“That’s why I won’t give them the chance to eradicate me. I’ll spread further and faster than they can cope with because I will not be held back from being all that I’m capable of. From being the world.”

There are images, thoughts, things I will take from these pages and come back to, for probably ever. That’s not necessarily a good thing. Repulsion, grief, erotica, rage, dysphoria, euphoria, everything outside and between are all on display in extraordinary severity. A bizarre cacophony of voices and contexts, edited and configured perfectly by Gislason, will compel you further and further into this, unfortunately, quick collection. I think it’s safe to say that trans authors have a more intrinsic relationship, advantage even, with body horror. It just comes with the territory. It’s hard to pick a favorite story but a few knockouts for me were Layne Van Rensburg’s “Long Fingers,” Bitter Karella’s “A Brief History of the Santa Carcossa Archipelago,” and “Lady Davelina’s Last Pet” by Charles-Elizabeth Boyles.

Anthologies can sometimes swing and miss. “Bound” did a hell of a lot of hitting. The missing, few and far between as it were, was mostly due to writing style and content: it’s body horror people, a lot of this swings extreme. If that’s not your bag, and it’s not always mine, I’d hesitate to recommend this one to you. I’d have to give a laundry list of TWs for this book. While it won’t be for everyone, I do believe in reading difficult things to explore perspectives that aren’t my own.

4/5 Penis gods, an eternal murder/suicide pact, and trans women mushrooms, oh my!