| Title | : | The Rising (The Rising #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0843952016 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780843952018 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 321 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2003 |
| Awards | : | Bram Stoker Award Best First Novel (2003) |
Joined by an elderly preacher, a guilt-ridden scientist and an ex-prostitute, Jim sets out on a cross-country rescue mission. Together they must battle both the living and the living dead…and the even greater evil that awaits them at the end of their journey.
The Rising (The Rising #1) Reviews
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The shit has hit the fan and the dead walk the earth! Survivors wander around, staying one step ahead of the undead hordes and struggling to survive. Rogue military units are on patrol, rounding up survivors. Meanwhile, Jim Thurmond is on a trek from West Virginia to New Jersey to find his son...
I'm a zombie fan from way back. My favorite movie as a teenager was the 1990 Night of the Living Dead remake. I have the Return of the Living Dead soundtrack on vinyl (I can smell your brains!) and Zombies!!! the board game. About fifteen years ago, I kind of fell out of zombie fandom since it felt like it had all been done many, many times. However, in recent weeks we've dusted off the Zombies!!! board game and I had the hunger for some zombie fiction. This hit the spot like some nice warm brains.
The cause of the zombie plague this time was the government mucking with the barriers between dimensions. Now, everything with a brain gets reanimated upon death AND retains some of its own knowledge. The zombies in The Rising can use guns and drive as well as munch human flesh. I'm old school: I like my zombies slow, dumb, and numerous. However, these zombies wound up being very scary.
The gore and violence level is pretty high. People get chomped quite a bit and there are headshots galore. The zombie animals are no picnic either. Swarms of zombie birds are nothing to scoff at, not even in a helicopter.
The different viewpoint characters are what set this apart from being a typical zombie killfest. I felt for Jim's plight, even though I was pretty sure he'd get Cujo-ed at the end. Frankie was a born survivor. I was pretty sure she'd live through it. Baker's relationship with Worm was touching so I knew the emotional wringer was coming my way. While I was disgusted by the national guard unit led by Schow, I had no trouble believing in it.
There were a lot of memorable, inventive scenes in this book. The Rising was harder to put down than a shotgun during a zombie apocalypse. I've read a couple Brian Keene books before but now I'm a Brian Keene fan. Five out of five stars. -
3.5 stars!
It didn't take long to make my way through this zombie filled wasteland of a book. Humans, (whether they still be humans or be they zombies), are not the only monsters here.
I loved the originality of this story. I can't get into the specifics of it without spoilers, but some of the things imagined and written about in The Rising have still not been done in other zombie books or movies. I really felt something for a few of these characters too. The author pretty much put everyone and everything at risk, so I had no idea what might happen to these people; there was no safe feeling like some books provide you, where you know the good guy will win in the end.
What I did not like is a short list and here it is: The narrator and the fate of most of the female characters. First, the narrator had a fine voice but he mispronounced some words, (brackish is not brake-ish), and his tone of voice was often off. (Obviously, the tone thing is a personal opinion, while the mispronounciations are not.)
Second, I've been a horror fan for a long, long time and I'm quite used to the treatment of women in horror stories being less than stellar. I also understand that a female, or male protagonist for that matter, has to be put into positions where the reader can root for her or him. However, what happened to the women here bothered me a bit more than usual. Perhaps, because the descriptions were graphic? (But I've read Laymon, Barker and even some Lee and none of those bothered me.) Maybe it's because I'm getting older and my tolerance for that type of behavior, even in books, has now dwindled down to nothing? Even if I can't quite put my finger on it, it bothered me, so that's that.
Overall, I enjoyed this book! The originality of it was mind-blowing, and it must have been the horror book of ALL horror books when it originally came out back in 2003. Remember, this was before The Walking Dead and the whole zombie mash-up thing, (Pride and Prejudice With Zombies, anyone? WTF?). I do plan on reading the sequel, City of the Dead, but I'm going to do just that-read it, instead of listening, because the narration of this one did diminish my enjoyment a little bit.
Recommended to fans of ZOMBIES! -
Nothing stays dead for long. The dead are returning to life, intelligent, determined…and very hungry.
This is a post-apocalyptic, zombie novel which was excellent; it's such a page turner and written very well with great characters.
It's a different take on the zombie genre also, the zombies can talk, they can drive and can use weaponry.
If you enjoy post-apocalyptic books with lots of action, I recommend this one.
Definitely the best zombie book I've ever read!
I've already bought the second book. -
As the 21st Century dawned, zombies--if you’ll excuse the expression--were dead. Independently and through the use of three different media, that was about to change. Almost simultaneously Brian Keene published The Rising, an English film called
28 Days Later was released, and Robert Kirkman started planning a comic book called The Walking Dead. There’s a story that Kirkman had to tell his publishers that aliens were secretly behind the zombie plague to get the comic approved. If true, this news comes with a certain irony attached. That’s close to the approach Keene took in The Rising. The dead were being animated by formless entities escaping an endless void through a dimensional rift. The results were not the usual lumbering husks on a mindless search for living food. Instead the human race was faced with a near unstoppable force, ever-growing in numbers, who were intelligent.
