The Walking Dead

Feb 23, 2012 Lucy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blah-world-building, gloomy, horror, make-room-for-that-sequel, book-with-no-ending, self-inflicted-and-i-knew-better, zombies, zombies-by-any-other-name

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I made a series of mistakes when I picked this book up. Everything I know about The Walking Dead series came from the television show. I've never been on this side of the street before, but suddenly I'm that annoying person Harry Potter fans have been dealing with since 2001. You know, someone who always pictured Harry as Daniel Radcliffe and was never at all pissed that Danny-boy over there has blue eyes (AND NOT GREEN DAMN HIM FOR NOT WEARING CONTACTS).

In addition to being a film media and not...more

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Oct 13, 2011 Gina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

I won this on Goodreads!

When I started this book I had no idea what the book was about. I watched The Walking Dead when it aired last year and I thought it was A-M-Azing. Before I read this book I had to do a little research on "The Governor" because I haven't read the comics and also the show hasn't introduced that character yet. Also keep in mind that I basically only read YA books with a female as the main p.o.v. So with that being said I started the book and all I can say is Wow! The ending...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Walking Dead fans

Shelves: 2013-read-owned

Well now. That was interesting.

I actually had a bit of a time getting into this one. It didn't have the pace of the comic series (that this is based on), and was written in the present tense. That's a bit jarring for me, though I did get used to it.

Note that this is the backstory of the Governor from the Walking Dead comic book/graphic novel series. It is NOT the backstory of the character by the same name/title in the AMC television series.

As far as a backstory goes, this one is pretty damn goo...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Anthony Chavez rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As I have read the first compendium of 48 trade paperbacks that ended the original Governor story arc, I jumped at the chance to pick up this collaboration by series creator Robert Kirkman and horror writer Jay Bonansinga. "The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor" is an amazing idea for a novel or trilogy. I hear that the Governor is one of the series', and even comic books in general, most notorious and loathsome villains, and the notion of exploring his back story is definitely going to be appe...more As I have read the first compendium of 48 trade paperbacks that ended the original Governor story arc, I jumped at the chance to pick up this collaboration by series creator Robert Kirkman and horror writer Jay Bonansinga. "The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor" is an amazing idea for a novel or trilogy. I hear that the Governor is one of the series', and even comic books in general, most notorious and loathsome villains, and the notion of exploring his back story is definitely going to be appealing to all dead head fans.

It turns out that the Governor may not be as different as you might imagine. In many ways, this tale is a familiar survival story, breaking little new ground but giving the fan some real insight into the beginning stages of the zombie outbreak. The story opens in the first days of the zombie outbreak, the narrative follows the ups and downs of a small rag tag group of survivors, which consist of the man we know to become The Governor, his brother, a couple childhood friends, and a little girl. The group finds themselves trying to understand what has caused this outbreak and then try to conform to their new life as they know it. They try to exist in a retirement community, followed by a stint in the city, followed by isolationism, etc. so on and so forth. They try many various strategies to build a new life, none quite working out as long as they would like. Every time they get comfortable, the real NEW world comes crashing down in the form of a new undead or even human menace. At what point does the living in a world of walking dead reach their breaking point? The novel takes us on the journey of The Governor until he reaches exactly that spot and then pushes to the other side. The final two chapters, amazingly, bring everything together in a very unexpected way.

You don't really see the rise of the Governor as much as the birth or origins of the Governor, the title is a bit misleading. The book ends at the beginning of a new chapter, you can see the light up ahead, and he is with familiar characters from the comic. It was an easy read, solidly written, fast paced as is true to Kirkman form. I wasn't blown away by anything fresh or new, as I feel this was sorta what was expected, right in line with The Walking Dead trade paperbacks. I did like learning about the area a little and getting to know the Governor's crew, but you don't have to be a fervent fan to enjoy this novel. This can definitely work as a stand alone piece but it has more impact, however, if you actually know who the Governor is! A good and fun effort that, ultimately, doesn't add a huge new dimension to the ongoing saga but more of a mirror or different point of view on survival.

It was fascinating the way the book explored the emotional reactions of a survival group, I mean I liked how it was done in the comics but in novel form its different. Most of the reactions were understandable, but it always leaves me questioning what I would do, say, feel if I found myself in an unbelievable and terrifying new reality. The Rise of the Governor, didn’t lack for action, in this world where the normal rules no longer apply, the zombies are at least the one danger in which you know what to expect, the humans are another story altogether. You would think that the struggle with the zombies would be action enough, but The Walking Dead always contains shocking twists and this is no exception, with an ending that will leave you speechless. (less)

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Oct 15, 2011 Tim Lewis added it · review of another edition

Premise: Based on Robert Kirkman’s comic books of the same name, The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor is set in time before The Walking Dead series on AMC, focusing on how the character of The Governor from the comics comes to power.

