Rise of the Dead (Realm Of The Dead Book 1)

Just once, I wish FEMA and the CDC would declare a national state of ice cream appreciation, instead of emergency. I've had it with worrying about some flu pandemic or the zompoc. Newbie horror writer Jeremy Dyson, however, relishes this sh--. He's written his first horror novel. He posits that, when the dead start to walk, a white-collar desk jockey, specifically a statistician on the lecture circuit, can develop into a zombie-mowing hardcase. And I guess the guy has got a knack for storytelling because I got convinced this was so. Rise of the Dead reads so well you're not even aware you're turning pages, you're that into the story. Blake Wakefield is that statistician and our everyman point-of-view character. Thru Blake's eyes, we observe the sudden collapse of society in Chicagoland - and, we presume, everywhere else - and I liked how it starts so innocuously, during Blake's morning commute from suburbia into the city. The way Dyson chronicles these harrowing, disorienting moments, I'm reminded some of the nerve-jangling traffic sequence in World War Z (the movie).It's cool that Blake's initial instincts parallel the average schmoe's. He isn't an epic hero saving the day. His primary goal is to survive the dead - and the living - so that he can get back to his wife and little girl. When he ends up with a small group of survivors, he thinks, "I really don't want anything to do with these people. The only thing I want to do is keep them from doing something stupid that gets me killed." I hear that, man. And, not too long after, "Mostly, I'm afraid. Afraid of what I might have to do to stay alive."I was hoping for more scenes in which Blake applied his talent for evaluating probabilities, although, in thinking back, I guess that's what he was doing all along. I'm glad the writer allowed Blake to warm up to the other characters. We wanted a protagonist who was real, but we also prefer him relatable and likable, and Blake turned out to be that. The story is told thru his first person narration in present tense format, a style that really drives the momentum and lends a sense of immediacy to the plot. I appreciate the emotional content Dyson injected. He does a great job of projecting to his readers what his characters are going thru. He doesn't neglect them. Thru their interactions with Blake, they get their share of being fleshed out. And, as if you're not given enough people to fret about, Dyson also throws in a lovable dog. Throughout, I was so afraid the dog would bite it. Did the dog bite it? Maybe, maybe not.Dyson sets a crazy pace. He doesn't bother with explaining away the source of the zombie plague. We're just left with: "Oh, crap, there's zombies!" No frills to these zombies, by the way, They're classic shamblers, although, wait a minute, there was that creepy thing about those twin girls... Anyway, Dyson keeps his survivors on the move, giving them barely enough time to contemplate stuff. He allows them to steal a few hours of respite before they're galvanized again by the next stressful encounter. I've read so much zompoc lit now, it's hard to shock me with gory scenes. Today, the trick for new zombie fiction, regarding jaded readers like you and me, is not to try to scare us but, rather, to make us care so much for their characters that we're kept on the edge of our seat worrying about them. Come to think of it, that's an old trick. Me, I got to caring about these characters fairly quickly. I was deeply invested with what happens to four of the characters (yes, counting the dog). As usual in this genre, not everyone makes it thru alive, or even a lot. I read somewhere that Dyson plans this to be a trilogy. That's good, I want to see Dom again, and **********SPOILERS*********** not in a good way.Other recommended zombie books:- Glenn Bullion's Dead Living- D. Nathan Hilliard's Dead Stop- Jonathan Maberry's Patient Zero- Jonathan Maberry's Rot & Ruin series- S. Johnathan Davis's 900 Miles: A Zombie Novel- Peter Clines' Ex-Heroes- Michael Stephen Fuchs & Glynn James' Arisen series- David Achord's Zombie Rules & Z14- Chuck Wendig's Double Dead- Steven Booth and Harry Shannon's The Hungry 1: Zombie Apocalypse (The Sheriff Penny Miller Series)- Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall's Night of the Living Trekkies- N.D. Iverson's This Would Be Paradise- W.J. Lundy's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot- Timothy W. Long's Z-Risen- Luke Duffy's The Dead Walk the Earth- Craig DiLouis's The Retreat- Craig DiLouis's Tooth & Nail

4.5 out of 5 starsBlake never really took chances. Knowing probabilities and numbers made him like this. But, when cars start crashing around him and people seem to be shambling towards him like zombies he quickly realizes that he has to make life or death decisions. As he continues throughout the changing world he comes across others who he tries to help find safety. Rise of the Dead chronicles the first moments of a zombie apocalypse from the eyes of the unlikely survivors.The narration is done by John Crosthwaite and he does a really nice job. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it at first (especially because the Audible preview does NOT do his narration justice). Also, because I couldn’t tell if he was going to be doing a “radio”/overacting performance, but he really splits the line between over-acting and “Buehler!” monotone which absolutely kills audiobooks. Crosthwaite also has one of those voices that’s really easy to understand at almost any speed for those of you who like to speed up audiobooks (I do it too!) After I finished this book I went over to Audible to see what other books that Crosthwaite narrated and was honestly astonished that this was his first audiobook. Kudos Mr. Crosthwaite, kudos on a job well done.My title says that this is Romero zombie fiction that’s done right, and it really is. Romero would be proud. Dyson takes a genre that is pretty over-used and is able to take it back to its roots. There are zombies, we’re not sure why but they are walking and they want all survivors to join them in their zombie lives.The story is really easy to follow with a main character who is the definition of the underdog. He’s a smart guy who is a statistician by day but didn’t see this coming (which he laughs about). He is the least likely to survive but shows incredible courage and strength as he faces enemies and zombies at every turn. It’s always fun rooting for the underdog and Dyson even gives readers chances to dislike Blake from time to time which really amps up the drama and suspense.Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice change of pace for me too. Normally with a zombie book, the author or description touts how “a mysterious virus has taken over” which makes me want to know more about the virus. This book just felt like “oh, crap there’s zombies and we’re not safe.”If you found this review helpful please vote for it. If you want to see more reviews like this one, please check out BriansBookBlog DOT com.

I love zombie books but I have to admit that many of them are not particularly well written. This is one of the happy exceptions. The characters are well written. The zombies are your classic Romero-style shamblers. There's lots of good action but there are enough pauses in between to let you get to know the characters. Each book is written in the first person.This is the first of four books in the series. One of the interesting things is that each book is "written" by a different character and involves a different group. I'm about 3/4 through the third book and in each one so far, the new characters end up connecting with the characters from the first one.It's an interesting way to do a series, giving you fresh perspectives on the situation, introducing you to new characters while letting you keep in touch with the old characters from previous books. The drawback is that I'm liking the third book less than the other two because the narrating character in that book is really pretty much an ass. Not in a villain sort of way--he just acts like a jerk. It's still a good story, even if I don't like the main character.It's a really good series and I'd recommend it highly (even the one with the jerky main character).

Believable characters. Hooked me in straight away. I read this on two goes rather than flicking back to social media which previous books haven’t been good enough to lure me away from. This certainly was.

A chilling opening with twists and unexpected turns a great read and I am looking forward to reading the books that follow.

I really enjoyed this book, it is one of the good ones I've read recently. Not everyone lives that you think would and that keeps you guessing throughout the book. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Great book! If you love a good zombie book your love this had me gripped from the start!

Old school zombie story and enjoyed every page, well worth a read and good effortfrom the author, wouldn't mind a follow up