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The Risen #1
The Risen
A young couple's journey through a nightmarish hellscape. The dead in the shadows. The undead on street corners. At night, Nate must scavenge for his family... ... at night, death awaits. And who is the strange girl writing messages in blood? Dark, thrilling, and tragic, The Risen explores a new kind of existence where the undead aren’t the only threat to humanity.
259 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 18, 2016
39 people are currently reading
703 people want to read
About the author
Adam J. Smith
13 books92 followersAdam J Smith lives in the UK, publishing art books and writing novels, short stories and poetry. He’s an avid reader and his favourite storytellers include Jeffrey Eugenides, Stephen King, Isaac Asimov, plus many others - an eclectic mix! He loves old sci-fi and pulp novels, but equally horror and literary novels that are particularly well written.
He enjoys writing science-fiction, horror, ghost stories, and short stories. He often posts flash fiction pieces on his blog: https://adamjsmithauthor.blogspot.com, and shares his and other work on Twitter.
Read an interview with Adam here:
http://bit.ly/28KOIwZ
He enjoys writing science-fiction, horror, ghost stories, and short stories. He often posts flash fiction pieces on his blog: https://adamjsmithauthor.blogspot.com, and shares his and other work on Twitter.
Read an interview with Adam here:
http://bit.ly/28KOIwZ
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 13, 2022
It's been a while since I came across a hauntingly good zombie apocalypse book. This had the drama, the action, the flailing humanity, heartbreak... and a tiny bit of hope.
April 10, 2017
I've never been a big fan of the Zombie Apocalypse theme. There have been clever stories, a few interesting variations, but mostly they tend to run together. Unlike vampires and werewolves, zombies themselves are not interesting characters. The only interesting characters in a ZA story are the humans, pushed to their limits by the horrors around them.
In “The Risen”, we see a young British couple caught up in world in which the dead walk...and feed. Story-wise, not a great deal happens. Mostly it's just Nate and Ruby plodding through a Hellish landscape (a “hellscape” as Smith cleverly calls it) and trying to survive. But their journey feels very authentic and written to show us an intimate portrayal of survival in a world of death.
At times the characters drift in and out of memories or fantasies and sometimes it can be a trifle confusing as to whether this is occurring now. But that just shows the mental stress they're under.
And there are memorable bits, like when Nate decides to bury a woman's body and recalls that he could not bring himself to bury his own mother.
Throughout, there's a lot of good writing, like this: “She tasted like chocolate and almonds, coffee and the back of the throat after the sea had been accidentally imbibed.”
Yet in a couple spots, there's a remarkable lack of emotion from the heroes. In an early scene Nate discovers a headless corpse. He does not jump or cower or wet his pants. Nor does he envy or mock the victim. He's concerned that whoever committed this act is still around, and his own head might be in danger. But that's self-preservation, not emotion. The book gives us no sense of what’s going on in his mind.
The death of Nate's family would mean more to the reader if they'd been shown alive, as characters. As it is, they're dead before they're properly introduced.
Fortunately, there are not many scenes like that. Most of the time, Nate and Ruby show real emotions like fear and anger, although their passions seem muted. Well, they're British, aren't they?
From the get-go, Nate and Ruby happily stab rampaging zombies in the head, their knives piercing undead brains to destroy them. Well, no. Driving a knife's blade into a quarter-inch of skull takes quite a force. It can be done, but the book needs to show how much effort that takes. But for these two, it's not even a strain.
There's a few annoying errors like, “...as she was washed it.” I'd guess that “barnacles and muscles” should be “barnacles and mussels”. And throughout, the word “things” should be “thing's” as in a Thing that possesses. But the spelling errors are actually rather few.
The good definitely outweighs any boo-boos. At about the two-third's mark, there a new POV as Cai is introduced and we get to see our heroes from a different angle. New twists are introduced that are very cool and very unique to the ZA experience. The ending is terrific.
If you want to follow a pair of young people on a walk through a nightmare world, “The Risen” is a great choice.
In “The Risen”, we see a young British couple caught up in world in which the dead walk...and feed. Story-wise, not a great deal happens. Mostly it's just Nate and Ruby plodding through a Hellish landscape (a “hellscape” as Smith cleverly calls it) and trying to survive. But their journey feels very authentic and written to show us an intimate portrayal of survival in a world of death.
At times the characters drift in and out of memories or fantasies and sometimes it can be a trifle confusing as to whether this is occurring now. But that just shows the mental stress they're under.
And there are memorable bits, like when Nate decides to bury a woman's body and recalls that he could not bring himself to bury his own mother.
Throughout, there's a lot of good writing, like this: “She tasted like chocolate and almonds, coffee and the back of the throat after the sea had been accidentally imbibed.”
Yet in a couple spots, there's a remarkable lack of emotion from the heroes. In an early scene Nate discovers a headless corpse. He does not jump or cower or wet his pants. Nor does he envy or mock the victim. He's concerned that whoever committed this act is still around, and his own head might be in danger. But that's self-preservation, not emotion. The book gives us no sense of what’s going on in his mind.
The death of Nate's family would mean more to the reader if they'd been shown alive, as characters. As it is, they're dead before they're properly introduced.
Fortunately, there are not many scenes like that. Most of the time, Nate and Ruby show real emotions like fear and anger, although their passions seem muted. Well, they're British, aren't they?