The novel follows Philip and Brian Blake, two brothers trying to survive in the midst of a strange outbreak of flesh-hungry undead, along with Philip’s young daughter Penny, and two of Philip’s friends. They move from place to place trying to find a way to make a n...more Premise: Based on Robert Kirkman’s comic books of the same name, The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor is set in time before The Walking Dead series on AMC, focusing on how the character of The Governor from the comics comes to power.

The novel follows Philip and Brian Blake, two brothers trying to survive in the midst of a strange outbreak of flesh-hungry undead, along with Philip’s young daughter Penny, and two of Philip’s friends. They move from place to place trying to find a way to make a new life in this world of zombie apocalypse, where they face bandits, paranoid survivors, and the ever-present threat of zombies.

The circumstances obviously are difficult for everyone to endure and people are pushed to their limits of what they are willing to do to survive. As Philip becomes more unstable, we see Brian willing to overlook increasingly heinous acts as he makes excuses to Philip’s friends for his behavior, especially as it pertains to protecting and doing what is best for Penny. They finally come to the town of Woodbury and find themselves in a leaderless situation on the brink of collapse.

Themes: In this story, we read about the relationships of people, both family and friends, and their loyalty to each other in a life or death situation. The Blakes are willing to do anything for each other, including overlooking faults and lack of judgment, for the sake of keeping their family together. Bobby and Nick are Philip’s friends, and they are loyal to him. In spite of Philip’s disdain for his brother’s weaknesses, he still remains loyal to Brian because they are family. Above all, Philip is willing to do anything to protect Penny, as is Brian, who keeps that as the one thing he is able to do amidst the killing and mayhem around him.

We also see the obvious theme of people pushed to the limits and what they are willing to do to survive when all options are exhausted. With roaming zombies biting and tearing people to pieces, scavenging thugs with guns, food and running water scarce, and shelter never quite being secure, characters will stab each other in the back, even if they are family. As Philip loses it, his actions help them all survive, but the also eventually bring more and more harm to the people around him. What are you willing to do to survive in dire circumstances?

Pros: The story is told in a third person present tense that adds to the immediacy of the narrative and gives the story an inherent tension. For a zombie thriller, I would say this is a good thing. The interactions between the characters are interesting, especially between Philip and Brian. I was intrigued by how Philip treats his older brother, who is quite the pushover. But Brian, who also looks up to his much tougher younger brother as someone who knows how to handle himself in tough situations and is the most likely to be a survivor, gives Philip the benefit of the doubt in the midst of ridicule from his brother. If you are looking for pure gore and zombie killing, you will find plenty of that here.

Cons: The character perspective changes a lot. I think it changes too often. I understand that you are seeing through the eyes of characters that go off on their own and there needs to be a tension of fear through their eyes, but for a novel it is distracting and sometimes confusing. The character motivations and consistencies just weren’t there for me either. I didn’t get the idea that Nick was a Christian until too late in the novel. I also thought that Brian’s eventual actions were too inconsistent with his character for the entire book. It is one thing to be pushed beyond reason or sanity, but you still have to keep character consistency. I’m also not the biggest fan of swearing, but especially when it is in narrative. Because the narrative is from the point of view of different characters and not an omniscient perspective this means that you see things through the characters’ eyes, but it doesn’t mean that the narrative in their heads needs so much swearing. I would say it was too much and unnecessary. Finally, if this is meant to be a trilogy (which I discovered it is) you still have to have a complete book and fulfill readers’ expectations. This book felt as if it was lacking an ending, especially for people who have never read the comics and have no idea who the Governor is. Not once does the book say that name.

Recommendations: If you are a fan of The Walking Dead series, definitely give this a try. It will give some back story into a character they may introduce in season two. If you are a fan of the comic books, you will probably enjoy reading some of the back story of a horrible villain. This is definitely an adult book with adult themes and adult language. Be aware of that when you are going into this. The Walking Dead is not for kids. My guess is if you like the television series you won’t be offended by anything in here. If you like an old-fashioned zombie flick, The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor is also right up your alley. A caveat I’ll throw in there would be that I might suggest waiting until all the books are out to read them together so that you’re not disappointed when you get to the end of this first book and it leaves you hanging.(less)

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Jan 05, 2012 Gabriel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Won in a Goodreads First Reads.

Sigh.

After greatly enjoying the first season of the AMC show and getting deep into the comics, I was looking forward to this. I mean, good zombie novels are far and very few between. They seem to work better as film horrors over novel horrors. Even so, The Walking Dead comics did a wonderful job of transforming the brutality of George Romero zombie flicks into a written media.

This book does NOT follow suit.

Maybe it's due to the fact that it's written in the present...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Matthew Blake rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had a hard time getting into this book at first, but once I did it sucked me in. A fan of all things Walking Dead, this fan can say that fellow lovers of The Walking Dead will find this to be a great and interesting addition to the story.

I must note that this book was particularly emotional for me. I was crushed by a few of the scenes in it, which I didn't think would happen after being so desensitized by so many Walking Dead comics.

