Risen

Rating:
Summary: Page turning Thriller
Review: I picked up "Risen" as an e-book to read on my Cassiopeia E-125 and have not put the thing down since. This book had my heart pounding and hair standing on end and still I couldn't stop reading. Strnad develops the characters wonderfully so that you really begin to care what happens to them, and to regret what could have been.

Thanks for such a good read, Jan, and for the gift of the e-book!

Rating:
Summary: Good cockroach eating fun!
Review: Damn you, Jan. I forced myself to put it down at 11pm...then I laid there with the covers pulled up to my chin knowing that if I didn't finish it I would be waiting for the boogyman all night. So I stayed up until 2am. Grrrrrrrr. I'll never forgive you.

Rating:
Summary: Don't miss the scene in the church!
Review: Risen pulls off a neat trick. It starts out Dave-Barry droll. Then it darkens. Then the turns and shocks come, climaxing with a twist that seems unthinkable in a thriller of this sort -- until you see Strnad's set it up so well it's perfect, logical, and emotionally acceptable, despite its horror (it happens in the church scene). I read several thrillers a year. This is in the top rank.

This is the same Jan Strnad of comics fame. He even got buddy Rich Corben to do his cover.

Rating:
Summary: Free eBook download drew me in...
Review: Always on the lookout for books to read on my iPaq Pocket PC, I found Strnad's book _Risen_ on one of the eBook websites (can't recall which). His intro describes the electronic version of _Risen_ as a gift, and his only request was for feedback on this site.

_Risen_ is a nicely paced horror novel. While it doesn't have the depth of the average Stephen King novel (which seems to have been the author's stated goal), it kept me turning pages throughout. The third person, multiple POV wandered from character to character without giving us enough from any one of them, and I think that hurt the overall book a little bit. I also found the ending to be a bit of a letdown. There was a lot of structure built upon the question of "what would Peg do?" and when we got down to it, it didn't seem to matter. The ending was rushed, and unsatisfyingly simliar to the ending of the story within the story. The teaser sequence at the beginning of the novel drew me into the story nicely, but it also acted as kind of a spoiler for the end.

It may sound like I'm disappointed with _Risen_ overall, but I'm not. It was good (not great) fun, and I am especially pleased to find modern fiction available for my Pocket PC. Thanks to the author for making his work available in this format, and anyone else looking for stuff to read on a portable unit (especially free stuff) should enjoy _Risen_ more than most of the other options currently available. By that, I mean that Edgar Rice Burroughs _Princess of Mars_ has not aged well.

Rating:
Summary: Wow, what a story!
Review: RISEN takes you into the life of a small town -- could be any small town, even the one you live in -- and shows you what happens when evil infiltrates every level, from the law to the church to the six-year-old next door.

This is a truly hair-raising story, with characters so realistic and detailed that you will think they are sitting next to you while you read.

If you want to enter a new dimension in terror, where anyone and everyone can be turned to 'the dark side', then read RISEN.

I'll give you one recommendation, though -- don't read it at night!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: First, let me state that I am a consumer more of non-fiction books than of fiction. I used to read more of a variety, but that was before some authors of the "thiller/suspense" genre began cranking out books driven by profit. Their publishers tell them they're hot and more product is needed to satisfy their growing public, so they print anything to stay on top. While their latest works are good enough for the reader who has "just discovered them", those who have followed from the start get bored with the predictable plots and characters, causing them to move on to another author with more substance and less celebrity.

Enter Jan Steven Strnad and "Risen". I'll admit I judged this book by it's cover - both covers in fact. Not the artwork, but the words. I was hooked by the front cover review, and the back cover synopsis got me wondering what could make a murdered man walk out of a morgue none the worse for wear. But it was the clever writing and great storytelling that kept me turning pages. The unexpected droll humor had me chuckling out loud and explaining myself to those around me by reading aloud what had made me laugh. The humor adds to the characters, giving them dimension. If you've ever suspected the worst of your neighbor who appears a little too prim, proper and standoffish to not have something wrong, chances are you'll delight in picturing them in this book. The author does a wonderful job of developing the players, without straying from the story. I could identify most of the characters with people I grew up with, which had me accepting what was happening to them, yet kept me wondering why. The build-up to the whys and whos sped at just the right pace, and I was not disappointed with the ending.

