The Breeze Horror

by Candace Caponegro

A space shuttle carrying highly toxic waste collides with a meteor over New York, releasing lethal elements into the earth's atmosphere that turn ordinary human beings into hideous--and dangerous--creatures

Genres: Horror, Zombies

316 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1987

Reviews

[Jack Tripper]

Here's the cover of the Onyx mass-market (published in Feb. 1988, but with a 1987 copyright date). Kind of a misleading cover, considering this is supposedly a splatterpunk-esque zombie novel. I thought it was literally about a spooky breeze or something, so I'd always passed it up while out book-hunting. I'm glad I glanced at the back cover copy this time around.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caponegro seems to only have written this novel; unfortunate, as this really rocked. Our lead, Sandy, starts the novel with her little boy Jesse car bound to NYC. In transit, she hears on the radio that NYC is being evacuated. Why? A space shuttle loaded with all kinds of toxic crap ran afoul of a meteor and now the vile load is falling back to Earth. Not sure what to do, she heads for her parent's cabin on Sea Breeze Island, located off the New Jersey coast.

Meanwhile, our antagonist, one Mason, starts the novel in NYC. Apparently a nutter, he awaits the opening of a clinic to get his meds. NYC seems strange today for him-- no one around. When the head nurse arrives and lets him in, she tells him NYC is being evacuated and they can just catch a medical boat close by; her plan was to put on a doctor's smock and bluff her and Mason on it. Well, that turns to shit when Mason offs the nurse, grabs up a doctor's bad, stuffs it full of all kinds of pills, and makes the boat. Unfortunately, the boat wrecked off the coast of Sea Breeze island.

In a way, this is a drama between Sandy and Mason. Apparently they were lovers once, years ago, when both lived on Sea Breeze. Mason's parents walked the streets preaching God's doom to sinners and beat/cajoled Mason to go along and help. After meeting and sleeping with Sandy (and becoming completely obsessed with her), Mason crucifies his parents in their basement. Well, he got nabbed and off to the funny farm for him! Sandy wanted nothing to do with him anyway, but Mason would simply not accept her (repeated) attempts to blow him off.

The load of toxic crap either induced or combined with a wicked storm and Sea Breeze saw rain falling for days. The rain did something to machines, basically breaking them (along with batteries and such); it did worse to those unfortunates who got rained on! While half of the folks who felt the rain died, the other half lived, but ended up in massive pain, covered in running, open sores. Post rain, the sheltered ones like Sandy found the town in shambles, with dead and dying bodies all over. The 'infected' were quarantined to the beach, the dead stacked on the beach in great, stinking piles.

You could call this a zombie novel, but not one that fits in any pigeon hole genre wise. The infected come alive at night; during the day they become weak. They 'zombies' have their brains and possess no desire to eat people. The 'norms', however, want nothing to do with them. Cut off from the mainland, with limited food and water (let alone medicine), volunteers hand out water to the ailing 'beachers' as they come to be known. After this set up, Caponegro takes the story off the chain!

Caponegro's writing oscillates between brilliant and clumsy, and this possesses some pacing issues as well. Sandy comes off as a serious flake, which makes it hard at times to root for her. Mason, however, makes a killer antagonist-- he spots Sandy on the beach passing out water and decides he must have her no matter what! While not a literary masterpiece, Caponegro tosses in enough OTT situations to keep this lively and fun (and quite gory as well). I would have loved to see what the author came up with next! 4 undead stars!

[Melissa Helwig · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a space shuttle carrying toxic waste collides with a meteor, contaminated rain pours down, infecting everyone it touches, causing their bodies to decompose, but leaving their minds intact. The frightened residents of Sea Breeze Island quarantine the infected on the beach. The "beachers" come to resent the "norms" and plan their revenge, becoming more sadistic as their bodies become more decayed.

A different kind of zombie book, these zombies—or beachers—aren't interested in eating brains. They prefer inflicting pain and torturing the norms. The beachers aren't brain-dead monsters. Their anger and hatred of friends and family is because of how they were treated after they became infected.

