4 out of 5 Stars

Synopsis

For fans of Max Brooks’s The Zombie Survival Guide and zombie aficionados everywhere, a hilarious debut novel about life (and love) after death.

Meet Andy Warner, a recently deceased everyman and newly minted zombie. Resented by his parents, abandoned by his friends, and reviled by a society that no longer considers him human, Andy is having a bit of trouble adjusting to his new existence. But all that changes when he goes to an Undead Anonymous meeting and finds kindred souls in Rita, an impossibly sexy recent suicide with a taste for the formaldehyde in cosmetic products, and Jerry, a twenty-one-year-old car-crash victim with an exposed brain and a penchant for Renaissance pornography. When the group meets a rogue zombie who teaches them the joys of human flesh, things start to get messy, and Andy embarks on a journey of self-discovery that will take him from his casket to the SPCA to a media-driven class-action lawsuit on behalf of the rights of zombies everywhere.

Darkly funny, surprisingly touching, and gory enough to satisfy even the most discerning reader, Breathers is a romantic zombie comedy (rom-zom-com, for short) that will leave you laughing, squirming, and clamoring for more.

 

My thoughts

I’ve never read a book that was so humorous, yet so poignant at the same time! Full of a political stance, social commentary, and warnings, this novel had so much going on!

“If you’ve never woken up from a car accident to discover that your wife is dead and you’re an animated, rotting corpse, than you probably wouldn’t understand.”

Do zombies deserve the same rights as humans?? In this society, they are literally treated like animals, picked up by the SPCA any time they get out of line and thrown into a tiny cage until their “breathers” or humans come to (usually reluctantly) bail them out.

“if you’ve never been confined to a five-foot-long, three-foot-wide, three-foot-high cage for five days, than you probably wouldn’t understand.”

Zombies have decided to fight back. They deserve better than being locked in the wine cellar (not a bad place to be locked… In my opinion), they deserve to have their voices heard (even if those voices are only grunts and screeched). But, when they begin to bite the hands that feed (literally), will justice bite back? Will breaking the law get them any closer to the freedom (and flesh) that they crave?

“If you’ve never been in a room full of zombies eating freshly cooked human flesh, than you probably wouldn’t understand.”

It’s funny how much this book reflects our own confused society and notions. Racism, Prejudice, Bigotry… You may be offended by the thoughts and actions of many of the humans in “Breathers” (I know I was!), and it really made me hold a mirror up to the outside world (which is always scary… Because, it’s a horrible place).

“If you’ve never seen someone get his arm torn out of his socket by a gang of drunk college fraternity boys who slap him in the face with his own hand, than you probably wouldn’t understand.”

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry…. You’ll laugh some more. You’ll be taught that all actions do indeed have a (sometimes detrimental) consequence, and sometimes finally having your voice heard is worth more trouble than you think.

This book is for fans of humour, fans of horror, fans of social justice… Basically just for “breathers” everywhere! But, if you haven’t read it yet, well… You probably wouldn’t understand.

PICK UP YOUR COPY, NOW!

Amazon U.S.

Amazon Canada

Amazon U.K.

AuthorBio

S.G. Browne is the author of the novels Less Than Hero, Big Egos, Lucky Bastard, Fated, and Breathers, as well as the eBook short story collection Shooting Monkeys in a Barrel and the heartwarming holiday tale I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus.

He loves dark comedies, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and is a sucker for It’s a Wonderful Life. You can learn more about S.G. Browne and his writing at www.sgbrowne.com

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Breathers is Best Served with a Beringer Knight’s Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Described as concentrated flavours, elegant structure, and a distinctive finish. As a California wine, this was a little on the sweet side for my tastes (as most California wines are. With the warm whether the grapes tend to ferment on the vines adding more of a sweetness).

This novel mentioned Beringer wines many times (although, the bottles mentioned were not this one… and a LITTLE out of my price range!), so I thought this would be a nice wine to enjoy!