Rise Again Below Zero

Rise Again, Book 2

By: Ben Tripp

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Billions died and rose again, hungry for human flesh. When the nightmare reached Sheriff Danielle Adelman's small mountain community of Forest Peak, California, it was too late for warnings...forcing her to lead a small group of survivors out of hell, all the while seeking her estranged runaway sister at any cost.

Two years later, the undead have evolved. Now, besides the shambling, mindless cannibals are the hunters-cunning and fast, like wolves-and the thinkers, whose shocking intel­ligence and single-minded predatory obsession may mean the downfall of what's left of humanity. As Danny leads a ragtag band of the living through the remnants of the American Midwest, rumors arise of a safe place somewhere east. But the closer they get to it, the more certain Danny becomes that something evil waits for them at the end of the line.

With an unspeakable secret riding beside her and an unbreakable promise made to a small, silent boy, Danny must stake everything she has-her leadership, her sanity, and her life- in order to defeat the ultimate horror in a terrifying and dying world.

©2013 Ben Tripp (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"More than a routine zombiefest, this taut and intelligent tale succeeds as a moving meditation on a world steeped in 'the loneliness of life without afterlife.'" ( Publishers Weekly)

Excellent !!!

I truly loved this story. I was engaging from beginning to end. I highly recommend it.

Good not Great.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. Rise Again did a great job of setting up characters and storyline. A wicked twist at the end of the first book made Below Zero a surefire success. Not the case. Although the Zombie Gore receives a 10, the story waned and could have been deeper. What happened to the mercenary forces, what happened to the rest of the world. There is still many places Ben Tripp can take Rise Again but Danny was such a bad ass.

What about Kirsten Potter’s performance did you like?

Love Kirsten Potter - she gave Danny substance with her voice and inflections.

Did Rise Again Below Zero inspire you to do anything?

No but several of the scenes in this book are accents to Zombie Gore and Violence. Loved the explicit violence which took it to a very personal level to one could understand and made it more horrible than typically cheesy zombie gore you see on tv. Awesome work Ben! Keep em coming.

Any additional comments?

Has Mr. Nicotero contacted Ben Tripp? He should.

Real people wild circumstances

Tripp is a master of believable struggles. You care about the characters and cringe at the advances the zombies make. Enjoy!

Why is it OVER????

This book is not for everyone. There are scenes that are INCREDIBLY gory. But, OMG (a bizarre reference considering one of the book's many original twists), to fans of this genre this book (and the first one in the series) surely delivers. Just when you think you have figured it out, another bizarre (BIZARRE) twist. Hope there's a third. I would download it in a second.

Wow!

I found both parts of this story to be excellent. The characters were consistent, believable and interesting. The story was suspenseful. The reader was outstandingly talented and well suited to the book.

The protagonist was a war veteran. Her response to the "zombie apocalypse" seemed to be in line with what I have read about the hardships of soldiers who return home. I found her emotional responses to be very believable, but have no "reality check".

More... a good supernatural book lends itself to metaphor and in this case, the zombie infection worked as drug addiction, cultural ennui, and the creepy American yearning to live forever.


I am very impressed by this author, and hope that he continues to produce.

Some fresh twists on an overdone genre!

Would you consider the audio edition of Rise Again Below Zero to be better than the print version?

I would because Kirsten Potter does a great job as narrator. She breathes life into Danny and Kelly, as well as the other characters that I wouldn't have experienced in the print edition.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Risen Flesh. Such an evil, opportunistic thing, and well imagined by the author. His appearance in the story brings glimpses of the horrors that lay beneath the quaint facade of "Happy Town" and the purpose of its human inhabitants. He is the terrifying icing on an horrifying layer cake of evil!

Which character – as performed by Kirsten Potter – was your favorite?

Danny, of course! The story is told mostly from her point of view. She also does Kelly much justice.

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

Yes. I really liked the first one, but this book took the story to a whole new level!

Any additional comments?

Rise Again is not your run of the mill zombie story. It has great plot twists and good character development. Can Kelly be trusted? Who's side is she really on?

Great!

This is just an absolutely fantastic series of books. However I do wish there were more!

Fantastic Ending to this Story

Ok, I will admit that I do not like most zombie/apocalypse type books with female lead character. However this series was great and I really liked the way they ended the story.

The only thing I didn't care for in this book was there were too many different classes of zombies which made the story disjointed. I don't mind taking liberties with Zombie canon, however I counted like 4-5 different types of zombies in this book.

I know the author could have dragged out a couple more books using this storyline, however I appreciate how he ended it.

Highly recommend this book.

not as good as the first

definitely not as good as the first. kinda seemed like the author didn't know where to go with it. the flow felt off for some reason.

Strong characters, but story meanders a bit...

Well... I gave 5 stars to book one, and started to give only 4 stars to this one. Then I re-thought my assessment and have to say that this book is nearly as good as book one (caveats follow, and key word is "nearly").

Of course, if you have read book one, you pretty much have to read this one too because, otherwise, you will never know what happened to Danny. (If you did not read book one, don't read this one first, it won't make nearly as much sense.) If you liked book one for its realistic characters and zombie action, you should probably find this one stands on equal ground; it is as good in that sense as the first book was.

So, why is this book not quite as good? Only because there was a bit too much mid-story filler about Danny on a bender which didn't add anything to the story line, and the zombies just brushed on the edge of being too extreme. Yes, I know, they are zombies... but... we expect zombies to fit within certain parameters, and the survivors' responses to them to also fit within these parameters; in this book, however, it just "got a little weird". (hah... got a little weird... in a zombie book... hmmm...)

But, the more I think about it, the more I realize that the shift in the zombie - we'll call them "attributes" - was sort of a logical progression, given how they started. Though I don't think I can accept the late-story acceptance/attitude of "zombies are people too". (I sort of wonder if this theme was meant to have some moral behind it... but since I ignore morals in stories, I'm not sure if that was the intent, or just my interpretation of certain events.)

Anyway, the story is wrapped up in the end - though maybe not the way we would have preferred it to be. The narration is very good. There is a bit of swearing, a bit of zombie "messiness" (aka gore), and no detailed sex. If there was another book in the series, I'd buy it.