The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor (The Walking Dead Series, 1) Mass Market Paperback – September 17, 2013

As a huge Walking Dead fan, grabbing this series was a no-brainer. Anything and everything having to do with Walking Dead and I'm on it like white on rice.As the first book in this series about the Governor, it was actually pretty darn good. We got to learn more about who he was and how he grew up. We learned 'possibly' how he became the person he was in the show. I say 'possibly' because there are some things in this story that just don't add up to the show. Maybe that's my own fault. I was told that this was kind of the precursor to the Governor that we all loved to hate on TV. Either way, it was a darn good read.As with practically everything in the Walking Dead universe, there were some pretty intense moments. Some 'holy crap' scenes and some down right disgusting ones. It was a gory and horrific read, but really well written. And I did not expect that kind of ending at all. The last two chapters were just one big shock fest.I will admit that there were some slow spots. Some descriptions that just kind of went on and on when I really just wanted to get back to the story at hand. But all in all a good read and I will be continuing the series.I do NOT recommend this for younger readers though.4 out of 5 stars :)

I may be in the minority by giving it a 5/5, but I did think it was amazing. It's a much-needed backstory to one of the most fearsome villains in the Walking Dead universe. I read this before seeing the comics, so I was at first surprised to see how different this Governor was from the show version, which I like better. That said, this book sucked me in from the first page. It's good, classic zombie fiction, with plenty of gore and mayhem. The characters are compelling and make me care about their arcs.As for plot, it the usual Road plot, where the characters have to run in search of shelter. It moves them toward Woodbury in a logical way. There are graphic bits, of course, but I want that in this kind of book, especially since it's TWD.The style of writing actually influenced how I write my novels. So yes, you can say I liked this book. The ending is the best part.

If you are a fan of The Walking Dead TV show (or the comic, really), these books are a lot of fun. This one was quite interesting to me because I really wanted to know more about the Governor, and this books shows us just how he became who he is. It reads easily and has some nice twists. In my opinion Rober Kirkman is a genius. If his name is attached, I know I am in for a fun and yet simultaneously poignant ride. I've seen every episode of the show, read every comic book issue, and have a fair amount of the toys. The Rise of the Governor (and the books that follow) fit very nicely into the Walking Dead universe. If you are a fan, I'd certainly suggest at least giving it a shot. I personally had a great time reading it.

I became a fan of the Walking Dead like a lot of people, through the TV series. I've only casually glanced at the comics because, firstly I don't want to get too far ahead and spoil it for myself and secondly, I've pretty much outgrown comics and just want to read "big-boy" books now. So when I saw there was a novel about the back story of the Governor I figured I can't go wrong. It doesn't really spoil anything as far as the TV series goes, I get to read a real book, and I get a healthy dose of Walking Dead during the mid-season break.First, the book is a fun, easy read. I read it in about 2 days and enjoyed almost all of it. Does the "third person present tense" ruin it? No, not at all, didn't bother me at all, and I've read many books over the years, some very deep and complex all the way down to the most simplistic. There are many ways to tell a story, and I don't believe in "rule books" for the art. I do however take objection to the many, many mistakes that show their laziness and lack of study in matters they obviously know nothing about. "Ford s-10s", "rich black Georgia soil", incredibly powerful .22 pistols, Central standard Time in North Ga., steel plated revolver?, something that looked to be either a .357 magnum or an army issue 45?? On and on I could go. Really lazy, guys. No proof-reading whatsoever?The "twist' was predictable to me only because I peaked ahead in some comics previews here on Amazon (doh!) Those who've only seen the series and know nearly nothing about the Governor will be surprised I think.Overall a fun read (which reading should be)that gives you a little glimpse behind the curtain while still leaving you craving more. Some proof-reading and study would've made ita 5 star book.I'm looking forward to receiving the follow-up "Road to Woodbury", hopefully it will be more satisfying.