From the get-go, Nate and Ruby happily stab rampaging zombies in the head, their knives piercing undead brains to destroy them. Well, no. Driving a knife's blade into a quarter-inch of skull takes quite a force. It can be done, but the book needs to show how much effort that takes. But for these two, it's not even a strain.
There's a few annoying errors like, “...as she was washed it.” I'd guess that “barnacles and muscles” should be “barnacles and mussels”. And throughout, the word “things” should be “thing's” as in a Thing that possesses. But the spelling errors are actually rather few.
The good definitely outweighs any boo-boos. At about the two-third's mark, there a new POV as Cai is introduced and we get to see our heroes from a different angle. New twists are introduced that are very cool and very unique to the ZA experience. The ending is terrific.
If you want to follow a pair of young people on a walk through a nightmare world, “The Risen” is a great choice.
January 1, 2017
The author's writing is very descriptive, making it easy for the reader to see what the characters are experiencing and feel their desperation and need to survive. The Risen is set mid apocalypse, and that's where the story begins. The action takes off from the beginning, but I wanted more information about how the characters had gotten to this point, how the apocalypse started, and what caused the changes. I hoped these details would be gradually woven into the novel as the story progressed, but maybe the author plans on continuing this story and including that information in a followup novel. Further editing would also help with some typos and missing words.
I received a digital copy of this novel from the author.
I received a digital copy of this novel from the author.
December 26, 2019
Apocalypse from the survivor side, but not a totally human one.
This is a different view of the end of the human race. One from the side of the survivors who become less human, and more other....how would one of us deal with it? Would we kill ourselves, or live on as other??? Very raw and gritty, luvd it!
This is a different view of the end of the human race. One from the side of the survivors who become less human, and more other....how would one of us deal with it? Would we kill ourselves, or live on as other??? Very raw and gritty, luvd it!
June 28, 2020
This is book 1 that tells where the girl in book 2 came from. This is a very good read but not a lot of fighting. It is the development of the book Risen book 2. This book is well written and quite original. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It is very easy to read and is a book that can be read, put down and picked back up again without loosing track of what has happened. Just make sure you read it to the end.
It is very easy to read and is a book that can be read, put down and picked back up again without loosing track of what has happened. Just make sure you read it to the end.
June 29, 2020
I enjoyed this book very much although the subject matter was very dark.. It tells the story of two young people who make their way through a shambled world looking for a place they can enjoy. They have many adventures and eventually hire out to protect a man who only wants to go home. They make it to Wales and the ocean, but that's not the end of their story.
October 26, 2020
Unique take on zombies
I’ve read a lot of zombie stories, and this one has a unique twist. I’m intrigued where the story is going, and hoping to soon find the cause of the zombie apocalypse!
I’ve read a lot of zombie stories, and this one has a unique twist. I’m intrigued where the story is going, and hoping to soon find the cause of the zombie apocalypse!
February 10, 2020
Sorry I didn't get it. Too weird for me.
July 11, 2020
Love the book
I could not put this book down. It kept me glued to it and kept me reading until I had to go to bed.
I could not put this book down. It kept me glued to it and kept me reading until I had to go to bed.
September 20, 2016
I won this book on Goodreads Giveaway's. Fascinating read it is a mid-apocalyptic horror thriller set in middle England. Its a story of survival, tragedy and resilience when facing your worst days of your entire existence.
Would highly recommend this book could not put it down.
Would highly recommend this book could not put it down.
February 5, 2019
Only read a preview of this book and I'm left wanting more!
August 14, 2022
I tried to listen to this audiobook, but the volume was so low that I couldn't hear it. Therefore, I instead read the e-book. My rating of the performance is only for the volume and nothing against the narrator.
This started out as a zombie apocalypse book, but by the halfway point, it had devolved into something else entirely. There was some zombie action, but it mainly focused on a young couple's trek across Britain. I have to say that this was probably the most bleak, despairing and depressing book I have read in a long, long time. There were only a couple of light-hearted moments while most of the book was just dark. And, there were way too many unanswered questions as to what was going on with Nate and Ruby as well as how this whole thing started.
I have the second book in the series, but I'm not sure that I am interested enough in reading it to even try. I was given the chance to listen to this book by the author/narrator/publisher and chose to review it.
This started out as a zombie apocalypse book, but by the halfway point, it had devolved into something else entirely. There was some zombie action, but it mainly focused on a young couple's trek across Britain. I have to say that this was probably the most bleak, despairing and depressing book I have read in a long, long time. There were only a couple of light-hearted moments while most of the book was just dark. And, there were way too many unanswered questions as to what was going on with Nate and Ruby as well as how this whole thing started.
I have the second book in the series, but I'm not sure that I am interested enough in reading it to even try. I was given the chance to listen to this book by the author/narrator/publisher and chose to review it.
March 8, 2021
The Risen part 1 is the story of Nate and Ruby, two young people caught up in the aftermath of a post-apocalyptical virus pandemic. Along with plenty of action, the interaction of Nate and Ruby as they travel to the coast really keeps this story moving. If you enjoy zombie type stories you might give The Risen a shot, it just may surprise you. I have to admit that I had listened to an Advance Reader Copy of part 2 prior to reading part 1, and now part 2 makes complete sense.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews