scenes feel the same. And while I would not necessarily qualify this as a kinky book, there are a surprisingly pleasant amount of kinks on display. Did I expect to read about a space explorer, bondage, and tentacle p*rn? No. But did I enjoy it? Hell yes.

If you’re in the market for a book of short stories, and you like any of the things I’ve written about above, then I would highly recommend you pick up this book. I had a really great time reading it and think you would too. It appears to be the first in a series called “Queering Consent,” though I cannot find any follow up books yet. But when MJ Lyons decides to release another one, I will certainly be picking it up.

2.5 for me rounded up to 3 because I always round up and also the title alone deserves half a star.

An ok collection of queer short fiction all with a spicy and fantastical twist. I did appreciate the broad range of settings and concepts for only five stories, and there were some compelling moments and ideas throughout. I would have liked more variety in narration since I'm not a big first-person reader, and none of the stories really stood out to me in any profound way. Some had interest settings or worldbuilding, others interesting characters, others good smutty scenes, but it seemed like none of these at the same time, unfortunately. And there was a real lack in depth or complexity to most of the relationships, which I guess is to be expected in short fiction but did lead to sex scenes that fell sort of flat to me. But I'm a romantic and not that into reading hookups between strangers and with prostitutes, so that's entirely a matter of taste and preference. Also, I recognize that this is nitpicking, but I was taken out of the story ever time there was a comma-splice run-on sentence, which happened way too frequently. Overall, probably wouldn't recommend this to others unless they were big fans of the stuff I described above (first person, hook ups, etc), but it was still fun and unique to read a collection like this!

I picked this up at an indie bookstore, mostly because of the title and cover. I mean QUEER WEREWOLVES…. DESTROYING CAPITALISM…??? Sign me up.
What I hadn’t noticed was that is is not just smutty stories, it’s actually erotica. But these stories are hot, well written and so diverse.

These stories rule. They're fun, smutty and weird 10/10 would read again. Strongly recommend to all the monsterf*ckers out there. Also, there's a lot more than just werewolf smut, there's tentacles and cowboys and all sorts of good stuff here.

Fun indie bookstore find. This was a truly a wild ride and I love that this has a spot on my bookshelf now based on the title and cover alone.

“UNAPOLOGETICALLY QUEER, UNABASHEDLY SMUTTY SPECULATIVE FICTION”

Right after I heard about Queer Werewolves Destroy Capitalism by MJ Lyons, I went to Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia and ordered it. They were as taken by the title as I was, so they ordered several copies for the store. The next time I’m in the store, I’ll have to remember to ask them how the book sold.

The blurb on the back cover of the book says, “these tales of unapologetically queer, unabashedly smutty speculative fiction will thrill, titillate, and delight.” I will add to this: And how! “Unapologetically queer” is an understatement. The provocative cover illustration and the colorful drawings on the inside front and back covers wonderfully contribute to the queerness of the book.

The subtitle of the book is “Five Smutty Queer Stories,” but the table of contents includes six entries. I assume the sixth story, “Queer Werewolves Destroy the Oligarchy,” is a continuation of, a bookend to, the first story, “Queer Werewolves Destroy Capitalism: A Precarious Revenge Fantasy.” So, five queer smutty stories. But these stories are so much more than smut; they aren’t just male/male erotica.

MJ Lyons knows how to tell a gripping story. As I said earlier, And how! Each of the five stories is unique in time period, and in geographic, and non-geographic, setting. The titular story takes place in contemporary Toronto. The narrator transforms into a werewolf at night and joins his pack of colleagues on missions: “Our prey is a temple of glass and metal. Of electricity and plastic. The human temple of wealth . . . We tear devices out of the walls . . . A klaxon blares into the night, but I start up a howl and together we drown it out.” After their actions, they have hot werewolf pack sex.

The second story, “Obsidian Devil and the Dead Man’s Hand,” takes place in New Mexico Territory in 1859. This is a Western story like no other Western story you’ve ever read. The narrator is a black man, “a sole free man,” who quotes Walt Whitman. The conventions of the American Western are turned upside down in this story. Need I say, there’s also lots of smut in this story?

“Peril on Gargara-5” takes us to outer space. This over-the-top story is wild. The first sentence sets the scene: “The substance is a mirror of onyx, a pool of unfathomable, undisturbed darkness.” This black, alien substance attacks—seduces, actually—the narrator, who, at one point in this insane story, says, “I suppose it’s not often a crew of horny degenerates gets to watch a cute trans guy get f*cked by an alien of unknown origins.” When I read this, I was reminded of one of the epigraphs at the front of the book: “Sitting pretty in the prime of life / I’m so tasty and the price is right / Stewing in the black dope / I’m filthy and I love it.” These are lines from “Take a Slice,” a song by the band Glass Animals.

