BRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and occasional journalism for money. He is the author of over forty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and dark fantasy genres. His 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited (along with Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later film) with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies. Keene’s novels have been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French, Taiwanese, and many more. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as Doctor Who, Hellboy, Masters of the Universe, and Superman.
Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option. Keene also serves as Executive Producer for the independent film studio Drunken Tentacle Productions.
Keene also oversees Maelstrom, his own small press publishing imprint specializing in collectible limited editions, via Thunderstorm Books.
Keene’s work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher’s Weekly, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.
The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.
Very dark & entertaining read. The story is in typical Brian Keene style. It has a good story line and interesting, diverse characters. I really enjoyed having the two stories in one book. Each would have been too short to be in separate books and not as interesting on their own. Even though the second story was a sequel to the first - only years later; both stories had a totally different feeling. While the evil faced in both stories was the same - it was presented in a different style the second time around since it had grown & morphed into something more through the years which kept the story from becoming boring and predictable. As a whole I give it 4 stars, but if I had to rate the stories separately, I would give the first story 4 stars because of the imagery, depth of the characters & storyline. I would give the 2nd 3 stars but only because the first was so much more in depth and interesting - not because the 2nd story was lacking anything, the first one just outshined it.