Book Review - City Of The Dead by Brian Keene
Category Book Reviews
Fortunately, I had Brian Keene's City Of The Dead all lined up to read after finishing The Rising. Otherwise, I probably would have been more than a little miffed at the ending of The Rising. Likewise, reading City Of The Dead without reading The Rising first will leave you really confused. Read them as a single large novel, and things work ok...
Continuing from the previous novel (in fact, chapter one is the last chapter of The Rising), you continue to follow the quest of Jim Thurmond and his fellow travelers to reach his son and then to simply survive against increasingly impossible odds. Once the issue of rescuing his son is worked out, then everyone has to figure out how to exist with the ever-present threat of zombie attack (or even if it's possible to do so). There's a single refuge that exists in New York... an "impregnable" skyscraper with an owner who thinks he's the savior of the remaining human population. The problem is that the zombies and their leader know that location too, and they are mounting a final assault to destroy the remaining life on earth. Once that's done, the next phase of the demonic occupation of earth can occur (destruction of all insect and plant life, followed by the final phase of destruction of everything by fire). While the humans are relatively well-equipped to hold off an attack, emotionally they are falling apart. And of course, a single death within the building means that the body is replaced by a zombie who is going to up the body count in all likelihood. The intrigue is to find out who will crack, who will die, and whether there is any possible way to prevent the eradication of all human life.
This book read just like an extension of the first installment, and I didn't feel there was any break in continuity. Same zombie humor, same deteriorating conditions, and same hopeless situations continue to evolve. Oh, and same gore and violence. Without going into the ending too much, it's accurate to say things play out without resorting to the happy Hollywood ending where everyone lives happily ever after. While some readers might hate the ending, I must give props to Keene for playing it out like that. Anything else would have been too improbable.
If you can get both this and The Rising for three or four days of intense reading, I'd recommend blocking out some uninterrupted time...
Fortunately, I had Brian Keene's City Of The Dead all lined up to read after finishing The Rising. Otherwise, I probably would have been more than a little miffed at the ending of The Rising. Likewise, reading City Of The Dead without reading The Rising first will leave you really confused. Read them as a single large novel, and things work ok...
Continuing from the previous novel (in fact, chapter one is the last chapter of The Rising), you continue to follow the quest of Jim Thurmond and his fellow travelers to reach his son and then to simply survive against increasingly impossible odds. Once the issue of rescuing his son is worked out, then everyone has to figure out how to exist with the ever-present threat of zombie attack (or even if it's possible to do so). There's a single refuge that exists in New York... an "impregnable" skyscraper with an owner who thinks he's the savior of the remaining human population. The problem is that the zombies and their leader know that location too, and they are mounting a final assault to destroy the remaining life on earth. Once that's done, the next phase of the demonic occupation of earth can occur (destruction of all insect and plant life, followed by the final phase of destruction of everything by fire). While the humans are relatively well-equipped to hold off an attack, emotionally they are falling apart. And of course, a single death within the building means that the body is replaced by a zombie who is going to up the body count in all likelihood. The intrigue is to find out who will crack, who will die, and whether there is any possible way to prevent the eradication of all human life.
This book read just like an extension of the first installment, and I didn't feel there was any break in continuity. Same zombie humor, same deteriorating conditions, and same hopeless situations continue to evolve. Oh, and same gore and violence. Without going into the ending too much, it's accurate to say things play out without resorting to the happy Hollywood ending where everyone lives happily ever after. While some readers might hate the ending, I must give props to Keene for playing it out like that. Anything else would have been too improbable.
If you can get both this and The Rising for three or four days of intense reading, I'd recommend blocking out some uninterrupted time...
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