A great read, I highly recommend it. The only thing that kept...more

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May 01, 2013 John Kirk rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been reading The Walking Dead (in comic form) for a few years, although I've only seen a couple of episodes of the TV series. This book is based around the comics, so I had high hopes for it. Sadly, it didn't live up to my expectations; most of my comments come down to "it was ok, but..."

Firstly, you need to understand what you're getting. Based on the title, I naively assumed that this would tell the Governor's backstory, leading up to the events we saw in the comic. It doesn't. In fact, t...more I've been reading The Walking Dead (in comic form) for a few years, although I've only seen a couple of episodes of the TV series. This book is based around the comics, so I had high hopes for it. Sadly, it didn't live up to my expectations; most of my comments come down to "it was ok, but..."

Firstly, you need to understand what you're getting. Based on the title, I naively assumed that this would tell the Governor's backstory, leading up to the events we saw in the comic. It doesn't. In fact, the word "Governor" never even appears in this story. I now realise that it's the first installment of a trilogy, but there's nothing in the book to say that, e.g. "To be continued..."

In the comic, Robert Kirkman has been careful not to use "the Z-word" (zombies). It's slipped into the monthly issues once or twice, but when people have commented on it in the letters page, he said that he'd correct that in the TPB. So, it's odd that this book refers to zombies several times. Maybe a gap in communication between the two authors?

This book is written entirely in the present tense. I don't know why, and I don't think it helps the story. I didn't really notice for the first few chapters, but there were times when it felt quite intrusive.

(view spoiler)[The comic started about a month after all the zombies appeared. This book starts about three days after the initial uprising, so we get to see a bit more of the collapse of society. E.g. radio stations and TV channels are initially still broadcasting, then they gradually shut down.

We still don't know what actually triggered everything, but one of the characters mentions a plague. I'm not sure whether that was just supposed to be speculation on their part, but it got me thinking. One of the interesting ideas in this universe is that all corpses come back as zombies, i.e. you don't have to be bitten first. Bites only have an indirect effect, by infecting you so that you die sooner. Based on that, I wonder whether there were two independent events, i.e. something (undetermined) is making corpses come back to life, and there was a separate plague which killed a lot of people in a short space of time, thus creating a critical mass of zombies.

This also brings up a plothole in the book, though. In the comic, the characters (and readers) didn't find out about all corpses coming back for quite a while. So, in the book, I wondered whether these characters were aware of that. There's a scene where they have to escape from a big group of zombies in a church, and Brian wonders how they all turned at once. (As a side note to the authors, a "horde" is a big group of people, whereas a "hoard" is a collection of stuff.) Brian speculates that one of the congregation may have had a heart attack in the middle of a service, then come back as a zombie and started biting other people. That's plausible, and it established that he knew zombies could come from any death.

Later on, the protagonists meet up with another group of survivors. An old man dies, and they discuss burying him. As I read that, I thought "Why aren't they doing anything to stop him from turning? They must realise how dangerous this is!" But they all seemed shocked when he came back as a zombie and tried to eat his daughter. The point is, it's inconsistent. If the writers wanted to show the characters discovering new information, that's fine; it may not be new to us as readers, but I don't mind watching them learn it the hard way. Equally, if the writers want to establish that the characters already know this information, e.g. from events that happened during the previous three days (before the book started), that's also fine. However, you have to pick one! Trying to do it both ways doesn't work, and it makes me think that the book really needed more proofreading.

Speaking of things that the readers know, this book is a prequel, leading up to events that we've already seen in the comic. Based on that, we already know that certain characters are doomed, e.g. that Penny would become a zombie. The writers then had a "clever" idea of subverting this, by killing off Philip and saying that Brian is actually the person who became the Governor, taking his brother's name. In fairness, it did surprise me when Philip died, since I expected him to survive. However, this plot twist doesn't really make any sense. In particular, why would Brian suddenly start calling himself Philip?

Other stories have handled a similar idea better. For instance, in Spider-Man: The Lost Years, Peter Parker's clone needed a new name to separate himself from the original person, so he chose the name Ben Reilly. That's fine, but in this story nobody in Woodbury had heard of Brian Blake, and they wouldn't be able to look him up, so he didn't have any reputation to get away from.

Still, having said all that, it wasn't a bad story. It was interesting to follow a different group of characters, and I will read the next book to see what happens next. Hopefully that will give a plausible explanation for how Brian (Philip) turns into the character we saw in the comics. (hide spoiler)](less)

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Apr 27, 2013 Roxanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rise of the Governor follows a group of men through an ongoing zombie apocalypse. The story starts just after the infection begins, when there still is television, and ends shortly after they find Woodbury. One of the men eventually becomes the Governor.