I bought this book from Amazon as an already established fan of The Walking Dead Series on TV. I came to this book a bit late to the party so I already knew who The Governor was from the TV show. However, this is the story of The Governor before we meet him at Woodbury in the TV show so I found that quite interesting. It was strange reading something about someone I already knew and already have judgements and feelings for and then having a book completely change my opinion of someone and leave me wondering what happens next.I loved all the characters, especially “The Governor” and I didn’t expect to read what I was reading about him. I actually felt sorry for him! The descriptions of the zombies was good without it being too gory and there was just enough storyline to go with the action from the zombies.Overall an enjoyable read and I’m eager to start the next one in the series. However, I’m not sure how I’m going to react to The Governor in the TV series from now on!

The 3 star rating of "It's okay" is apt for this story. Plenty will rave about how good a zombie tale this is, and whilst there are some good sections, overall it failed to be the enjoyable read I hoped.Having watched The Walking Dead TV series, and being an avid zombie/apocalypse fan, I assumed this would be a quality story. Not an unreasonable expectation considering the title and how it relates to the rest of The Walking Dead franchise.The style of writing felt quite jarring on many occasions. It seemed hurried, almost like an unpolished draft. The characters were okay, though they lacked something I can't quite put my finger on. I didn't feel sympathy for them or root for them either, well, for the most part. Without giving away any spoilers it wasn't until the last dozen pages that the pace, flow and quality of writing really started to shine.Many scenes lacked punch. Near the start for example, when the band of survivors are heading through the city, the narrator leads the reader along, builds up their hopes and excitement, and then fails to reveal why the characters react they way they do. They look. They seem frightened. But the reader isn't told why, not all the time.Assuming the reader can use their imagination to fill in the blanks is all when and good but sometimes they need more than a meagre hint. The characters had little motivation, flitting from one situation to another without an aim or purpose. At times it felt like the narrator had written a list of bullet points for various high and low points then connected the dots.I found that where I wanted more information to fuel my imagination there wasn't enough. And yet in contrast there's a lot of irrelevant details that don't help the plot and push the story on, pointless facts the reader doesn't need to know in order to enjoy the story. Often there's a lot of repetition, the reader doesn't need to be reminded that Brian is a loser, or that Philip is a strong, hardened, resourceful type of guy. And it's never explained why Philip starts to lose his mind. I wanted to find a reason why he is fascinated with the dead, and thinking back it seemed like those moments were poor plot mechanics for his actions after the attack on the farm house.I'd say the first half of the story is pretty poor - plot, characters, narrative style, dialogue and so on. I couldn't drop the feeling that the writer was rushing to get to the second half. I'd say when they find the farm out in the country, after leaving the city and the apartment, is where the story seems to improve. It finds it's feet somewhat and the pace is better.Like I said I really enjoyed the last few chapters, it's a shame the lead up to them lacked the same punch and drive. I am tempted to give the follow up a chance because maybe Jay Bonansinga was simply finding his feet with this story and the next one will be better.For die hard zombie fans I'd suggest you come to this story without much expectation, and enjoy the romp through zombie land. Those looking for a well written, well thought out apocalyptic story with a reason and a purpose, should look elsewhere. I suggest Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry, Outpost by Adam Baker or Day By Day Armageddon by J.L Bourne.

