a decent zombie book

I did enjoy this different take on zombies. Nothing creeps me out more than fast or clever zombies, and this story had it both.
The story is not without its issues, stereotypical characters and a lot of deus ex machina to save the main characters. 2 deaths i struggle to forgive the author.
The ending threw me, it finishes mid-action, forcing you to find out the rest in the second book. Not cool.
But i did enjoy listening to it, so will probably have to suck it up and continue.

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Ieft me thinking how would you survive.

Normally would not go for a book with low ratings, however I really enjoyed it. I got a bit of a King vibe from the book so that did help.
However I do feel that it could have been twice as long to flesh out the story and characters.the book got me thinking and I am left wondering how would I survive this with a few more questions on the current situation they are in.

All in worth a listen if you are a zombie fan.

I don't understand people commenting about the foul and racist language from the characters, it's more than likely how the world would revert in that situation.

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1st Book in a series.

For reasons I won't go into I stopped reading books back in the late 1990's and resumed reading them in 2017, the stresses of life during those twenty-seven or so years giving me little time to sit back and disappear into a book.

When I did start reading again (after buying one of those little eletronic book-type thingies) I started researching on what I had missed, and this I did by the obligatory internet seach-engines with something like “the best horror novels of the 90's”.

Eventually I came across a writer called Brian Keene, apparently a famous fella, and I selected a book pretty much at random from the cheaper end of the e-book spectrum; which turned out to be called “The Rising”, later I found the book in an audio format (narrated by Joe Hempel) and took the plunge.

Okay. I thought, lets give it a go; and so I did.

Now I'm a horror fan, and I have been since a nine year old me watching zombie movies and a ten year old me watched slahser flicks. By the time I was fifteen I had thousands of videocassettes (remember those?) and I have probably seen a fair few hundred zombie movies, so I'm pretty much zombied-out; or at least I thought I was.

The Rising sets the walking dead amidst a decidedly religious themed apocalypse that effectively changes all the rules we've been used to regarding the living dead.

Which for me was a welcome change.

These zombies talk and drive, work in teams and hatch plans that hint at an even darker truth behind it all that our heroes can barely guess at. Through this story we follow pockets of survivors, each with thier own mission, as they gradually converge on a rogue military base and the mad commander that runs it.

Theres a good amount of action on-hand and more than a little gore that spurs the reader on into a densely packed world that moves at an enviable pace across half of middle America; but thankfully we are in good hands with Joe Hempel as our narrator, who keeps things snappy and does not impede the books pacing.

As I hit the final minutes of the book I was already seaching for the second book in the series, purchasing it and downloading it as the final seconds of the first story rolled by and I'm certain that this sequel, City of the Dead, will not be the last Brian Keene book I'll be working through over the coming months.

Even if you're zombied-out as I was, this one might just make you revisit those lovable cadavers and their overly enthusiatic hickey's; really, all they want is some affection.

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7 people found this helpful

Breathes new life into the walking dead

The horror fiction market has a plethora of books about zombies, most of which follow the now tired old tropes established by the genius George A. Romero in his ‘Living Dead’ films (RIP George, you are much missed). However, I think this audiobook ranks just below Max Brooks’ ‘World War Z’ as a fine example of original, inventive, well-written zombie literature.

The thing that sets this book apart from others in the genre is Keene’s unique take on the zombies themselves. I mean, zombies that are intelligent? Can talk? Drive? Use weapons? Count me in! And I’m sorry but coming up with the idea of zombie birds and even zombie goldfish is utter genius. Beware the flying dead and the swimming dead!

Alongside these different and dangerous zombies is a large cast of engaging, interesting and (mostly) likeable characters who you root for and want to survive. Although character description and development do not appear to be Keene’s major concerns in this book, I did like that he switched between different viewpoints to give the reader at least some depth and insight into each character.

I do have some reservations about the book. This is a zombie novel and so some blood, guts and brain munching are obviously expected. However, Keene does not hold back on the violence and gore. It was almost too much for me, so readers with weak stomachs should approach with care. Even more disturbing were the extremely violent and intense scenes with female characters. These were unpleasant, gratuitous and very uncomfortable to listen to.

The pace never flagged and it was gripping throughout. This was in part due to Keene’s writing, but also because of the effective narration. The narrator never once pulled me out of the story, so I have no hesitation in giving the performance five stars.

Finally, the book ends on a rather abrupt cliff-hanger, which is frustrating as it means I have no choice but to buy the next in the series to find out what happens next…

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A fantastic novel

This has to be one of the best books I have heard in the genre it deals with the brutal end of anything human but yet still shines a torch of hope for mankind,I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it

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3 people found this helpful

A zombie apocalypse with a twist

I read this book back when it was first published in paperback in 2004 and loved it. 17 years later and I've rediscovered just how much I truly enjoy Brian Keene's writing style. Out of the myriad zombie novels I've read/listened to over the decades this one really stood out (along with the sequel). Joe Hempel's narration is exemplary and his characterisations wonderful.

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2 people found this helpful

You can't beat a good Zombie Apocalypse

This is good; it grabs hold of you from the start and doesn't let go. The story is well balanced and proceeds without boring passages or unexplained jumps. The narrator does a good job of keeping you on board. I really enjoyed this; the follow-up is next in my Library to listen to and I really can't wait to get stuck in.

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3 people found this helpful

Amazing read!

Absolutely LOVED this book!
I felt I was there in the story,
Can't wait to hear the second;););)

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A different take on zombies

An interesting take on evil human, animal, bird zombies. A decent story but I wasn't a fan of the stereotypical view on certain characters and the constant N bombs. It was weird that the teenage son spoke like a toddler. On the one hand the author depicted a 12 year old boy as being able to hunt game and kill people with guns, on the other a boy of the same age gushing 'I love you's' to his father, and the father talking about buying him toys. I've never come across a teenager who spoke to his father like that. The maturity levels don't quite add up. Also, I think the narrator tried but a lot of the characters ended up sounding the same. He wasn't great at acting out people of colour, women or children.

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gave it 3 hours

I listened for 3 hours but felt no connection to the characters.

the zombie monologues were just painful, some of the writing made me cringe.

its painfully slow, I wanted to like it based on the write up; but now I will never get those 3 hours back.

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