In The Walking Dead, the Governor is a wonderful villain. He had to be cleaned up a bit for television, but even so he still exudes a sense of danger, a sense of teetering on the edge of a cliff. You never know what the Governor is going to do, b...more

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Apr 16, 2013 George rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rise of the Governor is the first in a planned trilogy of novels from the creative genius behind The Walking Dead comic book series, Robert Kirkman, and co-written by Jay Bonansinga. The first novel serves as a prequel to the series, exploring the backstory of one of the comic book series' first and most infamous antagonists, The Governor. As a big fan of the character, going into this book I feared that exploring the characters origins and turning him into a sympathetic one would not only chang...more Rise of the Governor is the first in a planned trilogy of novels from the creative genius behind The Walking Dead comic book series, Robert Kirkman, and co-written by Jay Bonansinga. The first novel serves as a prequel to the series, exploring the backstory of one of the comic book series' first and most infamous antagonists, The Governor. As a big fan of the character, going into this book I feared that exploring the characters origins and turning him into a sympathetic one would not only change the way I read the original story, but would taint it. The Governor is the antagonist of the series, and isn’t exactly a character you should be rooting for. However, I’m happy to say that not only is Rise of the Governor a hugely rewarding read for fans of the original comic books, it also manages to shock and surprise at many turns throughout the story despite having a set path that, as a prequel, the book must follow.

Yes, Robert Kirkman does it again introducing a league of new characters, all of which become realised and likable within the book’s first couple of chapters. We are introduced to Phillip Blake (before he became The Governor), his brother, his daughter and his two best friends. The only thing that I had slight difficulty with when I started reading was the fact that, without spoiling anything for non-comic book readers, because we know the story that this prequel branches off of, we know where the majority of these characters are going to end up, or so I thought. However, my worries were comforted as I quickly became attached to all of these characters, and I was really rooting for them all to survive and predicament they found themselves in, even if I knew that someone wasn’t going to make it out alive. There were a lot of characters who I knew weren’t going to make it out of the book alive, but I wanted them to so badly because, like in the comics, Kirkman allows you to get to know these characters, their personalities, their habits, their views and their flaws, you feel like you’ve lost someone you’ve truly come to know when they do become walker-food.

One of Rise of the Governor’s few flaws, is that it isn’t entirely fast-paced. But it is a fairly short book, so you may find yourself breezing through it in a week or so, or it may take you about a month. The thing that kept me reading was the book’s strong characters. The four main characters that carry the majority of the story are fairly balanced. Some characters are neglected towards the beginning of the story, but you’ll find that you’ve come to know them by the book’s end, which makes saying goodbye all the more tough. The book focuses on the same five characters for Part One of the book (the book is split into three parts), but we are introduced to some new faces in Part Two. Although the characters in Part One are well written enough to carry the first 100 pages on their own, by the time we reach Part Two, it is refreshing to see some new faces.

Unfortunately, Part Two is where the books gets fairly slow. Although we are introduced to some new interesting characters, this is where the book feels almost as though it has just grinded to a screeching halt. But, thankfully, the book’s third and final part makes up for a fairly slow middle act. Throughout the entire book, there’s a sense of dread looming over the group. There are plenty of moments where the book teases something worse waiting around the corner for the characters. But it isn’t until Part Three that the tension really reaches its boiling point, and the book becomes more unpredictable than I could have ever imagined.

Part Three of Rise of the Governor is where the book shines. Not only was this where the book really had me turning the pages, but this is where the book steers off in a crazy direction, and proved me very wrong as someone who thought the book couldn’t do much to surprise me. I thought I was going to know basically how the book played out. I already knew that this character was going to end up here, but I just didn’t know how he would get there. But it turns out everything I thought I knew was a lie! Suddenly, the story takes a shocking turn, and does something so crazy that, just for a minute, left me very confused. But I soon realised that my leg had been pulled, and this was an ingenious twist that made so much sense, but I could never have seen coming from a mile away. This was such a daring and bold move that it made me want to go back and read the first fifty or so issues of The Walking Dead, because I knew having read this that I would see The Governor in a completely different way. Not in a way that contradicts his character (I can still never see myself supporting the terrible things he does), but I certainly now see what made him the way he is. Part Three was, undoubtedly, hugely rewarding to me for sticking with the book. And its ingenious final twist is something I’m still thinking about now, and is almost entirely why I wanted to do this review.

Verdict: ★★★★

Overall, Rise of the Governor does not at all taint or lessen the quality of the comics it’s based on. Instead, the book is truly a celebration of one of The Walking Dead’s [now] most interesting characters. This is a must-read for people looking for more of an insight into the story of The Governor. Although Rise of the Governor lacks some of the shocks and surprises of the comics and its array of characters, it’s still a short story worth checking out, and is certainly one that will make you look at the comics in a different way.(less)

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Apr 03, 2013 William Navarro rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blood-zombies-apocalypse

As a big fan of AMC'S The Walking Dead, no matter how much I want The Governor to die, I have to admit, he is such an awesome villain and the actor who plays him, David Morrissey, plays him extraordinarily well. I have been rather interested as to why he is so evil and why he is the way he is and I was introduced to the "Rise of the Governor", which is the first book to the planned trilogy. I was immediately interested and not long ago, maybe an hour ago, I took the book out of my local library...more As a big fan of AMC'S The Walking Dead, no matter how much I want The Governor to die, I have to admit, he is such an awesome villain and the actor who plays him, David Morrissey, plays him extraordinarily well. I have been rather interested as to why he is so evil and why he is the way he is and I was introduced to the "Rise of the Governor", which is the first book to the planned trilogy. I was immediately interested and not long ago, maybe an hour ago, I took the book out of my local library (they had it on hold for me), and immediately opened the book to the first chapter as fast as a little kid of Christmas morning opening his Christmas presents. I then prepared myself to read and find out what really was going on inside not only in The Governor's head, but inside his own personal past and present life as well.

