Brian Keene City of the Dead

Brian Keene City of the Dead. Synopsis:

"Where can you go when the dead are everywhere? Cities have become overrun with legions of the dead, all of them intent on destroying what's left of the living. Trapped inside a fortified skyscraper, a handful of survivors prepare to make their last stand against an unstoppable, undying enemy. With every hour their chances diminish and their numbers dwindle, while the numbers of the dead can only rise. Because sooner or later, everything dies. And then it comes back, ready to kill."

Brian Keene's 'City Of The Dead' is the sequel to the post-apocalyptic zombie novel 'The Rising'. The novel begins by reliving word for word the last chapter of 'The Rising'. This is because the novel takes off from exactly where 'The Rising' ended (with its nail biting cliffhanger). From here on in, the novel races ahead with building tension as the survivors join up with others within a massive fortified building.

New characters are soon introduced whilst others are soon killed off. Keene manages to inject a vivid personality into each 'important' character, creating a desperate situation which the reader feels part of.

The building is soon compromised by the huge attacking army of zombies lead by the undead character Ob. The story becomes packed with blood-filled action as the survivors try desperately to fight off this ever growing army.

The origin of the zombies is explained more fully within this novel, developing the basis of the whole storyline. This adds nicely to Keene's original take on the whole zombie genre.

Again, the reader is treated to plenty of zombie animals, with undead birds and rats becoming a massive threat as they pack together.

All in all, this novel forms a great sequel to Keene's "The Rising", delivering fast paced action, nail biting horror and blood drenched gore that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

The novel runs for a total of 367 pages and was first published in June 2005 by Leisure Books.

In Brian Keene's book, The Rising, I found it very interesting that even though the book contradicted what many people picture a zombie to be, it was still very creative and believable. Although it was very graphic in both violence and sexual situations, which I would normally put a book down for, it was still suspenseful and interesting enough to keep my attention and stop me from banishing it to the bookcase. I read this book faster than I have read any before and is one of my favorites. Being the huge zombie genre fan,I came for the zombies but stayed for the new and refreshing point of view and noticeable bits of humor camouflaged in a creepy shell.

City of the Dead

Brian Keene

Leisure, June 2005, $6.99, 357 pp.

ISBN 0843954159

Long before Lucifer fell, he sided with his fellow angels to rid the earth of the Siqquism. They were banished by the creator to the Void, a place colder than Hell is hot. The Siqquism have the ability to inhabit a body once the person's soul leaves it. Once humanity is erased from the planet the Ellium can corrupt the plant life and poison the seas then the Teraphim can destroy the world with fire before all three species move on to another planet to start the process again.

The zombie-like creatures have killed most of the humans and the only ones left alive are hiding in a skyscraper thought to be impregnable. It was designed and built by wealthy entrepreneur Mr. Ramsey after the Twin Towers were destroyed. It is a beacon lit up so that any remaining humans can go there if they can avoid being killed and possessed by the Siqquism. It is there that humanity will rise or fall against an entity who seems invulnerable and unstoppable.

What Anne Rice did for vampires, Brian Keene does for zombies who can only be destroyed by a blow to the head so they won't rise again. Humanity's last protectors are seasoned warriors who have learned that the zombies inhabit birds, rats and mammals. The terror they feel is real and frightening because even though they have weapons that can keep the creatures at bay, their overwhelming numbers make people feel the war is lost before it begun.

Harriet Klausner