Keene chose not to begin with his particular twist on the concept. Instead, well into the plague, he opens with Jim Thurmond deciding to leave the safety of a West Virginia bomb shelter when he hears on a dying cell phone a message from his young son, who is hiding in the attic of his ex-wife’s house--in New Jersey. As Jim prepares to makes his break, only then does Keene switch to Dr William Baker, the lone remaining scientist in the underground facility responsible for the tear between dimensions. It is through his backstory that we meet the leader of the beings that are animating the corpses and learn of their intelligence and intentions. With the stage set Keene introduces several more characters, and in alternating chapters he follows their various struggles with survival. This will eventually include a militia, once a Pennsylvania National Guard Infantry unit, now a merciless and savage military dictatorship that engulfs all that they meet. In one form or another this militia will draw all the surviving characters to the same point and time.
This is very much a first novel. Transitions are not always smooth and there are entire stretches with an astonishing lack of detail, particularly surprising for a work of horror. Also there’s a character who is supposed to have gone through a drastic change after an especially devastating event, but the change doesn’t resonate through to the reader. Other characters tell us he’s different but we just don’t feel it. And yet there is no doubt that from the beginning Keene had a firm grasp of what makes horror stories work. The characters at their core ring true and the situations are both visual and visceral. Only the execution needed refinement. That Keene has had a long and successful career indicates that repetition has allowed him to acquire those skills as well.
Oh . . . about the ending. Within the horror community, the ending to The Rising is infamous. Aware of the controversy but not knowing the details, I went into the novel thinking, In a world filled with zombies, there can ultimately be only one ending. Having now come out the other side, I think it is more a question of clarity. The climactic confrontation takes place offstage. In fact, it reminded me a bit of Harlan Ellison’s “
Jeffty Is Five,” another story where the actions that close the piece take place elsewhere. In an introduction to “Jeffty,” Ellison wrote in part: “It’s all there. Very clearly. It’s done with what I hope is some subtlety, and you may have to read the last page or so with some careful attention to detail . . . but it’s all there.” I’ll amend these words slightly. As The Rising winds down, listen carefully. It’s all there. -
There are too many things wrong with this book. Despite some original ideas and a few worthy tense moments, it is most of the time laughably bad, and embarrassingly badly written.
The amount of typos and the atrocious grammar was shocking. Someone needs to tell Keene, the copyeditors and publishers that the past tense of "to spit" is "spat" and that you don’t tell a person to "lay" but to "lie" down. Your prose can also benefit by not using the word "again" (or any word, really) again and again three times in a single sentence. With books like there it isn't surprising that western society is inadequately literate. But I digress.
The explanation of what is causing the zombie epidemic is absolutely ridiculous; I won’t spoil it though it’s revealed early on (no suspense here). The zombies are supposed to be intelligent yet act like hyper teenage boys who make absurd decisions that do little in advancing their cause. In fact, an integral aspect of becoming a zombie in Keene's world is to suddenly & intensely hate humanity, & to drop several notches on the IQ pole. (Kind of like some of our modern cults, I suppose.) Moreover, Keene appears uncertain as to the extent of the epidemic. He can’t seem to decide whether insects are infected or not, and changes his mind mid-text, or simply forgets. If you plan to read this book, keep your eyes out for this. Maybe he clears this up in its sequel? I won’t know since I won’t be reading it.
The characters are two-dimensional and Keene’s image of America is a white-washed suburbia where Hispanic and black people can only be preachers, drug dealers or prostitutes. And as mentioned in other reviews here, the dialogue is bad. And I mean effin’ bad, man. Holy mother-effin’ stinkin’ bad like.
Finally, I was troubled by the amount of emphasis on rape in the book. I don’t need the details. Maybe one brief instance to illustrate the morally decayed post-epidemic world, but not again and again. (That was only twice.) It is just inappropriate. I know I’m supposed to be angry with the "bad guys" but the constant exaggerated rape just has me angry at the author.
I can go on but won’t since really there’s no effin' need to...
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Oh dear. Where to start...
Whilst looking for zombie books worth reading, I saw this one mentioned and figured it looked like it might be a decent read.
I was so wrong. Maybe the fellow in the forums that mentioned this book as being good was a 7 year old?
Reading this was painful. It started out alright, and well written, but then degenerated into what can only be described as a paper version of the worst B movie ever made.
Really I only need to give you a few examples of things that happen in this book that made me shake my head in amazement:
The 'zombies' are dead people posessed by 'demons' out to wreck 'The Creators'(read, god)world.
The zombies are smart and can use guns and vehicles. So you have zombies shooting people, chasing people around in cars and generally being dicks.
The zombies make use of one liners that would make Scwarzenegger, Stalone, Seagal and Van Damne all reel backwards in absolute disgust.
Really, this book is absolute poop and I wouldnt reccomend it to anyone unless you want to see just how bad it is. A strong god theme with over emphasised gore and badly described scenes with ridiculous dialogue. Zombie baby tearing its way out of the zombie mothers womb and chasing after a guy while talking in sumerian? Yes.
Zombie tiger killing stereotypical black gang-bangers? yes.
Stupid Stupid STUPID.
Dont read it. -
Epic! Brian Keene is a master of horror. Throw away your common conception of typic zombies. The Rising is in a league of its own.
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Not your normal Zombie’s, thank fuck, these can think, even plan their main course from well done to medium rare (that's where you come in) and the return of the dead is eagerly awaited, they have purpose.
Although it’s the normal method of dispatch in a head shot or decapitation, luckily that's pretty much one of the few things in common with your average literary zombie catastrophe. These Zombies are controlled by a demon like entity that has an intelligence and the wherewithal of the previous host but there's a controlling hierarchy with a definitive means to an end (yours).