I was saddened when I was halfway through the first chapter. The book starts off a few days after the Zombie Apocalypse started, and the very first few paragraphs immediately described the killing of the zombies in very descriptive detail, from the sound of the weapon being swung to the sound of blood spatter to the corpse hitting the ground. The Governor, or Phillip, shall I say, is introduced in a rather unpleasant way. He talks rudely to his older brother and the amount of profanity expressed by him is unbelievable. He sounds exactly like The Governor we see in the show. I was expecting him to be a calm, normal person at first. I was expecting there to be a build-up to not only his character but to also the way of how life was going until the next thing you know, a zombie appeared out of nowhere or someone just turned into a zombie out of nowhere.

I have to say, I am very disappointed and without even wanting to continue the rest of chapter two, I closed the book shut and I still feel let-down. I do not recommend this book to any Walking Dead fans who haven't read this book yet who are interested in learning more about The Governor. My advice is to keep watching the show, well season 3 ended now, but yes, you know what I mean. If you do not want to be disappointed and waste your time, do not, and I repeat, do not read this book or even think about reading it. I was looking forward to reading "Rise of the Governor" and "The Road to Woodbury" and the upcoming "Fall of the Governor", but I suppose that's not going to happen. Trust me, you'll thank me later for saving your valuable time.

-William(less)

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Jan 19, 2013 T.C. Harrelson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love the world of Robert Kirkman. That is, the post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested free-for-all that is The Walking Dead. Naturally, I had to wade into the back story of one of Kirkman's iconic characters—the Governor—when he expanded his franchise into the world of novels. Jay Bonansinga was tapped to "put flesh on the Governor's bones" so to speak by providing the details of his transformation from mere survivor to leading the fortified town of Woodbury, Georgia.

Bonansinga is a gifted writer t...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads

I am a big fan of the Walking Dead television series, but I do not enjoy reading graphic novels (never really liked comic books as a kid either), so when the television show took the turn into this perfect little town where everyone seemed so happy despite the “walkers” outside their gates, I was a little lost. Where did this town and this “Governor” come from? Well, this is the book to answer that question. This is the story of Philip and Brian Blake, Philip’s daughter Penny and their friends B...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Julia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian, zombies, contemporary-fiction, 50-states-locales-ya-challenge

A novel, rather than a graphic novel as the books in the series before this one have been. I was glad to be reading certain scenes, rather than seeing them. I came to this as a fan of thge tv series, which led me to the graphic novels, which I read before reading these novels. I like the concept of telling us more from other perspectives in these novels.

(view spoiler)...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Ford Inbody rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

I've long been a fan of all things The Walking Dead, so therefore I was naturally excited when yet another medium was being utilized to continue exploration of this amazing universe.

The temptation to read this book was heightened by wanting to know everything there is to know about of the most terrifying comic book villans, The Governor. He was truly a monster, but yet the comics alluded to some humanity and an all-to-clear reason for his brutality.

The novel does a wonderful job of illustrating...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book now probably makes much more sense to the non-comic fans now that we've met the Governor in the TV show. As a standalone zombie story, this is a bit rubbish but as something which expands on The Walking Dead universe it's great!

The story is set in the early days of the apocalypse and follows Philip Blake, his young daughter Penny, his brother Brian and his friends Bobby and Nick as they try to survive. The two friends are fairly generic and are little more than place-holders but the o...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Unai rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Esta novela, es la primera de una trilogía sobre el personaje y nos presenta el comienzo de la plaga y las vicisitudes que tienen que pasar en esos primeros momentos los hermanos Phillip y Brian Blake, su amigo Nick y la hija pequeña de Phillip, la pequeña Penny. Con ellos iremos por las 3 partes de la novela. Primero en busca del supuesto centro de refugiados de Atlanta, donde se darán de bruces con la misma realidad que Rick en su momento.

La segunda parte tiene que ver con el periodo que pasan...more Esta novela, es la primera de una trilogía sobre el personaje y nos presenta el comienzo de la plaga y las vicisitudes que tienen que pasar en esos primeros momentos los hermanos Phillip y Brian Blake, su amigo Nick y la hija pequeña de Phillip, la pequeña Penny. Con ellos iremos por las 3 partes de la novela. Primero en busca del supuesto centro de refugiados de Atlanta, donde se darán de bruces con la misma realidad que Rick en su momento.