I look forward to more from Mr. Strnad, and wish him the greatest luck and success. But, for my own selfish sake, I hope it takes awhile for others to discover his wonderful talent.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Horror Books!!
Review: I've read just about every Stephen King book in print, and this book is just as good!! Jan is a very good writer, and his style is on the humorous side, you will definitely laugh a few times while reading this book! The story was original(even though people may say that this theme has been used too many times)with many twists added. I truly enjoyed his writing style, and feel that he is definitely a professional writer. You won't want to miss reading this book, trust me!!

Rating:
Summary: Rising Writer
Review: Jan Strnad is, ironically, one of the most talented writers I've ever read and one of the most underexposed, as well. At a time when the Cult of the Celebrity is almost a religion and Brand-Name Writers crowd the marquee, Jan Strnad prefers to promote his writing instead of himself -- a rare quality these days! It's worth noting, too, that Jan's not an overnight success: He earned his stripes the hard way, cutting his teeth on semi-pro zines in the mid-seventies, then collaborating with artist Richard Corben, and finally writing scripts for major studios in Hollywood. He's paid his dues, and you as the reader benefit: He values your time and knows that if you pick up RISEN and are disappointed, you won't come back for more.

He wants you to come back for more. He wants you to pile it up on your plate. He, in fact, wants you to gorge yourself to the point of insensibility. Stuff yourself!

After reading RISEN, my friend, you will go back to the buffet for seconds. No question.

When you read Strnad's work, you will find yourself in the very capable hands of a storyteller whose sense of narrative pace, characterization, and dialogue mesh as smoothly as an automatic transmission on a Lexus automobile: It's so comfortable a ride, you don't realize that you've gone from your comfy world to Jan's world, where anything can (and does) happen, as RISEN so amply proves.

Stephen King is indeed a master of the kind of story I call "ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances." Get the reader comfortable with the fictional world, make him care about the character, and then throw the main character in peril. So, yes, there's a touch of King in Jan Strnad's work. And so too you'll find a touch of the late Tom Reamy. But mostly what you'll find is pure Strnad: the kind of old-fashioned storytelling in which the writer sits behind the wheel and takes you the reader on a car ride during which the familiar landscape will slowly transform into something quite horrific. Your complacency, which will soon be replaced with a growing sense of dread, is about to get a sudden shock, a jolt of Jan's inimitable prose.

When you finish RISEN, you will realize two things: first, this guy's the Real McCoy, the Real Deal, a writer who knows how to put words together with a skill that escapes some of the biggest names on the NY Times bestseller fiction list. Strnad, in short, can write. And the second thing you'll realize is that Jan does what every good writer MUST do: he delivers the goods.

RISEN is an impressive novel and promises even more: tapping a vein drawing fresh blood, at a time when even some of the biggest names in the field give us proven retreads on an annual basis, instead of mining their dark visions.

RISEN is, as I put it, one hell of a read. And that doesn't surprise me, since Jan Strnad is one hell of a writer.

Now let me get the hell out of your way, so you can order the book and go on a phantasmagoric ride.

Rating:
Summary: RISEN rises above the pack.
Review: I don't personally step in for a book or story, as a general rule, but RISEN is really a find, a highly original horror novel, with many clever character and plot twists. Five stars, way up.

Rating:
Summary: Americana Horror
Review: Alfred Hitchcock in "Hitchcock/Truffaut" talks of a story idea he tried and never adequately mastered. Its premise: what would we do if our dead loved ones returned to this life? Hitchcock abandoned the idea because he never found a satisfying story development for it. Jan Strnad's RISEN deals with the same premise and conquers it mightily. What would we do if our loved ones (and not so loved ones) came back? Strnad's relentless examination is breathlessly paced, gnawingly thoughtful and populated with an array of characters we can love, hate, fear - and fear for. To this Americana horror he adds an observant humor that is as wicked as a paper cut. Strnad the sensualist is always on the prowl too: The smell of a Methodist church, the many contortions of dying, the feeling of the Void, the psyche of aimless teens, the crustiness of aged bodies, the palpable fear of impossible horror grinning you in the face. Come to the small average town of Anderson and meet the RISEN. It will be hard to get them out of your mind. A must-read.