The Rising: Deliverance

The Rising #4

by Brian Keene

Go back to the beginning of the end of the world... Hell has come to earth as sadistic zombies rampage and massacre the human population. Reverend Thomas Martin has lost his congregation to the chaos but has found two wayward survivors to protect - Becky and John. The three of them have holed up in Martin's church in a desperate attempt for survival. But as supplies run low and civilization crumbles around them, Martin must come to a realization - God has abandoned them. But why? Is there any chance of hope in this new world? Is there any chance for deliverance? Modern horror legend, Brian Keene returns to his fan-favorite universe of The Rising with a tale of faith, loss, and zombies. This special edition also includes two short stories that expand and explore The Rising mythos - "The Resurrection and the Life" and "The Siqqusim who Stole Christmas."

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Novella, Fiction, Audiobook, Ebooks, Short Stories

108 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

BRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and occasional journalism for money. He is the author of over forty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and dark fantasy genres. His 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited (along with Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later film) with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies. Keene’s novels have been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French, Taiwanese, and many more. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as Doctor Who, Hellboy, Masters of the Universe, and Superman.

Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option. Keene also serves as Executive Producer for the independent film studio Drunken Tentacle Productions.

Keene also oversees Maelstrom, his own small press publishing imprint specializing in collectible limited editions, via Thunderstorm Books.

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, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.

The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Paul Ataua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fourth in ‘ The Rising’ series but actually the prequel to the action in the first three, ‘Deliverance’ focuses in on the Reverend Thomas Martin that existed in the early days of the zombie invasion. The novella comes with two short stories. Sometimes it is good to read a zombie story that claims to be nothing other than yet another zombie story. Nothing special but I didn't expect it to be anything other than what it was. It delivered.

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro diferente que realmente no es una continuación de la saga. Se basa en un compendio de escenas y no de relatos como pueda parecer, una buena decisión. Es como coger las escenas más chulas que hemos visto en películas de zombis y recopilarlas, todo lo buenos visto en una década junto.

[Stephen Kozeniewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Keene's THE RISING will find this short prequel novella indispensable - but then again fans of THE RISING will probably have already sought it out. This is the story of Reverend Thomas Martin, one of the heroes of THE RISING and CITY OF THE DEAD, and what happened to him before he met protagonist Jim Thurmond.

As with any prequel/sequel/sidequel/whatever, the first question is: does it stand on its own? Well, I haven't read THE RISING in a solid ten or eleven years, and I wasn't confused at all, so I'd say yes, it stands on its own merit. This story is a meditation on love, sex, sacrifice, but above all, faith. Martin is a man of the cloth whose faith is tested by more than just the blasphemous hate-filled zombies who have conquered the planet.

Next question: does it live up to the original? Well, this is a different kind of story. This is a horror tale, and it's clearly set in the RISING universe, so there are some gruesome and juicy encounters with the dead, both of the human and some of the more ophidian and canine variety. But this is more of a meditative story than the original, more of the story of an old man coming to wonder if his church is a sanctuary or a prison, in more ways than one.

All that being said, be forewarned (if you're the type of dummy who doesn't look at a book's stats before buying it) that this is an exceedingly short novella, clocking in at about 70 pages. The rest of the book is taken up with some thoughts from the author, and two short stories: "The Life and the Resurrection" and "The Siqqusim Who Stole Christmas."

"Christmas" was short and about as silly as it sounds. "Resurection" though was a fascinating tale of Christ, Lazarus, and an unwanted interloper. I found myself more absorbed in this story than I have been in anything in a long time. It really drew me in, and just about set my teeth on edge. You won't want to miss this one.

[Kaisersoze · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Reverend Thomas Martin was never my favourite character from Keene's RISING series of novels, so I guess it's no surprise that this 50 page novella told exclusively from his POV and detailing his backstory in the lead-up to his fateful meeting with Jim Thurmond, did not do overly much for me. He was simply too singularly focused on his relationship with God (despite his vocation as a Reverend) to resonate with me, and I found it difficult to connect with his rationale for much of his decision-making. As such, the completionist in me is pleased to have read this, but the Keene-fan I remain is disappointed.

