Hell Followed with Us

Set in a post-apocalyptic world in which a group of fundamentalists create a virus that kills most people it infects, leaves ‘God’s chosen few’ unscathed, and turns the rest into fleshy, bone-scaly monsters (called Graces), the novel follows Benji, a trans boy who is the son of one of the most prominent faithful, and who is infected with a special version of the virus, which will turn him into a Seraph, and give him power over the Graces mentally to command them to do his bidding. The cult believe the Seraph will lead them to victory over the remaining faithless, but Benji escapes and finds other survivors like him at a nearby LGBTQ center. Together they form a plan to fight back.

White writes absolutely gut-punchingly grim stuff, show more but his metaphors for trans people being seen as monsters is always spot on and brilliant. He’s quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. show less

I am in awe of this book! So beautiful and heartbreaking and healing. But also, at times, challenging and uncomfortable. The religious trauma that I’m still working through and trying to become comfortable in my own skin hits hard many times throughout the book. I feel so connected to Benji in trying to figure out who he is and, simultaneously, being ecstatic about using he/him pronouns and his real name. Even at thirty, I’m still figuring shit out….I mean, aren’t we all?

Even though this was a young adult novel, it read so much older than that. As a post-apocalyptic novel, there’s a focus on blood, guts, carnage, and trying to survive. Yet, the main part of the story focuses on this group of teenagers forced to grow up too show more soon just trying to figure things out after the Flood happened. The brilliance of White’s writing is how he breaks up this tense and horrible situation, with the group having fun moments and joking around. They can act like normal teenagers, as well as supporting each other. Even when they find out about Benji, they still support and accept him into the group. Ultimately, it brings a feeling of hopefulness that while disaster might happen (and people usually suck), there are those who work to do and be better.

I truly appreciated the ending, as the idea that I’m supposed to forgive and vengeance is God’s. Why is it that only oppressed people are required to turn the other cheek? To forgive and forget? These people want to exterminate me and mine, and I’m supposed to be okay with it, to accept it? I hate that. I am angry a lot of the time, frustrated and sad, and a whole host of other emotions. So, seeing Benji and the Watch decimate New Nazareth and end their control was satisfying and healing. There are monsters in the world, but who says they must be the bad guys? I absolutely love this book and recommend it to everyone!!

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I didn't go into Hell Followed with Us looking for grand world-building or complex plots; just emotional and visceral drama built on its premise: fundie cults, body horror and queer angst.

The book delivered that, and I had a ton of fun reading it! The story, the rage, the gore -- it validated me.

The author wrote Theo and Benji really well. Nick was interesting, don't get me wrong, and I'd read a dozen more stories about that guy's past, present and future, but he was more straightforward as a character than the other two guys. Who had some serious fucking drama. So much shared history. So many issues to hash out between them, that the final brawl between them, where Benji points out that Theo's "undesirable" (i.e. a gay bitch) too, show more was just so satisfying.

My favourite bits are the lone chapters that give insight into Nick's and Theo's perspectives. Each of these chapters revealed something new about their beliefs, which differed from each other's and from Benji's, and so always surprised me.

Theo especially surprised me, I think. From accepting Benji's gender identity, to apologising so sincerely for physically abusing Benji that I believed it, to betraying him afterwards with such a straight and loving expression, to being so excited about marrying monsterform!Benji, to injecting himself with the Dominion serum. Like, damn. Hardcore. Committedly so. His choices catapulted the plot forward in a few places, which made him super interesting.

Small gripes I had around a supporting character's motivation: Sister Kipling turning out to be a heretic seemed sudden. Don't know if I missed a piece of foreshadowing beforehand? When I first saw the quotes from her diary about whether this was all a mistake, I was like, "Huh? Lady, are you clowning?"

Overall: 4/5 stars, because I really liked it. Ever feel pissed off about the world, about how people perceive and impose expectations on you and your gender and your future? Read this book. show less

In the near future, a virus has wiped out most of the human population. Into this vacuum has risen a fundamentalist Christian cult who believe the Flood (as they call the disease) is part of their prophecy, and their role is to be Angels and kill anyone who doesn’t believe. The group experimented on Benji, the teen child of one of their leaders, infecting him with a genetically engineered variant of the virus which will allow him to control the other infected. However, the prophecy relies on their Savior being an innocent girl, which Benji refuses to pretend to be. After losing his dad, who helped him both transition and escape, Benji hides from his mom with a group of survivors in an abandoned LGBTQ community center. They accept his show more transness, of course, but can they accept that he's an infected monster, and can they trust him enough to bring down the cult together?

