Rise Again Below Zero

The sequel to Rise Again from an author who “balances kinetically choreographed scenes of zombie carnage with studies of well-drawn characters and enough political intrigue to give his tale more gravity and grounding than most zombie gorefests” (Publishers Weekly).The sequel to Rise Again, from an author who “balances kinetically choreographed scenes of zombie carnage with studies of well-drawn characters and enough political intrigue to give his tale more gravity and grounding than most zombie gorefests” (Publishers Weekly). Billions died and rose again, hungry for human flesh. When the nightmare reached Sheriff Danielle Adelman’s small mountain community of Forest Peak, California, it was too late for warnings . . . forcing her to lead a small group of survivors out of hell, all the while seeking her estranged runaway sister at any cost. Two years later, the undead have evolved. Now, besides the shambling, mindless cannibals are the hunters—cunning and fast, like wolves—and the thinkers, whose shocking intel­ligence and single-minded predatory obsession may mean the downfall of what’s left of humanity. As Danny leads a ragtag band of the living through the remnants of the American Midwest, rumors arise of a safe place somewhere east. But the closer they get to it, the more certain Danny becomes that something evil waits for them at the end of the line. With an unspeakable secret riding beside her and an unbreakable promise made to a small, silent boy, Danny must stake everything she has—her leadership, her sanity, and her life— in order to defeat the ultimate horror in a terrifying and dying world.

From Booklist

Tripp follows his fine debut, Rise Again (2010), with this equally exciting zombie thriller. Danny Adelman has found her missing sister, Kelly, and is once again leading a ragtag group of survivors fleeing from the zeroes (the walking dead, in other words). There are persistent reports of a “safe place,” a place protected from the zeroes, but are these rumors spread by desperate people, or is there some truth here? Tripp expands the postapocalyptic world he created in the first book, exploring in greater detail the nature of the zombies. Like humans, they seem to be divided into classes: moaners, hunters, and thinkers. It’s the last who are called zeroes and appear to be able to communicate, to plan, and to devise traps for their prey. And there’s another kind of zero, too. This might be the first zombie story since George Romero’s Day of the Dead to feature a zombie as a major central character: Danny’s sister, Kelly, is quite dead, but she seems to have held onto the thing that made her human. She may be rotting away, she may be obsessed with the smell of human blood and her near-insatiable appetite, but she’s still Danny’s sister, and together they make one of the oddest pairings you’re likely to find in horror fiction. Can Danny find the (possibly nonexistent) safe place before Kelly finally succumbs to her zombie instincts and begins feasting on her own sister? For fans of zombie fiction, this one’s a sure-fire hit. --David Pitt

Publishers Weekly

"Spectacular...smart....Tripp excels at depicting a world whose center no longer holds and whose inhabitants will resort to any measure to stay alive. More than a routine zombiefest, this taut and intelligent tale succeeds as a moving meditation on a world steeped in 'the loneliness of life without afterlife.'"

Library Journal

"Picking up where Rise Again left off, Tripp's sequel features well-drawn and believable characters....A standout among the current flood of 'zombie' novels, Tripp's latest effort sets a new bar for zombie fiction."

About the Author

After attending the Rhode Island School of Design for illustration, Ben Tripp worked as an experiential designer for more than twenty years, creating theme parks, resorts, museums, and attractions worldwide. He is the author of the horror novels Rise Again, Rise Again: Below Zero, and The Accidental Highwayman, his first book for young adults. He lives with his family in Los Angeles.

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