It's refreshing to read a book that lets you get inside the head of a zombie. They had motivations and personalities, just like the rest of the characters. It's always more interesting when a villain isn't just inherently evil. I even felt sorry for a few of them. Are the monsters the unlucky ones caught in the rain, or the ones who refused to help the infected?

But I don't think what the beachers do to the norms by the end of the book is justified by any means. It gets pretty gory and definitely isn't for the faint of heart.

Although I could empathize with the beachers, the norms were even more compelling characters. I was rooting for the main character, Sandy, and her young son, to get off the island and escape the beachers.

The Breeze Horror was originally published in 1988 and recently republished by Bloodshot Books. Contrary to the original cover, no killer curtains make an appearance. Highly recommended for zombie fans looking for something different.

[The Local Spooky Hermit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is gonna be a quick(not really) overview and not go into too much but will have spoilers on the end.. kinda. It starts out following a guy named Mason, enjoying the high off some pills, his peaceful bliss and him reminiscing on a old lover Cassie. Looks at a bird catches it and you think he's just gonna pet it and let it go, but instead rips its head off. Okay this book got it rolling fast. Then changes to a woman In the car with her year old son, and hear about the space junk is hurtling back to earth (New York mostly) The woman Sandy decides to go to her vacation home on a small island. thinking she'll meet up with her parents there. (They never show up). For three days a bad storm messes up the small island town, the only way off the island a bridge crumbles, a shelter for hundreds of people caves in, power goes out, and anyone out in the rain gets burned and dies.. mostly.
After the storm theres the clean up and wounded from the rain are just sat on the beach.. and left.. the dead too. They look gross so yeah.. like really bad ew.. plus theres not much you can do to help them but give water and some food. But most of the town people have a air of "out of sight, out of mind" that just gets worse and worse as the book go on. To the point people that where not caught in the rain are called norms and the grotesque looking people on the beach are called *drum rolls* "beachers". In not gonna be to hard on that because thats what it really is. The beachers tend to stay on the beach forgotten about mostly except for a handful with very caring families. Which gets sad once the beachers start to recover (but stay looking horrid) they all start to hate the normies. but mason who turns out is a giant stalker to his past "lover" Cassie, whose real name is Sandy. And that part was the best you felt so damn bad for Sandy constantly tormented by this hideous creep with no where to go to escape him. Everyone is stuck on this island even boat travel is unsafe due to a fog that just melts people if gone too far.
The beachers grow stronger and stronger and then torment the normies and killing them, family and friends. This review is all over the place and is long so oops. Its a very good story but the end it feels like it tries to redeem Mason, yes he had a terrible up bringing, but just because of that doesn't make up for all the murdering and the rape. He's still creepy and evil and I hate him and ugh.
Spoiler: Just drop the undead baby woman!! Let it float away!! Just NOPE out... another spoiler too: wtf did the beaches with loving families that took care of them turn around and kill the people that helped them when they needed it.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This definitely was one of the most unusual novels dealing with undead/zombie like creatures I've ever read. Sometimes I had to think on Lord of the Flies or a parable when you have a close look at the Beachers, the Norms and their interaction. You definitely keep reading on as you want to know how the story about Sandy and Mason ends. There also are some shocking elements in this book. In the end I can clearly recommend this book getting quite another perspective onto the undead. A very strange novel between conventional horror and higher literary ambitions. A fluent read!

[Jason Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much in the late '80s/'90s "splatterpunk" mode, this is a fast-paced apocalyptic horror novel full of cruelty, gross imagery and gore, gore, gore. A space shuttle accident results in Earth being showered with toxic waste, which pours down in a toxic black rain, poisoning everyone it touches. A townful of survivors, in an island in the Northeastern U.S., struggle to deal with the apocalypse, but things get worse -- WAY worse -- when those who were poisoned, but not quite killed, by the rain start to mutate into rotten, hate-filled, psychic-powered undead monsters.

