somekindofmiriam's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Saw the plot twist coming from miles away, the writing was messy and apparently the authors have never met a woman before.
That being said, I flew through this book because I'm a big The Walking Dead fan and I want to know everything about it. Still think this is an unnecessary addition to the universe though.
That being said, I flew through this book because I'm a big The Walking Dead fan and I want to know everything about it. Still think this is an unnecessary addition to the universe though.
shan198025's review against another edition
3.0
Another reviewer remarked that this is a hard book to review and I have to agree. Did I like it cause I love the TV series and comics or for its content? Probably the first, but it was still an interesting read. Finding out The Governor's origins and the story behind pet zombie girl was worth it.
lec9897's review against another edition
This book made zombies boring. But I think it’s just because I didn’t care about the characters.
ladyloisreads's review against another edition
Very interesting read. For those already familiar with the Governor's character from the comics its definitely a surprising twist. Fast read with lots of gory details. Those who have only seen the TV show please read this with bated breath as you are bound to see The Governor in Season 3. Get ready. He is like nothing you have seen before.
nakedsushi's review against another edition
3.0
I never read any of the comics or watched the show on TV, so I don't know if this novelization is based on anything. What I do know is that it's a faced-paced zombie book. It's like watching a zombie movie, but in book form. There's nothing new here. Nothing is really explained about how the zombies came to be or how one gets turned into a zombie. I did like the slow monsterfication of one of the main characters.
I was in the mood for something fast and exciting and this fit the requirements nicely.
I was in the mood for something fast and exciting and this fit the requirements nicely.
rockinmama2ax's review against another edition
4.0
I'm an extreme fan of The Walking Dead in any form, and I was excited about the idea of these books. It is important that readers enter this series realizing that the characters and their stories do not coincide directly with those of the television series, though. This is comic book character development, rather.
All in all, the story is gruesome, thus its horror classification. Forcing yourself to imagine men brutally destroying zombies and one another, all the while attempting to salvage what little remains of their humanity is much more difficult that watching the same in a television series. It is much more intimate and invading in many ways.
The story follows the rise of the Governor, as the title aptly explains, and offers twists and turns every chapter that are sure to keep even the experienced horror reader on the edge of his or her seat. Readers see what makes the Governor tick; they meet Penny before she is turned; and they discover the Governor had a brother who traveled with him from the start of the apocalypse to their arrival at Woodbury. For sure, shockingly gruesome and stomach-turning scenes exist throughout, though the end of the book is probably the most shocking - a jaw-dropping moment to be sure - and one I had to reread three times and then spend a few hours considering before I fully accepted it.
As a caution, though, the book is extremely explicit. It uses language and graphic descriptions to deal with death and the loss of humanity in a way that forces readers to disconnect from emotion in order to really immerse themselves in it.
All in all, the story is gruesome, thus its horror classification. Forcing yourself to imagine men brutally destroying zombies and one another, all the while attempting to salvage what little remains of their humanity is much more difficult that watching the same in a television series. It is much more intimate and invading in many ways.
The story follows the rise of the Governor, as the title aptly explains, and offers twists and turns every chapter that are sure to keep even the experienced horror reader on the edge of his or her seat. Readers see what makes the Governor tick; they meet Penny before she is turned; and they discover the Governor had a brother who traveled with him from the start of the apocalypse to their arrival at Woodbury. For sure, shockingly gruesome and stomach-turning scenes exist throughout, though the end of the book is probably the most shocking - a jaw-dropping moment to be sure - and one I had to reread three times and then spend a few hours considering before I fully accepted it.
As a caution, though, the book is extremely explicit. It uses language and graphic descriptions to deal with death and the loss of humanity in a way that forces readers to disconnect from emotion in order to really immerse themselves in it.
charlibirb's review against another edition
2.0
Blech! What a terribly written book... No tension, no character, just flat people wandering around a zombie world.
Quote from the book:
"…Philip issuing orders in monosyllables…'Take the toolbox,' he grunts. 'Batteries for the flashlights,' he mumbles. 'And that box of shells,' he mutters. 'Extra blankets, too."
Only ONE of those grunty, mumbly, muttery sentences had solely monosyllabic words in it. Mono means one, (or a nasty viral illness), therefore, if you speak in monosyllables, it means you say one word with one syllable. Like "Yes," or perhaps "No," or "Bull."
This is just one example of the terrible writing.
There is a cool twist at the end, but it's not worth reading the whole book to find out what it is. Want to know? It'd save you the trouble of reading the crappy book!
SPOILER:
There are 2 characters in the book, Philip (we know from the show that Philip is the name of the Governor), and Brian, Philip's brother. The story flips between the two of their perspectives, and Brian watches Philip becomes more and more of a dick. Finally, at the very end of the book, Philip dies, and we're like "WOT? But he's the governor!" Turns out Brian takes Philip's name, and becomes the governor. DUN DUN DUN!!!!
Quote from the book:
"…Philip issuing orders in monosyllables…'Take the toolbox,' he grunts. 'Batteries for the flashlights,' he mumbles. 'And that box of shells,' he mutters. 'Extra blankets, too."
Only ONE of those grunty, mumbly, muttery sentences had solely monosyllabic words in it. Mono means one, (or a nasty viral illness), therefore, if you speak in monosyllables, it means you say one word with one syllable. Like "Yes," or perhaps "No," or "Bull."
This is just one example of the terrible writing.
