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The Rising

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The Rising

Written by: Brian Keene
Narrated by: Joe Hempel
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Since its 2003 debut, Brian Keene's The Rising is one of the best-selling zombie novels of all-time. It has been translated into over a dozen languages, inspired the works of other authors and filmmakers, and has become a cultural touchstone for an entire generation of horror fans.

The Rising is the story of Jim Thurmond, a determined father battling his way across a post-apocalyptic zombie landscape, to find his young son. Accompanied by Martin, a preacher still holding to his faith, and Frankie, a recovering heroin addict with an indomitable will to survive, Jim travels from state to state and town to town facing an endless onslaught of undead hordes and the evils perpetrated by his fellow man.

©2003 Brian Keene (P)2017 David N. Wilson Horror Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Scary Fiction Zombie
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His books are not for everyone, but I have enjoyed many of his books, for many years now. I read the Rising before all of the Hollywood zombie craze. In the cosmic horror universe of H.P. Lovecraft's mythos of C'thulu and the void, Keene paints a terrifying portrait of the the end of the world that makes the walking dead look like a zombie rendition of Sharknado. The City of The Dead, and The Conqueror Worms are also great books that I enjoyed, and also dwell in this cosmic nightmare that Lovecraft described almost a century ago. The truth is I have never been disappointed by anything Brian Keene has ever wrote, or H.P. Lovecraft for that matter. The audio performance was good, but I read this book when it was released, and have a clear idea of voices, and cadence from the characters. I enjoy audible books I have not read read more than prior reads, My minds image of things sometimes does not match the voice performance. Read, Listen, somehow, just find a way to appreciate this great writer.

I love the way Keene writes.

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I found Keene's take on a zombie apocalypse that borderlines on Lovecraftian mythos to be very interesting and compelling. The story is very gritty and doesn't shy away from the ugly side of humanity during the fall of civilization. I appreciated Keene's take on portraying the nastiness humans can commit, but I can see how it might turn off other readers.

As for the narrator, Hempel almost killed this book for me. I found his portrayal of almost every character to be whiny and completely off of how I pictured the characters. It's testament to the quality of the writing that I stuck this one out while gritting my teeth through Hempel's nasally narration.

Unique take on zombie apocalypse

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Sadly I went into this book with high hopes. As a fan of horror and Zombie fiction this book pops up on a number of curator lists for the genre. Although I found it somewhat entertaining as a fan of the genre, I can’t recommend this book and I doubt I will continue the series.

Although the characters are compelling when introduced the situations they are put in are not. Both the monsters and the people are equally gruesome, as one might expect of this genre, but there is something missing that I cannot quite understand it myself finger on.

To end on a plus, the performance of the voice actor was compelling enough to keep me listening.

Interesting take on Zeds but…

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I've never read a book that was so unrelentlessly gruesome and yet heartfelt and emotionally engaging. And that ending ....

Brutal and bloody

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Honestly, if I were a born again Christian perhaps I would have appreciated all the preaching in this book. But, I'm not and, therefore, I found the endless scripture references mundane and unnecessary to the story. And, oh my, the story; what to say about the story? It is so cliched, so contrived, so nonsensical that it is beyond description. To add to the mishmash, the author includes stereotypical characters and incredulous action sequences. He then rubs salt in our literary wounds by throwing in brutal sex and lots of gore for apparently no other reason than it is his book and he'll write what he damn well pleases. The first Keene book I listened to was terrible, but I thought I would give the guy a second chance in the hope that his writing had improved. Sadly, it got worse. Regarding the narration, Joe Hempel has a young, but pleasant, voice that lacks the maturity necessary to represent a wide range of characters. Oh, and by the way, as much as I couldn't wait for this book to end so I would no longer have to suffer through it... it didn't. There was no ending. Nada. So, I presume there will be The Rising 2. Good luck with that, Mr. Keene. I won't be listening.

No more Keene for me.

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