Browne’s holiday tale continues the story from Breathers, three years later, but you don’t have to have read Breathers to enjoy ISZESC. Our narrator, Andy the zombie, fills you in on everything you need to know throughout the novel.
Andy is still a smart, zombie who wishes he could just be accepted for who he has become, but as the story opens, he has been held against his will and experimented on at a zombie research facility for almost a year, and during that time he has thought a lot about the family he lost when he rose from the dead. After escaping, Andy goes on a journey, dressed as Santa to help a young girl get the Christmas she deserves and to teach a few adults the true meaning of Christmas, all while leading a rag-tag group of zombie Santas and elves on a quest to free his zombie friends.
Yes a few people are eaten along the way, but there is also depth here. Andy and his zombie friends have touching stories to share about their lost lives and their undead existence in the shadows. The holiday angle is also heart warming and fun, but as you can see from my description, it is also a little askew, so it may not be the holiday tale for everyone.
ISZESC is also a short, fast paced book at just over 200 pages. The pages fly by. It made for a terrific Christmas read for me.
Three Words That Describe This Book: comic horror, askew Christmas tale, zombies [seriously, if these few words don’t interest you, this book is not for you; if these words get you excited, read this book]
Readalikes: I have an extensive discussion of comic horror here, including key authors and titles to check out.
But if you want to read other askew holiday tales, I highly recommend Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith which I reviewed here and The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore (one of my husband’s holiday favs).
Merry Christmas!
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