The only major difference in Zombie fiction is the characters, most of its been done before countless times, if the characters are worth reading about then you feel like you haven't completely wasted your time.
Thankfully this was a refreshing change, a scream inducing cliff hanger of an ending coupled with characters that I actually gave a shit about and Zombie animals, even your friendly pet can take a chunk out of your leg. Best idea, blow its fucking head off before it turns and stick it on the barbecue.
Also posted at
http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/... -
I'm sorry - zombie fish? I kind of lost it after that...
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When you're reading about the end of the world, what's better than zombies? They are relentless, they spread like wildfire, and they hunger for human flesh. Under the weight of hordes of the undead, civilization folds in on itself and the survivors are left to fend for themselves. That's why I like a good zombie apocalypse story. And that's why I was so excited to read Brian Keene's story.
The problem with zombie apocalypse stories is that they tend to be formulaic. There is an outbreak. Civilization collapses. A small group forms and tries to survive against the undead - only to learn that the real enemies are other survivors. When reading about the coming zombie apocalypse, I really want to see something original. (Okay, something original or just damn good writing and characters).
The Rising starts off well. Jim was a bit of a survivalist, so the story opens to find him in a bunker with the undead clawing away outside. He is alone, depressed and ready to off himself when he gets a call from his son. Dropping everything Jim starts a quest to rescue his son in distant New Jersey. Okay, the author has my attention. If I thought I could save my kid, I'd take the chance too.
Further sparking my interest are the zombies themselves. Yes, they are dead and rotting, but they are also possessed of a keen and burning intelligence. They are capable of talking, of using tools, of driving, of firing guns. Worse, they set cunning traps for the unwary. And, after they gorge on their victims, the unfortunate souls rise to join their ranks. What's more, the zombies aren't limited to humans. Anything that dies joins their ranks - dogs, cats, cows, birds, etc. (Notable exception of insects, apparently). Again, the author has my interest. (The roots of the zombies is a bit corny, but still interesting).
The story, unfortunately, goes bad quickly. After a brief spark of interest I really didn't care for any of them. That's a problem when the main story arc follows a man trying to rescue his son. Worse, the author throws so many characters at you that I found it hard to really connect with any of them. It seems to me it would've been wiser to build a few solid characters before adding more to the mix. Somewhat related, was it just me or was every black character a stereotype? You have a preacher, a prostitute, gang bangers, etc. What about just a former small business owner, or cop, or teacher, or factory worker?
And, as the story progressed, the author repeatedly intervened to save characters deemed important. The worst was about halfway through when Jim and his companion are saved just in the nick of time not once but twice! Trapped by zombies on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the undead are gunned down by a couple of country yahoos. Great! Only these guys turn out to be cannibals who want to cook these two for dinner. Fortunately the Deliverance rejects are gunned down by a kindly old man and his son who just happen to be in the area. Really?! Miraculous rescue once, sure. Twice, no way.
Piled on top of this is the really annoying descent into the standard story line. The real enemies are the other survivors, mainly Colonel Schow and his unit of National Guard troops in Gettysburg. With civilization in tatters they decide to set themselves up as petty tyrants. The male civilians are used as force labor and the ladies find themselves forced to *ahem* service the soldiers. Two huge problems with this. First, rape. Second, it's lazy. How many times have we seen this story line?
Adding to this mess of a story is the logic of the author's zombies. As any newly dead creature will rise as a zombie, the author's story runs into a major logic problem that I couldn't shake. If each zombie simply kills one living creature each day, the number of zombies will quickly reach uncontrollable levels. And I'm sure that they kill more than one a day. That means that after just a few weeks it is almost inconceivable that any living creature could avoid the decaying eyes of the almost countless undead. How then, do Jim and others somehow manage to trek across Pennsylvania?
Finally, the worst of the worst is the ending. It was a cheap, cheap ending. Let's just say that the main characters are placed in a situation (at the boy's house) where they split up. There is gunfire and shouts. And then the book ends. So (1) I never learned whether or not Jim rescues his son, and (2) I never learned what the gun play and shouting was about. Apparently to find out the answers to these questions I need to buy book #2. Really unsatisfactory. I completely understand leaving some story lines incomplete, e.g., the main zombie dude and what he is conspiring, but to take you to literally the front door of Jim's son's house and then end the book?! That is unacceptable.
One and a half stars grudgingly rounded up to two. I gave him the benefit of the positive rounding due to the intriguing premise and the unique zombies. Not a book that I could recommend other than to the most die-hard of zombie apocalypse fanatics. -
I'm way late for the Brian Keene party. Especially for The Rising, a book that reignited the zombie craze, and caused countless imitators. This is is a must read book for anyone who calls themselves a horror fan, not just for the story and the writing, but for the incredibly huge impact this book had on society and the zombie mythos.
As usual, I finished the book, had my thoughts, and then went and read a bunch of reviews here. I was actually surprised to see reviews all the way across the board. I knew as soon as I finished it that there would be a number of people who didn't like the ending, which is perfectly fine. You like what you like. I actually loved the ending. Unfortunately, I can't say any more than that without getting into spoiler territory, but I was expecting that reaction.
