It's not YA, but it would still maintain a younger adult reader's interest. I'm mids …more I would think this would be good for high school age and up. I don't read YA.
James Lacey (Author of Perseverance)
See 2 questions about Rise Again…. Lists with This Book.
This is the best book I ever wrote. View all 12 comments. Jun 20, Nancy rated it really liked it Shelves: No wonder she drowns out her troubles with alcohol. The zombies get more terrifying as the story moves along. First, they are mindless, shambling creatures who moan at the sight of living prey. Then they gradually evolve into fast-moving predators that are more adept at getting through doors and windows, and then they form packs who stalk their prey.
It seems that bio-terrorism caused the zombie epidemic, though the author thankfully did not spend a lot of time dwelling on the cause. What I wanted was lots of action, believable flawed characters who have to learn to work together in order to survive, and scary zombies. View all 8 comments. I have this one on my radar. Good to know it delivers. Mar 14, Hope you enjoy it.
Mar 15, Oct 12, Corinne rated it it was amazing. Ben Tripp is my husband, so I had the pleasure of reading the pages as he wrote them. Every day he would emerge from the tiny walk in closet that served as his "office" in our old apartment. I'd get my red pen, ready to give him notes. Sure, we own every horror flick ever made, Ben loves the genre. But this book is full o Ben Tripp is my husband, so I had the pleasure of reading the pages as he wrote them. But this book is full of influences that surpass the genre. Ben reads and writes about politics, about human psychology, about every subject under the sun.
And that last line? If that doesn't scream for a sequel, I don't know what does. So that's my review: I'm a lucky lady. Oct 25, Melki rated it really liked it Shelves: Sheriff Danielle "Danny" Adelman is having the mother of all bad days.
She wakes up late and hungover, to find her sullen kid sister has run away. She makes her way to town where crowds are already gathering for the 4th of July celebration. Word arrives that some boys have seen a dead body on the outskirts of town. Soon people are dropping like flies. The streets of town become clogged with vehicles and the dead. The few survivors are working hard to restore their town to some semblance of norma Sheriff Danielle "Danny" Adelman is having the mother of all bad days.
The few survivors are working hard to restore their town to some semblance of normalcy when someone hears a strange and chilling broadcast on the radio - " The infected dead will rise again. The strength of this book lies with its cast of characters, particularly the strong females in the group.
Danny is a veteran with three tours in Iraq under her belt. A borderline alcoholic, she is suffering from PTSD, obsessed with finding her sister, and bent on keeping her small group together and safe. She is constantly ruminating over her decisions, worrying that one of her actions may have cost someone his life. Such introspection is rare for a character in a horror novel, and I found it refreshing. Danny's group finds a temporary refuge while she goes alone to look for her sister, only to discover that some of the dead are evolving, becoming both faster. Things go from bad to worse with the arrival of Blackwater, oops!
I mean - Hawkstone Security. You can almost picture Haliburton skulking behind a pile of corpses, just waiting for their contract to start rebuilding. The survivors soon come to realize that roaming bands of zombies may not be as terrifying as the actions of their fellow men. Fans of Robert Kirkman 's Walking Dead graphic novels should find plenty here to hold their interest. I'm fairly immune to violence and gore, but I went eeewwww!
Be sure to visit author Tripp's website - http: View all 6 comments. Feb 06, carol. Two and a half stars. Ah, zombies and survivalism. A topic near and dear to my heart. I gravitate towards the genre like a chocoholic towards the candy section at the convenience store who, me? Yet I am frequently disappointed on both fronts. Searching for rich texture, a smooth taste, the essence of flavor, I often discover a waxy imposter attempting to cash in on the cravings. Unfortunately, a second tasting highlighted a number of faults, and the unpredictable, cliff-hanger ending left a bitter aftertaste.
Sheriff Danny Danielle is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after a tour in Iraq, coping by drinking herself into insensibility every night. On the warpath, Danny heads into the office, set on using police resources to track her sister. Shortly after, a state trooper shows up with vague warnings about outbreaks and disaster plans. Unable to contact his department, he hangs around hoping to help out. Danny and a few survivors fight their way free of the town, with Danny using her position for a leadership role—and to influence a search for Kelley. So as usual, my full thoughts are at: View all 13 comments.
