The Rising by Brian Keene

Title:  The Rising
Author:  Brian Keene
Format:  PB
Pages:  321
Genre:  Horror
Publisher:  Leisure, 2004
ISBN-13:  978-0843952018
Series:  Stand Alone

Favorite Quote:  In the end, the ghosts of Y2K and September 11th had doomed the world.  Tired of the unending stream of "end-time prophecy" and "destruction of Western Civilization as we know it" disasters of the week, the world had ignored the early media reports.  It was a new century; one that had no room for those medieval fears and extremist paranoid attitudes.

Synopsis (Amazon):  The dead are returning to life as intelligent zombies. Trapped by the undead, escape seems impossible for Jim Thurmond. But Jim’s young son is alive and in dire peril hundreds of miles away. Despite overwhelming odds, Jim vows to find him— or die trying.

Joined by an elderly preacher, a guilt-ridden scientist, and a determined ex-prostitute, Jim embarks on a cross-country rescue mission. They must battle both the living and the living dead. And for Jim and his companions, an even greater evil.

Review:  This was a new twist on an old idea.  These zombies are smart, smarter than some living humans actually.  They are possessed by evil creatures, possibly demons, which have found access to our world through a scientific experiment gone wrong.

There is gratuitous violence, sex, and foul language.  Most of the time, all three are combined together.  The females in this story are not being treated very well.

It was certainly horrific, but the ending was a disappointment.  The entire novel revolved around Jim trying to get to his son.  The book ends with him entering the house and screaming.  Two shots are fired.  His friends rush to the rescue, pursued by zombies.  The end.  It is never revealed if the son survived, although one must assume not.  This is not a great piece of literature, but I suppose it is an entertaining enough way to spend an evening.

Rating:  4.5 / 10