However, I was surprised by how many people disliked the zombies in this book. Walk up to any person on the street and ask them to describe a zombie. Most people are going to say a shambling undead person with a reanimated body and bent on eating brains. This does describe most zombies in books and television or movies quite accurately. It does not describe the zombies in THE RISING almost at all. Keene's zombies are different because this isn't just a zombie story, it's a cosmic horror tale. An entity called the Siquissim which have lived in The Void, enters our world when scientists create something like a Hadron Collider that tears open a portal in whatever keeps The Void separate from our world. The entities inhabit dead bodies, and their only goal is to amass as many vessels as they can for more Siquissim to enter our world.
That means that not only are the zombies intelligent and able to use tools and weapons, but they also speak. Talking zombies is definitely something you have to get used to, but it makes a lot of sense when you remember that dead people are being controlled by a race from another universe. And I really like that Keene plays around with the tropes. Talking zombies can make some scenes in this book truly heartbreaking or downright creepy, but I found that a number of reviews considered that element more humorous than harrowing. I failed to mention that the Siquissim inhabit animals too, so I think a lot of the humor came from animals that were attempting to speak once they were inhabited by the Siquissim. Basically, pretty much everything Keene does with zombies in THE RISING is fresh and different from most tropes. Except they still eat brains and body parts. You have to keep something similar, right?
Anyway, if this book didn't work for you I get it. These are not the zombies that society is used to. Personally, I really enjoyed this book. I liked the changes in zombie tropes and the added element of cosmic horror. I liked the characters quite a bit too. Most of them are on the run and just trying to survive, but one character in particular is on a personal mission, and I really felt myself rooting for him, even though I didn't really think he would succeed. The zombie apocalypse is brutal, and that particular character and his situation seemed impossible, yet sympathetic.
This is a book that's not super long in page count, but seems large in scope. Eventually all the characters are forced together, and then all hell breaks loose. I also appreciate that Keene doesn't seem to consider any character to be to precious to kill. In some books you just know who is going to ultimately survive. Keene keeps you guessing.
I'm really glad I chose this book as my introduction to Brian Keene. I know a lot of people love it, and I had a blast reading it. It's unique, and that's something I'm always looking for in horror fiction. Definitely give this one a read, friends. I'm eager to read more from Keene now, and I look forward to an upcoming Instagram group read of CASTAWAYS. -
So to be perfectly honest, I’ve been going back and forth on whether on not I actually wanted to write this review. It basically came down to ‘not burning bridges’ in a very small universe, or being honest with my readers. (I know, all three of you.)
When I weighted it out, I decided a bad review treated fairly and note based on gut reaction might be better for the internet as a whole then a blank space. Plus, that way, as new readers show up, (I’ll welcome you, reader number four,) they can feel secure that I’m reviewing for honesty and not just for links and incest.
So without further ado, my review of Brian Keene’s first novel The Rising. Not his last book by far, God bless him, I never intended to review only new books, however, so bare with me.
How I Found This Book: Do you know, I’m not sure? I think it’s one of those convoluted social networking messes, like a guy who knows a guy invited me to Ning network and I followed him back on Twitter and then he mentioned Keene, and I was like, ‘I want more writers I love,’ so I went out and picked up this book. (Internet ties always make me think in run-on sentences.)
That said, let me tell you, I really really wanted to love this book. I wanted to pick it up and love every goddam page of it and eat if for breakfast and run out and buy everything Keene ever wrote and be a fangirl and run screaming through the rain to get to the front of the line at book signings.
So, you know, the fact that I actually kind of hate this book A LOT makes the possibility of those other things happening pretty slim.
Lemmie see, a book with a construction worker, a old priest, and a ex junkie ex hooker team up to save the construction worker’s son from the zombie hoard? Where the hell do I sign up? I usually hate the synopsis on the back of the books. In this case, I actually wish the book fit it’s back cover. Alas, not so much.
The Good: Erm. Well. You know, um. Okay, that’s not fair. To be fair, this book has a lot going for it. Keene’s got a real gift with sensory detail, which is important in a zombie novel. There are things in the book that are really truly gross in an enjoyable way, and I think that was the writer’s intention. At one point he describes the smell of a man’s infected leg not unlike a microwaved hotdog. I don’t know if this is completely true, but it sure was vivid. I’ll also note that this is a first novel, and maybe some of the problems I had with it had more to do with Keene exorcising some demons then any actual defect in his personality. Who knows, right? Also, there are some KILLER ideas in there. Sentient zombies? Check. The host of Hell? Check. The military going crazy and trying to take over? Check. A heartfelt search to save a man’s estranged son? Well, most of a check.
The Bad: The problem is, none of those good ideas got followed completely, while Keene instead chose to focus on a strange rape fixation and this weird ‘all people are bad, or if not, they’re dead’ philosophy that seemed forced. Time and time again, the characters run into people who have gone from normal to people to mustache twirling evil in the few months since the dead started to walk. I understand that without civilization, people are likely to get WAY more selfish and blah blah, but Keene’s focus seems to all but ignore the zombies and focus on the ‘evil that men do’ in such cartoonish fashion that I imagined the demonic zombies sitting on the side lines going ‘hey, we’re over here yanno. We’ll rape, pillage and eat you too if you’d just give us a little attention.’