“Heir” is the longest story in the collection; it’s almost a novella. Hyun, the narrator, is from the Kingdom of the Sacred Mountains, and Ji-min with his demon-possessed armor, is from the Warlord Lands. It takes a while to realize what these two young men from enemy kingdoms are up to. Lyons gives us absolutely beautiful descriptions in this story, such as, “Lights shone from my helmet, revealing gray-green shapes on all sides of us, the bases of ancient towers, the yawning maws of submerged dwellings, the infinite abysses where the ancient city had collapsed in on itself.”

The fifth story, “The Painting of the Empty Bed: An Apocryphal Tale of C. Auguste Dupin,” takes place in nineteenth-century Paris. The character of Auguste Dupin was originally created by Edgar Allan Poe and was the first detective in literature. The story also has echoes of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The subject of a portrait of a gorgeous nude young man titled “Hyacinth” supposedly walks out of the frame of the painting and disappears. The search for “Hyacinth” takes the narrator and Monsieur Dupin to bathhouses of a certain orientation and to the Tuileries, where “Neither rain nor raids of morality squads could stop the sodomites, ephebes and catamites of Paris from their nocturnal assignations.”

From the American West to outer space, from a dystopia to nineteenth-century Paris, bookended by contemporary Toronto, MJ Lyons takes the reader on unforgettable queer journeys in this fabulously designed small paperback. My only quibble with the book is that it contains quite a few distracting copy editing errors.

Lyons seamlessly integrates the erotica—excuse me, the smut—in his stories which actually could stand on their own without it. They are so rich in many other ways. But the smut adds an extra, exciting layer to the stories that keeps the reader turning the pages.

We could use many packs of queer werewolves like those in this book to help us dismantle the rotten oligarchy and their oppressive capitalist system. C’mon, queer werewolves! We need you right now!

I picked this up at a local witchy shop because the title hooked me immediately. I didn't realize it was male/male erotica when I bought it, but the stories were well written and diverse and hot!

Given that this has only a single review, I feel compelled to write something. So: You should read Queer Werewolves Destroy Capitalism. [Unless you don't wanna read sex scenes; there are quite a few sex scenes.]

This slim collection of short stories spans a variety of genres and features some really good writing and some really bad writing (and a few obvious grammatical errors that made me wince) - but honestly, I was pleasantly surprised to find these stories genuinely compelling.

My only complaint was that maybe Heirs was slightly too long - or maybe I just wasn't feeling it while reading it.

Basically, I can't imagine someone choosing to read this and not enjoying it because it's a very particular type of book - why would you choose to read this unless you were interested in it?

One warning is that it's a collection of short stories - not all of them are about queer werewolves, so don't expect the entire thing to be about werewolves.

I'm technically giving this 4.5 but rounding it up to 5 stars. Reasoning at the end as to why I've knocked off half a star.

I rarely give 5 stars as often there is something more I want from stories, and especially anthologies/collections, even if that's simply "more"! And whilst I would love more of this (and I'll be checking out Lyons' other stuff), the stories all felt very complete and well-rounded. I, perhaps cynically, had also not expected the appearance of trans male characters in an M/M collection, so that was a pleasant and welcome surprise!

That isn't to say there aren't a few things I think could have been done better, which I'll get to at the end. But overall, the >almost< 5 stars here is based on 2 things - the fantastic stories, and the fact that I would gladly pick this up and read it again (and again).

Some spoilers ahead for the stories (though not major ones that would mire enjoyment)

I almost didn't pick this one up as, from the cover and the title, I was expecting something overtly political, but other than Queer Werewolves Destroy Capitalism and Queer Werewolves Destroy The Oligarchy, both fun little stories, the politics aren't in your face. Whilst, of course, the anti-capitalist sentiment is there, it is more abstractly addressed in the rest of the stories.

Both Queer Werewolves stories, especially the first as the second is more of an epilogue, are set in a modern world with supernatural elements which are nicely weaved in, giving us a setting and group of characters that draw you into the politics and have you rooting for them and their handling of the situation. An enjoyable and smutty read, and especially will appear to trans/monster enjoyers :)

Obsidian Devil and The Dead Man's Hand is a great queer Western, and again the world building here and the depth of characters is really well done, it felt really immersive for such a short story and leaves the reader satisfied with the end.