La segunda parte tiene que ver con el periodo que pasan en Atlanta con otro grupo de supervivientes en un apartamento y de los eventos que allí ocurren y la forma en que van definiendo las personalidades de la familia Blake. La tercera parte, tiene lugar en la conocida Woodbury y en un enclave previo donde ocurren los eventos mas determinantes.

Toda la novela es la bajada a los infiernos de los protagonistas, con Phillip a la cabeza. Ya de por si es un personaje ambiguo moralmente y con una incipiente esquizofrenia, pero contenido en un mundo aun vivo, sobretodo por el amor a su hija Penny. Pero al igual que el mundo cae, también lo hacen ciertas barreras en la mente de Phillip, teniendo que luchar consigo mismo y con el entorno para mantenerse vivos día a día.

Es un personaje muy goloso el de El Gobernador y es un villano de mucho cuidado, pero ver su origen ha sido una experiencia tremendamente disfrutable, usando en termino con comillas, porque tiene tramos, sobretodo desde la plantación que son crudos como ellos solos. Todo lo referente a la relación que se establece entre Phillip y Penny a partir de ese momento, es la crudeza total hecha novela.

Tiene además la virtud el libro, de que aunque tengas ya una imagen del personaje y de su entorno a través de los cómics, aun así sorprende y te deja con el culo torcido con un giro final que yo no esperaba absolutamente para nada y que hace que el titulo original del libro “Rise of the Governor” tenga mucho mas sentido.

350 Paginas de la familia Blake de lo mas recomendables para echar un ojo a este villano épico, al comienzo de la plaga y a los momentos iniciales de Woodbury. Ha habido cierto momento, desde el que ya no he podido dejar de leer. El libro esta escrito, que no lo he dicho por Jay Bonansinga, pero con guión del creador de todo este lío de The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman. Ya tengo ganas de leer la segunda parte.(less)

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Oct 30, 2012 Tom rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So I'll say I am a fan of the TV show but have never had time to read the graphic novels/comic books-- and yes they ARE comic books and not a damn thing wrong with that...

All that said, this book fails at so many levels-- yes I now know the premise that this is the first book of three showing how "The Governor" came into place. Except it doesn't, it doesn't at all. And more importantly, if you haven't read the comic series, you have no idea that's why you are "wanting" to follow these characters...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Chad Case rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Being of huge fan of The Walking Dead, I was excited when I first got this book. However, it didn't take long before buyers remorse set in.

Be warned, SPOILERS lay ahead:

In the comic books, the Governor is one of the most vile and evil characters. He tortures people, rapes women and has children killed. So one would assume that he must have been pretty messed up, right? Well, not really. In this book we find out that Brian Blake, not his brother Phillip, is The Governor. Which would not be also f...more

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Aug 02, 2012 amoyag rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Edición en español.

No me gustan los zombies.

Es difícil mantener esta afirmación después de haber leído World War Z (muy recomendable), Apocalipsis Z y Los Caminantes; de haberme puesto al día con los cómics de The Walking Dead -93 números en unas tres semanas- y de engancharme a la serie de tv desde que comenzó. Pero es verdad, el género zombies me parece ridículo.
Pero es que The Walking Dead no va de zombies, bueno, hay zombies, muchos zombies. Además son lentos y torpes, no como los infectado...more Edición en español.

No me gustan los zombies.

Es difícil mantener esta afirmación después de haber leído World War Z (muy recomendable), Apocalipsis Z y Los Caminantes; de haberme puesto al día con los cómics de The Walking Dead -93 números en unas tres semanas- y de engancharme a la serie de tv desde que comenzó. Pero es verdad, el género zombies me parece ridículo.
Pero es que The Walking Dead no va de zombies, bueno, hay zombies, muchos zombies. Además son lentos y torpes, no como los infectados de 28 días después, son lo peor.
The Walking Dead es una serie de zombies tanto como Lost era una serie de náufragos. Los zombies son la excusa, el contexto que explica que todo se haya ido a la mierda. En esta situación postapocalíptica, ofrece una interesantísima perspectiva del colapso de los frágiles valores éticos y morales que son el pegamento que mantenía unida una sociedad desvanecida como el humo ante el estupor de los personajes. Ver cómo evolucionan y se adaptan estos personajes a un nuevo mundo hostil, en el que el mayor peligro no son los muertos que caminan sino otros vivos es lo que me atrae y es lo que diferencia The Walking Dead de un correcalles de sustos torpes provocados por zombies torpes que persiguen sin tregua a los protagonistas. En definitiva, mantener el espíritu de sufrimiento y superación de el padre y el hijo en La Carretera. No importa porqué se fastidió todo en la obra de McCarthy, ni importan los caníbales. Pero sin ellos la historia no sería tan desgarradora.
Eso son los zombies en The Walking Dead, el trasfondo. Y en ese trasfondo Robert Kirkman ha creado personajes memorables como El Gobernador.