There is a cool twist at the end, but it's not worth reading the whole book to find out what it is. Want to know? It'd save you the trouble of reading the crappy book!
SPOILER:
There are 2 characters in the book, Philip (we know from the show that Philip is the name of the Governor), and Brian, Philip's brother. The story flips between the two of their perspectives, and Brian watches Philip becomes more and more of a dick. Finally, at the very end of the book, Philip dies, and we're like "WOT? But he's the governor!" Turns out Brian takes Philip's name, and becomes the governor. DUN DUN DUN!!!!
kandicez's review against another edition
3.0
This was not what I was expecting. I read the comics long before the show came out, but have since become a fan of the show as well. I occasionally find it hard to remember what happened in which. That sounds a bit silly, but for those of you that read and watch, you know what I mean. Story lines from the comic are revisited in the show but with different characters or timing, names change, but personalities stay the same or even vice-verse. That being said, this was very, very obviously the story of the comic governor, NOT the governor from the show.
Philip was a bit of a twist right from the start in my opinion. In this story we see that he begins his post zombie trek through life with his brother Brian, two good ol' boy buddies (it is Georgia) and his daughter Penny. It's a pretty common story about how they survive, get from here to there,and so on, until...it's not. I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that by the end of the book the governor is alone.
I won't spoil anything, but know, going in, that the governor is not who, and or what, you think he is. The world he lives in made him what he becomes, but that man was always coiled and waiting in his guts.
Philip was a bit of a twist right from the start in my opinion. In this story we see that he begins his post zombie trek through life with his brother Brian, two good ol' boy buddies (it is Georgia) and his daughter Penny. It's a pretty common story about how they survive, get from here to there,and so on, until...it's not. I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that by the end of the book the governor is alone.
I won't spoil anything, but know, going in, that the governor is not who, and or what, you think he is. The world he lives in made him what he becomes, but that man was always coiled and waiting in his guts.
thegeekyblogger's review against another edition
3.0
Bought for Myself
Overall Rating 3.00
Story Rating 3.00
Character Rating 3.00
Audio Rating 2.00
NOTE: The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor is a hard one to really rank as there were parts that totally rocked but the constant changing of POVs really distracted from the story. I haven't read the comic books so I had no connection to these characters in advance.
Audio Review: I wouldn't recommend listening to this on audio--the narration was a little flat. Fred Berman did a decent job but with all the switching POVs, I think it would have been better suited to multiple narrators.
What I Loved: I am finding that I am really loving watching the Zombie Manifestation through the children's eyes. In this case, it was Penny. Whether the story was from her POV or just the adults watching her--it was very chilling. It is amazing how a kid can change your strategy at any given time. All of the men (her dad and "uncles") really do try to make this as easy for her as possible. Unfortunately, this is not an easy time. Her journey directly effects each of the characters and really does bring a level of emotional endearment to the story.
What I Liked: I am always fascinated in Zombie stories at what the point is of surviving. The emotions that one must go through: fear, anger, perseverance, giving up, and finally acceptance. It is what happens after the acceptance that always just gets me. How do you live in a world where this is now the norm? Rise of the Governor did a fantastic job of going through everyone's acceptance and their reactions.
Complaints: To many POVs for me and it was darn right distracting.
Why I gave it a 3.00: This is mostly due to the POVs. However, I think I would have felt more connected to the story had I read the comic books.
Overall Rating 3.00
Story Rating 3.00
Character Rating 3.00
Audio Rating 2.00
NOTE: The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor is a hard one to really rank as there were parts that totally rocked but the constant changing of POVs really distracted from the story. I haven't read the comic books so I had no connection to these characters in advance.
Audio Review: I wouldn't recommend listening to this on audio--the narration was a little flat. Fred Berman did a decent job but with all the switching POVs, I think it would have been better suited to multiple narrators.
What I Loved: I am finding that I am really loving watching the Zombie Manifestation through the children's eyes. In this case, it was Penny. Whether the story was from her POV or just the adults watching her--it was very chilling. It is amazing how a kid can change your strategy at any given time. All of the men (her dad and "uncles") really do try to make this as easy for her as possible. Unfortunately, this is not an easy time. Her journey directly effects each of the characters and really does bring a level of emotional endearment to the story.
What I Liked: I am always fascinated in Zombie stories at what the point is of surviving. The emotions that one must go through: fear, anger, perseverance, giving up, and finally acceptance. It is what happens after the acceptance that always just gets me. How do you live in a world where this is now the norm? Rise of the Governor did a fantastic job of going through everyone's acceptance and their reactions.
Complaints: To many POVs for me and it was darn right distracting.
Why I gave it a 3.00: This is mostly due to the POVs. However, I think I would have felt more connected to the story had I read the comic books.
obscuredbyclouds's review against another edition
1.0
I forced myself through this, because it's only about 300 pages long and I wanted to see how it plays out. It's horribly written from the first page, the characters are flat (and the Governor is unrecognizable from the show), the story is meandering and boring. There were about 3 moments in the book that were exciting in that "oh, who will be eaten by a zombie NOW" and "Is this the moment his daughter is gonna die?" kinda way.
Lowlights were definitely the rape scene and how the rape was used as a plot device and handled afterwards. For story telling devices, this is just scraping the barrel.
Lowlights were definitely the rape scene and how the rape was used as a plot device and handled afterwards. For story telling devices, this is just scraping the barrel.