The Church of the Mountain of Flesh by Kyle Wakefield

THE CHURCH OF THE MOUNTAIN OF FLESH is a cosmic horror novel about mad artists, bodies spiralling out of control, and a trans man's merciless desperation. Sole De Gasinis drowns his grief in wine and buries his hatred of his body in twisted sculptures. When, one drunken night on the beach, God orders him to rebuild his village's church, he knows he wasn't chosen for his piety. Instead, he and God make a deal. If Sole rebuilds the church, God will give him the body of a man. As Sole works in a frenzy for salvation, lifelong friendships decay, a village united to tear down its church fractures into pariahs and zealots, and power and grief reshape the prophet into a tyrant. Grief for a boy he fell in love with ten years ago, who claimed to be a virgin birth, who died in agony in the church crypt when the God inside him wanted out--and whose monstrous remnant Sole must commune with for every piece of his prize.

Adult • Diversity Representation/LGBTQ+ • Fantasy/Dark • Diversity Representation/LGBTQ+/Own Voices • Horror • Horror/Supernatural and Occult

Content Warning: Graphic body horror including decay and infestation of live bodies Graphic gore Graphic sickness and injury detail including vomiting Graphic bloody violence including cannibalism Slow death Imagery reminiscent of self-harm Imagery reminiscent of a miscarriage Healing a lifelong disability against the disabled person’s will Corrupting and codependent romance Explicit sexual content including unsafe sadomasochism Descent of a Catholicism-based religion into cultism Physical abuse of a child by a parent Injury of a baby Death of a parent Grief Alcohol abuse Suicidal ideation Gender dysphoria Misgendering and deadnaming Internalised misogyny from a trans man Consumption of rocks, clay, dirt and other non-food items Natural disaster including imagery of people trapped under rubble Mercy killing of an animal Mentioned death of a child Mentioned suicide attempt by a child Mentioned traumatic childbirth Mentioned eating disorder