Rise Again by Ben Tripp

Book Details
Rise Again by Ben Tripp
Paperback, 384 Pages
2010, Gallery
ISBN: 1439165165

Synopsis
A MYSTERIOUS CONTAGION. MASS HYSTERIA. SUDDEN DEATH.

And a warning that would come all too late . . .

Forest Peak, California. Fourth of July. Sheriff Danielle Adelman, a troubled war veteran, thinks she has all the problems she can handle in this all-American town after her kid sister runs away from home. But when a disease-stricken horde of panicked refugees fleeing the fall of Los Angeles swarms her small mountain community, Danny realizes her problems have only just begun—starting with what might very well be the end of the world. Danny thought she had seen humanity at its worst in war-torn Iraq, but nothing could prepare her for the remorseless struggle to survive in a dying world being overrun by the reanimated dead and men turned monster. Obsessed with finding her missing sister against all odds, Danny’s epic and dangerous journey across the California desert will challenge her spirit . . . and bring her to the precipice of sanity itself. . . .

Filled with adventurous human drama—and shocking inhuman horror—Rise Again marks a vivid and powerful fiction debut.

Review
Rise Again brings a realism to the zombie genre that I haven't seen done this well before. When people start dropping dead, the townspeople of Forest Peak, including Sheriff Danny Adelman, don't have a clue what to do. As those who survive manage to hold it together the best they can amidst the chaos, the dead begin to get up and start walking around. Denial sets in for many, yet a few put a name to the phenomenon - zombies. How refreshing to find characters embroiled in a zombie book actually having seen Night of the Living Dead.

When the dead start eating the living, terror ensues. Not just in the form of zombie carnage, but among the human element as well. Danny must protect the survivors from dead and undead alike, while searching for her missing sister and dealing with her PTSD from her tours in Iraq. Unexpected people die. Unexpected people manage to survive. A stunning, emotionally devastating ending will chill readers to their very core.

Rise Again is flawless. Every emotion realistic, every action thrilling, every page perfectly written. I find myself unable to convey the magnitude of awe this book has inspired in me. It literally left me with my jaw hanging open on more than one occasion. Terrifying and amazing, Rise Again will traumatize you in the way you always hope zombies would.

Rating

Links

Ben Tripp's website