And since I'd already read one of the two short stories - THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE - included within this Deadite Press release (and did not like it), I thought I was going to have to do the unthinkable and give The Rising: Deliverance 2 stars. But then along came THE SIQQUISM WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS and within its pages, Tony Genova and Vince Napoli, and briefly, all again was right with the world...

2.5 (Rounding up to 3) Hopelessly Unanswered Prayers for The Rising: Deliverance.

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a "blah" read.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Deadite paperback version of The Rising: Deliverance five years or so ago, but stumbled across a very inexpensively priced copy of the signed and numbered limited hardcover and couldn't resist. This original iteration doesn't have the two shorter Keene pieces, but does include a very nice Kelli Owen short story set in Keene's Rising universe. I re-read the novella with Marvin's story, too, and enjoyed seeing his well developed back story again.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Rising world prequel story of Reverend Thomas Martin. A very well done little quickie from Brian Keene. I wish it was a wee bit longer but did enjoy the 2 bonus stories.

[Jose Agredano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro precuela del Alzamiento, creando este una trilogía, consta de 3 relatos y de 33 escenas (micro relatos) del fin del mundo.
Todos los relatos y escenas, están muy bien ambientados y son espeluznantes, en ellos encontraremos personajes de los anteriores libros del Alzamiento, como apunte deciros que no es necesario leer los anteriores libros para comprender este, se puede leer como novela independiente.
Fácil de leer, muy ameno y sobre todo muy entretenida y visual, para fan del caos y los zombis.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this novella and short story collection was/is completely unnecessary in furthering the plot of both The Rising and City of the Dead, I can’t deny that the stories collected in The Rising: Deliverance we’re entertaining and, in the case of “The Siquism Who Stole Christmas” humorous.

As I said, none of the 3 stories collected here are required reading for Keene’s full length zombie/labyrinth stories, but they are all decent reads and should still be read.

The title story is a bit more backstory on reverend Martin from The Rising and City of the Dead. Like many readers, I liked Martin in those books and his place in the story as a kind of moral compass was a nice touch. Personally, however, I didn’t see the need for a 70 page novella, explaining what happened to him, especially when the last 10 pages are basically the same from one of the chapters in The Rising. Yet, the importance of this story is far more interesting as it is the one short story that, according to the “afterword”, kept Keene from retiring completely. Whether that’s good or bad (based on his more recent plate of mediocre stuff) is up to you, but still, it holds a distinctive spot in history.

“The Resurrection and the Life”, a retelling of Jesus and Lazarus, was easily the darkest of this collection. Of course it’s sacrilegious to those who take this stuff far more seriously than they should, but using Ob in a a Bible story makes for great reading.

“The Siquism Who Stole Christmas” is dumb, silly, and totally ridiculous, yet I loved it. One of those rare moments when an author can have fun with their work and not take themselves too seriously. I loved every moment of it.

[Jonathan Echevarria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella takes place before (and alongside.) chapter seven of The Rising: Author's Preferred Edition. While it does make a nice stand alone read, to get the full effect you should read that book first or after reading this novella. The book features Reverend Thomas Martin, John Amos Kuhn, and Rebecca Gingerich. Both John and Rebecca played very minor roles in the original Rising novel, but now they play much more expanded roles in this companion novella that fleshes out Reverend Martin's back story. The main plot revolves around Reverend Martin trying his best to look after Becky and John, while also trying to find his purpose in a life ruled by the undead. It's a very well made short story, that has a lot of heart and soul behind it. The author Brian Keene has always been fond of his character Reverend Thomas Martin, the author notes at the end of the story explain why this character has such special meaning to him.

<--- Read this book!