Si has leído los cómics te ha impactado El Gobernador, es difícil ser más hijo de… ¿Cómo llegó a ser así el protector de la pequeña Penny, de su familia y amigos? ¿Qué convirtió a Blake en El Gobernador? Eso es lo que te cuenta esta novela, que además te dará más de esa particular atmósfera de The Walking Dead, que me encanta, aunque no me gusten los zombies.(less)

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Jun 25, 2012 Littlemills rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Spoiler below

I was very much expecting when I picked up this book for it to be very similar to the series with perhaps a few mentions of some of the characters that we have met already. But no such luck, i felt that it was a bit rushed into the zombie outbreak with no backstory as to how this came
About, I always feel in zombie books there could be more speculation or history on how the outbreak happened - but that might just be me!
I thought the character progression was the best part of the book...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Matt rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As far as prequels go, this rates up there with The Phantom Menace and Batman Begins Kindergarten.
It's slow and boring and adds very little to the Walking Dead narrative. I don't think Kirkman had very much hand in this at all. Another author (Jay Bonansinga) is listed and, unless Kirkman really can't switch mediums (like Orson Scott Card, for example, didn't write a very good Iron Man comic), the fault lies with Bonansinga.
The descriptions use far too many cliches, which detracts from otherwis...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Cassie-la rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads

REVIEW ALSO ON: http://bibliomantics.com/2011/12/09/a......

I was a little wary to start this book. Comics and prose novels are such different mediums, and I was suspicious of the success of the idea. Although Bill Willingham’s Fables novel Peter and Max has amazing reviews to back it and the same can be said of Shawn Thorgersen’s rewrite of the American manga series Bizenghast with Bizenghast: the Novel. Sadly, the same cannot be said of this novel, which is pretty much one giant FAIL.

The story...more REVIEW ALSO ON: http://bibliomantics.com/2011/12/09/a......

I was a little wary to start this book. Comics and prose novels are such different mediums, and I was suspicious of the success of the idea. Although Bill Willingham’s Fables novel Peter and Max has amazing reviews to back it and the same can be said of Shawn Thorgersen’s rewrite of the American manga series Bizenghast with Bizenghast: the Novel. Sadly, the same cannot be said of this novel, which is pretty much one giant FAIL.

The story itself isn’t horrible, but the writing sure as hell is. For one, this novel is co-authored by thriller author Jay Bonansinga who doesn’t even seem to get many props since Robert Kirkman’s name is way bigger. So it’s difficult to tell who is at fault for this mess. Since his name is larger, and he’s advertised as the author most everywhere, I will henceforth place the blame solely on Robert Kirkman. Sorry buddy, this isn’t a Super Dinosaur review.

My first indication that this would be filled with messy prose is a ridiculous sentence on the first page. It begins, “Sadly, the only hands Brian currently owns are busy right now, covering the tiny ears of a little girl in the closet next to him.” I read this sentence three times, wondering if the pair was in two adjoined closets or if Brian has Shadow Cat powers and can magically reach through walls to cover the ears of small children. Things only get worse from here. Prepare yourselves.

Confusing sentence aside, which any good editor would have made Kirkman fix, the next 300 pages are full of roughly 300 awkward similes to slog through. I say this is an estimate because some pages contain no similes and some pages contain three or more. I wrote down some of my favorites for the amusement of everyone:

“… The dead thing wilts like a noodle.”
“… Launching into the air like giant flailing birds.”
“… Yanking the oxygen tank along… Like a stubborn child being pulled by an impatient nanny.”
“He pats the top of the codger’s bald pate like he’s petting a rabbit.”

And those are just my top four, imagine what other amazing similes are hidden within the pages that I zoned out too much to write down. Seriously though, do not read just for the lulz, it’s not worth it.

The next convention that is more distracting than anything is the abundance of medical terms. Kirkman writes really action packed scenes and then will pull the reader immediately out of the moment with words like: parietal lobe, fibrous membrane, dura mater, cerebrospinal fluid, and parietal hemisphere. Smashing bodies can be explained without hefty medical terms that detract from the only exciting bits in the reading. If Google spell check does not recognize the words, and you didn’t invent them, nor is it a medical journal they should be chucked.

Finally, I found a lot of events to be highly implausible. Reading this book was like watching a really bad B movie, or anything that involves an evil villain giving away all his plans to the hero. The first occurs when Philip and company take shelter in a McMansion. Despite their hammering alerting several zombies while building a barrier, it doesn’t awaken the hungry zombie boy who has been locked in a dog house next to them FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK. The second instance is when three grown men find it impossible to chase down and catch a little girl. Lastly, Brian finds a town that still has power, enough to run an X-Ray machine, despite no mention of generators anywhere in the vicinity. I CALL SHENANIGANS ON THIS ENTIRE NOVEL!(less)

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May 01, 2012 James Volland rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a big fan of the walking dead Graphic novels, which I read via the deluxe issues that come out every so often. I'm now waiting for the new deluxe issue, and to pass some time and gather up some back story on one of the main characters I picked up the Rise of the Governor.

I must admit that I wasn't expecting much. I didn't like to think so, but in the back of my mind I was under the opinion that they printed this book in a "lets milk this puppy for all it's got" attitude. However, even if thi...more I'm a big fan of the walking dead Graphic novels, which I read via the deluxe issues that come out every so often. I'm now waiting for the new deluxe issue, and to pass some time and gather up some back story on one of the main characters I picked up the Rise of the Governor.

I must admit that I wasn't expecting much. I didn't like to think so, but in the back of my mind I was under the opinion that they printed this book in a "lets milk this puppy for all it's got" attitude. However, even if this was the case, they did a damn good job.

The story telling is fantastic with all the characters being well described; you can easily paint a nice picture of who your dealing with throughout, and their individual personas. On this note it's worth noting that if the writers did have the "lets milk this puppy for all it's got" attitude, it didn't show here. They could have easily been handed the 'governor' character from the graphic novel, and pluck the same person, with all his traits and attitudes into a simple 'point A to point B' story. Instead we have a very structured story line, that starts off with a different character we know from the graphic novel, develops nicely into the character we're all used to, and then there's a massive bombshell at the end which will actually change the way you see the character all together, in both this book and the graphic novel series.

So at the end of the day, they have done a very good job. There are some niggles; I certainly don't think they painted the best picture of the surroundings, in a story line that moves around a fare bit, and some of the minor story lines seemed a bit rushed. I gave it 4 stars; probably one of the lessor 4 star novels I have rated but, maybe because of my low expectations and the addition of the brilliant ending, I gave it a bit of credit (worth noting that if I could, I would give it 3.5/ 5)

On a finishing note, I can say that I am certain in my own mind, that the writers of this book didn't write it with a "lets milk this puppy for all it's got" attitude. You'll read this and come to the 'governor' within a couple of pages and start trying to take the character out of the graphic novel and place it in this novel, but because of how well the writers have done, you quickly start forming a different picture and option all together, which will maybe be a tad confusing, but it shows that the writers didn't take the easy option, it's shows some thought has been put into this thing. You could easily read this without knowing nothing about the walking dead, and thoroughly enjoy it.

JV(less)

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Mar 27, 2012 Andrew Dearborn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So I just finished reading Rise of the Governor by Kirkman and Bonansinga. Honestly I was super excited for this book when I first heard about it, I mean it was a chance to explore the wider world of Walking Dead. Sadly it's a slow book that, while having a great ending, is paced like the comics. Don't get me wrong I love the Walking Dead comics, but a slow 30 page issue is different then 30 pages of slowness in a book. In the book it rises and falls like a comic book series, which works wonderf...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Eddie Black rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-and-fantasy

I've not read any of the graphic novels. I have watched the show. What I appreciate about the show is that it has scenarios, especially in the second season, where the deeper philosophical questions are always there, part of the landscape, and yet on the the major topographical points are truly explicitly raised. It would be very easy for students of ethics or identity theory or philosophy of mind to take an episode and have a blast. One doesn't need to do this to enjoy the tv series.

So I was e...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Rebecca Brock rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like every zombie-crazed fanatic out there, I'm a huge fan of The Walking Dead--comic, TV show, webisodes, etc. If it's got "Walking Dead" on it, I'm there. So when I saw that Robert Kirkman was writing a novel about the ever-so-evil character of The Governor, well...I had to get my hands on it. And fast. And I did.

NetGalley, a neat little reviewer's dream, allowed me to read it before the publication date, but due to some unfortunate medical situations, I didn't get to read/write a review until...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, horror

Does The Rise of the Governor work as a standalone novel, if readers have not read or experienced any of The Walking Dead comic series? By and large, I would have to say yes it does. A prequel of sorts to the comic, giving broadening out and giving some depth to one of the comic's most sadistic villains, Rise is a so-so zombie novel.

The author(s) do a nice job of juggling the cast and the settings. The characters are a bit bland, but good work was done in fleshing out the Philip character; he d...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Rob rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well if enjoying zombie books wasn't suspect enough, I've now resorted to reading zombie books based on zombie comics - sorry, graphic novels, which I have also read. The Governor in the comic was a truly terrifying piece of work, a sadistic, power-hungry yet worryingly intelligent man with an entire community in his thrall. Apparently in graphic novel circles he is regarded as one of the greatest ever villains; as someone who doesn't know much about such things, all I can say is his storyline w...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Nicky Dierx rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't really know what to say about this book other than I expected more.

I adore the zombie genre, and have voraciously read and re-read all of the comics in the Walking Dead series.
I have watched the tv show, and although I'm not as enamoured with it as some, I enjoy the hell out of it for being a well made series.

This book hasn't had anything I look for in well written fiction. The characters come off as flat and dry. The zombies and any carnage they may be responsible for are not scary.
The...more

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The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor (The Governor Trilogy #1)

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