Here Be Monsters: How To Fight Capitalism Instead of Each Other

Information on how to pre-order my new book.

I’m damn thrilled to announce the official pre-order for my upcoming book, Here Be Monsters, is now live.

It will be released 12 September, 2023, from Repeater Books (London). And I’ll also be in London, and quite a few other places in the UK, for a couple of weeks to do release events.

If you’ve been reading me for awhile, you’ve already had glimpses of early parts of it, as well as the rather intense work it required to sort through these matters. I received a print copy of it a few nights ago. It looks amazing, and is bigger than I remembered, and also much funnier.

Here’s what Yasha Levine kindly said about the book when he read an advance copy:

“Rhyd writes about some of the toughest, most contentious issues of our society — and he does so with empathy and wisdom. A great, highly informative book.”

And here’s what Dougald Hine said:

This book is an invitation to a sober conversation, away from the sound and fury of social media. You’ve heard the whispers of this conversation, when people hint at their fear of cancellation, or wonder at how good intentions pave the way for hellish loops of toxic behaviour. Rhyd Wildermuth has lived enough of this first-hand, it gives his writing an edge of hard-won wisdom. In fighting monsters, he tells us, we risk to become monstrous; yet this bestiary he offers is also an invitation to come to terms with the monstrosities within us, the parts of ourselves that don’t fit onto any map of identities. And it culminates in a call to a politics that is grounded in friendship, surely the starting point for building a common life in the troubled times around and ahead of us.”

And there are more endorsements coming.

Here’s the official announcement:

Here Be Monsters speaks to a left that has forgotten its history, its potential, and its power.

Gramsci spoke of a time of monsters or morbid symptoms. In the ancient world, monsters were not enemies, but rather divine warnings, symptoms of a world out of balance. Here Be Monsters meets these monsters and listens to what they have to tell us.

Interweaving personal stories with engaging histories of political thought and the meanings of monsters, Rhyd Wildermuth reveals the roots of current identity conflicts and political contradictions in feminism, anti-racist theory, Marxism, Frankfurt School theorists, and the many other leftist attempts to put the world back into balance.

The left has always been the province of dreamers and visionaries, or as Ursula K. Le Guin named them, “realists of a larger reality.” Here Be Monsters is an urgent and deeply engaging narrative to help us remember that reality once more.

You can pre-order it directly from Repeater Books at this link.

Or, if you prefer, you can order it from one of the retailers listed on its official Penguin/Random House page here.

And if you’re a Kindle user, you can pre-order it here.

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How you can help

Besides pre-ordering a copy of Here Be Monsters, getting the word out about the book is really helpful. Sharing this post is a great way to do this.

And once it’s out, writing reader reviews always helps for book sales.

In the meantime, if you’re a podcaster or writer and want to discuss the book with me, I’d love to talk! Or if you know someone who you think would like to talk about it, direct them to me (or me to them). And if you’re a reviewer, I’d happily put you in contact with the publicist for a review copy.

Also, I’ll be in the UK from 10 September until likely 1 October for several events which are still being planned. Repeater’s publicists will have more information for me on this soon, but some of these events can absolutely benefit from some organizational help. If you’d like to help organize or promote an event, please let me know in the comments or by email.

In addition, I’ll likely be going to the United States (for the first time in 7 years) in December. Once I know more about this, I’d really love help organizing readings and discussions in the heart of the empire.

I’m damn certain you’re going to love this book. I do, and it was absolutely worth the year and a half of work required to write it.

Much love,

—Rhyd