Also for those who read Earthworm Gods, there is a awesome little mention of Teddy Garnett and his friend Carl in the middle of the novella. A lot of Brian Keene's stories take place around the alternate versions of the Virgina area. So sometimes alternate realities of preexisting characters make special appearances in his books. This makes reading his books become a special game of "Where's Waldo" for the die hard fans.

I was able to track down a copy of this book thanks to a close friend. (Thank you Krystle for Copy #18 out of #260! Also special thanks to whoever sold their copy online!) If you still want to read this story and you are a mega Rising fan like me, you will still be able to read this one digitally. Brian Keene has openly said this novella will appear sometime at the end of 2014 / beginning of 2015.

Any fans of The Rising, should join our group discussion regarding the series. We created a Buddy Read for everything regarding Brian Keene and The Rising series.

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[H.G. Gravy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a fan of The Rising, you might enjoy reading this short story. Deliverance is a prequel starring Pastor Martin, who isn't necessarily the most beloved of characters from The Rising crew, and two other characters, John and Rebecca. All three are barricaded inside a church while Ob and his minions rampage across the world possessing humans and animals alike creating "smart" zombies which can use their hosts brains like a book of information to utilize tools, weapons, and memories to defile and destroy humanity.

Unfortunately, this is all touched upon a little and left in the background, which I feel is the bread and butter of The Rising series. However, this story isn't supposed to be about combating the undead.

Without going too much into the plot, Deliverance focuses on Martin's thoughts, background, and the struggle with keeping his faith in God while facing the overwhelming adversity. Further complicating the situation are his fellow survivors who pull Martin in different directions testing his ability to remain faithful to who he is and his belief in God having a purpose for him.

I don't think Deliverance should have been made into a separate novella. It should have been included in "The Rising: Selected Scenes from the End of the World". It would have served as a wonderful conclusion to the collection of short stories revolving around The Rising and it would have served as an excellent callback to the novels. Unfortunately, as a stand alone this book suffers without the support the rest of The Rising's canon.

Along with Deliverance, there are two short stories at the end of the novella. "The Resurrection and The Life" which follows Jesus confronting Ob who comes back from the dead as Lazarus. This was the most enjoyable story of the three.

There was also "The Siqquism Who Stole Christmas" which felt more like a tease than an actual story. A few more pages and an actual conclusion would have gone a long way.

Overall, unless you are a completionist, sadly, I don't recommend this book. Keene has much stronger material in his novels and other short story collections so unless you really really want more from the world of "The Rising", your time would be better spent reading "Earthworm Gods", "Urban Gothic", or "Dark Hallow".

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella is set just before ‘The Rising’ and it gives us a bit more insight into Rev Martin’s life just before Jim meets him. The story is simple but effective and it was great to spend a bit more time with this fan favourite character. There’s also a couple of additional short stories which were both a lot of fun, especially ‘The Resurrection and the Life’ which takes the biblical story of Lazarus and merges it with Brian’s mythos.

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Reviewing entire Rising series as a whole) Set during just as the apocalypse is starting. I loved the way the author described the destruction and end of the world as we know it through the view of the characters. The way he visualises and describes the constrast of the world vs the end of the world was beautiful. There was a real 'Finding Nemo' aspect with the father travelling across worlds through treacherous and dangerous terrain to find his son, but there's way, way more to this series than just that. Very well written, most main characters were distinct to me all throughout. I felt like the author just understood the different personalities of the characters and portrayed them beautifully into words.

The author's concept of zombies was different and unique too. I assume other books that came after it by other authors had borrowed this idea of zombies being from a religious origin from this author. I wish it were longer and it seemed a lot of people thought so because the author's notes at the end of the book would talk a lot about how he didn't want to write more but he did. He ended up doing some extra books afterwards that were very enjoyable and expanded the world he had created even more, like side books to compliment the original story. He also wrote about the books/stories he wrote and described who the characters were in real life, where and when he wrote them. It was very nice to get that insider look into the making of these books, I love reading about that stuff.

