Love is not a choice, it's a disaster. That's what the cover reads, and it's true. This is not your conventional love story. In fact, it's your very atypical love story...you know, one of those boy-meets-girl, boy's-life-is-ruined-by-interactions-with-girl-and-gets-some-serious-revelations-which-in-retrospect-make-the-whole-thing-kind-of-icky. I need to stop there or I'll reveal too much.
I had the privilege to sneak a peek at SG. Browne's newest book. Granted, I'd pre-ordered this thing, because "Breathers" (one of the best released books of last year) needed a shelf buddy on the ole bookcase. I'll simply say this: "Fated" is a tour de force that I cannot wait to re-read. I'd not be surprised if I revisit it numerous ties over. It's kind of crept into that eschelon of books.
"Breathers", Browne's first work, was something I devoured. After all, what's not to like in a zomcom, especially if it's well done? One of the strengths of Browne's zombie tale was the ability to humanize a walking, talking corpse (well, not talking so much, but writing). While doing this, Browne gave us a glimpse of his style. It was a welcome blend of the whimsy of Christopher Moore and the dark, sarcastic, nihilistic satire of Chuck Palahniuk's best works. Obviously S.G. Browne maintains an admiration for both authors. And, yes, there were a ton of "first novels" that had this "style" going on. Many of those "first novels" were great, as well, but the sophmoric efforts waned greatly.
The main problem with "Breathers" is the destination. It's a great premise, a helluva a concept that Browne sustains longer than I would have thought possible. But, at it's core it's still a concept piece. You have to have a resolution and when you're dealing with the shambling undead the options are a little limited. I felt this was the major flaw with "Shaun of the Dead" - the movies all fun and games, save for a ten minute stretch towards the end. It's what I call a woo-sucker.
That aside, "Breathers", in my book, is still a topnotch feat. It succeeded on so many levels and struck such a chord that I've bought it as a gift item for many a person. Of course I was looking forward to the next one.
I mentioned above the sophmoric slump. Will Clarke hit a homerun with "Lord Vishnu's Love Handles" and then struck out with "The Worthy". And where is he now? There are countless tales like this. Would S.G. Browne's second effort be the same way? I have to admit, I was hoping for something in the comedic macabre genre. More zombies or a cult of vegetarian vampires, perhaps, if for no other reason than the alliteration. When I heard his next book was about Fate and Destiny and other immortals, I cringed.
I should never listen to my subconscious. If "Breathers" wasgreat, then "Fated" is Browne's masterpiece thus far, and it's hard to see where he's heading next. When you consistently out-do your previous efforts it's hard to escalate.
In "Fated", Browne gives us a world where immortals, deadly sins, et al, roam among us and influence us down certain paths. We've got Lady Luck, the 7 Deadly Sins, Lust, Virtue, and even Death is here (though, he prefers to go by "Dennis", which I'm not sure is an intentional Monty Python joke or not, but I loved it). Of course, our protagonist, Fabio, has the crap job of the millenium. See, Fabio's Fate, which means he can do nothing but sit back and watch his portion of the population (those that aren't on the path of Destiny) just haplessly go through their lives and think back on a happier time before European expansion to the "New World". Most of the time, Fate observes his people from the countless shopping malls across the world. Sipping on an Orange Julius he just watches the drug abusers, the pedophiles, and the malcontents make mistake after mistake. Fate is aware that his existence lacks purpose, especially when Destiny reminds him how illustrious her people are.
Again, Browne presents a great concept here, but takes it one step further. Fabio falls for the, literal, girl next door. And when that happens all bets are off. The first rule of being an immortal is not to get invovled, for obvious reasons. But get involved he does, and once that starts there's really no stopping. All of a sudden Fabio feels the urge to push people towards their proper fates, subtle tweaks, as it were. To say any more would really be unfairly exposing some of the books secrets and surprises, so I'll stop there.
If you liked Browne's style and voice in "Breathers", you'll love "Fated". His humor is cranked to the max here, courtesy of some excellent social commentary. Also, Browne has fun with all the supporting players, twisting the perception of the Deadlies and other immortal players. For example, Gluttony is lactose intolerant, while Sloth is a narcoleptic. God's a meglomaniac and Destiny is a nympho. Each of these immortals has been imbued with a certain characteristic, and it's those little things that work so marvelously. And it's an ongoing joke that never grows old, despite violating my rule of three.
Browne has also perfected his storytelling prowess. "Breathers" never felt like a first novel. In comparison to "Fated", though, it's easy to see that. Here, Browne's pacing is better, the story is structured better, and everything fires the way you'd expect it to. In most books I can find flaws and say, "Hey, it was grand, but you'd better watch out, the dialogue is awful". This one, on first inspection, had none. That's the very reason I'm looking forward to revisiting it again.
I implore you to place this in your Amazon cart. It's not released until November 2nd, but if you're looking for some of the best in Fall 2010 books, this should be on every single list. Hands down.
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