Peril on Gargara is pretty much pure sci-fi smut, and it's great! Again there is a lot of detail to the characters and situation that takes this past gratuitous (not that there's anything wrong with gratuitous smut) and into a story that holds meaning for the characters. Another trans masc character here, which is a nice bonus!

Heir is my absolute favourite of all the stories in this volume, probably one of my favourite stories in recent memory. If it wasn't obvious by now, I'm a sucker for good worldbuilding, and this story has that in spades. I LOVE this world. I love the characters and the story. I could read a longer version of this where more of the world is explored on their journey, I could watch a film or TV show of this. Just pour it all straight into my skull. There is a particular heavy-handedness that often comes with stories set in a low tech future with a high tech past, and often an awful lot of info dumping - Heir doesn't have that at all. The history of the people and the planet itself are very deftly woven through the narrative in a way that makes sense and doesn't overwhelm. The story itself is lovely and the ending is just so hopeful and warm.

The Painting of the Empty Bed is my second favourite - an interesting historical and excessively queer take on a locked room mystery. I love that it is an epistolary (never enough of those), I love the characters and how they are all viewed through the narrator (as well as how he sees himself and the world around them - again incredibly rich!!). And I love the resolution of this story, not just the well deserved sex, but to the mystery itself. I do love a good mystery, and especially ones where I'm not entirely sure how they did the thing, and this one kept me guessing for quite a while and had an absolutely brilliant end.

Overall, you can say I very much enjoyed this book. But to the minuses-

Some of the stories, including Heir, could have done with a bit more of an edit to ensure they flowed and made sense. There were a few sentences here and there that seemed skipped over and could have done with more work.

In regards to the flow, I also personally found the order of the stories quite jarring. Whilst I understood the desire to lead with the titular Queer Werewolves, the jumping from modern (though supernatural) around historical and science fiction broke the flow of the stories. Perhaps it would be better to read them chronologically - historical, modern then sci-fi?

Lastly, and this may not be everyone's preference as I am aware that there are readers who are opposed to trigger/content warnings or notes, but personally I feel that this collection could have done with them. From the title the politics and anarchy are implied and so perhaps a level of violence and of course monster f*ckery. Which is all good, however I think warnings related to the treatment of race/racism might not go amiss. And certainly, as a trans guy, I am aware that many trans and non-binary folk would appreciate a content note at least around what language is being used to describe anatomy and what sex acts take place involving trans characters so they can avoid it if it's something that would be uncomfortable or dysphoric for them. Whilst I'm personally okay with pretty much any language used, I'm knocking off a half a star as I can see this being a potentially uncomfortable read for any trans or non-binary folk going into it not knowing what to expect. So whilst I would absolutely recommend this volume to trans and non-binary readers, I would also preface my recommendation with content notes.

It's queer, it's anti capitalist, it's smutty. The cover does the book justice. There are werewolves, tentacle alien creatures, cowboys, smugglers, and more!

Read this in about an hour and a half. Delightful quick read, what I like to refer to as a snack read.

This was everything

I won't lie the title got me.

4.5 but rounded down.

Queer Werewolves is a compilation of queer m/m short stories written by M.J. Lyons- erotic in nature and of vast different genres.

We have paranormal erotica, historical western, a victorian dapper detective and scifi- all varied on length.

And it was so fun!

Our first story contains the titular werewolves- and for me personally I think one of the weaker shorts for the world building that M.J is clearly very good at- though it's not badly written at all- for me though the paranormal elements mixed in with the modern urban setting needed a bit more building up- I would like to see a full length novel maybe from this world.

Second story is an historic western- and probably one of my favourites for the action, the gritty world and the slapped together found family (or town in this case). Also loved the fun casual sex romps- though age was a bit........unclear on a couple of the characters so do be warned.

Third was a dabble into the scifi- a nice little short- also space pirates- though not much was used with that but they are there in all but name.

Fourth is more scifi and also goes down a more apocalypse post world- this was the most interesting and the world building unfortunately fell through a little- perhaps it needed more space to really grow into it- however I loved the hopeful message this one contained.

Fifth is the dapper Victorian detective story told in the style of an openly queer Sherlock Holmes style- but with really low stakes and I think this was another favourite of mine- and I hope the author gives them their own series.

The sixth and final one is a return to our capitalist destroying werewolves and their witchy boyfriend protesting in parliament in a........interesting fashion- but it does warm my monster lover heart.

