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Summary: In Your Face Horror
Review: Brian Keene takes his place among the new wave of horror authors devoted to that old pulp tradition celebrated with Night of the Beast and this years Night of the Werewolf. "The Rising" is GREAT fun. It is solid, fun and freakout weird. It is also violent and never lets up. Lots of names from the horror genre scattered throughout too. For anyone who likes their horror the old-fashioned way. This undead troup gives you lip, drives cars...And man can these zombies move. No slow-mo stuff here, they got track shoes and will run your butt down LOL
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Smart, literary, and horrific--this is one fun and gruesome read!
Rating:
Summary: Better Than 28 Days Later
Review: This is absolutely not only one of the *best* zombie novels I've ever read, but one of the best horror novels period. Extreme horror written with intelligence, dark humor and characters that you care about.
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Summary: A gruesome and macabre tale of horrific madness
Review: The Rising by master wordsmith and storyteller Brian Keene, is a gruesome and macabre tale of horrific madness sweeping across the civilized world. The lucky ones are the dead and destroyed. The unlucky ones are reanimated in gruesome parodies of their former lives as human beings. One man with an ordinary tangled life is caught in the middle of the tides of damnation, in this blood-curdling and spine-tingling tale. The Rising is especially commended to the reading lists and personal collections of horror fantasy enthusiasts.
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Summary: Zombies Get An Upgrade
Review: Good stuff! Characters you care about, a plot that keeps you reading long after bedtime, violence, gore, and zombies, zombies, zombies!
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Summary: A "Rising" Star
Review: With THE RISING, Brian Keene proves what many critics have been saying--that there is a new heir to the horror throne.This is not your father's zombie novel. Keene picks up where creator's like George Romero and David Schow left off--and runs the ball for a touchdown. Intense, gripping, fast-paced, and not for the squeamish, The Rising is the first great horror novel of 2003.
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Summary: You've never seen zombies like these!
Review: I won't say Brian Keene's novel "The Rising" is a perfect horror novel; it has its flaws, to be sure. However, rivetting until the end, it is definitely one of the best horror novels (and possibly the best zombie novel) I have read in a long time. The plot:
It's an accident, really. A device designed to create black holes opens up a portal to another reality--Hell, if you will. When we die, and our life forces depart our bodies, spirits from this other reality come back and inhabit them...intent on making corpses for more of their brethren to come through. "The Rising" follows four primary people: Jim Thurmond, who's searching for his son; the Reverend Martin, who hears of Jim's plight and dedicates himself to helping the man; Baker, a scientist who had a lot to do with the catastrophe that has happened, and who now wishes to survive long enough to make ammends; and Frankie, a former prostitute running not only from the zombies, but from her drug addiction as well... As their journeys intersect each other, these four individuals will have to face the bitter truth: though many people have survived the zombies so far, sometimes the walking dead aren't half as evil as the living... "The Rising" by Brian Keene is spectacular. Maybe it's ripping off "Day of the Dead;" personally, I don't care. All I care about is that these zombies are like none you've seen before, and Keene is one hell of a writer. Though he may not be the next Stephen King (he lacks King's commercial appeal), Keene is, like many authors published by Leisure Horror, a rare and dignified talent. Buy "The Rising," but on two conditions: 1, you have to be a true horror fan; and 2, you have to be willing to have your socks scared right off your feet!
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Summary: A new classic in the post-apocalyptic horror cannon
Review: Brian Keene has been well known in horror circles for a few years now due to his excellent short fiction that has been published in several anthologies. His long-awaited debut novel, "The Rising" is a fast-paced, gory and wildly adventurous romp that never slows down. It's no wonder this won a Bram Stoker award for best first novel and that Keene is quickly developing a rabid cult following among horror fans. Zombies have completely invaded America. There are however a few remaining survivors such as Jim, the hero of the story. A divorced construction worker who lost custody of his son a year ago, Jim lives a life of recluse in the bomb shelter below his West Virginia home. As far as he is concerned, there is no reason for him to leave the safety of the shelter to face the outside world overridden with zombies. That is, until his son calls his cellphone letting him know he's still alive and in need of rescue. Jim then sets upon a road mission from West Virginia to New Jersey where his son lives. Along the way he will meet several interesting characters such as a preacher, an ex-prostitute, a guilt-ridden scientist and of course armies of the undead. From the very first page on, this novel is one roller-coaster ride of action and violence that left me breathless and gasping for air. There is no wasted time, no overwrought material, just slam-bam action from the get-go all the way through to the end. The only downside to this is that the characters appear a little bit thin due to lack of development but that's the style that Keene intentionally decided to go with and it works in his favour. This novel reads like a zombie b-movie gone berserk, reminiscent of the wild recklessness of Romero's Dawn of the Dead. It even manages to tread new ground as far as zombie fiction goes, these are the intelligent zombies that can drive cars and shoot guns. Most interesting is Keene's use of animals as undead creatures. One scene containing a flock of undead birds would make ol' Hitchcock very proud. Throughout the novel, Keene displays an outstanding grasp of modern street lingo and culture, prompting some critics to refer to his work as "gangsta" horror. Anyone offended by large amounts of swearing would be best served to stay away from this novel. Admittedly, this novel has a few problems at its core. The explanations behind the plague didn't make much sense to me, even the scientist appeared clueless most of the time. Also, Frankie's sudden transformation from weak addicted junkie to veritable female Rambo literally happens overnight and is a pill I found tough to swallow. But the upsides of this novel far outweigh the negatives and despite the minor problems (not to mention numerous spelling and editing mistakes) I don't believe anybody could ever accuse this novel of being boring. Shlocky? Yes. Dumb? Perhaps. Boring? Not a chance. Clearly, Brian Keene is a reader's writer. He has no doubt read tons of horror fiction himself and seems to know exactly what most fans want: no strings attached escapism and entertainment.
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Summary: Not your daddy's zombies
Review: It's been a long time since a novel of any kind, in particular a horror novel, has given me such cause to praise and recommend. What Mr. Keene has done here is give a refreshing twist to zombie fiction, taking the lumbering stiffs and giving them not only speed (yes I saw 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake) but a cold, calculating intelligence. The goal of these limber undead? To make everyone and everything part of one big happy, rotting family. Comparisons to Matheson, Romero, and King are well founded. This tale of one desperate father searching for his child in the midst of the dead refusing to die is chock full of gore, disturbing imagery, and characters that envoke the entire gamut of human emotion. Also, the ending maintains the level of suspense and horror that permeates the entire book and, for a horror novel, that's no small feat. For Horror fans this guy needs your immediate attention, put him on your radar, staple a post it to your forehead, carve his name into your arm. Do whatever it takes to find this book, put on a pot of coffee, and sit your donkey down to read. You won't be going anywhere till you're done. Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.
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Summary: This is what survival horror should be about
Review: In The Rising, the world is being overwhelmed by zombies. Many a cheesy story has involved zombies, but the Rising isn't one of the cheese-filled titles. Rather, this story is about survival, about the human spirit to continue, and above all that, it's about the lengths a father will go to in trying to save his son. Brian Keene manages to keep the tension high while allowing emotion and a few human lives to survive. There is horror in this piece; there is gore. If all you're looking for is horror and gore, you might be disappointed, since this book is driven by a quest. Read it for that and you won't go wrong. Just remember to aim for the head.
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