When I was talking to my husband about this book I had a long, feminist rant about how disgusted I was by much of the stories fascination with taking sexual advantage of the main heroine, but I think I’ll spare you. Suffice to say, when Keene decided to describe in detail a gang-bang followed by urination on the woman I assume I’m supposed to identify with, I threw the book across the room. And don’t even ask me about the Meat Wagon, a brothel on wheels that the National Guardsman build to turn every woman they run across into a sex slave. I’m sure a busy man like Brian Keene isn’t going to read this, and if he is, I’m sure he’ll dismiss it because it’s a bad review, but really, Brain, man, lighten up on the women, huh? We want to be your audience too. If you really think this is the way men would behave when society falls, I weep for your outlook on life.
So why did I finish reading it? I guess I kept hoping the last few pages would be some kind of pay off. That I’d get some reward for the disgusting cartoon I had read that far, but alas, I was never satisfied. The book brings you right up to the point where you find out if the construction worker’s son is alive or not, (you know, the reason I’m reading the book in the first place? The story?) And that’s it. To the door, no further.
The damn thing didn’t end.
I don’t know if I was expected to make up my own ending, or if I was expected to read the sequel as a result, but I can tell you one thing, I LIKE open endings and cliff hangers. I did not feel like this was either a cliff hanger or open ended. To be perfectly honest, I feel like the ending was a cop-out. Like Keene had lost his real story some where along the sadistic-rape-happy way and couldn’t bring himself back to it in time to end the book. But what the fuck do I know, right? This guy has had a dozen novels published, and I’m still 0 for 0.
Who Will Like This Book: I want to say something snide like, ‘not anyone I want to be alone in a room with,’ but that’s probably unfair. I know he’s got a hell of a following, I’ve checked out his fan community, but wasn’t terribly surprised to see a lot of military or ex military men in the forums. I’m sure they saw things in this and other books by Keene I’m just not seeing, or maybe they just didn’t see the degradation and humiliation I found so appalling. That’s not really for me to say, so I’ll just say this; true to the back cover, this book is not for the squeamish.
Who Won’t Like This Book: Other than me? Again, hard to say. I read some unnecessarily scathing comments on Amazon, but that wasn’t a big surprise. I know my husband would hate it. I figure if you want a deep psychological look at humanity and their responses to chaos and damnation, this probably isn’t the book for you. -
Leí esta novela como parte del desafío Hell-o-Win de La Cafetería de Audrey. Me inscribí porque me gusta el género de terror, aunque no había leído mucho de zombis precisamente. Siempre he pensado que es un subgénero donde no se puede innovar mucho (grupo de sobrevivientes que intenta pasar el día sin ser “comidos” e, idealmente, encontrar una cura) y en que un libro es más o menos bueno dependiendo de la calidad narrativa del autor.
Bueno, mi primera impresión apenas en las primeras páginas es que Brian Keene tiene esa calidad narrativa que hace que un libro te atrape y no te suelte hasta terminarlo. Una lectura ágil y estremecedora.
Por otro lado, los zombis de Keene son diferentes a lo que estamos acostumbrados: no hay virus de por medio, por lo que el contagio no viene por ser mordido y… no les voy a contar nada más para no echar a perder la sorpresa.
Sin embargo, lo que más me impactó es la crudeza del libro, no tanto por las descripciones de los ataques de los zombis, que la verdad son bastante gore, sino por cómo sale a flote lo peor del ser humano en una situación de anarquía. A veces me preguntaba qué era peor, si caer en manos de los zombis o de los grupos de sobrevivientes.
Por último, un tirón de orejas al autor por ese final. De verdad me molesta mucho cuando un libro no es conclusivo. Independiente que la historia continúe en futuras entregas, lo mínimo es cerrar el leitmotiv de cada parte, para no quedarse con esa desagradable sensación de que se partió un libro en dos con un fin puramente comercial. Así que, lo siento, pero aplico mi regla de una estrella menos. -
Fast Moving: This story is all about the action. The story keeps moving with little time spent on exposition. If you like, your stories fast-paced this one should be in your consideration set. However, the story does move along at the expense of a lot of character development and is a bit light in the plot category.
This book is trying a different spin on the zombie legend, but I ultimately grew bored. It seems more Sci-Fi than zombie.
Lastly, I know what you are going to say… Sonja you are talking about plausibility in a zombie book??? You read Vampire, ware-animal, ogre, and fairy books. Just stop now!
But I have to say it, it really bugged me and it was never remotely address in the story. If every creature on earth, trillions or rats, mice, fish, birds, dogs, cats, loins…….. has human intelligence and wants us dead we wouldn’t make it 24 hours. It seems the animal zombies were used as a convenient out when the author had nothing else. -
Zombified goldfish? Nah.
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This is a great zombie story, a bit different from the others I have read, as these zombies are demon spirits, accidentally released from the void, following orders from their leader, Ob. The Rising was my first Brian Keene novel and I can't wait to read more. I can tell that Keene is a fan of Stephen King as there is a line straight out of The Shining and a lot of mention of other worlds. Annoyingly poor editing aside, this was a fantastic read. The ending was extremely frustrating, as it didn't really end, much like a horror film with a cliff hanger. I can't wait to read the sequel, City of the Dead, which is supposed to pick up right where this one ends.
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When I first read The Rising five years ago, I didn't much care for it. Here's why: early on in Brian Keene's zombie adventure, we discover that it's not just humans that can become reanimated. Animals are fair game for zombification, too, and the demonic Siquissim that possess Earth's corpses give all these zombies the ability to talk. This means that in addition to talking zombie humans, we also get talking zombie fish and talking zombie lions. My first encounter with these creatures seriously disrupted my suspension of disbelief. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a talking fish was enough to take me right out of this zombie novel.
