‘The Rising: More Selected Scenes from the End of the World’ – Brian Keene and Charlie Benante (Deaths Head Press)


Page Count: 120 Pages

Twenty years ago, multiple Bram Stoker Award winner and World Horror Grandmaster Brian Keene's The Rising was credited with "revitalizing the horror fiction genre" and "giving zombies an upgrade". In the decades since then, the series has spawned three sequels and earned generations of eager fans from all walks of life– united in the hope that the author would return once again to the franchise.

This is that return.

The Rising: More Selected Scenes From the End of the World features a splattering of new stories set within the world of Brian Keene's The Rising franchise, complimented with original illustrations by Anthrax's Charlie Benante. Featuring tales set both before and after the events of the previous books, it will appeal to long-time fans and new readers alike.

Brian Keene's The Rising: More Selected Scenes From the End of the World– zombies just got another upgrade.

Have I really been reading Brian Keene for the last twenty years? I feel really old now (and I’m not that old, he says…) but the blurb doesn’t lie, trust the blurb ;o) If that first sentence didn’t give the game away, I’m a big fan and yep, I’ve been reading Brian Keene’s books for twenty years. His books aren’t just great stories, they’ve been there for me in some tough times so I will keep reading them so long as Keene keeps writing them, it’s that simple ;o)

Things have been rough again just recently, and I’ve got a soft spot for the ‘Rising’ books, so it seemed like the best time to pick up ‘More Selected Scenes’ and settle down for the evening…

It seems like an odd thing to say, about a horror book, but reading ‘More Selected Scenes’ was like meeting up with old friends again, even though (given the nature of the book) I’d never seen any of the characters before. Keene is an old hand with this series now and delivers his trademark blend of horror and quiet heroism. It’s so easy to get back into the swing of things that it honestly felt like I’d only just put ‘City of the Dead’ down after a re-read.

The horror is as vital as ever and you can just tell that Keene is having as much fun with the Siqquism as ever; my personal favourite is the Albuquerque zombie who honestly just seemed glad of the company. And I love how an ‘accident of birth’ can really mess up a zombie’s time in this new apocalypse; it just hints at so many more stories left untold and also leaves us wondering if humanity could have had a worse deal if a few more Siqquism had been born into more appropriate bodies. Anyway…

But it’s that quiet heroism that still continues to get me. People just knuckling down and taking ‘one more step’ in the face of real horror; and people checking out on their own terms, sometimes that’s victory enough. Keene really does his cast justice here, not that I was expecting anything less.

And special mention has to go to the pets (along with my best wishes for Bear’s continued recovery, I’ve never had the pleasure but she sounds like the best dog). It’s a tough world to be a pet in and Keene isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions, even of animals. I really felt for Sophie and I’m sure that Cory wouldn’t have held it against her. And it was somehow reassuring to see that Buttercup had her priorities straight ;o)

I’ll be honest, I’m not the best at finding words to comment on artwork so bear with me… Wes Benscoter’s cover art is just superb and really captures the cosmic horror that underpins all the books. I didn’t think that one zombie could possibly be ‘more than infinity’ but I was happily proved wrong here. And Charlie Benante’s illustrations absolutely complement Keene’s tales here. I got a really strong ‘pulp horror vibe’, in all the best ways, and I’ll be honest, I’ve got my fingers crossed for a ‘Rising Colouring Book’ now. I’d be all over it :o)

‘More Selected Scenes’ is another more than solid entry in the ‘Rising’ series and was a welcome escape for me. Zombie fans have more than likely read these books already but if you haven’t, there’s still time to do something about that...

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