A little over 10 years ago, I picked up a zombie book called The Rising. By a first time novelist, Brian Keene. The book was quite possibly one of the best novels I had ever read. I immediately became of fan Keene and his style. In the decade since, I have read most of his works and enjoyed them all. Some more than others, but they have all been enjoyable.

This past weekend at Monsteramacon here in Atlanta, I had the pleasure to meet this man who has given me so many hours of enjoyment with his novels. Meeting people you respect is always daunting, because there is a little trepidation that they will not be fan friendly. I can say that this was not the case. As soon as the con opened on Saturday we were at his table and he spent a good 20 minutes talking with us. Not only did he take the time to actually converse with us, he is a very genuine person. While being an icon of horror fiction, he also is a fan, as one would expect. He would hear us mention a book we liked and recommend a book by another author that we would most likely enjoy. It was only a few minutes before we stopped looking at him as this monolith of monsters and we were just four fans talking about the genre.

Keene writes believable characters that connect with his audience.  In Dark Hollow and the sequel Ghost Walk, he uses actual folklore beliefs from his native upstate Pennsylvania.  So if you’ve never read any of Keene’s stuff then click on the covers below.  As for my recommendations: if you love zombies then you should definitely read his Rising series, it’s one of the most original zombie concepts I’ve ever seen. Not to mention a fantastic book. My favorite books of his are Dark Hollow, Ghost Walk, and Ghoul. Truthfully, I haven’t read a book of his that I didn’t like though.  If you’re a Keene fan and get the chance to meet him, you should definitely take advantage of  the opportunity.

The Rising Series by Keene

Dark Hollow and the Sequel Ghost Walk (also available in one volume as LeHorn’s Hollow)

Ghoul

Earthworm Gods

To view all his works go to Brian Keene amazon page.

I even had the pleasure of getting a photo with Keene.