Rise Again: A Zombie Thriller
Benjamin Tripp
New York, Gallery Books, 2010
Zombies are back from the dead, and they are better than ever! The last few years have seen an influx of books, movies, and television shows all featuring zombies, and for this reviewer, it is most welcome. Ben Tripp’s novel “Rise Again” is one of the latest entries in the book category, and it is alternately horrifying, bleak, and hopeful.
The book opens on the 4th of July in the small town of Forest Peak, California. Forest Peak is an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, and is inundated with tourists for the holiday. Tripp’s choice of locale and date for the novel is quite deliberate. The opening pages reveal the skeletons hiding in the town’s closets, and introduces us to both town people and tourists alike, who will be key as the plot unfolds. Having the zombie uprising happen on the 4th of July makes what occurs in later chapters all the more forceful, as the government and military fail miserably and at times deliberately at protecting living citizens.
At the heart of the book is Danielle “Danny” Adelman, who is the sheriff of Forest Peak. Danny is an Iraq war veteran, suffering from both physical problems and PTSD due to her service in the war. She is no stranger to alcohol and pills in an effort to dull her pain. Her only family is her younger sister Kelley, who has spent time in foster homes when Danny was in the service. As the book opens, Kelley has decided to leave Forest Peak permanently, without telling Danny where she is moving to. Kelley feels abandoned by Danny since her return from the war, and wants a fresh start. Kelley leaves a letter for Danny detailing the town’s secrets, and her reasons for moving on, and this letter drives many of Danny’s actions throughout the book.
However, before Danny has a chance to read the letter, or we as readers have a chance to digest what Kelley has revealed about the town and her relationship with her sister, the book kicks into high gear. Something is causing people to run like mad, drop dead while running, and then come back “alive” from death. Initially thought to be harmless, we soon see just how deadly they are. As these events unfold rapidly, we are introduced to other important characters, such as Amy, the lesbian town veterinarian and Danny’s oldest friend, Wulf, the town drunk who is also a Vietnam vet sharp shooter, and Patrick and Weaver, a gay couple from Los Angeles who have stopped in Forest Peak with their RV. Each of these people will make great sacrifices as the zombie uprising progresses, and all are written with care and verisimilitude.
To divulge more of the plot at this point would not be fair. What the characters go through as they try to make their way in the world after zombies (not to mention the horribly misguided government and rogue military personnel) have taken over is something to be experienced for yourself, and not through any condensed review. Suffice it to say that the final words in the book are some of the most poignant and heart wrenching I have ever read, and I look forward to Ben Tripp’s next effort, be it a sequel to “Rise Again” or anything else he wants to put on paper.
