REVIEW: The Strange and Unbelievable Tall Tale of Mighty Max by Duncan Gaye

- May 12, 2026

THE STRANGE AND UNBELIEVABLE TALL TALE OF MIGHTY MAX

by Duncan Gaye

Release Date: May 12, 2026

Review

I have no idea how to describe the Unbelievable Tale of fantasy and myth, but I really enjoyed it.

Brian and Max explore the notion of legends and myths as they learn to love in the face of the unbelievable and fill a void in the depths of the forest.

What is real, and does it matter if they’ve found love.

Add to your TBR List

GOODREADS LINK

Synopsis

Brian Dunleavy comes to the North Woods to write a serious novel. Instead, he falls in love with a kitschy paper towel mascot.

It begins with a whistle in the trees and the unmistakable sense of being watched. A bootprint the size of a bathtub. Then a muscular, 43-foot-tall lumberjack steps out of the forest.

Mighty Max is handsome. He is kind. Broad-shouldered and blue-eyed, he lives in permanent flannel. He claims he was born from tall tales and campfire legends—back when giants were needed, and believed in. But giants fade when they are mocked. Legends disappear when they're forgotten.

As solitude turns to intimacy, myth turns warm and very, very tangible. Brian finds himself lifted in the careful palm of the colossal man whose shadow stretches across the meadow like dusk itself. Beneath cold stars and beside impossible bonfires, he discovers that loving a giant means choosing to believe in him even when belief bends reality.

Reality is definitely bending. And when Max is reclaimed by the forest, Brian may be the only one who can write him back into being. If stories invent their tellers, who is keeping whom alive?

Strange, tender, playful, and proudly queer, The Strange and Unbelievable Tall Tale of Mighty Max is a mythic romance about loneliness, longing, and the radical act of loving something larger than life.

For readers who cherish the mythic queer devotion of The Song of Achilles, the tender whimsy of The House in the Cerulean Sea, and the wistful magic of Puff the Magic Dragon.

About Duncan Gaye

Duncan Gaye lives in River Forest, Illinois. He believes magic can be found anywhere, even the suburbs. He writes the kind of love stories that sneak up on you—queer, tender, and just a little strange. His books are full of burly big-hearted men, tall tales, impossible odds, and the kind of endings that leave you wanting more.

When not writing, he likes to read, travel and relax with his adorable senior dogs, Spotty and French Fry.

Where to find them: