The Rising: Selected Scenes From The End Of The World [Paperback]

Brian Keene (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2008

Best-selling author Brian Keene returns with an all-new short story collection set in the world of the award-winning novel The Rising. The Rising and its sequel, City of the Dead, revitalized the horror genre and gave zombie fans a new reason to celebrate. Since publication, many readers have hoped for a wider examination of The Rising universe. Now they have it. The Rising: Selected Scenes From The End Of The World contains thirty-two short stories based in the world of The Rising and City of the Dead. Now, fans can witness how the undead epidemic plays out across the globe-Australia, the United Kingdom, Norway, the United States-nowhere is safe from the zombie invasion. Meet new characters you'll come to love, re-discover old characters you thought were gone, and find out what happens after the fateful events of City of the Dead. If you're a fan of Keene's zombie mythos, you cannot miss this book!

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Delirium Books; 1 edition (June 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929653980
• ISBN-13: 978-1929653980
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #916,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BRIAN KEENE is the author of over thirty books, including Darkness on the Edge of Town, Dead Sea, Urban Gothic, Ghoul and The Rising. He has also collaborated on novels with J.F. Gonzalez and Nick Mamatas. He also writes comic books such as The Last Zombie, Doom Patrol and Dead of Night: Devil Slayer. His work has been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French and Taiwanese. Two of his works -- Ghoul and The Ties That Bind -- have been adapted for film. Keene's work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher's Weekly, Fangoria, and Rue Morgue Magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great add on for The Rising and City of the Dead, October 14, 2008

By 

M. B Cole "Kegrun" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rising: Selected Scenes From The End Of The World (Paperback)

Sure, this book could be read without having read The Rising or City Of The Dead, but I don't recommend it. To better understand the type of zombies you are dealing with, and to recognize some faces, and to even understand some of the names that are called out such as Ob or the Siqqusim, it would be better to read the first two books...in my opinion.

Keene has written a book that many fans will devour with glee, but some will want to burn. I for one don't mind a book with closure...as long as it's done well. I also am a fan of a book that leaves us hanging with the end left for our imaginations. Keene actually did a really good job of closing this series. The Rising was ended with a nice cliff hanger that didn't need to be told...even though it was with City of the Dead. I am part of the group that enjoyed both books and welcomed City of the Dead with open arms. The ending to City of the Dead though, was just a brutal halt and left me wanting more. Mainly because I just felt like it was such a sad ending that that couldn't be the finality of the series. Luckily I came across 'Selected Scenes' and now I can be happy again with the series.

'Selected Scenes' is a short story book, but doesn't 100% feel like one. Mainly because there is a timeline going on in the book. On day 1 we see the outbreak just beginning in a 1-3 page story. The second story is Day 2 and the spread is just a tad bit more (mainly just someone seeing it on the news). Day 3..4..5...on and on til about day 28. I enjoyed most of, if not all, the stories that were presented. But reading almost the same formula over and over can get a little tedious. But around day 28 becomes the real fun. It really almost feels like a new book in the end. Keene begins to add on to his original stories by doing something that was only mentioned in the other books. The other brothers are finally released and they too begin to take over the earth. And in the final moments, Keene puts, what I think, is a great ending to his series. Or is it?...

In the VERY end, we find out that Keene has a new surprise for us. Keene is going to start writing a series of 7 books that intertwines everything he has written into one huge world connected by many closed doors.

I for one am pretty excited about this. Keene has definitely moved up into my 'Must Read' list almost every time he releases a new book. I'm also very happy that his writing style is becoming more polished. I also think he hired a new editor...hehe (something I could tell he needed in earlier installments of his books).

This book is a must if you've read The Rising and City of Dead. It's good, but probably a little confusing, if you haven't.

P.S. Be on the lookout for some familiar names/faces...such as Worm!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Killer Companion Stories For The Rising & City of The Dead., September 1, 2008

By 

SpacegrassMan (Insane Land of Words & Music) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rising: Selected Scenes From The End Of The World (Paperback)

Brian Keene is like the Stephen King of zombie horror fiction right now, and with good reason: he took a tired out genre in the world of horror and added a few things, putting his own spin on the whole deal.

The Rising was like nothing I had ever read; it was scary and had intense storytelling blazing away on every page. The kind of good horror novel where you find yourself turning back and reading favorite scenes, even reading it slower than you are capable of, just to make it last longer. It was no fluke that it won the Bram Stoker Award.

City of The Dead, I thought, was a good sequel. Come on, I can't imagine how hard it must be to write a follow-up novel to The Rising. But if you wondered while reading those what was going on in other parts of Brian Keene's world during the zombie rising, then this collection of short stories is for you. Defintely.

You can read this as a stand alone book to get a taste of the kind of zombie horror Keene writes, but the coolest thing I liked about this, is that you can read these stories while you're reading The Rising or City of The Dead, almost like missing chapters about the carnage taking place in all the far off places around the world.

There are also a few stories that tell you what happens after the ending of City of The Dead. This is a must for any Brian Keene fan-and at a good price. A lot of his small press stuff is really priced high and with this one, any fan should be able to afford it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How could you not like this?!?, March 3, 2009

By 

Tad Much "Visser79" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rising: Selected Scenes From The End Of The World (Paperback)

Okay, heres the deal. Zombie tales can tend to be much the same. Lots of undead books and movies dont branch out very far and that is fine with me because my love for the genre is strong. This is not the case with Mr. Keene. He has given me a whole new reason to fear the living dead. I am a reader that likes to know all there is to know about the story. I do not like loose ends. This book took care of all you would want to know about the world of the Rising. If I had to complain about this book it would be that this book is not near as long as I wanted it to be but it was long as it should be, if that makes sense. Thank you for this book Mr. Keene, its one of my favs.