I struggled to find copies of some of the 'extra' side books that he had written to compliment The Rising series. They do not alter the story, they just 'expand' this world he created a bit more so it's disappointing but does not take away from the original series.

Some parts of the books which were literally just storytelling and stating things that had happened still felt like they were written very poetically and elegantly. I highlighted many quotes in this series, I liked many of the sentences by themself, just as a quote. I am intrigued by this talented author and would look into branching out into other thriller/horror/creepy books by this same author even if they aren't about zombies, which is something I almost never do. Whether I find them interesting enough to finish, we will see!

[Randy M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book contains the eponymous novelette and a couple of short stories related to events and/or characters from the author’s novel, The Rising. The novelette takes place during the events from the main novel. It fleshes out some of the back story of Reverend Thomas Martin, who plays a key role helping the protagonist of The Rising, Jim Thurmond, find his son after the zombie uprising. The story finds reverend Martin barricaded in his church with two members of his congregation in the days leading up to his first encounter with Jim.

Deliverance is intentionally light on the zombie gore depicted in the companion novel. It is more of a character study as Martin and his congregants question their faith and God’s plan for them in these dire circumstances. It’s an interesting side story, but it doesn’t really add much insight to the events of the main novel.

The first short story is a reimagining of Chapter 11 from the Book of John in the Bible, where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. As you might guess, the reanimated Lazarus is not who he appears to be, and Jesus must confront the leader of the entities responsible for the zombie apocalypse centuries later in The Rising. Even though our current culture delights in offending and mocking Christians, that is not the case here. I thought the author handled this in a respectful manner and I was able to enjoy the story for what it was.

The final short story is meant more for laughs than fright. It finds the leader of the Siqqusim, the entities responsible for the zombie apocalypse in The Rising, possessing the body of Santa Claus while on his annual trek of good will across the globe. It appears Santa has died from lack of belief in this misbegotten world. Reanimated Santa proceeds to wreck zombie havoc until a couple of mob enforcers have something to say about it. This was a lot of fun. The Grinch has got nothing on Ob!

[Brennan LaFaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serving as a prequel/sidequel/vignette from Brian Keene's The Rising universe, Deliverance tells the story of Pastor Thomas Martin's early days during the zombie uprising. While Deliverance delves into the gore on occasion, it's easy to tell the character has a special place in Keene's heart. We get a deep dive into the love, loss, and faith that drive the man and it takes us right up to the beginning of the book that started it all. While this novella adds a little extra spice to our understanding of Pastor Martin, it's ultimately a story for die-hard fans and doesn't add anything crucial or game-changing to the mythos. This Deadite Press edition includes the stories "The Resurrection and the Life" and "The Siqquism Who Stole Christmas".

[Isa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dentro de mi ciclo de lecturas de terror tocaba seguir con la saga de Brian Keene, y este título lo leía por primera vez. Me ha sorprendido muchísimo, tanto por su formato como por su contenido.

El libro está compuesto por relatos que suceden en el universo de El alzamiento y La ciudad de los muertos, con la particularidad de que cada uno representa un día. Es un recurso muy original y que funciona genial para mantener la tensión y la curiosidad en todo momento.

Muchos relatos me han encantado (el de Ob es, OBviamente, mi favorito) y me fascinó encontrar guiños a personajes conocidos, además de detalles que amplían lo que ya sabíamos de la saga principal.

En definitiva, un libro que aporta frescura y profundidad al universo zombi de Keene, y que me ha resultado tan adictivo como brutal. Una lectura imprescindible para fans del género.

[Phil Zimmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novella here is enjoyable. Good to see how Father Martin entered the Rising universe. Not sure it is a necessary tale, but it is an interesting one.

The two short stories are not as good. The bible retelling is slightly better of the two. The santa clause story is a waste.

Fun read, but not memorable.