Oct 14, Marvin rated it really liked it Shelves: The horror genre and its close cousin, the horror film, has always been susceptible to fads. In the 50s, it was the atomic holocaust and its mutant monsters. For the 70s on, Vampires ruled with its evil nephew the paranormal romance making a splash in the 90s and on. All these themes existed before, surfaces often, and will continue to be visited by the horror writers and screenwriters. Yet each one had its particular he The horror genre and its close cousin, the horror film, has always been susceptible to fads. Yet each one had its particular heyday.
Nowadays it is the zombie novel. You can't walk through the book store without a zombie novel smacking you in the face. There's some pretty bad ones out there. Fortunately, Ben Tripp's novel of zombie apocalypse is one of the good ones. He does a lot of things right in this thrilling horror epic. First, his zombies just don't urgh and argh. We never know for sure what the cause of the zombie plaque is but the author strongly hints at the idea of a viral epidemic.
At first the zombies are the mindless quality yet they evolve to something else and that is what makes them interesting. The reader is treated to a changing threat leading to a intense and surprising ending. Second, while the author gives us some horrific monsters, he also knows that man is the ultimate danger. In many ways this is more of a post-apocalyptic survival tale pitting man and woman against themselves.
Tripp appears to take Sartre's admonition that Hell is other people quite seriously. Another nice touch is the author's update to the 21st century by giving us a new boogeyman in our social-political spectrum; a Black-water like private military army. Tripp's knowledge and use of current events such as the Iraq War nicely accents this thriller. Third, Tripp has created a very strong female protagonist, a sheriff named Danny Adelman that is easy to like and root for.
This also brings up one of the weaker aspects of this novel and that is her first motive for her actions. In the first chapter, Danny's baby sister runs away. We learn a lot about Danny but the sister remains elusive as is Danny's reason for taking risky and sometimes incomprehensible actions to find her. It is a minor complaint but annoying since there is so much going on with the survivors that this sub-quest seems unneeded.
Yet this is a riveting horror novel combining the best of adventure, survival tales and zombie horror. I highly recommend it to any zombie fans but also to those who simply love a good adventure yarn. Oct 22, Nely rated it it was amazing Shelves: Danny Adelman is a veteran of the Iraq war suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. She knows she's not going to have a good day when she wakes with a hangover, realizes her young sister Kelly has run away in none other than her car and dreads dealing with the crowds at the town's Independence Day gathering.
What more could go wrong right? She definitely wasn't expecting for people to gri Danny Adelman is a veteran of the Iraq war suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. She definitely wasn't expecting for people to grip their heads, screaming at the top of their lungs, run off and eventually drop dead, and rise as flesh-eating corpses.
This book scared me to death. I don't know what my infatuation with zombies is Thus was the case with Rise Again, and although it did scare me to death, I could not put it down. Tripp created one bad-ass heroine in Danny. She is not perfect - far from it - but her strength, perseverance, the need to protect the civilians that have remarkably put their trust in her to help save them as well as her unstoppable need to find her missing sister were something that I was in awe of.
She grew on me and I found myself cringing and more than once not wanting to turn the page in fear that something would happen to her or some of the other characters. As with all zombie books, I'm always afraid to love a character for fear of them getting killed off. I truly think this is what up's the fear factor in these books for me. Some of the supporting characters were awesome as well, and some were just the type that you love to hate. I love how humanity always turns against itself at one point or another in these type of books.
Sometimes the zombies are the least of the worries. In the end, I loved this book! It was not overly gory nor overly violent, although there is both, yet it was done in a tasteful manner. I mean it is a zombie book - blood, guts and brains are expected. But what I found refreshing were its rich characters, great action and tight, well-paced story. Horror and, especially, zombie lovers will find a gem in this one. Oct 23, William Bentrim rated it it was amazing.
Rise Again by Ben Tripp The plethora of zombie books tends to drown the entire genre. Luckily Ben Tripp has a book that really does rise again. I fully intended to dislike the book because it was another, yes another, zombie book. Some time of trigger turns a majority of the population into mindless zombies. While the protagonist never determines the trigger, I personally suspect it is the stupefying effects of negative campaign advertisements. They just make you want to zombify yourself.
Small town sheriff, Danny Adelman is forced to face mindless hordes, hapless civilians and clueless friends in the midst of an unprecedented, post apocalyptic civil disaster. Danny is like one of those inflatable Bozo the Clown figures with a rounded sandy bottom, punch it and it just flies back in your face. Her resiliency is unbound. She establishes relationships through no intent on her part. She is duty bound, come heck or high tides of zombies.
Tripp has a terrific command of the English language and great descriptive powers. I highly recommend it. Jan 19, Jaksen rated it it was amazing. I'd recently read Tripp's zombie book, in which the MC is a year old man fighting vampires, not your typical hero. This book has a much younger female Iraqi War vet as the MC and she's just as tough Raising Kelley, her teenage sister, and dealing with PSTD, manifesting as nightmares and other problems, including alcoholism, Danny has to deal with a zombie invasion from out of LA on I'd recently read Tripp's zombie book, in which the MC is a year old man fighting vampires, not your typical hero.
Raising Kelley, her teenage sister, and dealing with PSTD, manifesting as nightmares and other problems, including alcoholism, Danny has to deal with a zombie invasion from out of LA on the same day Kelley steals Danny's precious vintage Mustang and takes off. The scenes of carnage, zombie chaos, and so on, are described almost eloquently. Tripp is nothing if not a master of description - great chunks of this book are just description-with-action.
Or action graphically, gorily, minutely, yet accurately described. I loved reading these sections. And yes, sometimes the reasons characters do this is simply because the author orders them to, but in this case you truly believe Danny's reasons for entering a small town which looks absolutely DEAD. There are also a few zombie tropes, including mercenaries who don't know what the f they're doing in the midst of zombie attacks, as well as authority figures living in a cloud and are just as ignorant.
There's also the 'lone wolf' good guy with a gun, a former Viet Nam vet who's often juiced up, but just as often there when you least expect. However, Danny's no female pushover, waiting for the guys to come and rescue her. She's smart and capable and makes mistakes, but if survival means biting one's fingers off while stuck in that same beloved Mustang while zombies are banging on the car doors, then But just one detail that showcases the strength of this book. Suffice to say if you're looking for a formidable woman figure as MC, this is the book. The depiction of Danny Adelman AND the the sheer panorama of death, disease, and hell Tripp is able to conjure up are the two strengths of this book.
No two action scenes are even remotely similar and the book plays out like a lengthy and gloriously-gorily depicted movie.
But played out in the brain, always the best place for these things to happen, IMO. Anyhow, a great zombie thriller and I am going to buy the sequel Oct 27, StarMan rated it liked it Shelves: Overall, it manages to rise above the horde of really bad zombie books out there, so I'd call it "above average.
Though it turned out to be not a totally original or mind-blowing direction, it was still pretty well done. I like it when an ending makes me smile like this, rather than throw the book! So 3 stars it is, overall. The ending view spoiler [ is a cliffhanger of sorts hide spoiler ]. There is a Book 2. Would I read Book 2? Jan 29, Taylor Knight rated it really liked it.
Unconditional: A Tale of the Zombie Apocalypse
I didn't have very high hopes for this book. I'd never heard of it or the author. I hadn't seen any reviews and it was a debut novel. I thought it would be okay at best. However, after the first 30 pages, I could see that I was completely wrong. It was going to be really great. To be honest, the first 20 pages didn't really hit me right. I couldn't relate to the main character, Danny, and I didn't know her well enough to feel any sort of empathy. But right around page 50, when crap g I didn't have very high hopes for this book. But right around page 50, when crap got real, I really started to get into the story.
Danny was a great main character. She kicked so much butt and didn't get caught up in any stupid drama. She didn't dwell on what ifs and how horrible everything was. She got crap done and she kicked butt while doing it. And while I couldn't even really relate to her, I really starting rooting for her and I liked her a lot. I really liked how the story split off into two perspectives in the middle of the book. It sounds like a weird thing for the author to do but it really worked well for the story.
The writing style and all that good stuff was awesome. I couldn't believe that this was a debut book. Ben Tripp knows how to write a great story. The plot was so well thought out! I think that's my favorite thing about this book. It was clear that Tripp had really thought about where he wanted to story to go and how to get it there. Some books, it feels like the writer was just making it up as they went, with no real end game.