I really enjoyed the queer and horror aspects of this book, but found the Christianity a bit annoying. The constant bible references were not meaningful to me and I felt like I was missing a lot. I'm certain this book would be very cathartic to people who have struggled against fundamentalism in their own lives, and I hope they find it! But it was not really for me. I do look forward to reading more from this author in the future, though. show less

Meet Benji, a trans guy on the run from the fundamentalist terrorist cult that raised him and turned him into the worlds most dangerous bio-weapon. Escaping is only half the challenge, the virus is literally eating him alive, rebuilding his body into a terrifying creature called Seraph. His only chance lies with the other teenagers he meets in the ruins of the city's LGBTQ center called the ALC. But can he really trust their leader Nick with his secret?

CW from the author’s website: Hell Followed With Us is a horror novel about fundamentalism, hatred, and the beauty in ugly spaces. There is a thematic focus on gore, mutilation, and other violations of the human body.
Violence (explicit gore, arson, murder and mass murder, warfare, show more terrorism)
Body Horror
Transphobia (misgendering, dead-naming with name written out repeatedly, threats of transphobic violence, forced detransition)
Religious abuse/Christian terrorism, combined with elements of eco-fascism
Abusive parents and domestic partner violence (including returning to an abusive partner and victim self-blame)
Self-injury (including attempted suicide of a side character)
Emetophobia (vomiting) warning throughout

Hell Followed With Us is an intense read about a group of queer kids just trying to stay alive in a world that is actively trying to kill them. Even before the Angels unleashed armageddon in the for of a terrible plague that killed most of the 9 billion people on earth, they already faced a world that was set up against them as queer youth.

My queer book club chose this book as our May selection and I think I’m safe to say I wasn’t quite ready for this book despite reading the description of it and wanting to read it. I did like this book, the story was page turning, the characters were very well done, and I couldn’t put it down. It was scary and it felt entirely too possible. The body horror is very visceral but it isn’t done just to be sensational. It’s appropriate and you can read it as a metaphor for the damage done to trans folks by the world at large. It was really interesting to hear Benji talk about being trans in a post-apocalyptic world. How he’d forgotten that it didn’t hurt to be trans, it hurt to be trans in a world that was designed to harm trans people.

I am not autistic, so my thoughts on this are the thoughts of an allistic person reading a trans character, but I really appreciated the insight that Andrew was able to offer through Nick. I got so attached to him. He was a queer autistic teenager struggling to lead other scared teenagers through the nightmare of a destroyed world. I appreciated learning more about his struggles to mask and the way Benji saw his struggles and how hard it was. The bead lizards were so evocative for me. I can remember making them, and the scenes with them felt so much more vivid to me. There were a lot of small things like that and it really anchored this story to reality and through that made it feel more real, for better and for worse at times.

I appreciated the development of the side characters as well, not everyone is just going to seamlessly step into the role of a gun carrying warrior, and the teens at the ALC accepted that. I think it was Aisha who was part of the watch and she kept her cool under pressure but afterwards would fall apart a little bit. The rest of them made the space for that to happen. The kids at ALC were the best part of this story, their created family wasn’t perfect, but they looked out for each other and protected the vulnerable parts without devaluing them. Everyone found ways to contribute. Without them, I don’t think I could have handled this story. They were a much needed safe place.

This is a tough book, but I liked it. But I just want to make sure folks know the content warnings beforehand. Use your own best judgment for if you’re in a good headspace for a novel like this one. show less

I can't wait to read more by this author! I was drawn in by the visceral imagery from the moment I began this book. The world that White has created is dark, gritty and terrifying while still managed to hang on to some humanity. What I truly appreciated was that it's unlike anything I have read before.

The characters are fully developed, intriguing, and unique. The plot unrolls fast enough to be a bit breath-taking at moment and slow enough to tantalize the reader to continue.

Benji is a fantastic character. He's the key to the genre bending of this novel.... there's a lot going on in Benji's world. He is fleeing a cult, infected with a bioweapon, dealing with the aftermath of an abusive relationship. What a marvellously complex and show more frightening world Benji is residing in.

The plot is sneaky and will catch you good when you're not looking! The fact that the cast of character is populated with diverse and wonderful characters. The book isn't just populated with queer characters, it's about and driven by queer characters. I loved it.

If you like dark and intriguing, body horror, mixed genre- sci fi, you'll love this one! Bravo! show less

This is a powerful story about how religious trauma can impact someone and the harm that the religious extremism has on society. The descriptions are impactful, both on accurately showing the trauma queer people can face from exclusion, but also the strength that comes from having a community. It made me cry several times.