A very grim, nasty novel with a bleak view of humanity, "The Breeze Horror" has many things that make it hard to read: a frequently victimized female lead; a semi-sympathetic portrayal of a rapist/pervert; and while I'm listing things, a rather offensive accent for a black character in the beginning. OTOH, it's a very creative take on something like zombies, compared to the many cookie-cutter novels on the undead coming out nowadays. Memorable.

[Warren Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly intelligent idiocy

Sometimes I wanted to hurl this book out a window because it was so awkward in its execution, and at other times it stunned me with brilliance. Overall, the brilliance of this late 80s splatter punk won out, and earned an overall 4 stars in my humble opinion.

It was clear throughout that this was a first novel. Inconsistencies did abound. The walking dead in this novel supposedly don't feel any pain and can't be killed by any means. But the author and her editor seems to have forgotten this later in the story. This is a fairly big issue as it is critical to the climax, but I won't spoil anything further than to say this will annoy some folks.

But this is one of the most unique "zombie-apocalypse" type novels I've ever read. The undead all retain their reason and are all pretty interesting characters with their own personalities and motivations. Particularly fascinating is Mason, who is a most despicable sadist and rapist, and yet has a vulnerabiltiy and pathos to him that somehow earns the reader's sympathy in the end. Also, like the brilliant Romero film "Day of the Dead," the uninfected humans ("normies") are more detestable in many ways. All the human characters are flawed, selfish, or cowardly in some way. You keep thinking and hoping that someone will have an arc of redemption, and in a way that kind of is what this story is about, but for the most part the novel is quite bleak and be quite difficult to get through.

That is not to say that this novel is without its sense of humor either. You usually come across it during a gruesome death or torture scene, oddly enough, which makes the gore and violence somewhat more palatable to less desensitized horror fans.

Despite the fact that sometimes I felt the dialogue and action to be a bit forced or awkward, I couldn't put the book down even when I was annoyed. The pacing and action is that good. I read the whole thing in two evenings.

It's a shame that Candace Caponegro did not continue to write more, but at least she gave us this gem from the heyday of paperback horrors.

[Thee_ron_clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is something of a zombie novel, but not completely. A massive outbreak hits the planet. Most of the population become diseased and mutate. As time goes on, the diseased population go from mistreated dregs to the controlling majority as not only do they regain their strength, they gain psychic abilities as well. For those who have not become diseased, a nightmare journey of attempting to escape the diseased population's sadistic tortures and survive their slow and deliberate holocaust begins. This isn't the best novel I've ever read, but it is certainly interesting and creative.

[Warren Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I wanted to hurl this book out a window because it was so awkward in its execution, and at other times it stunned me with brilliance. Overall, the brilliance of this late 80s splatter punk won out, and earned an overall 4 stars in my humble opinion.

It was clear throughout that this was a first novel. Inconsistencies did abound. The walking dead in this novel supposedly don't feel any pain and can't be killed by any means. But the author and her editor seems to have forgotten this later in the story. This is a fairly big issue as it is critical to the climax, but I won't spoil anything further than to say this will annoy some folks.

But this is one of the most unique "zombie-apocalypse" type novels I've ever read. The undead all retain their reason and are all pretty interesting characters with their own personalities and motivations. Particularly fascinating is Mason, who is a most despicable sadist and rapist, and yet has a vulnerabiltiy and pathos to him that somehow earns the reader's sympathy in the end. Also, like the brilliant Romero film "Day of the Dead," the uninfected humans ("normies") are more detestable in many ways. All the human characters are flawed, selfish, or cowardly in some way. You keep thinking and hoping that someone will have an arc of redemption, and in a way that kind of is what this story is about, but for the most part the novel is quite bleak and can be quite difficult to get through.

That is not to say that this novel is without its sense of humor either. You usually come across it during a gruesome death or torture scene, oddly enough, which makes the gore and violence somewhat more palatable to less desensitized horror fans.

Despite the fact that sometimes I felt the dialogue and action to be a bit forced or awkward, I couldn't put the book down even when I was annoyed. The pacing and action is that good. I read the whole thing in two evenings.