But Rise Again had a great story line. I really liked the zombies that Tripp created. They were fairly original, I thought. Not to the point or being weird and dumb but a fresh take on zombies. Overall, I was tremendously impressed with this book. It was well written with a fresh take on an old idea. And after an ending like that, I have a mighty need for book two! Oct 13, Amy rated it it was amazing Shelves: Rise Again is one of the most haunting things I've ever read.
It kept me awake at night thinking about what the lead character endures. What if the world was suddenly infested with man-eating zombies and you had to find the one person who didn't want to be found? That's the set up of this thriller, and even though it takes a lot of twists and turns, we keep returning to her central quest. Rise Again is the story of Danielle "Danny" Adelman, a combat veteran and now sheriff, who has to find her r Rise Again is one of the most haunting things I've ever read. Rise Again is the story of Danielle "Danny" Adelman, a combat veteran and now sheriff, who has to find her runaway sister and keep a bunch of fairly helpless civilians alive at the same time.
Danny just might be the toughest gal in any book ever written. Her chararter is both flawed and powerful and always extremely compelling. I can't forget the scenes in post-apocalypse San Francisco, and the ending will not leave me alone. It's worth reading just for the last sentence of the book. Oct 14, Bridget rated it it was amazing.
Fresh fiction at it's finest. I can't believe that this is Ben's first book. It's well written and has more heart than most zombie books. I would definitely recommend this book. It gets five stars, easy. Nov 15, Julie Ortmeier rated it really liked it. The ending crawled inside my head and laid eggs. Jun 26, Doug Lewis rated it really liked it Shelves: Seriously - i got turned on to the genre through max brooks' world war z and thought "Wow - i love this" then have just been repeatedly let down since then. Bourne, McKinney, Recht, and Ibarra are all hacks.
Mira Grant is decent, but really just writing bloated cyberpunk with zombies. Keene is a great writer - but he's writing demons, not zombies, and doesn't realize it. Or doesn't care, cool whatever. Every anthology is garbage except John Skip's. Kirkman is amazing, but waiting a month for a few pages of TWD is like eating a bite size snickers when you really want to eat a whole cake.
So I was very relieved to pick this one up. Strong female protagonist - and none of the cheesy impossible ending stuff you're expecting for more than half the book. I hate predictable yet highly unlikely plot turns, and this one makes you think you're going to get that, but then just refuses to do it. The characters are well developed. The commentary on the military industrial complex is heavy yet doesn't impede the movement of the book. So overall, i really enjoyed this book and read it in about 2 days in my spare time. It was totally refreshing compared to the last half dozen zombie reads that i have had.
So, spoilers view spoiler [i really liked the take on infection - with the whole running themselves to death, then seeming dead. THEN suddenly eating and killing the hell out of everybody. I really really really liked it. Then the book followed all of my personal rules of zombies and i was loving it. Zombies getting smarter ruined George Romero So the smarter they got, the less interested i got. So basically the last 70 pages or so started to simultaneously draw me in and push me away.
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Unconditional , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Oct 29, Trish rated it really liked it. Rhett Bruno himself an author reviewed this great story so I looked it up. I only managed to find the anthology containing it alongside lots of stories about animals during the apocalypse but wasn't sure if it was for me.
Thus, so far, I've only read this story. What stands out at the beginning is this great dedication: For our four-legged, feathered, and winged friends Who often teach their human neighbors on this planet What it means to be humane And it's true: Thus, it shouldn't come as a surprise that there are apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic stories where they are the MCs. I, personally, am glad because many apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic books feature especially dogs but we only ever get to see their behaviour from a human's perspective.
Many might dispute this, but I firmly believe that animals are in no way inferior to humans and have the same level of intelligence, especially emotional intelligence, even if it seems abstract to us because it's a different kind of intelligence could I possibly cram the word "intelligence" into this one sentence more often than I did? I think I could but I will spare you ;P.
This short story is a typical tale about the end of the world, a zombie apocalypse, and of someone being left behind during a family's desperate run for their lives. The only difference is that the one having been left behind and now searching for his family is a dog. Naturally, things don't exactly go smoothly but I shall not reveal any of the dangerous circumstances because that would ruin the story it's only 22 pages long after all.
Dogs are often called "a man's best friend" and while I disagree there are other animals that would deserve this title just as much , this is the groundwork for the story containing everything we humans long for: It shouldn't matter if this special someone is an animal or a homo sapiens.
Aug 31, Ed Gosney rated it it was amazing. This short tale or tail is worth every penny, and I highly recommend it.
James Lacey, Author of “Perseverance: A Zombie Tale”
Aug 22, Rhett Bruno rated it it was amazing. What an emotional read. As someone who has a dog I could only hope she would do the same for me! This is a heart-wrenching tale about the love of man's best friend. At first I wasn't sure how the hell zombies and a dog narrator could work, but my doubts were swiftly tossed aside. Just a powerful story. Jan 28, Debbie rated it it was amazing. Unconditional Such a touching story! His story is both heartwarming and tinged with sadness.
Well done all round, and I enjoyed reading it very much. Feb 01, Colette Chadwick rated it it was amazing. This was one of best heart wrenching stories I have read. Pourteau takes you on this emotional tour of love and devotion and rips you apart with the determination of a zombie. Good story with a warranted ending. This story was fantastic and I only wish it had lasted longer. This is a great read for those who love zombies and an even better read for those who love mans best friend! Jun 05, Aaron rated it really liked it. An interesting perspective on the zombie apocalypse.
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Nov 11, Rebask rated it it was amazing Shelves: I'll take the liberty to admit that I rarely purchase stand-alone short stories because I had pondered over buying this story for 'ages' before I finally did, I looked at it every so often, when deciding what new book I would allow into our Family Plan in our 'entertainment budget'. I really wrestled with wanting to buy it; I looked at it's description almost as often as I would have longed for a new pair of coveted boots or jeans as a teenager. Finally, I could not bare it another moment and clicked to purchase it.
I was not in the least disappointed. If anything, I chastised myself for having waited so long. I not only wept - I bawled. I walked around in a daze after finishing this story. I've now read it four times and will do so again May 01, Bill Matthews rated it it was amazing. Chris Pourteau shows us the deeper feelings of the dog, from his viewpoint, for his human twin, the boy.
We can see the close relationship between the two. It becomes much more evident after disaster has struck and the dog begins his desperate search for his special human. It at the end when the dog makes his decision and makes the ultimate sacrifice. You'll have to read the story to find out what that is. Don't "Unconditional" is not just a simple story about a boy and his dog, it is much more.
Don't worry about the zombie aspect. I found the story enjoyable and moving. Jan 14, Mindy rated it it was amazing. This short story about a dog trying to find his beloved owner after the zombie apocalypse managed to make me feel warm and fuzzy yet rip my heart out at the same time, which I suppose is exactly the point of a story involving zombies. The thought patterns and actions of the dog were believable and endearing, making him a well-rounded character. We even get a fairly clear picture of the disappeared family, as described through the dog's impressions.
I don't want to spoil the ending, but I'm still This short story about a dog trying to find his beloved owner after the zombie apocalypse managed to make me feel warm and fuzzy yet rip my heart out at the same time, which I suppose is exactly the point of a story involving zombies. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I'm still thinking about it a day later and imagine I will be for some time to come. A powerful story and a pleasure to read. I first read this story in Tails of the Apocalypse and it is just as powerful the second time round. Unconditional really packs a punch as it describes the love of a dog for his boy.
Being a dog owner makes it difficult to read as it broke my heart, knowing what that brave pup was going through. On the other hand it was a true pleasure as it described dogs to a T and the bond they can have with us. I will admit that I shed a tear or two. Perfect, just perfec A powerful story and a pleasure to read.
Jan 16, D.
- Unconditional: A Tale of the Zombie Apocalypse by Chris Pourteau;
- The Divine Pumpkin;
- Rage on the Rails;
- Rise Again;
- .
Cassidy rated it it was amazing. Do you have a pet you adore? If so, then your pet probably feels the same way about you. This short story explores the relationship between a boy and his dog. Throw in a Zombie Apocalypse, and you have a beautiful love story with a twist. Reading a story from the point of view of an animal is a unique experience.
For instance, the dog refers to his owners as the Boy, the Baby, the Man, and the Woman. He also considers the boy his twin runt. This is an exceptionally well-written, charac Pure Love. This is an exceptionally well-written, character driven emotional ride. We never really stop to think how animals see the world, especially one thrown into chaos.
Unconditional is a glimpse into one dog's view on the zombie ridden world and how he ultimately feels about his family. A tale of searching, longing, and ultimately heroism, you might enjoy it despite the sadness it evokes.