Book Report: Herculine by Grace Byron
By: Karen Mims
An all-trans women commune ran by your ex-girlfriend should be a safe haven, right? From conversion therapy to sleep paralysis demons and to cult-like rituals, we endure great paranoia, both before and during our visit to Herculine, a secluded camp named after a 19th-century intersex memoirist. Keep reading to see if Herculine is next on your TBR this spooky season.
BEFORE WE DIVE IN…
Genre: Fiction/Literary Fiction, horror
Age Group: 18+
Content Warnings: Transphobia, violence, rape, animal death, religious trauma, death, drugs
Spice Level: 4/5 (multiple scenes all throughout the book)
ABOUT THE BOOK (synopsis)
The main character, an aspiring writer and trans woman who remains nameless throughout the book, recently lost her low-paying job in New York City. She’s also lived a life through conversion therapy, terrible ex-lovers, and sleep paralysis demons. Her ex-girlfriend, Ash, reaches out and convinces her to temporarily move to Indiana and live at Herculine, an all-trans girl commune that Ash started in the middle of the woods.
Upon her arrival, our main character is greeted by what she thought was a cozy sisterhood away from the city. That is until she encounters cultlike rituals, eviscerated pigs, cannibalistic girls, and actual demons. With intertwined experiences between conversion therapy and religious trauma, demons followed our main character out of New York City, and it’s time that she faces her nightmares head-on.
Pictured is Herculine Barbin, Herculine’s namesake and a 19th-century intersex writer.
READER PROFILE
If you’re looking to consume media that has the same vibes as Herculine, then check these out:
For a gory read, Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin follows Beth and Fran, two trans women who hunt feral men in this post-apocalyptic timeline.
For queer and transgender representation in New York City, check out Pose, a critically acclaimed show depicting queer Black and Latino characters in the 1980s who compete in the drag ball scene.
For more trans women representation written and played by a trans woman, watch Sense8. In this show, you follow eight characters from different parts of the world who are all mentally linked.
For a cult-classic, campy take on conversion therapy, watch But I’m a Cheerleader (1999).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Based in New York, but originally from the Midwest, Grace Byron wrote Herculine: A Novel as her debut horror novel. Her work has been published in The Cut, Vogue, The New Yorker, and more. You can find her on social media @EmoTrophyWife.
WHAT READERS THINK
This book is set to come out in early October by Saga Press (an imprint of Simon and Schuster), so there are a lot of thoughts shared on the internet. There are many mixed reviews, so be sure to read this book for yourself, pending content warnings, of course, or see if your favorite reviewer has read Herculine yet!
“Although this was a short read the first half of this book felt like a drag to get through. I think the horror elements presented in the first half were downplayed by the main character, which in turn didn't give the reader any reason to feel scared or question what was happening. One aspect I did enjoy was learning the daily life of a Trans-Woman which included a lot of information that I am not aware of which made for a read that kept my interest. Just wish the horror had been sprinkled more throughout. The second half was well paced and was the best part of the book. One moment (which most might agree) made my jaw drop, but once the card was played, it transitioned too quickly into the subject matter where I would've liked to see it questioned and explored more.The book wasn't for me but I could see others enjoying this.”—Marcel U. on Netgalley (2-star review)
“I enjoyed this one, but not as much as I expected to. Byron's prose is stunning and a pleasure to read, but I felt that the pacing of the book was off. Once the narrator arrives at Herculine, the plot speeds up to a gallop without letting readers or even the MC herself really get to know the other women there - their personalities, their motivations; even, sometimes, their names (the narrator will refer to some characters exclusively by their physical attributes, i.e. "The Hot Butch" or "The One With Pink Hair"). I would argue that we, as readers, don't really get to know many of the characters, even the "villain" of the story. While enjoyable to read, this one just didn't quite live up to my expectations. I believe that many of my issues with this book can be chalked up to the fact that it's a debut. With that being said, if the author decides to write more trans horror, I would be eager to read those future works.”—kitastrophic on Storygraph (3-star review)
“I requested this book because I was intrigued by the trans horror premise. Herculine is a novel where the horror feels more inspired by literary fiction than the orderly explanations of urban fantasy. Even the goriest horror sequences in the book feel much more metaphorical than scary, and all of the fantasy elements are possible to explain away as the narrator's hallucinations or schizophrenia. The literary fiction feel is emphasized by the prose—Byron has a gift for excellent turns of phrase. There's a particularly good passage where she links the narrator's pushy landlord with a description of god as the heavenly landlord, and then quips that her mother taught her to pray for rent money. However, Byron also has a bit of a tendency to dedicate large passages to philosophizing, which may not be to everyone's taste. I wouldn't say Herculine navel gazes, but it certainly glances occasionally at the midriff. The plot itself is more metaphor than campy horror novel. We learn that demons are tied to people in their worst moment of trauma, and haunt them in attempt to steal their souls. Here, trauma tears apart the trans woman community literally, in the form of demons eating people. Our unnamed narrator is a prime target for demonic manipulation: haunted by the conversion therapy she suffered through as a teen, bitterly jealous of other women writers posting about their successes on instagram, and scraping her way through living in New York with ketamine and parties full of people she despises. And the trans utopia her ex promises her doesn't turn out to be much better...A dark and spiky trans horror book about intracommunity violence. It leaned a bit too far into litfic stylistically for my taste, but if that's more your thing, you may enjoy it.”—Kat S. on Netgalley (4-star review)
“This book is like catching up with sort-of-friend at 2 am at a sh*tty diner on a Saturday night because you both left the party and have nothing better to do and then she just casually tells you some of the most f*cked up stories about her life and you’re the only one picking at the order of fries you both said you were gonna share…Every sentence is delicious. I think Grace Byron should be given whatever she wants forever if it means she’ll keep writing.”—emjavii on Storygraph (5-star review)
BOOK REPORTER’S REVIEW
Karen’s Review: 3/5
This entire reading experience felt like a fever dream. The description of this book has everything I’d ever want in a story, but the pacing of the storyline and writing threw off my reading experience a little bit. I don’t think there was a balance between the metaphorical and physical demons that were present. In other words, the horror part of the book at around the 80% mark wasn’t scary or surprising for me. Despite this, the overall mood, demonic visuals, and theme of belonging kept me reading!
Thank you, Netgalley, for a review copy of this book! If Herculine sounds like your next read, request it from your local public library or click here to pre-order it from Simon and Schuster!