It's a shame that Candace Caponegro did not continue to write more, but at least she gave us this gem from the heyday of paperback horrors.

[Russell Holbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at the book store where I used to work. I was behind the counter, gathering a stack of books to put out on the shelves, and there it was, randomly sitting on a table. My eyes were immediately drawn to the strange and morbid cover art so I bought it and took it home. Man am I glad I did! I love 80's horror and I try to read as much of it as possible. This one is from '87 and has that full-on, 1980's apocalyptic vibe. I kind of expected it to be more of a quiet horror novel with violence and scares here and there, but what I got instead was a gore-soaked survival story. This being the first end-of-the-world story that I've ever read, I really enjoyed it and felt that it was a great introduction to this sub-genre. The book does start off fairly quiet but builds and builds and becomes more violent and gory as it moves along. The pacing is good and the book is fun to read. Much like Brian Keene's Castaways, it is set on an island and the characters are isolated. I love that element in a horror story! This provides a feeling of helplessness that permeates the story. This was definitely a great read and I hope I can find out a bit about the author because I've never heard of her before. :)

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly average gross-out vision of humanity's end, as told via a Stanford Prison experiment type of struggle between the infected and the healthy. While there are some interesting twists on the zombie vibe a la otherworldly powers, they sometimes seem more a plot device than a logical step in the story.

[Dey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just reread this. First released in 1987, it had a rerelease in the last few years. Minor spoilers included.

It’s often classified as a splatterpunk novel, which confuses me a bit. There’s not much splatter (I can only imagine what this would read like if written by Schow or Garten), which is fine by me. But, it does operate from a base level of grossness that is higher than usual.

Basic concept: countries have started sending highly toxic materials to outer space. A rocket carrying a load crashes with a meteorite over NYC/NJ. Anyone touched by the rain that falls after becomes a zombie, although one that doesn’t want to eat brains and develops telepathic powers. The action takes place on Sea Breeze Island off the Jersey Shore, the only place where people have even survived - any trips to the shore show mass devastation, and the chemicals on the ground kill on contact.

I really really like this book. I bought it used for 50 cents sometime in either high school or college and I still have it. I’ve held onto it during all the moves because I had a feeling it would be hard to find (easier now, thanks to the rerelease).

One of the reasons I like it is that the main character is just a normal woman, Sandy, who has a kid, Jesse. When I first read it, it was damn rare to have a woman be the protagonist at all, never mind a mom. And if it was a mom, then it was *all* about the kid (like ‘Mine’ by Robert R McCammon). This is just a mom, caught up in a seriously lousy situation, trying to do her best. (I will say, as a mom, the kid is awfully compliant for 2 years old. Even given that he’s traumatized.)

Another reason I like it is that it doesn’t shy away from the awfulness. I kept thinking, ‘it can’t get worse but there’s a lot of pages left...’ Oh yes it can get worse. First we have the devastation. Then we have zombies. Then the lead zombie (minor spoiler here) is a man who was obsessed with Sandy. Things continue to get worse, and horrible things I’d wondered about but had never seen in a book show up here. (CW for sexual assault, by a zombie.) Also, the book explores the social ugliness with no hesitation, and that’s where the real horror is. I admire Caponegro’s commitment to exploring the depths of awfulness suggested by her premise. And she keeps it up right until the end.

A third reason I liked it was that it’s one of the most ‘feminist’ horror novels I’ve ever read. (‘Feminist’ in quotes because of my own issues with feminism.) Sexism is rampant and is one of the horrors Sandy has to deal with. She’s young and pretty, and that leads to problems. One of her would-be ‘saviours’ takes issue with her sexual past, and this nearly blocks her from help she needs. The lead zombie stalked her years ago and is still obsessed with her. Everything Sandy does to stay alive is everything women have done to survive for all of history. If anything, Sandy’s character arc is learning how not to believe what sexism says about her and claim her own power and ability.

The writing is solid. The story develops clearly and quickly, and multiple characters have clear, and satisfying, arcs. (I wouldn’t be surprised to learn this was written under a pseudonym.) The descriptions really aren’t anywhere near splatterpunk levels, so don’t worry about that if you hate splatterpunk.

Near the end of ‘Danse Macabre,’ Stephen King talks about the joy of finding a gem in the rough, that horror movie or book that didn’t get a lot of attention, but is damned good. This one is my gem. I’m so excited there was a rerelease because I haven’t run into anyone else who’s read this (at least, that I know of).

Definitely recommended.

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the vampire, the zombie is probably the most overworked creature in the horror canon. If you're going to try to navigate that minefield of clichés, you have to step lightly.

In "The Breeze Horror," author Candace Caponegro comes up with a fairly original premise, involving a clash between zombies and "norms" that is as much cultural and social as one of violence. Indeed, no flesh gets eaten in this tale, though some does get torn, and the "Z" word is never even mentioned.

It's in the execution, though, that things fall apart. The writing, which sings in rare moments, for the most part is clunky and at other times downright amateurish. There are too many typos to be tolerated in a work put out by a non-vanity press, even a small, indie press.

And still there are glimmers here and there of what could have been. The central characters—a decaying corpse who once was infatuated with a still-healthy woman he rediscovers on the beach—is by turns poignant, creepy, and downright nauseating. But Caponegro's handling of characterization is as flimsy as her knack for action, and these few moments between the "norm" and the "beacher" that work only serve to make more glaring the things that don't work.

File this one in the "misfire" stack.

As a final note to any potential readers: if you don't think you can stomach a scene in which a zombie commits a rape, steer clear. At least, though, no animals are harmed.

[Darren Dilnott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a countless amount of Zombie Apocalypse\Infected books over the years, as its my favourite genre to read. I can safely say this is the most original infected book i've ever read. Despite being first published nearly 30 years old, there hasn't been a book since that comes close. It's a fantastic tale of horror, rancidity, and death, with a sprinkle of humour on top.
Superb dialogue, and fantastic characters make The Breeze Horror an essential read for anyone interested in this genre.

[Judi Cha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Breeze Horror by Candace Caponegro

The Breeze Horror is a book that gets in the minds of zombies. More then flesh eating zombies, the zombies talk and want to control and torture their victims. Although some of the minor characters are stereotypical, I enjoyed the turns and twists of this very imaginative tale.hb

[Conal Cochran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nutsoid splatter novel that starts like sub-par Laymon and ends up like something out of Crossed. One of a kind and bleak.

[Adam Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very close to five stars. A disaster/zombie/apocalypse/domestic thriller that you can’t put into any of those boxes.

[Douglas Castagna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was given to me for an honest review. This was a zombie novel, but a bit different in nature. I liked the isolation aspect of the story and the fact that it was written some time ago when splatterpunk was in vogue. I loved the gore. Splatterpunk is amazing when done right and it is done right here, what lacked a bit was cohesion in the plot. Some things never really gelled for me, though I overlooked that because the action and scenes of horror were good and well done. I would recommend this especially since it takes a different spin on the genre.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad at all, but not great either. Writing is ok, not much character development, but if you just want a fun , no brainer horror tale featuring zombie-like monsters go for it!
Warning: lots of pus, rotting flesh and rape involved with a zombie! A scene were the zombies lift a 2 year old in the air via telepathy over a flame is pretty disturbing! (yeah these creeps have mental powers too!)
Bleak ending, no happily ever after here.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give it 2.5 if I could. The idea was cool, but it was just kinda meh. The main character was annoying but the ending was pretty good so it all evened out.

[Pete Kahle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lost early splatterpunk novel that was done a disservice by a cover that had nothing to do with the plot. Definitely worth scouring the local bookstores for a copy.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I thought it would be like the walking dead (which I loved) but it went further and really let you into the minds of the zombies.

[Razvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splatter Punk
This book surprised me just when I thought things could not get worse, they did. If you like splatter punk, you'll love this book.
Razvan