Instantly immersive, Tess Collins’ A Wave of Breath hurls readers into a terrifying vision of the near future where resilience is the currency of life and death.

Following a disastrous Water Event that has left the city parched and plummeting into gangland anarchy, San Francisco is a haunted, hungry shell of itself. Brooklyn Tremain, once a fearless reporter, is now desperate to locate her missing partner, Martin Siriso, who may have known about this society-shaking calamity before it ever happened.

Leaving the relative safety of her chosen-by-dystopia family, Brooklyn embarks on a cross-country quest to find Martin and uncover his connection to the calamity. Whatever secrets he was keeping seem linked to the mysterious device she retrieved from his house, because she quickly realizes that sinister forces will do anything to control it. As her road turns east, Brooklyn gains a young companion and even more revelations about the corrupt villains seizing control over the mind, soul and fate of America.

Whether she’s outwitting urban warlords, trekking through the Rockies, exposing fraudulent miracles or liberating innocents from those who would control them, Brooklyn moves with savage grace and a higher purpose. As she evolves from overwhelmed refugee to central player in a sprawling conspiracy, her character remains unwavering, representing free will and resistance in a captive world slipping into sedation and servitude.

Collins’ writing is enrapturing. As the fractured urban landscapes come to life on the page, the adrenaline-charged, layered plot steadily gains clarity, and the language sharpens to a diamond tip. Reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in its emotional depth amidst societal carnage, this novel holds little back in its critical messaging; readers won’t miss the obvious allegories and thematic parallels to the crumbling state of contemporary empire as the tyrannical plans of a crackpot corporate titan are revealed.

Ultimately, the ominous warning underlying this story provides a compelling call to both awareness and revolutionary action that will captivate readers.

Also available in paperback and ebook.