[Patrick Ellard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short novella giving us some backstory into the Reverend Martin character from The Rising series. I have to be honest, I don't really see the point to this story. It's VERY inconsequential and offers very little new. If it wasn't for the two short stories at the end of this book it would be a complete waste of time.

Passable at best.

[Nyarlathotep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Story

I saw that this was a prequel to the main Rising series. I slways try to read series chronologically if possible. Great intro to t yt? E Risen setting. I can't wait to get to the rest.

[Addam Dallman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good horror quick listen

The Rising Deliverance by Brian Keene is a fun end of times story. The other bonus stories were also very interesting. The narrator Joe Hempel did a great job telling the stories. I would deff recommend this one if you like end of times type stories.

[Carrie Blythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

[Thomas Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reverend Martin returns as a prequel to original story leading up to Jim Thornton. I enjoyed the prequel and I am torn on the whole Rising series as a whole.

[Richard Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

A return to the world of his first novel The Rising, and Reverend Martin, one of the central characters of that book. The book takes place at the same time as the first chapters of the novel. Zombies have risen, and the world is winding down. Some way down the line, Reverend Martin is destined to save a man called Jim, and join him in his quest to save his child. This novella is the story of why he did that, leading up to that first meeting. It's a small, character piece, about faith and doubt, a neat little vignette. It doesn't quite stand alone as a piece in its own right, but as anybody who seeks out the (very limited) novella is likely to have read The Rising anyway, they'll find this an effective companion piece, that adds a little more depth to an already excellent tale.

[Todd Charlton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't mind God in fiction, Stephen King's The Stand and Desperation are full of him, but The Rising: Deliverance in its short 66 pages is the most pious fiction I've ever encountered. There is more use of the phrase 'God's will' in this short volume than the two King books combined! And that's over 1700 odd pages!
The saturation of the god stuff started to make me feel queasy, especially when according the Reverend Martin, all the horrible things in the world have nothing to do with god, it's all due to that nasty Satan fella. How can that be when everything that happens is 'god's will?'
I love Brian Keene's work, check my other reviews, but this for me is a pointless sermon given out of church.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella is a companion piece/prequel to Rev. Martin's appearance in Keene's earlier Rising novels. It's a nice stand alone character study focusing on the nature and purpose of faith. I wouldn't think it would be necessary to read the other volumes to appreciate this one, but I think they will complement each other well. There are still a few typesetting problems in this latest Deadite book, mostly involving hyphens, but the cover by Alan Clark is much better than most of their offerings. This edition also includes two short stories, The Resurrection and the Life, which is an interesting take on religion that your conservative relatives would call blasphemous, and The Siqquism Who Stole Christmas, which -I- will call blasphemous. (Seriously, dude, it's a -really- messed up story.)

[Germán · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro es una buena conclusión a la relativamente incompleta serie. Es un abanico de relatos cortos que incluye también una especie de precuela tanto a Martin como a Ob; estos fueron brillantes. Luego las historias son interesantes y relativamente entretenidas, pero parecia mas una recopilacion forzosa que un trabajo uniforme. Sea cual fuese el caso, sin dudas que este libro es una lectura ligera y entretenida, y a su vez, permite obtener nueva información sobre el tan oscuro mundo donde se ambienta la serie. Recomendable si disfrutaste los primeros 2, sino, puede obviarse.

[destiney sunshine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like for many, Martin was a favorite. I wish the most for him in the novel.

I did enjoy this book a little bit more than the other since it was insightful into Martin's character/background. Made me feel even more sad for Martin as he described his late wife and the whats/why's he joined the father's journey to find his son. At the same time, I didn't find this very short book necessary and again, just felt like a money grab for the series.

[Skip Novak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, excellent story and there is a short story in the back as a bonus by Kelli Owen.

[Noigeloverlord · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book "Delivers"

A novella that takes us back into the world of the Rising. Throw in two great stories featuring Ob. It's foolish to pass this book up.

[John Purdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad side story.