The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor

By: Robert Kirkman, Jay Bonansinga

Narrated by: Fred Berman

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Following in the footsteps of the New York Times best-selling graphic novels and the record-breaking new television show, this debut novel in a trilogy of original Walking Dead books chronicles the back story of the comic book series' greatest villain, The Governor.

In the Walking Dead universe, there is no greater villain than The Governor. The despot who runs the walled-off town of Woodbury, he has his own sick sense of justice: whether it’s forcing prisoners to battle zombies in an arena for the townspeople’s amusement, or chopping off the appendages of those who cross him. The Governor was voted “Villain of the Year” by Wizard magazine the year he debuted, and his story arc was the most controversial arc in the history of The Walking Dead comic book series. Now, for the first time, fans of The Walking Dead will discover how The Governor became the man he is, and what drove him to such extremes.

©2011 Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga (P)2011 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“If the comic book writer Robert Kirkman were a superhero, his name might be the Midas Touch.” ( The New York Times)

Great writing at its best

AWESOME IN EVERY WAY. SUPERB! It was amazing to see how far the Governor came to his current position!

Holy F'in S

Any additional comments?

what a great book. i felt i had to write a review cause every time i read the ones listed i find them so whinny, neg and quite frankly way off that you hardly even get the right impression. so many people complain about this and that, saying its to descriptive and what not....all i have to say is read the f'in book its great!!!! what a rollercoster and a surprise twist ending what else do you want out of a book. to all those with such neg reviews i want to say pull your heads out of your asses and start enjoying things for what they are and stop trying to make verbal improvements were none are needed. the book was a 10 out of 10 and a must read not only for WD fans but for anyone that wants to read a good book!!!!

Loved it

Where does The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of my favorite books listened to it twice now.

What about Fred Berman’s performance did you like?

I've read the actual book and I liked it but Berman's performance made me love it very well done

WOW

If you could sum up The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor in three words, what would they be?

Graphic, shocking, awesome!

What other book might you compare The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor to and why?

I cannot think of any other book, right now. I can compare this to the show, the telltale video game and sort of, the last of us video game. While listening, I could "see" both the show and games in my head. I don't know if that's good or bad to you, but it was great to me :)

What does Fred Berman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great emotion and caring. It was like I was really living the story, like I was there. I was holding my breath, thinking RUN!!! Hurry, grab everything you can find! Etc etc

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The last few chapters made me say "Wait. What? Did that just happen? Oh god! I can't believe it!"

Any additional comments?

Awesome! I loved ever minute. Well, OK, nearly every minute. This is not a "happy" story. It is a story of survival. Sometimes people do things they would never have thought about. Sometimes people do things they didn't think they were capable of doing. Sometimes people do whatever they have to, just to survive. Sometimes people are heroes. Sometimes people are monsters. And sometimes people break...I listened to it twice in about 2 weeks while at work. I also bought the 2nd book in both kindle and audible. I am planning to get the 3rd book, part one and two. BTW book 3 part 2 is showing a release date of 3/2014 per Amazon.com.

Excellent

Very good audio book. Only issue is like many audio books: Need a female reader for female characters. However it is still excellent, I recommend it.

The Governors story!

Both of these books are about the Governor and his rise to power. Excellent companions if you're a fan of the TV series. Not so good if you don't watch the show!

So good

really enjoyed this and wish there were endless books by this author on the walking dead.

This is a well wrote, well read story.

The story teller has a great voice. well read., love the sound effects . The story has a great flow. The grandkids enjoy this story while we are camping.
Good story, great series'.

Editor didn't do his job...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

There are several silly technical mistakes in this book that should have been caught and corrected before it was published. Just a few examples, Ford doesn't make the S10... Try Chevy... Glock Handguns don't have a manual safety. The safety is incorporated into the trigger. Oh, and a mistake made by so many writers... CORDITE... Bullets haven't contained Cordite as a propellant since 1945. It's production stopped at the end of WWII, yet writers continue to refer to the air hanging heavy with the smell of Cordite. Unless your shooters are using Vintage WWII bullets, it's not Cordite they are smelling :-)

If you are fan of the TV series or not - listen!

Would you listen to The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor again? Why?

Yes. I plan on listening to it again before the fall premiere of season 3, now that I know who the governor is. I have never read the graphic novels, so I haven't seen the governor in action but everyone says he is most evil. After experiencing his survival story in this audiobook, I just might have a little sympathy for him because he is not so different than you or I at the beginning of the walker apocalypse.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor?

The big twist at the end. The early struggles shortly after the outbreak. Being grossed out by an audiobook.

Which character – as performed by Fred Berman – was your favorite?

All of them.

If you could rename The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor, what would you call it?

Survival of the Fittest: How I learned to love walkers and hate other people.

Any additional comments?

Definitely a must listen going into season 3. Since this story is parallel to Rick's and starts around the beginning, you don't need to have seen the show or read the graphic novel. Something that I found funny was they managed to put in product placement. I see great potential for in audiobook advertising for zombie books -

They took out the first dead in the parking lot with the Craftsman cordless nail guns that fortunately Philip had bought a month before for only 79.99 each at Sears. Penny was popping heads with her titanium blended Wilson metal softball bat that she had scavenged from the extensive sporting goods department at the abandoned Target store. Leaving a trail of twice dead rotting corpses across the parking lot, the group made their way to the sliding glass doors and smashed them in. Upon entering, Philip quickly scanned the horizon of the enormous store. "Doesn't look like any biters are around! Thank God we found this Lowe's superstore! We can get everything we need here! Stock up!"
"They have Coke Zero. Omigod, I have been craving a Coke Zero since the s--t hit the fan!", Penny squealed with delight.
"We don't have time for that!", barked Philip."Go grab those stainless steel Maglites! Penny, fill a cart up with all those Energizer batteries and Aquafina bottles of water!". But it was too late, Penny was already guzzling the sweet-as-sugar Coke Zero. "Philip I don't give a crap what you say! I needed that refreshment, even warm! I . . ." , Penny's speech trailed off as she noticed a limited edition Swatch wrapped around a dead hand fall on her. She screamed as the corpse of a friendly Lowe's employee dragged her back and down into a rack of Snickers. Delicious Mars candy bars spilled across the floor with Penny's blood as the walker began to munch . . .