I have seen seasons 1 and 2 of the TV series and enjoyed them. I like a good apocalypse story and was surprised that this book failed to meet the mark.The fight scenes are poorly described; the authors' appear to have referenced a medical dictionary to try and impress the reader with exotic names for impact points rather than focusing on describing the action leading up to the impact.The author places chapter breaks at cliff hangers in the storyline rather than at natural breaks in the narrative. This style should be reserved for trying to coax an audience back after an advert break rather than used in a book.The characters stagger along from place to place without ever really becoming developed. I never became invested in any of them to care about their fate. The reasoning behind their actions is never adequately explained. Lots of loose threads are never tide off (Where did April go? What was happening at the racetrack?)The book contains some foul language, I accept an author using it to convey a character that lacks the vocabulary to express themselves eloquently without resorting to expletives however the _narrator_ uses foul language at times which suggests a limited literary aptitude on the part of the author.Even assuming we accept the premise of the book (a zombie apocalypse) the book is still set in the real world and therefore the physical rules of the world should still apply. Hitting a single large mammal at speed with a car-sized vehicle will usually result in significant damage or cause the driver to lose control, doing so with dozens of large mammals in quick succession is unrealistic and the idea of doing so with a motorbike requires more suspension of disbelief than I'm willing to offer.People need water, the two gallons that the group secures at one point wouldn't have been enough for them to drink for a day let alone keep them going for weeks. Simple technical errors like this suggest a lack of proper review/editing.But it's not all bad. The authors have the courage to kill off some of the main characters. Unlike too many comparable novels; the group don't all work with one mind. We get to see at least a semi-realistic breakdown of friendships (and sanity) in the group due to excessive stress. While the individual opinions are not well expressed, the group disagrees over most decisions. Without asking the questions directly we are show a situation that makes us ponder just how far does loyalty go? In a world populated with mortal danger at every turn; trying to survive alone would be unwise but at what point do we accept that the dangers within the group exceed the external ones?"Rise of the Governor" just scrapes 3 stars, I won't be rushing to buy the sequel.

I absolutely love Zombie films, or as they are increasingly been known as, Infected films. However, this love has somehow not transferred itself to the new explosion in Zombie literature. `World War Z' is undoubtedly a masterpiece combining Zombie lore with a fake historical accuracy, but the rest of the genre has been passable at best (perhaps Adam Baker's `Outpost' being the exception). With Robert Kirkman's `The Walking Dead' graphic series and TV show doing so well, a tie in novel must be a cut above the rest? Unfortunately, it was another shambling corpse that you could not pick out from a crowd of the undead.`The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor' follows Brian Blake as he flees a Zombie outbreak with his brother, niece and two friends. It acts as an undead road movie as the crew set off in hopes of surviving. They meet plenty of deadites on the way, but also a few humans. The Zombie moments themselves were good and co-authors Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga have a great descriptive way about them - gory poetry at times. The characters are also well developed, but like in the TV show they get a little too emotional and agro at times for my liking, preferring to talk things over rather than concentrating on survival. Some people will like this deep character thought, I find it all a little new age for my tastes.The main issue with the book is that everything seems to be in constant transition, moving on to the next place. Almost as if it were a set of smaller stories, rather than one that needed to be told in single outing. Perhaps Kirkman had a drawer of discarded vignettes for his comic series that he decided to splice together into a novel? Whilst moments of `Rise of the Governor' impress in their visceral description, as a whole it feels a little flat and deadpan.

I'm a fan of The Walking Dead TV show. I love it. I love Zombie things in general so when I spotted this book I had to give it a go and hope it wasn't just a cash-in from the success of the TV show. Fortunately it isn't.Some of the zombie books I have read go for the gore factor, whilst others have tried to add a little comedy banter or even supernatural powers. This book sticks to the format that has made The Walking Dead so good. It concentrates on the survivors lives with the occasional bit of zombie action thrown in. What would people do if a zombie virus broke out? The answer is that different people would react differently. Some would panic and continue to panic; some would panic and then start to organise things; some would go crazy; some would look for a leader figure to emerge; and others would see it as an opportunity to seize some form of power. The characters in this story fill these roles extremely well and the way they change as the story progresses is handled with skill.At one stage I thought that the sudden stop to particular characters involvement in the run of things was a little disappointing. However, the story is following one small group, and once they leave this section of their travels behind they are not going to see these people again. So even though you want to know what happens to these people you don't find out. It's exactly as it would be if you were part the main group. (I hope that makes sense). In a way it helps to make it feel like you are there witnessing the events and then moving on never to see certain things again.The writing is not perfect. Occasionally there are little annoyances such as a few instances where the author uses the same way of describing events multiple times within a short time. I found myself wishing he could just use some other way of saying it, or not saying it at all. These are just minor quibbles though and are quickly forgotten.This is a great story and apparently explains where one of the key characters from series 3 originates from. This only makes me more excited about watching series 3 on TV.