Over the last few years, though, as the book marinated in my psyche and I've become a regular listener of Keene's podcast and privy to the stories and behind-the-scenes discussions he's given us about his books and influences, I grew tempted to give The Rising another shot. Joe Hempel's narration of the audiobook edition sealed the deal. I love Joe (necessary disclaimer: I like Joe so much that I hired him to narrate my own novel, Mass Hysteria), and given the fandom and devotion surrounding The Rising, it was time to give it a second chance.
Boy am I glad I did! In fact, knowing what to expect out of this book helped me enjoy it a heck of a lot more. My prior reading gave me the inside track on what's what here, and without any jarring surprises, like a talking fish, to snap me out of the reading I was able to really sink into the narrative and accept it for what it is. And what it is is a heck of a lot of dark, occasionally silly, pulpy fun.
Keene's conceit for the zombie apocalypse is a nifty one. A Large Hadron Collider-like bit of science opens up a portal between this world and The Void, allowing the evil Siquissim entry into our dimension where they take up residence in our recently dearly departed. When a person shuffles off their mortal coil and their soul escapes the confines of the flesh and blood, a Siquissim takes its place. This is a zombie apocalypse by way of demonic possession and cosmic horror, and it's an interesting, original take on the end of the world as we know it.
At the core of all this is our every-man hero, Jim, who just wants to make it to New Jersey to save his son. He's joined along the way by other survivors, but when a rogue platoon of National Guardsmen begin rounding up and enslaving folks, it's only a matter of time before everybody is set on a collision course. There's an urgency to Jim's situation, and the perils he faces on his road-trip serve to heighten the tension. Keene makes you feel his desperation as the clock ticks down, right from the opening chapter. I was surprised at just how emotionally resonant and earnest our introduction to Jim was, and Keene is sure to pull on our heartstrings every now and then, reminding us of the humanity of our small band of survivors even as he grips us in moments of true despair and shocking violence.
Joe Hempel's narration is strong throughout, and I particularly liked the affectations he gave to the zombies, particularly Ob, the malevolent leader of the Siquissim. He voices each character well, providing enough subtle distinction and occasional accents or tones that each line of dialogue is unique to each speaker. Hempel's narration is top-notch, and his reading makes for a truly compelling listen. He's a great fit to Keene's sensibilities, and I'm looking forward to listening to his reading of City of the Dead next.
While the text is the Author's Preferred Edition, I think it's safe to say the audiobook is my own preferred edition. Listening to Joe Hempel's reading of Brian Keene's Bram Stoker Award-winning debut horror novel was a terrific amount of fun, and it gave me a new appreciation for the work as a whole. -
Edit: When I first wrote this review, I was aghast at the terrible typos. I now know that this was not Keene's fault, and he is in fact a grammatically A-Okay writer. There is now a new author's preferred edition just published, I am sure that it has been polished up!
So avoid this original paperback edition and be sure to get his latest.
Every once in a while, I'll find myself caught up in a novel and, despite some flaws that would bug me, there's that certain something that sets the hook and pulls me along. I've only mentioned this in a few reviews, but it's one of those intangible gifts that some authors have and that I admire greatly, and it's this:
Pacing.
I was a little over 80 pages into this, when I flipped to the front cover to be sure I hadn't misread it. No, this wasn't a nominee, it actually won the Bram Stoker Award. This won the Bram Stoker? This? With such glaring spelling and gramatical errors as:
choas
Lot's of them
I'm got to find him
Holy crap. So much for top horror being considered in any way as intelligent literature.
But, seeing as I was already a third of the way through the story, and this did win, and it was a pretty good story, I pushed on.
Well, I pushed on for about 20 or 30 pages. Then I was pulled.
Man, this guy had a fairly large cast for such a short novel, but in no way did I find switching from one character set to another slow up the story at all. Quite the opposite.
Looking back, I'm still amazed at how a writer can do this so smoothly.
This was a good story. Typical in the zombies-are-outnumbering-us kind of formula, but very untypical in the nature of the zombies. A lot of purists didn't like this, but I thought it was great. I also loved the ending, which turned off a few reviewers as well.
The Rising broke a few rules, but wait a second...in fiction the winners are those who acknowledge that there are no rules. Good on Brian Keene.
Now, I shouldn't have to say this to horror aficionados, but there are some pretty intense things that happen in this book, violently and sexually. Just so you know.
This was good stuff, and I'll read Keene again. But, for the love of God, Brian, invest in a spell/grammar checker. You almost lost me there. -
DNF @ 35%
I had read this once before and remember enjoying it (maybe in my late teens or early twenties?), but I couldn't get into it this time around. It isn't a bad book by any means - in fact, I think it offers an incredibly unique twist on zombies, by throwing in a supernatural/demonic quality to the "virus". It's clearly evident how Brian Keene affected the zombie story genre tremendously with the innovative perspective he offered, and the switches in perspectives give a unique insight into how different types of people would be affected by the same apocalyptic nightmare.
That said, I think my problem is just that I have a hard time rereading horror novels (one of the few genres where knowing the ending of the story tends to hinder my interests), and I'm not the biggest fan of zombie books in general thanks to burning myself out on them years ago.
