The Rising

By: Brian Keene

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

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

What was with all the religious stuff?

2.5 stars rounded up to 3, because maybe I just didn't get it the way I was supposed to?

Anyhoo...

I remember when I first saw Stargate, and marveled at how conveniently wormholes were used to explain religion, mysticism and other oddities in human history. When an author can take an overused theme, and give it a fresh explanation that enriches the myth, it's priceless. That kind of enhancement is exactly what Brian Keene weaves into the world of The Rising.

We have a mixed bag of Thetan-style body occupiers, a la Scientology, mixed with evil Christian demons, jumbled up to give rise to zombies. We get the explanation for why zombies only maim then move on (hint: they need our bodies). We also get a lot of references to Stephen King's works, through direct quotes ("Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance") and characters with nods to popular ones in his novels, like John of Many Colors for The Stand's Trashcan Man. It's a whole lot of pop horror culture woven into one ultra-campy zombie novel.

And then all those cool ideas fizzle into half-developed characters, "off" dialogue and weird gore.

There was a sharp emphasis on how badly people behave during the apocalypse, mostly that men will immediately turn the clocks back a few hundred years and start gleefully raping and pillaging, and we lose focus on the zombies themselves. I get that this is supposed to be bloody and gory, but could the evil and bloody destruction have been at the hands of the bad guys (the zombies) and not mostly perpetrated by the humans trying to survive?

And while I'm complaining, what was with all the religious stuff? Seriously, all the Bible verses and prayers were too much. The Martin/preacher character and the constant discussion of God, Jesus, faith, and actual prayer recitations were tedious. I wish this book had been identified as Christian fiction, because I would have known it was not for me.

Even though I have the Author's Preferred Edition in audio, which I hear is considerably cleaned up from the original publication, the writing could still use a great deal of editing and polish. It reads like a raw and unfinished self-published novel. There exist a multitude of forced, awkward or incorrect phrases, more than I could keep up with while listening:

"murmur of consent", when it should have been assent
"delay that order", when it should have been belay

We also endure a lot of one-liners that are way too cheesy, especially when coming from the zombies. Certainly nothing quotable or meaningful can be found in there, just a bunch of awkwardly campy dialogue.

As for the audio, the narrator, Joe Hempel, had a few mispronunciations, but overall did a more than admirable job of differentiating the characters' voices. I was thankful for this, because the characters were not developed well enough for me to tell the difference between them without his addition of inflections and accents.

Frustratingly, the story ends very abruptly, literally on the threshold of resolving the single driving plot point of the novel. This is a huge pet peeve of mine, the manipulation of the reader to buy the next book in the series, so I guess I'll never find out.

good book

this is a good book. the relationship between the father and son are...... very real. the overall idea of the dead is pretty original.

Still the great zombie story that changed everything for the genre

I read The Rising when it was new and loved it then. I decided to get the audio book to revisit the story before reading volume 3 of the series. I got wrapped up in the story again and remembered why I loved it then. Ready to listen to City of the Dead now.

love zombies!!

this book was great! was so surprised I couldn't put it down! wow! frickin awesome ride

Not your Average Zombie Apocalypse!

This is not your average Zombie Apocalypse. If you are looking for the standard Zombie stuff this is not the story for you. But if your looking for a story that will hook you in with great characters and a new take on The Zombie Apocalypse stick around. These Zombies are the result of some brilliant Government Scientist playing with a particle accelerator. Something old and evil found its way back to our universe. The New Zombies only gut Not kill you or eat your brains you so that it can take over the body when it dies and the soul leaves.
One of the characters in this huge cast is Jim he has survived for the first 3 months but is separated from his son. He gets a phone call and the boy is in danger at his mothers and step dads home hundreds of miles away. And so begins the horror adventure. There are many other characters and stories lines but Jim's was my favorite. I highly recommend this excellent audio book. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and highly entertained.

The narration was done by Joe Hempel. Mr Hempel brings depth and passion to all the characters in the grand cast with a high quality, professional performance with great emotion and variation for each character.

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge via Audiobook Boom.

Whole lot of crazy going on in this one!

I had read this one previously, but when I saw the audio come up, I jumped all over it and Joe was kind enough to gift me a copy to check out. It is even better the second (or third) time around and Joe's narration really added to the experience for me. His cadence and tone made the pages come alive. Very well done. Thanks, Joe!

**Minor spoiler warning ahead**

Jim is on a mission to get back home and save his son. The Rising has begun and an ancient evil has entered the dead thru the soul as an entryway. Back from the Void, they are growing in numbers and planning on taking back what they see as rightfully theirs.

This one was pretty crazy. These are definitely not your mommas’ zombies. Part terrifying and part tongue-in-cheek, there is a lot going on in this one. There are several memorable characters throughout the novel and it even has zombie squirrels! That’s right squirrels, man!! Crazy!

Hardcore zombie apocalypse "traditionalists" may not dig this one because it is not “real” enough (that’s lame anyway) but that’s what makes it good, at least in my humble opinion. Recommended for a bloody good zombie romp!

Dark, Occasionally Silly, Pulpy Fun

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.

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.

❤️

Unusual, weird and disturbing. I loved it. Definitely a favorite of mine now. A must have for any ZA fan.

I will pick a book just because Joe Hempel narrated it. I love his work.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Supernatural zombies are here!!

Good zombie apocalypse book with a difference, more supernatural as the dead are inhabited by an evil other dimension creatures.

Well read by Joe Hempel, he keeps the story moving nicely.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."

How many stars for OBsEsSED!

Brian Keene is a genius and so brutal. He really broke me of my “everything will be okay in the end” attitude. This book is so amazing I can’t even fault it! On to the sequel!