Rise of the Governor (The Walking Dead) Paperback – 21 Oct. 2011

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.