If any of these sound like a fun time and you are up for some detailed erotica then pick this book up. I certainly will be keeping an eye out for more of M.J. Lyons to see what comes out next from them.

The first and last stories with a completely nameless werewolf POVish character and boyfriend who is just me 8 years in the future, and the sci-fi one with the telepathic sex goo were my favorites. It's fun and wild, and I gasped a couple of times while reading it. Read with your friends to unlock new kinks XD (He's literally completely nameless. it's great)

Each story is drastically different, and all have such interesting writing quirks. Sometimes, I feel like the standards of more traditionally written books are kinda taken for granted? If that makes sense. Once in a while, I do want to read a cowboy story where the dialogue is so cowboy-y that it's actually hard to follow. I want more "yes ands"

Again, I liked reading it with other people, I think that's the best way to experience this book. I read it myself and then forced my people to read it immediately because I couldn't hold in how odd some of the fantasy/sci-fi stuff was but couldn't explain how good and normal it felt at the same time. I don't have time to be squeamish about my own body and queerness because the queer aspects are the most normal part of the book! Like I'm more full speed ahead, happy for all my transition goals, than ever, and watching my friends also go "Wow, that's hot" about trans characters makes me feel more confident too.

Idk if that's all because of the book itself, but that's the experience I had because of it, so I'm giving it 5 stars. It was cool, and I'm going to be reading more collections like these :)

Obsidian Devil and Heir were two really good stories, but the rest were...drab and droll. Also this is so obviously geared towards queer trans folk, with a huge emphasis on PC language in queer settings (eg: the emphasis on "consent" on the cover and back), yet no TW's for incestuous language, magical mpreg and racism? Like, if you're going to write a book this self righteous, and holier than thou, you should probably add potential TW's in your book.
Maybe I'm being pedantic, since normally I would not really care about that, but it felt like the author was trying to show the world how much better they were by being anti-capitalist and how much diversity they can fit into their book, but omit something so basic, that we even expect from 14 year olds on AO3 😂

M.J. Lyons, I....just WOW!
If you are into some super spicy werewolf stories about a wolfpack, a werewolf and a sorcerer in Canada, go to town.
This is a collection of short stories and they are 5-pepper spicy.
The whole werewolf thing wasn't really doing it for me, so to each their own, but Lyons definitely knows how to write some spice. WOW!
Principal Characters: about a 4
Spice Level: HIGH
Setting: not relevant IMO
Plot: Extremely fast-paced (they are short stories after all), but if it isn't about the Queer werewolves destroying capitalism, there's something spicy going on, which Lyons does do a good job with of melding the two;
Overall 3.5 stars out of 5

I absolutely love the werwolf short stories, they were queer and sexy and if werewolves were real I feel like this kind of representation would be pretty accurate. As far as the other stories go I’ll say that they’re all drastically different while sharing a queer element. Even if one of the stories doesn’t sound quite as interesting to you I’d still suggest reading them all. All of them have their own dash of spice and have satisfying endings.

I don't know how I didn't realize this was a collection of short stories, I mean, it's right there on the cover: "Smutty Stories by MJ Lyons". I think the title story was my favorite, and I wish I had more from this big-membered werewolf and his trans witch boyfriend. I appreciate how the writing style changed a bit for each story; it helped me get into each world, and it shows the breadth of Lyons' writing abilities. I will definitely read more from this author.

Bought this book because duh read the title but honestly didn’t expect much. I was so pleasantly surprised. The short stories are erotic af, well written and very fun. It’s like all the best fanfic tropes but with OCs you actually care about. Despite loving werewolves I think the Cowboy story was my fav, but I legit enjoyed them all. Would recommend to all the freaks (affectionate) out there!

Smutty gays are werewolves. Snuggly gays are in the wild wild west. Smutty gays are f-ed by horny space good then f-ed by a traitorous but sexy enemy.

It’s fun, it’s fluffy, my only complaint is about the use of the phrase “boy p***y” which bothers me so much I cringed every time I saw it.

Well, that was different.

Never knew I needed me some trans-guy witch meets werewolf smut but I quite enjoyed it, along with the trans-guy and “horny goop” story.

Not every story is as amazing as the first, but the first one is so good I still have to give this collection 5 stars.

I don’t even know what to say .

I found some of these pretty fun but struggled with others.

My expectations and this book were so far apart I'm not sure I can give it a fair rating so we're going to leave it unrated and I'll just say I've read worse, but I've read better.

Fun, thoughtful and definitely unique.