The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor: Part One by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga - Ashley's Pre-Reading

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Title: The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor: Part One
Author: Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga
Publication Date: October 8, 2013

My The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury Review
My The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury Pre-Reading

My The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor Review
My The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor Pre-Reading
My The Walking Dead: Compendium 1 Review
Synopsis: The third book in Robert Kirkman's New York Times bestselling series, The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor!

The Walking Dead original novel series, set in the universe of Robert Kirkman's iconic universe, continues with The Fall of the Governor. From co-authors Kirkman, creator of the Eisner Award-winning comic book and executive producer of AMC's blockbuster TV series, and Jay Bonansinga, Stoker Award-finalist and internationally acclaimed author, comes the gripping third novel in this richly woven, page-turning literary saga, which began with The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor.

In Rise of the Governor, uber-villain Philip Blake journeyed from his humble beginnings directly into the dark heart of the zombie apocalypse, and became the self-proclaimed leader of a small town called Woodbury. In The Road to Woodbury, an innocent traveler named Lilly Caul wound up in the terrifying thrall of Phillip Blake’s twisted, violent dictatorship within Woodbury’s ever tightening barricades.

And now, in The Fall of the Governor, the Governor’s complex story continues in a tour de force of action and horror. Iconic characters from the comic book, including Rick, Michonne and Glenn, finally make their entrance onto this nightmarish stage, and fans of The Walking Dead will see these characters in a whole new light.

Why?: I love the TV show and I love the comics, and I've enjoyed the other two books in this series, so it only makes sense to continue with The Fall of the Governor! Plus, I'm excited to see more familiar characters in a new form, and I hope that this book will give more information about them. 

Expectations: I'm expecting a story about Phillip Blake's downfall full of zombies and characters that fans of The Walking Dead already know and love. I'm also expecting to learn new things about old characters. 

Judging a book by its cover: I think this might be my favorite cover in the series so far! I like the zombies (or people? I'm not sure, which makes me like it even more) in the background, and Phillip's eye patch in the foreground. I would totally pick up this book if I saw it on a shelf! 


--Ashley

The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury (Governor Trilogy #2) by Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga - Ashley's Review

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Title: The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury (The Governor Series #2)
Author: Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga
Year Published: 2012

My The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury Pre-Reading
My The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor Review
My The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor Pre-Reading
My The Walking Dead: Compendium 1 Review

Synopsis: The first book explained how the Governor was created; this thrilling sequel to The New York Times bestseller further reveals his ruthless, inhuman conquest of Woodbury

The zombie plague unleashes its horrors on the suburbs of Atlanta without warning, pitting the living against the dead. Caught in the mass exodus, Lilly Caul struggles to survive in a series of ragtag encampments and improvised shelters. But the Walkers are multiplying. Dogged by their feral hunger for flesh and crippled by fear, Lilly relies on the protection of good Samaritans by seeking refuge in a walled-in town once known as Woodbury, Georgia.

At first, Woodbury seems like a perfect sanctuary. Squatters barter services for food, people have roofs over their heads, and the barricade expands, growing stronger every day. Best of all, a mysterious self-proclaimed leader named Philip Blake keeps the citizens in line. But Lilly begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. . . . Blake, who has recently begun to call himself The Governor, has disturbing ideas about law and order.

Ultimately, Lilly and a band of rebels open up a Pandora’s box of mayhem and destruction when they challenge The Governor’s reign . . . and the road to Woodbury becomes the highway to hell in this riveting follow-up to Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga's New York Times bestselling The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor.

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Review: I really love everything about The Walking Dead. I love the show, I love the comics, and I was totally blown away by Rise of the Governor. After that ending, I knew I had to read this book and find out what would happen next. 

This book is told from an outsider's perspective, which was definitely interesting. Seeing Lilly navigate through this new life and watching her friends & her find their way to Woodbury really helped expand this universe and show how other people deal with the zombie apocalypse. The only problem with this group of characters was that I hated pretty much all of them (except for Josh). They're all really annoying and shallow and I couldn't stand them. I didn't care what happened to them. 

Aside from that though, this book is really interesting. We still get to see some of the Governor and his particular brand of crazy. There's also more of Martinez and the Doctor, an I enjoyed getting to know them and their pasts a little bit more. Watching outsiders discover Woodbury and its secrets made it feel like I was the one discovering Woodbury for the first time. 

Like The Rise of the Governor, this book has a pretty big comic book feel to it. It's written in 3rd person, and often times describes things that even the characters are unaware of. It really made me feel scared for Josh and Lilly and their friends, and I always felt like something bad was about to happen. But then, like The Walking Dead does, I was lured into a sense of calm and let my guard down and BAD THINGS happen. So yeah. Ugh.