I'm leaving off the star rating because I don't remember what I would have rated this as, based on my first reading years ago. -
The Rising: 10th Anniversary Edition
This edition restores about thirty thousand words to the original release. I can not believe its been ten years already. Not your "usual" zombie book. A beautifully produced edition.
This is copy 51 of 333 signed and numbered copies.
This is book 1 of 3 of Brian Keene’s Maelstrom Series IV. -
It’s zombie month and I am reading this one for
Jare’s Spills & Chills Release Challenge over at bookcrossing.com. I seem to have quite the backlog of Keene books and they are neatly fitting the challenges. Awesome.
Having enjoyed Keene’s
Conqueror Worms post-apocalyptic novel about giant worms (seriously) I’m excited to see what he does with zombies.
The book starts out similarly to The Conqueror Worms with a male protagonist telling the story of how his world collapsed but this time around instead of a cranky old dude we get an emotionally fragile young father. The stakes have been upped and I’m hooked already.
A zombie outbreak has destroyed civilization as we know it. Fortunately for Jim he prepared for Y2K and built a bunker where he has been hiding out alone ever since his second wife died of pneumonia and turned into a blood-thirsty zombie. His young son lives in another state with his ex-wife and he fears he’s dead until his cell phone receives a message telling him otherwise. Coincidentally, his phone runs out of juice just as he’s finished listening to the message so he can’t call him back. Damn, that would be my luck. Now he must escape the angry hoards of zombies in order to locate and save his boy.
These aren’t your typical slow, brain-dead, zombies stumbling about with a mindless hunger for flesh. These zombies are scarier. They’re angry, can use tools, drive, retain memories and will eat parts of you, leaving the rest available for their brethren to possess. Early on it is revealed that scientists were experimenting with other realms and somehow weakened the barrier allowing demons clear access to dead bodies both human and animal. Don’t ask me to explain, I admit that I didn’t understand this bit at all.
As our hero is making his journey he crosses paths with other survivors all with their own survival stories. It’s mostly interesting stuff but too often the zombies/demons act inconsistently when it is convenient for prolonging the life of a key character. Supposedly the zombies are angry and evil and have overrun the world and are living on human flesh which is in short supply. So why, when they spot a living human, would they give a little chase, shrug what’s left of their shoulders and basically say, “Oh, we’ll get him later.” and then drive away from the human who was hoofing it? Maybe I’ve seen too many zombie movies but sorry I’m not buying that silliness at all.
The other key characters are a guilt ridden scientist, a deaf boy, a heroine addict in withdrawal, a pastor and a bunch of military dudes (most of whom are stereotypical power hungry brutes). None of these folks are all that likable with all their faults, with the exception of the dad, but most are compelling nonetheless.
Keene plays a fun little game of spot the horror author and names many of his brutish colonels and members of their brigade after fellow horror writers. I spotted Schow, Robert Dunbar, Partridge, Miller, “and that shifty littler fucker Skip” who turns out to be not quite as bad as the rest. There may have been more but those guys stood out and gave me a good laugh.
I put this book down at about the midway point because a copy of Joe Hill’s Horns was made available to me. After finishing Horns (which was amazing) I found myself enjoying this book a whole lot less. The character flaws, stereotypes and dumb-ass decisions made by the survivors and the zombies began to grate on my nerves. There is one scene that features a young boy and his dad that about made me put the book down for good. I absolutely could not believe what the characters had just allowed to happen. I won’t spoil it but you’ll know what I’m talking about if you make it this far in the book. The solution was so simple to me yet the author writes an entirely unnecessary ghastly scene for shock value and emotional effect. Or at least that’s how it came across to me. The only emotion I felt was anger for the heavy handed manipulation. And yet I trudged on, a glutton for punishment as always . . .
In the end, I was not thrilled with myself for finishing this book. There was way too much gratuitous rape that pretty much takes over the last part of the book and the ending is a cliffhanger. But don’t despair; you can always buy the continuation to learn the end. Since I have it in my tbr pile already I’ll probably give it a go only because I liked “The Conqueror Worms” so much but if I didn’t own it already I might be a wee bit annoyed. -
¿Sabes esas historia bonitas llenas de amor, felicidad y unicornios arcoiris? Pues esto es justo lo contrario, es de los libros más crueles y sangrientos que recuerde haber leído nunca. Y como suele pasar en estas historias lo peor no son los zombis sino algunos de los supervivientes.
Y hablando de los zombis, la justificación de ser inteligentes, tanto zombis humanos como animales, es novedosa dentro del género. Repito, la justificación de ser INTELIGENTES, porque si fueran zombis normales sí estaría ya toqueteada desde hace muuuchos años.
No es que sea una joya en absoluto, además a partir de la mitad de libro decae un poco el interés porque se pasa con el sadismo (o más bien "hijoputismo") de algunos personajes y es en varias ocasiones muy incómodo y desagradable.
Y por si fuera poco el final está cortado en un punto crítico y te deja...ay! Así que empiezo el segundo al menos para ver qué pasa y ya veremos si después de eso lo continúo o no. -
This was the First Brian Keene book that I picked up, and to be honest... I wasn't expecting much. I enjoy a good Zombie film as much as the next person, but had never read a zombie book before. I was pleasantly surprised while reading this book. The characters were (for the most part) very real, engaging, and the type of people the reader cares about.
