Rise Again

A Zombie Thriller

By: Ben Tripp

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 16 hrs

Publisher's summary

Forest Peak, California. Fourth of July. Sheriff Danielle Adelman, a troubled war veteran, thinks she has all the problems she can handle in this all-American town after her kid sister runs away from home. But when a disease-stricken horde of panicked refugees fleeing the fall of Los Angeles swarms her small mountain community, Danny realizes her problems have only just begun—starting with what might very well be the end of the world. Danny thought she had seen humanity at its worst in war-torn Iraq, but nothing could prepare her for the remorseless struggle to survive in a dying world being overrun by the reanimated dead and men turned monster. Obsessed with finding her missing sister against all odds, Danny’s epic and dangerous journey across the California desert will challenge her spirit... and bring her to the precipice of sanity itself.

Filled with adventurous human drama—and shocking inhuman horror—Rise Again marks a vivid and powerful fiction debut.

©2011 Ben Tripp (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Danny's journey through a land of death to find [her sister] Kelley makes for a remarkable character-driven story, and the final sentence takes it to another level." ( Library Journal)

It has a slow start, but hang in there!

While the story has a rather slow start, it’s definitely worth sticking around. The main characters are flawed individuals, but you’ll come to like them all.

Delivers well on familiar Zombie elements

First, well written. That's getting to be important in the Zombie genre. The narration is a bit dead-pan, but I liked it. Characters develop nicely and the final resolution of one main story line is understated and moving. I understand why some reviewers didn't like the main character, but I thought she was interesting, conflicted and ultimately satisfying. The San Fran element is familiar plot, but I enjoyed the characterization of the 'top-cat' politician.

Whaaat?!

the ending...wasn't expecting that! now I need the next book! so much detail during battles

Good Z apocalypse story

I really enjoyed the human story in this zombie novel. Great character struggle throughout the story.

A zombie story that has real people in it.

So... you're thinking, yet another zombie book. Well, yes and no. It is another zombie book and zombies are bad, and people are bad when the world falls apart - at least many of them are... but... this one is actually better written than a lot of the more recent zombie schlock out there - particularly in how well the people are written. Of course, there is the standard zombie gore and hack-n-slash, and this part is not very different or unique, but... the characters are distinct and real, and they behave in mostly normal ways. They don't suddenly become super heroes, and the women are not just there to be raped then rescued (or rescued then raped)...

Sure, the women are rescued then raped - it is still a genre novel and the author relies heavily on the stereotype behaviour of humankind (dare I say "men"?) post-apocalypse - but the women are not ONLY there for that. The main character is a strong woman (non-lesbian too, nice change to see a female lead that isn't portrayed as a pseudo-man). Sure, she is flawed and damaged, but most male protagonists are as well...

The author actually made me care what happened to the people in the story - this doesn't happen very often in zombie books; normally I just read them for the action and zombie bashing and don't really care which of the "survivors" survive until the end of the book because we aren't usually able to tell them apart. In this case, however, we want at least the main character and her original entourage to survive... because... well, we like them.

The narration is seamless (you will forget it is being narrated). There is zombie gore but it isn't particularly graphic. There is some swearing and no sex. There is a bit of a twist at the end, but it isn't truly a cliff-hanger: I bought the next book in the series at full price on Audible as soon as I finished this one.

Zombie Adventure

What did you love best about Rise Again?

Different twist on Zombies with a strong, flawed hero

What did you like best about this story?

Excitement and action with unexpected developments

Which scene was your favorite?

Can't decide

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Some scenes were smoking!

Interesting and Unique!

If you could sum up Rise Again in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining, Unique, and Shocking!

What other book might you compare Rise Again to and why?

I don’t feel that I can compare it to any other book.

Have you listened to any of Kirsten Potter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to Mrs. Potter before but I love her characterizations! She really can bring the butch!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book had a few hold your breath moments. I would like to have seen this book spread out into a few books. I think the story led it self out to even more story.

Any additional comments?

I think this book is well written, the characters are believable! I did feel that the main character could have been less masculine and still of had the same impact. I loved her back story and the flow of the story. The ending left me satisfied!

I am looking for more books by this author!

Very good, very serious book.

Any additional comments?

Much more serious than other zombie books, very entertaining throughout. It could use more detail and explanation as well as character development, but it was an entertaining short book that will sate your zombie thirst until DBDA III or The Morningstar Strain III is delivered.

Better Than Your Average Zombie

This is a basic zombie book done write. It is well written, the characters are well-developed and show growth, etc. The characters are just your average people coping with the apocalypse as best they can.

I liked it

I liked the book. Not really sure why though. Nothing jumped out at me as memorable.
Good narration and story line. End seemed to chop off abruptly.
All in all a decent listen if you have time to kill.