Thank you to Quirk Books for sending me a copy of The Z Word in exchange for an honest review.
In San Lazaro, Arizona, chaotic bisexual Wendy deals with a bad breakup made worse when her ex starts dating their friends. Somehow things get even more complicated when a mysterious infection strikes the LGBTQ community, turning people into violent husks. As the infection spreads, Wendy bands together with frenemies including drag queen Logan, silver fox Beau, sword lesbian Aurelia and her wife Sam and an enigmatic stoner named Sunshine, alongside her ex, Leah.
Their mission? To stay alive amidst the outbreak while figuring out where it came from and saving their town’s Pride festival. Amidst the chaos, tensions simmer, testing their alliances and pushing them to the brink as they navigate both the undead threat and their own relationships.
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The Z Word is a queer, messy and fun take on the zombie canon. Lindsay King-Miller’s fiction debut combines Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, with a twist of iZombie thrown in. As a result, it’s a great read for anyone who wants a little bit of horror and gore without getting too scared to sleep at night.
King-Miller’s characters are messy and real. Wendy isn’t a superhero or somehow suddenly perfect at killing zombies. Instead, she’s self-sabotaging and depressed, fighting for her life and dwelling on her recent breakup at the same time. Wendy can’t quite set aside her complicated relationships. However, the characters all come together into a sort of zombie-fighting found family.
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The Z Word also takes a great look at the complications and confusion around rainbow capitalism. Wendy’s ex, Leah, one of the organizers of San Lazaro Pride, accepts a sponsorship on their behalf from Seabrook Seltzer. The company recently got involved with the LGBTQ community. While it looks like altruism, they really want to coast off of the good publicity they’ll get by sponsoring the Pride event. But what does it mean to take corporate money at the cost of your values? Trust me, you’re going to want to fight every seltzer distributor after reading this book.
If you’re interested in quirky and fun queer horror, check out The Z Word. It’s a fast-paced read, balancing horror and thrills with plenty of humor and heart.
The Z Word comes out on May 7 and is available for preorder from your local independent bookstore or Bookshop.org.
TW: alcohol, blood, body horror, death, depression, gaslighting, gun violence, homophobia, infidelity, injury/injury detail, murder, police brutality, pregnancy scare, sex, toxic relationships, violence, vomit
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/new-book-releases-april-9-2024/
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