The zombies were not your stereotypical zombies; they were far more mobile, and capable of using tools, weapons, and setting traps to catch the foolhardy mortals who they hunted. This made them all the more terrifying. There are several survivors whose stories we follow throughout the book, the primary ones being Jim a carpenter who is on the mission of finding his young son, Frankie a junkie/prostitute who is just trying to survive, and Baker one of the Scientists who started this whole mess who is seeking redemption. This book reads like a blended up version of "28 days later," "Apocalypse Now," and every Romero movie ever made. In fact many of these are mentioned in the book.
Many people have complained about the ending, but I found it to be pretty typical of the zombie genera, true I would have loved one more page... but I wasn't dissatisfied in any way. It was pretty clear what happened, and true, it left the novel open for a sequel, but I don't think you really need one. In the end, this was a very well written, post-apocalyptic story about the survivors doing the one thing they have been good at so far - trying to survive. -
I am a zombie fan and like to watch movies and read books about this sub-genre of the horror genre (along with vampires and werewolves).
This book was first published in 2003, re-starting the zombie genre. The edition I read was the authors uncut preferred version.
The story features several different characters as they clash with the zombies and their fellow humans. The main character is Jim Thurmond who is traveling across the zombie infested lands to find his son.
Dr Baker is another character whose story reveals the origin of the zombies. He worked in an experimental government facility whose actions resulted in a rift between dimensions. From another dimension come these entities who take over the dead’s bodies resulting in intelligent, talking, driving, using weapons zombies. An original science fiction take on zombies.
Of course, it is humans who are the worst threat. A militia are merciless, nasty and savage towards their fellow survivors.
Mix all these together and there is plenty of sickening behaviour, gore and killing.
Like zombies? You might love this book. -
Firstly, I have never read a zombie book before. They just haven't ever appealed to me. Zombie films, yes, books, no. But I've read other stuff by Brian Keene so I thought I would give it a go.
This is so different to a normal zombie story. For a start, the zombies have a good level of intelligence. Which I think makes them even more scary!
When I first started the story I thought I might have given up quite quickly. I thought it was going to be stupid (ahem, zombie goldfish) but trust me. Do no let that put you off!
There is far more than just human zombies in this story, it's all animals all shapes and sizes, and I assure you. It may sound silly, but in the book it is terrifying!
I would definitely recomment this to any horror fans. I will be adding the sequel to my TBR list immediately.
One more thing, that ending.........Brian Keene, you asshole!
All reviews can be found at
http://lennonslair.blogspot.co.uk -
It's been almost eight years since I read the original version of The Rising, and though I recalled it being a great novel, I was surprised by just good it was. And here's the kicker: this Author's Preferred Edition of The Rising is even better. Aside from a 3 page passage that sticks out as unnecessary, everything else re-included here by Keene adds to the novel in a positive way. The characters are better drawn, and their actions seem more authentic for it. The ending has been much spoken about, but completely worked for me - even if the eventual sequel cheapens it to some degree.
Run, don't lurch or stagger, to your keyboard to order this essential addition to any Keene fan's collection. And if you're new to Keene: Wow. I envy you. You're in for a hell of a ride. -
Despite its too-frequent dips into mawkish sentimentality and general corniness, this is a fast-paced, exciting, and at-times surprisingly heartless page-turner. Zombie animals are a first to me. Demon possession is not so new, but the concept is used refreshingly in this novel; it reminded me of peter hamilton's Reality Dysfunction. Overall, a shallow but satisfying and often original read, despite the jarringly abrupt ending.
-
Estamos delante de un libro de zombis, en el que los zombis no parecen ser ellos mismos, o al menos a la versión que estamos acostumbrados.
En esta historia los muertos vivientes son seres inteligentes, capaces de empuñar armas, o conducir vehículos, lo que les hace ser mucho más peligroso de lo que nunca habíamos visto. Si eso no fuera suficiente, los animales también quieren su cuota de protagonismo en la novela, y les veremos en una versión zombi no menos malvada e inteligente que la humana.
Estos zombis 2.0, combinan de forma genial con el mundo cruel y sangriento que Keene nos plantea, en el que muertos vivientes y seres humanos se pelean por demostrar cual de los dos puede llegar a ser más malvado.
Si te gustan las historias duras y con mucha cantidad de sangre,vísceras, etc... Entonces seguro que te gustará.
Si queréis más información, pasaros por mi blog donde reseñé el libro.
http://fantasiascifiymuchomas.blogspo... -
It started off with a zombie goldfish that is strong enough to break the glass of the tank and fly across the room. That should have been the first and only warning I needed to DNF this sucker. The characters were so boring and uninteresting. The zombies (who talk by the way despite that their vocal cords are probably half rotted away) were boring and uninteresting. The unnecessary rape scenes, the typos on the page, the weak dialogue...ugh. I give it 2 stars and not 1 because I like the way the book ended (although most readers may hate the ending) but that could be because I was glad to be done with it.
-
3,5/5
“Tu especie tiene que asumir que vuestro tiempo ha terminado. Sois comida. Carne. Transporte. Nada más. Vuestro tiempo en este mundo ha terminado”
El Alzamiento es una novela muy entretenida de Zombies que leerás en un suspiro. Hay mucho gore y escenas explícitas, lo cual me ha encantado. Lo malo es que el final te deja con la miel en los labios y con cliffhanger de libro. ¡Necesito la segunda parte YA!
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