If you're a fan of The Walking Dead, I would totally suggest this series to you. Especially if you read the first installment. As far as zombie books go though, I don't think this is a good series to pick up without having at least a working knowledge of the universe that it's set it. It could be confusing and you should at least read the comics before you read these books. I'd give this one a 3/5, but I'll definitely be getting my hands on The Fall of the Governor soon! 


--Ashley

The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury (The Governor Series #2) by Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga - Ashley's Pre-Reading

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury (The Governor Series #2)
Author: Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga
Year Published: 2012

My The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor Review
My The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor Pre-Reading
My The Walking Dead: Compendium 1 Review

Synopsis: The first book explained how the Governor was created; this thrilling sequel to The New York Times bestseller further reveals his ruthless, inhuman conquest of Woodbury

The zombie plague unleashes its horrors on the suburbs of Atlanta without warning, pitting the living against the dead. Caught in the mass exodus, Lilly Caul struggles to survive in a series of ragtag encampments and improvised shelters. But the Walkers are multiplying. Dogged by their feral hunger for flesh and crippled by fear, Lilly relies on the protection of good Samaritans by seeking refuge in a walled-in town once known as Woodbury, Georgia.

At first, Woodbury seems like a perfect sanctuary. Squatters barter services for food, people have roofs over their heads, and the barricade expands, growing stronger every day. Best of all, a mysterious self-proclaimed leader named Philip Blake keeps the citizens in line. But Lilly begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. . . . Blake, who has recently begun to call himself The Governor, has disturbing ideas about law and order.

Ultimately, Lilly and a band of rebels open up a Pandora’s box of mayhem and destruction when they challenge The Governor’s reign . . . and the road to Woodbury becomes the highway to hell in this riveting follow-up to Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga's New York Times bestselling The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor.

Why?: I recently finished reading the first book in this series, Rise of the Governor and I have to know what happens next! I'm excited to see Woodbury from an outsider's perspective and learn more about The Governor through that. I really enjoy everything about this series, so I can't wait to learn more about Woodbury and Phillip Blake. 

Expectations: Since I enjoyed the first book so much, I have pretty high expectations for this book.  I do expect less of The Governor and more of Lilly Caul and her bunch, as well as more of the workings of Woodbury. After reading RIse of the Governor, I'm also expecting quite a few twists and turns that change everything I know about this world and the characters. 

Judging a book by its cover: I actually really like this cover. I like that you can't tell if the person is a person or a walker, and that everything is very dark except for "The Walking Dead." I would most likely pick this up if I saw it on a shelf somewhere! 


--Ashley

The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor (The Governor Series #1) by Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga - Ashley's Pre-Reading

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Title: The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor (The Governor Series #1)
Author: Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga
Year Published: 2011

Synopsis: Based on The Walking Dead graphic novels/comic books and the series starring Andrew Lincoln (Teachers, This Life and Love, and Love Actually) and written/produced by Frank Darabont whose previous credits include The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, this is a new trilogy of books written by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga, author of Perfect Victim and Shattered. Set in the world created by Robert Kirkman, this standalone trilogy is fast-paced, action-packed storytelling about the lengths some men will go to survive. With new characters, new storylines and with the same in-depth character-based plotting that has made the television series such an immediate hit, this trilogy of novels is sure to be a hit with those who love zombies and those who have loved the TV series and comic books.

In the Walking Dead universe, there is no greater villain than The Governor. The despot who runs the walled-off town of Woodbury, he has his own sick sense of justice: whether it’s forcing prisoners to battle zombies in an arena for the townspeople’s amusement, or chopping off the appendages of those who cross him. The Governor was voted “Villain of the Year” by Wizard magazine the year he debuted, and his story arc was the most controversial in the history of the Walking Dead comic book series. Now, for the first time, fans of The Walking Dead will discover how The Governor became the man he is, and what drove him to such extremes.

Why?: I'm a huge Walking Dead fan - I read the comics, I watch the show, and I want to know everything there is about the characters and their world. I'm really excited to learn about why the Governor is the way he is, and how he came to be so ruthless and crazy. Was he always like that? What drove him to madness? I'm hoping this series answers a lot of the questions I have! 

Expectations: I expect this to be a very character driven book. I don't really think the plot will be exceptional - definitely some harrowing experiences and things that change The Governor's life and cause him to become the villain we all know and love to hate. I'm kind of expecting it to feel like a comic book without the pictures.

Judging a book by its cover: This cover is very simple and goes well with the series. I can't tell if the silhouettes are living people or zombies, and I really like the ambiguity of it. I would probably pick it up if I saw it on a shelf somewhere based on the cover alone. 


--Ashley