The Rising

How do I even begin to review this book? First off, this is an extreme zombie book. It's dark, grimy, gritty, uncouth, and not politically correct in any shape or form. Secondly, if you have a trigger warning of any kind, chances are this book has it. There are some genuinely fun and exciting moments in the book that I will touch on that really add to the zombie lore as a whole, but if you do think about reading it, just know that I personally do not agree with any of the hateful sentiments, extreme stereotypes, or really any other behaviors these morally corrupt characters portray. This is the Walking Dead if it was written by Rob Zombie on an extended bender.

With that said, let me set the stage for you.

A world-wide pandemic has hit, and those lucky enough to survive have to wade off the undead. Things get interesting, however. These are not your run-of-the-mill zombies. These demons or creatures are not the sluggish, brain-dead type you often see in movies. They can interact, drive vehicles, and spout off one-liners from your favorite ‘dad joke' book.

Animals are not immune to this disease either. Zombie deer, rats, birds, bunnies, and their brethren are all on the hunt to varying hilarious effects. But they do not crave brains; oh no, they want to keep the body intact so that they can become hosts. In this book, the zombies take over the body in a symbiotic manner. After the bond takes hold, the person's knowledge is transferred to the undead. It's an interesting twist on the genre, for sure.

|| “But if they're demons, shouldn't we be able to throw holy water on them or exorcise them or something?”

The main plot centers around a construction worker by the name of Jim. He is a divorcee who very much wanted to be in his son's life, but the new family moved a few states over, and he rarely gets to see his boy anymore. Jim's son finds a hiding place in the attic and calls his father for help. He tells him that the zombies are attacking the house, so Jim vows to race across a few states to save him. It is a flimsy narrative, but one that keeps you fairly engaged.

We also follow a lady-of-the-night who is on the run from some unsavory individuals, an up-beat priest who encourages everyone that there is a plan in place and they will be saved, and a gung-ho military unit who basically captures citizens and uses them for shields, pleasure, and the like.

As you can imagine, no matter what each group does to avoid these zombie creatures, they will eventually have to engage with them. Nobody is safe, which I can appreciate. Even though some of the lesser characters are used for fodder, other, more central characters are put into some hairy situations.

|| “How are they re-animating? And do you think we will see more and more as time goes by?” ~~ Says the guy who is a self-proclaimed zombie movie watcher. He might have missed a few.